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

A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE HAD IT DONE. I SAW WHAT IT DID FOR HIM AND I KNEW I HAD TO FIND OUT MORE.

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

IT TOOK SIX MONTHS FROM MY INITIAL CONSULTATION WITH MY SURGEON BEFORE I GOT THE CALL I COULD SET A SURGEERY DATE. I CALLED TWO R THREE TIMES A WEEK TO KEEP THEM (BC/BS) ACTIVE ON MY CASE.

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

IT WENT VERY WELL. PREPARE A LIST OF QUESTIONS AHEAD OF TIME SO YOU DON'T FORGET TO ASK ANY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS!

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

MT POOR HEALTH. IT WAS DO IT OR DIE!

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

FROM TALKING TO OTHER BARIATRIC PATIENTS.

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. MY SURGEON CAME VERY WELL RECOMMENDED. IT WAS HAVE THE SURGERY OR PLAN ON HAVING A SHORT LIFESPAN.

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 FAMILY WAS ALL FOR IT. THEY HAVE SUPPORTED ME 100 PERCENT.

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

THEY WERE SUPPORTIVE. THEY TOLD ME TO DO WHAT WAS BEST FOR ME. I WAS OFF WORK FOR FOUR AND A HALF WEEKS. WHEN I WENT BACK TO WORK I STARTED OFF SLOWLY AND WORKED MY WAY BACK INTO A FULL SCHEDULE.

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

I WAS AT THE BTC HOSPITAL IN BELVIDERE, ILLINOIS FOR FOUR DAYS. I WAS TREATED VERY WELL. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO BRING IS A LOT OF QUSTIIONS SO YOUY KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING STEP BY STEP.

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

I DEVELOPED AN INCISION INFECTION THAT TOOK 6 MONTHS AND SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS TO CLEAR UP. I HAD THE TREATMENT DONE THROUGH A LOCAL WOUND THERAPIST.

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

I FELT SORE AND TIRED, BUT NOTHING I WOULD CONSIDER UNUSUAL. I DID DEVELOP AN EXTREME CASE OF BACK PAIN AS MY BODY ADJUSTED TO THE RAPID WEIGHT LOSS. AS FOR ANXIETY, I KEPT TELLING MYSELF THE END RESULTS WOULD BE WORTH WHAT I WAS GOING THOUGH.

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

I HAD MT SURGERY IN FEBRUARY SO I AHD A BAD CASE OIF "CABIN FEVER!" BOREDOM SETS IN QUICKLY, BUT YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT SLOW AND FOLLOW YOUR DOCTORS INSTRUCTIOONS. BTW DAYTIME TV SUCKS!

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

I TRAVELLED 12 HOURS ROUND TRIP. AFTER MY TWO WEEK CHECK UP I HAD ALL MY BLOOD WORK DONE LOCALLY AND HAD THE RESULTS SENT TO MY SURGEON.

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.

THE FURTHER I GOT AWAY FROM MY SURGERY DATE, THE MORE I COULD EAT. MY BODY EVENTUALLY ACCEPTED ALL FOODS BACK INTO MY SYSTEM. I HAVE TO MAKE SURE I STAY AWAY FROM THE BAD STUFF.

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

I WAS ABLE TO MOVE AROUND THE HOUSE OK BUT, BECAUSE IT WAS WINTERTIME, I DID NOT GO OUTSIDE FOR FEAR OF SLIPPING AND DISRUPTING MY SURGERY.

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

A DAILY MULIT-VITAMIN AND A DAILY IRON SUPPLEMENT. I AM OFF ALL MY OTHER MEDICINES I WAS ON PRE-SURGERY.

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?

I EXPERIANCE DUMPING SYNDROME IF I EAT THE WRONG STUFF OR EAT TOO FAST. I ALSO HAVE TROUBLE SLEEPING AND HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH PASSING BAD GAS. I STILL HAVE A LOT OF BACK PAIN, BUT HAVE NOT FOUND SOMETHING TO HELP WITH THE PAIN THAT HASN'T CAUSED SIDE AFFECTS.

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

WAITING TO GET BACK TO A NORMAL ROUTINE.

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

I ATTEND A MONTHLY SUPPORT GROUP THAT HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL. I RECOMEND ALL BARIATRIC PATIENTS JOIN A SUPPORT GROUP.

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

IT IS A NORMAL SCAR EXCEPT WHERE MY INFECTION WAS. IT IS A LITTLE BIT ROUGHER IN THAT AREA. OTHERWISE, IT IS WHAT I CINSIERE A NORMAL SCAR.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I EXPERIANCED SEVEER PLATEAU'S THAT LASTED ONE TO THREE WEEKS. THEN I WOULD START LOSING AGAIN. CURRENTLY I HAVE BEEN ON A FOUR MONTH PLATEAU AND I AM GOING BACK TO SEE MY SURGEON TO SEE WHY THIS HAS HAPPENED.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

NOTHING DRASTIC. THEY HAVE ALL BEEN VERY SUPPOERTIVE OF MY EFFORTS TO LOSE WEIGHT AND GET HEALTHIER.