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

My best friend was considering the surgery, I was very against it, but then I went for my annual checkup and again I was 15lbs heavier than my last physical. I had already done the diet pill thing and had gotten sick from them, so my PCP would not prescribe anymore pills, I asked him if he could wire my jaws, and thats when he told me he had something that was less painful and probably more effective. At that point I started researching. I met with the first Dr. that my PCP referred me to, he only did the open surgery, but he told me about the laproscopic and said I would be a good candidate, and he sent me to Dr. "I".

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

The Insurance part was not such a great experience. It took about a year of fighting, which actually worked out to my advantage. I was able to continue my research on the surgery and instead of going with the Open RNY I had it done laproscopic. In the year I learned so much about the surgery and I was mentally ready. I think that anyone having a problem with insurance needs to find out who at the company makes the decision about your surgery, is it a Dr. or a clerk. I wrote letters threatening the insuance. I asked for all the names of people involved in the denial decision so I would know who to sue if something happened to me due to my weight. You can also wait for open enrollment at you job and switch to a plan that does the surgery.

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

I think that from the day you make the decision to have the surgery until your first consult or meeting you should start writing down all your questions for either the DR. or if it is an open support meeting you can hook up with post op patients and ask them questions on their experience. Just ask questions and get the answers. This is a life long change and you need to understand that. I also believe that people need to be mentally ready for this change.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

At my annual check up with my PCP, I had gained another 15lbs, My PCP was very upset, and he told me that I can not continue this way especially with my family history. He told me that in the next few years I would be entering the second stages of my life and although the first stage i was lucky he didn't think I would continue to be as lucky if I continued to gain weight at this rate. I asked him to wire my jaws, he told me he had something that was less painful and probably long term. He was not very familiar with this typr of surgery but he gave me the name of the Dr. who was doing the surgery at Englewood Hospital at the time, and then I was put in touch with Dr. Ibrihim, to discuss the laproscopic procedure as opposed to the open.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I went for a consult with the Dr. from Englewood Hospital who did the open RNY. He suggested that I speak with DR Ibrihim, he told me they were just starting the Lap procedure at the hospital and he thought I would be a good candidate for the Lap Surgery. So I had my consult with Dr. Ibrihim and I was pleased that the incision would be less invasive and the recovery time was much less. So I knew that this was they way I wanted to go. Dr. Ibrihim did not guarentee that he would be able to complete the procedure lapro, but he did and the insicion was only about 1/2 inch, with a few dots, which are almost totally gone.

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 honestly didn't have any fears about complications or dying from this surgery. I was nerveous because anytime you have any type of surgery you could have complications from something as little as having your tonsils removed. I was thinking more about the complications I was going to have if I continued to gain weight. Once I made the decision to have the surgery I was totally positive. I had no negative thoughts and I didn't tell anyone except for my immediate family so I didn't have to hear all the negative thoughts. The morning of surgery I prayed and left everything in GODs hands.

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?

Well at first they were negative, talking about all the horror stories they had heard. Then when the insurance denied me, I stopped talking about it to anyone and continued my own research for the year that I fought with the insurance. I read everything and anything I could get my hands on about the surgery and I attended support groups that included pre & post op patients. In March of 1999 when I got the news that I had been approved I told my best Friend, one of my sisters, my brother and his wife. My sister was a little negative, the other three were like "GO FOR IT". Three months after I had my surgery my sister went for a consult with Dr. Ibrihim, and she had her surgery a few months later. The ones who knew were very supportive especially since summer time was right around the corner and we had weekly bbq's at my brothers. I didn't tell anyone else for about a year, during that year whenever anyone asked me how I was loosing the Weight I just told them I was eating smaller portions, excersing, and drinking water. Which was not a lie, after the year and I came clean with others they were supportive and gave me credit for taking that step.

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

I did not tell my boss, I told him I was having a female procedure done, and that was all he needed to hear. No more questions from him. I finally told my boss, friends, and other family members about a year later that I had the WLS. I had my surgery on a Tuesday (4/20/99), I was home on Sunday (4/25/99), I went for my followup appointment that Friday (4/30/99)and returned to work that monday (5/3/99). It was approximately three weeks.

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

The nurses were very good, because I had the lap procedure I didn't need as much care as those who were on the same flor who had the Open RNY. My stay at the hospital was about 5 days. I didn't bring anything except my toothbrush and a pair of sweats.

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

No, everything went good. I was in ICU (only as a precaution) by 4 PM. and moved to a room by noon the next day. I was out of bed for a little while. I had the cathiter removed and was waiting for the ng tube to be taken out. Only that didn't happen for another day. For me that was the worst part of the surgery, I was a little sore but had no pain from the incision. I just wanted that tube out. But I knew it was important so i just kept hiting the IV pump to put me to sleep. Once the tube was out I headed right for the shower and began my journey starting with the shakes.

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

When I got the news that I was approved I was so excited, I only had to wait about a month before surgery so I didn't get to anxious. I took that time to eat anything and everything I could. The night before I was a little anxious but I read the information given to me from the DR. about what the next few weeks would be like.

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

The first few weeks were fine. After realizing that my stomach was very small and I should not pile food on my plate I did good. I started to use the sauce from a cup as my plate so it looked like I had more food. That was a mental thing because at one point I started to feel deprived, but as the weight came off I got over that.

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

I didn't have to travel far at all, less then a half of a mile. I live in Englewood and my Dr. was also in Englewood.

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.

I really didn't have problems with any food until I tried spaghetti, that did not go down, I tried it again about 6 mos after surgery and still, no good. I didn't like cereal with milk anymore. I felt the skim milk made me queazy, so I stayed away. I could eat all meats and fish, chicken, the most important thing was chewing and eating slow. Vegtables had to be cooked real soft in the begining. Rice was extremely filling, but i could eat it with no problem.

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

By the time I got home from the hospital (Mind you I walked all of Englewood Hosp while I was there) I was back to normal, walking my tiny dog, cleaning, doing laundry etc.. As soon as I got the ok to return to work I was told I could start walking more and gradually introduce exsercise. within a month I joined a gym, started with aerobics and got into light weights and different machines.

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

I take b-12 and centrum, sometime I take a pepsid if I am going to have Raw or steamed vegtables. I also make myself slim fast protein shakes with soy. It's mixed with water as opposed to skim milk which I like better.

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 had very little vomiting, I could not keep down Spaghetti, any other macaroni was fine, Nausia came with different things that I tried, but it passes within 20 min. no sleep problems at all, and eventully my snoring and heavy breathing was gone. I dumped a couple of times because i chose to try chocolate and ice cream, at different times of course, but the dumping is horrible, it also passes within 20 min. The hair loss was also little, I took a separate vitamin, pre op for the month before. I would just notice more hair in my brush and on the floor, but did not get any bald or go thin.

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

THE NG TUBE. I can not say that enough, nothing else bothered me. That was the only uncomfortable part. But it is very important to keep it in until your DR says it's ok to be removed. So I dealt with it by sleeping.

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

Dr Ibrihim's office has a support group 1 a month at Englewood hospital. I try to go, it is important for me to hear all the new information that is going on with the WLS these days and to remember what I went thru when i was attending the pre op meetings. It's been very helpful and still is. I beleive that The support meetings are very important for you and for the up and coming WLS patients. I also believe that a few sessions with a Psychologist is very important.

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

My scar is barely there anymore, it was about a 1/2 inch. I expected it to be so much worse. I thought that it would be at least 2 inches. But Dr Ibrihim is awesome.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I had a couple of plateaus, maybe at 2 months then again at 6 months. They didn't last long maybe about 3-4 weeks, then I would take a big drop. I now fluctuate gain 5 lose 8, the most I have gone up is 10lbs. Then I realize it is time to change from eating what I was eating that made me gain (most of the time Carbs, bread, pasta)I'll just go to proteins and veggies and wala, I go down.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Absolutely, you realize people who would never talk to you as an obese person all of a sudden have a sudden interest in you and how you are loosing the weight, they are more friendly, include you in different things. I also realized myself how much food was a big part of my social life. after the surgery I stopped going out to dinner and clubs, I didn't socialize as much because I didn't want people to notice the way I was eating (or should I say not eating)so alot of my friends took it as though I was getting stuck up. Until I started to tell and explain to people about the surgery, I took a lot of "she thinks who she is now that she has lost all that weight" It hurt my feelings, because I knew I was still the same person but I also knew that once my friends got the whole scoop, it would be ok, and it was and now they are very supportive.