How did you first find out about bariatric surgery and what were your initial impressions of it?

From a friend. At first I was hesitant will it really work? But after my father died suddenly of a heart attack, ( he was also had HTN and diabetes) my mother is diabetic, grandmothers were diabetic, and a brother is diabetic. I knew for my health and live a longer and better life I had to do something

Describe your experience with getting insurance approval for surgery. What advice, if any, do you have for other people in this stage?

I was so happy about getting insurance approval as quickly as I did. It took about 24 hours. Keeping trying no matter what show them how committed you are to this lifestyle change

What was your first visit with your surgeon like? How can people get the most out of this meeting?

I like him from the time I first met him. Go in with an open mind but also be prepared and ask questions.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I think that my dad's death had the biggest input into me having the surgery

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I wanted it done open as being a nurse I have heard of more complications with the lap pocedure and I also wanted my gall bladder taken out at the same time.

What fears did you have about having complications or even dying from from the surgery, and what would you tell other people having the same fears now?

I had no fears of the surgery. My fear was getting diabetes or dying of a heart attack

How did your family and friends react to your decision? Would you have communicated anything differently if you could now? How supportive were they after your surgery?

Everyone was positive when I told them of my decision and the reasons why I wanted to have the surgery. My 2 oldest daughters haven't been as supportive as I had hoped but they both were pregnant and have become mothers, and have been preoccupied with that

How did your employer/supervisor react to your decision? What did you tell him/her? How long were you out of work?

My supervisor was fairly supportive. I was off work for 10 weeks

What was your stay in the hospital like? How long where you there? What things are most important to bring?

My stay in the hospital was okay. I had asked for a private room but ended up in a double. I ended up being transferred into a private room the night before I was supposed to go home because I ended up with VRE, a bacteria, in my stool and ended up staying 3 more days because of it, for a total of 8 days. The one thing that I didn't like was 3 times a day they would bring me an 8 oz. carton of milk and I could not tolerate it. The most important thing for me to bring was my pj's, flannel pants and top sets. I wished I had brought more.

Did you have any complications from the surgery? If so, how did you deal with them?

I ended up witht the VRE in my stool and it put me in isolation so my family could not visit as 2 of my daughters were pregnant. I also ended up with kidney stones in Feb. as I let myself get to dehydrated

In the weeks after you got your surgery date, how did you feel? How did you cope with any anxiety you might have felt?

Tierd and weak but made myself get up and walk or do something. It helped some as the time of the year, as I would drive myself to the mall and walk and look at all the Christmas decorations. I was able to drive right away as I did not go home on narcotics

What aftercare support group/program do you have? How helpful/important is this?

I attend the Mayo Learn group for post op patients twice a month and I also attend a WL support group for those looking into having the surgery to those who are up to 2 years out once a week.

What is your scar like? Is this what you expected?

Actually it is better than I expected. The scar runs from just below my breast line to my hysterectomy scar.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I have only had one plateau experience for about 2 weeks in March, and I was grazing a bit trying different foods and not getting in enough exercise

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

A little. My coworkers seem to make a big deal about it while my children haven't hardly said anything