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

NEWS AND FRIENDS

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

IT WAS A SIX MONTHS PROCESS, BUT REALLY WAS NO BOTHER. I'M GLAD OF THE SIX MONTH PREOP SO I COULD LEARN MORE AND GET READY

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

GREAT. DR OLSEN IS VERY STRAIGHT FORWARD, KNOWLEDGABLE, AND WILLING TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

IM ONLY 35 AND HAVE ALREADY HAD QUINTUPLE CARDIAC BYPASS SURGERY. I KNEW I HAD TO DO SOMETHING TO STAY ALIVE

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I KNEW I WOULD CHEET WITH THE BAND.

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?

NO FEARS, JUST FAITH IN GOD

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?

MY PARENTS DID NOT WANT ME TO HAVE IT, JUST FOR FEAR OF THEIR SON HAVING ANOTHER SURGERY. THEY'RE GLAD I DID NOW.

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

THEY WERE VERY SUPPORTIVE WITH NO PROBLEMS. I WAS OUT FOR TWO WEEKS

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

I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL FOR THREE DAYS. I HAD BAD GAS PAINS BUT NO OTHER PROBLEMS. MY ONLY COMPLAINT WAS THAT I WAS GETTING NO PAIN MEDS IN RECOVERY BECAUSE SOME ONE HOOKED UP MY IV INCORRECTLY AND IGNORED ME ASKING FOR HELP. MY NURSE IN MY ROOM FINALLY SAW WHAT HAD HAPPENED

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

NO

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

FOR THE FIRST COUPLE OF WEEKS, I FOUGHT WITH REALLY BAD HEAD HUNGER, CRAVINGS, AND DEPRESSION. I COPED BY GOING TO ALL THE SUPPORT GROUPS I COULD.

Describe your first few weeks home from the hospital. What should people expect from this period?

CRAVINGS. I JUST WANTED TO GET TO WORK TO GET FOOD OFF MY MIND.

How far did you travel to have your surgery? (If far, how did this affect your aftercare?)

30 MINUTES

Please describe in detail what things you could and couldn't eat in the weeks and months following surgery. What foods have been off limits? Please explain how your dietary tolerance changed week-by-week, and then month-by-month since surgery.

FIRST 10 DAYS WAS CLEAR LIQUID. NEXT WEEK WAS LIQUIDS, THEN BLENDED FOODS, THEN SOLIDS LIKE CHICKEN AND FISH

What was your actvity level in the days and weeks after surgery?

I GOT DEHYDRATED AND DIDN'T WANT TO EAT SO I WAS PRETTY WEAK THE FIRST COUPLE OF WEEKS AFTER SURGERY

What vitamins and/or dietary supplements have you taken since your surgery?

CHEWABLE VITAMINS, SUBLINGUAL B12, CHEWABLE CALCIUM CITRATE

What side effects (nausea, vomiting, sleep disturbace, dumping, hair loss etc.) were worse for you? For how long after surgery did they persist? How did you cope with them?

NO SIDE EFFECTS

What was the worst part about the entire bariatric surgery process?

DEPRESSION AFTERWARDS

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

I GO TO CENTENNIALS WEEKLY SUPPORT GROUPS AND LOVE THEM. THEY ARE VERY HELPFUL AND GET ME THROUGH ALOT

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

SEVEN LITTLE DOTS. NOTHING COMPAIRED TO MY CARDIAC SCAR

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I'VE JUST NOW STARTED TO PLATEAU

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

NO