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

I first found out about WLS through a friend of mine about ten years ago. She had a gastric banding done but at the time I wasn't overweight. I also thought it was extreme and dangerous. She had a scar from right under her breast bone to her pelvic area and it was a large, lumpy scar. When I first saw it I was shocked that someone would do something like that to themselves. Then three years ago I was talking to a co-worker who had RNY surgery done laparascopically. I was surprised because I didn't know it could be done that way. She told me she had little scars and was back to work in a couple of weeks. I became very interested at that point because I was 130 lbs. overweight by then.

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 two days. I would have only been in for one day but I had bubbles in my chest and back and it made drinking very difficult because it hurt so bad so they kept me an extra day to ensure I could drink 4 ozs. of liquid. The doctor was concerned with dehydration. My hospital stay was wonderful! The staff and doctors were great! I had my own room which was huge. I had a huge bathroom with a large shower area. I was very pleased with the hospital and my stay. I didn't really bring anything with me except my own pillows. I wish I would have brought my own body wash but I didn't think of it at the time. Hospital soap is so tiny and medicinal smelling.

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

I had no complications. Everything went smoothly and my surgery was unremarkable.

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

The first month was really hard because of the head hunger I was experiencing. In my head I was ravenous. I called the doctor's office and they assured me it was all in my head but it didn't feel like it. I was on strictly pureed foods and protein drinks. I was dying for a cheeseburger! Commercials certainly didn't help. It got so bad sometimes that I would take a bite of something I couldn't have, chew it and then spit it out. I felt so bad about it afterward; like I failed myself. I called the doctor's office at one point to tell them I had eaten a couple of bites of enchilada casserole that I had made for my family. She asked me what was in it and I told her. She said my new stomach wasn't ready for that kind of food yet. She said it take several months for it to heal and that I shouldn't eat things I'm not supposed to. That was the worst of it.

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

I haven't gone to any support groups since my surgery. I met a friend here on this site and she had surgery at the same hospital and with the same doctor I did and she went to the support groups. She told me they weren't very helpful since everything they talked about she already knew from reading info on this site. The group was pretty far from my home so I decided I didn't want to go. It didn't seem to be beneficial at the time.

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

I have five small scars and they are exactly what I expected. Three of them have faded so they're very light and two of them are still kind of dark.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I am seven months out and have been experiencing a plateau for about two months. I down 70 lbs. but I can't seem to get past it. I want to lose an additional 60 lbs. but the scale isn't budging. I increased my exercise to jogging from walking and began the protein supplements again. Nothing has changed though. I think I've been plateauing for so long because I can basically eat anything I want. I don't have a problem with any type of food except for ice cream. Healthy Choice makes a great fat-free no sugar added ice cream, though, that I can have and it doesn't make me feel yucky like regular ice cream does. I'm really trying to focus on having high protein food throughout the day like non-fat cottage cheese and fruit for breakfast, some type of meat like tuna for lunch and the same for dinner. I notice, though, that I crave sweets like never before. I'm trying to keep that to a minimum but it gets really hard sometimes. I'm drinking wine on the weekends and this is a problem because it seems the surgery hasn't affected how much wine I can drink. I can drink as much wine as I always did and that's not good. I really want to curb this addiction and I'm sure this is a major reason why I'm plateauing right now.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

People aren't really treating me differently. I chose not to tell people about my surgery so no one knows except one close friend, my husband and my kids. Friends and co-workers are always commenting on my weight loss and everyone wants to know how I did it. I feel bad about not talking about the surgery but I just don't want people to know. I work in the healthcare industry and I know how people talk and how judgemental they can be. I don't want to be on the other end of that. It's my own problems and issues I have with being accepted.