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

I worked with someone who had the surgery. We had always talked frankly about our weight and our lives. At first she didn't tell anyone at work, except me and she encouraged me to look into the surgery. I did a lot of research, thinking strongly about lap-band. However, I discovered a higher rate of recovery from diabetes (I was injecting insulin) with the bypass. I went to 3 seminars by 3 different surgeons over the period of a year.

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

The insurance I had when I initially looked in bariatric surgery did not cover that type of surgery. I called my corporate HR and discovered a different insurance that was offered, did cover bariatric surgery. During the next enrollment period, I switched insurance companies. I contacted them and discovered they insurance company had outsourced the bariatric approval and the 2 companies had different guidelines for surgeons. The surgeon I chose was approved by the insurace company for surgery, but was not listed as approved by the outsource company. This came as a surprise to my selected surgeon and the hospital. Over the next 5 months, both the surgeon and hospital got certification from the bariatric company. In the meantime, I started the steps which included 6 months of physician visits and dieting. My primary care doctor did not seem to have a lot of knowlege regarding bariatric surgery. She was skeptic that it would alleviate my health problems, but she cooperated with the dieting. Advice is to decide what your reasonable goal is, research surgeons to find one you are comfortable with to perform the surgery. Ask questions, find a person at the insurance company to work with you through the process. Stick to your guns.

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

I had gone to 3 seminars by 3 different surgeons. One was very reputable, but I realized too far from my home for conveniet follow-up after surgery. One was a little too slick in his presentation and I had the feeling it was more assembly-line attitude. Like Goldilocks, the third one had the right combination of knowledge and attitude. Go to as many seminars as you need to find someone you are comfortable to work with. Listen and again have a reasonable goal in mind.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I saw the results in my co-worker. I realized I did not have another yo-yo in me at my age. My health was a serious problem. I was nearing retirement and I wanted some good quality to my life-after-work.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I researched lap-band and bypass. I went with the bypass because it had a higher rate of diabetes recovery which was my main goal.

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 understood that all surgery has risks. To be honest, I trusted my surgeon and I knew this was my last chance at a good quality to my life. I was desperate.

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?

I talked to my family and most were supportive, if a little skeptically as to the outcome. I live with my sister and we talked extensively about the changes that would happen. After surgery, my family was most supportive. However, the changes in behavior, eating habits, etc over a period of time took adjustment for all of us. I eat small amounts and use to be a "speed" eater and now I am the slowest one of the bunch.

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 morbidly obese. I think she envied me. She had a good friend who had the surgery about a year before and she had helped in his recovery, so she had knowledge of the procedure. I was out of work for about 8 weeks. I admit I was surprised by that as my co-worker was only out a couple of weeks after her surgery. Recovery took much longer than I expected. Somehow, I thought I would feel like taking on the world afterwards. The truth was it took longer to get my strength back that I had anticipated. Had I not had the sick time, I probably could have gone back after 6 weeks, but I had the luxury of many years accumulated sick leave.

What was it like attending your first information seminar on weight loss surgery? Were you glad you attended? if so, why?

My first seminar was at Baylor University in Houston. It was extremely informative with professional speakers as well as post-op patients. However, it was not convenient to my home for follow-up post-op. I realized my work hours and distance would be a problem. However, it was a standard that I used with future seminars.

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

During the bariatric surgery, my gall bladder was also removed. The typical stay is 2 days, but I was there 4 days as I did run a slight fever and they wanted to be sure there was no infection. Most important thing to bring is a good attitude.

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

No complications other than a slight fever that kept me in the hospital a couple of days longer than expected.

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

Before I went into the surgery, I had stocked up on liquids, protein powder, baby food and 1oz containers. No problem with the liquid, hated the whey protein, so went to protein drinks like EAS. I was anxious about getting enough protein. My major error about the surgery was thinking I would come home and feel like painting the house. In truth, it was major surgery and took a lot longer than I anticipated to feel really good. Finding liquids and soft foods I liked took a lot of trial and error. Within 21 days, my blood sugar was normal and I was off insulin completely.

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 am 2 years post-op. If I eat too fast, or too much or don't chew thoroughly, I still run the risk of "borrowing" it. After I started eating solid foods, I would get nauseous sometimes, feeling like everything was "stuck". However, after talking to my surgeon, discovered 1 antiacid a day eliminated this problem. About 8 months after surgery, my hair started falling out. Real panic time...jumped on the internet and discovered this is rather common. Ate all the protein I could and in about 3 months, hair grew back and things went to normal.

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

The recovery time that was longer than I expected.

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

Scars are minimal, better than I expected.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

My weight loss was secondary, my health issues cleared up on about 6 weeks. That was my main goal. I had a goal of 146 lbs and figured it would take 18 months to achieve that. It took 11 months. I didn't worry about weight plateaus. My doctor said I would probably get to 124lbs. At the time, I thought he was crazy, couldn't wrap my head around that. I've now maintained 126lbs with about a 2lb flucuation for a year. Guess he knew what he was talking about..lol.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Oh yeah! People who didn't know me before see a thin woman and really don't notice you at all. People who knew me before are either delighted or not. Both sisters are now bigger than I am, a drastic change that they are slowly getting use to. People I haven't seen since the surgery sometimes don't recognize me. I have to introduce myself and the surprise in their eyes can be fun.