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

I found out about it when a local news guy had it done 'secretly' and then let the cat out of the bag when he'd lost a whole bunch of the wieght. He'd had the gastric bypass done. At the time it seemed really drastic to me, but I kept it in the back of my mind for about a year. Then I did more research on it (research done on a day when I was feeling particularly bad about myself), and found out about the LapBand which I later opted for.

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

I was self pay for this one, but from what I've read, if your insurance policy doesn't have any written stops to weight loss surgery, just keep fighting.

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

When I first met my surgeon it was the day before my surgery. I was self pay, so I'd schedule my surgery with a surgeon in Mexico. I'd spoken to him once on the phone right after I was scheduled. When I met him he showed me a little video on how the surgery is done, and gave me some guidelines of what to expect after surgery. If you've done your research you probably wont have too many questions the day before surgery, but I did get to see a real LapBand that he had on his desk. That was neat.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I'd had it in the back of my mind for quite some time, but when I had it done I didn't have any insurance, and so the cost was a major issue. I was talking with my mom about it one day and she said "I'll pay for it." She didn't want to be paid back or anything, she wanted to give this to me. I cried there in the airport where we were. :)

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

When I first learned about the gastric bypass and the RNY they seemed very drastic to me. The band seemed a very natural choice, with the options for adjustability and reversability. Also, the complications that can occur during surgery are very much less than that of the other surgeries, from what I've read.

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 wasn't afraid of dying. That didn't really even cross my mind. I was a little worried about the post op pain. I didn't really start to get even nervous until a couple of days before I was due to fly out for the surgery. The night before the surgery I burst into tears and I still couldn't tell you why. I think that I was so excited to finally have something of a permanent answer to my weight that I just didn't care what was going to happen. I would deal with it when it came up.

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?

This is an interesting question. Almost everyone that I told was super supportive. I actually found out at this time how worried people were about my heart and my health. There were 2 people that gave me different responses. One person I told before I had it done and he kind of flipped out on me and told me not to do it. He kept giving me surgery statistics about how many people die under the knife every year and things like that. I basically told him I was getting it done, and I'd contact him alive when it was all over. The other person I told post op and her response was "isn't that like cheating?" I laughed and told her that I didn't much care if I was 'cheating'. My boyfriend was a little worried about us going to Mexico. He's a little sheltered and was stuck on the ideas of black market kidneys and bad water. I explained how cool Mexico was to the best of my ability, and how my surgeon was one of the pioneers as far as LapBands go. He was still freaked out, but once we got there and he saw how things were he calmed right down and we had a good time. I know there are people who have gotten very unsupportive responses to surgery, and I feel very lucky that I have people around me who support me. I think that each person should carefully consider the people they are going to tell before telling them. Also, there are many people who just don't tell people what they had done. It's a personal choice.

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

I'm lucky in this regard as well. My 'employer' is my mom, who also footed the bill for my procedure. I worked right up until I left for the airport, which was a Thursday. I had my surgery on Friday, flew back on Monday and was at work on Tuesday. My mom was very strict about the fact that if I felt like I needed to take a break, or go home and rest that I should do that. I didn't need to. There was one day where I may have pushed a little and I took a nap right after work, but I was other wise fine. I have a desk job, so there wasn't too much moving around involved. (I had been running errands on that day that I had to nap).

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

The hospital in Monterrey MX was wonderful. I got there at 7am the day of surgery, filled out a little bit of paperwork, then got changed and taken to the prep room. I was seen by my surgeon's 2 assistants and the anesthesiologist. And then I woke up :). I don't even remember being taken to the OR, some drug kicked in and I just don't remember anything after that.

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

I am very fortunate to be one of the ones with no complications. I have some issues with food coming back up when I eat too fast, don't chew enough, or if it's just something my stomach can no longer tolerate. It took me some time, but I've gotten that under control. The other issue that I have is that I'm stuck in a huge plateau. I'm not sure what the cause is, but I'm going in for another fill soon, and we'll see what happens from there.

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 week was a little painful. Waking up right after the surgery was a bit of a shock to me. I could get up and go to the bathroom and back the first day with little problems. I was encouraged to walk around as much as I could, so I tried to do a little more than that but it made me sick. I was able to walk around fine the second day. I was discharged from the hospital and taken to my hotel. I slept ALOT in the first few days. Getting up and laying down was uncomfortable, but once gotten up or laying down I was fine. It was just using those abdominal muscles that wasn't good. I quit taking my pain meds after the first week. After that it was just my port site that was a little sore. After about 4 weeks I didn't really feel like I'd had a surgery. The only real anxiety related to the surgery that I have had was before my first fill, and recently during a plateau that I've had. I don't know why I was so scared of my fill. I had all these visions of the initial pain from the surgery returning. I felt so silly when the whole thing was over, it took something less than 5 minutes. As for my plateau, it's been since before my first fill. I think I just haven't found that 'sweet spot' yet. And they say any weight lost before you find that spot is a gift, so in that sense, I'm ahead of 'schedule'. My anxiety and depression when away when I realized that while that scale hasn't gone down even one single pound in 2 months... it hasn't GONE UP one single pound either. I'm not gaining anything. It's a good feeling. So once I get my next fill, I'm sure it will all be 'downhill' from there.

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

This is going to depend on alot of things. First of all, I think that anyone you tell about the surgery needs to be aware that it's not magic. I've heard about a lot of cases where people kept being asked daily how much weight they'd lost, and even been asked things like "are you sure you had that surgery?". Sheesh. In my case, I had done alot of research, and made sure that the people around me were informed. They'd ask how I was doing, but didn't expect too much. The biggest thing for me though was remembering that I'd had a major surgery. The pain after was there, but it was minimal, and went away within the first week mostly. I kept getting ready to do things (usually involving lifting), and my mom (lucky for me) would stop me. Most of this came up because my youngest sister just moved back into my mom's house, and I was going to try and help them move some stuff, but I was thwarted.

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

I went from Southern California (near LAX) to Monterrey MX. I can either fly back to Monterrey for aftercare, or see Dr. Kuri in Tijuana. I'm currently looking for someone closer to me as a matter of convenience, but the drive down to TJ isn't too bad.

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 didn't have much problem in my first few weeks after surgery, when moving from liquid, to mushy, to solids. I had one time when I drank too much tea a couple of days after surgery and it made me a little ill. Other than that I was okay during the 'transition phase'. Tortillas are off limits to me, I just can't keep them down. Hot dogs are the same way. Bread is iffy, toast is usually ok so far. Swiss cheese is bad, but I can eat softer cheeses like provalone. The rules change with each fill. I did not have a problem with tortillas before my first fill. Many bansters have trouble with pasta and rice, but I don't have this trouble yet. I expect I may start experiencing these troubles after my next fill.

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

My activity level hasn't been all that high. I've started walking alot in the last couple of weeks, but I wasn't doing much before that.

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?

The worst side effect at this point is vomiting. Mostly it is a matter of finding what works for me and what doesn't. I've gotten alot better with chewing and taking small bites that my stomach can tolerate. It's just a matter of learning the new ways your body works.

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

Hmmm.... I guess that the pain would be the worst part even thought it wasn't all that bad. It might be the unrealistic expectations. I think that no matter what people read and how much research they do, the bariatric surgeries still feel like a 'magic' thing that is going to make you lose weight. After surgery you definately learn that it's more of a tool than anything else, and you have to work with it to make it work.

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

I am a member of lapbandtalk.com and recently opesityhelp.com. I don't currently attend any live support groups. I think that at least having an online support group is important for those questions that no one thought to ask. Things come up and you want to make sure that they are normal, and if you have people to ask that are helpful, they can tell you if they've had the same issue, or if it's normal, or if you should see your doctor. I think that this keeps you sane, and keeps you from seeing your doctor for something when you don't have to.

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

I was told that I would have 5 or 6 small scars. I have 5, and the longest one is about 2 inches long at my waistline. I couldn't find any pictures of post op scars for the LapBand surgery, so I didn't really know what to expect. In my mind, I thought that I'd be proud of them as my 'skinny scars', but they are bothering me a little more than I'd like. One of them is really almost gone. It's a little purpler than the rest of my skin, but there's one that is still kind of red and I'm just waiting for them to fade. I know with time they will, and at that point they probably wont bug me so much.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I dropped 25 pounds right after surgery, and I've been stuck for 2 months. I think that I just haven't found a good restriction level, plus I've had a decently high stress level in my life recently.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Not really. I think that people might look at me to see if they can tell a difference in my size, but other than that there's not much of a difference.