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

I found out about the surgery through the television and my initial response was "Wow, they can do that!". I talked to my primary doctor about it and they suggested I see the surgion and it went from there.

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

My first visit was just fine with the surgeon, he was very nice as I was extremely nervous and made me feel very comfortable.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I think the weight loss that I saw throughout the research and how people seemed to get much more healthy made me make my decision to have the surgery. I want to be healthy again.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

They haven't offered me a decision on procedure yet but I am not sure which one of them I would have. The lap sounds good because of scaring but I heard you have lots of gas with it and I have plenty of that now, and the open sounds better to me just for that reason.

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?

The fears that I have are mainly not waking up or all the sickness afterwards but I look at it like this, at the rate that I am going now I wont make it without getting pretty sick anyway from heart disease or diabetes since they run so wild in my family so I better get a handle on life before it passes me by. I am only in my early twenties but I want to live before I can't.

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 had different opinions from everyone I told about my surgery and I don't regret telling them but I think that I would have waiting on some people. My husband thinks that it is unnecessary because he believes that if I actually ate right and exercised that I would lose it fine but he is learning as he is continually gaining also.

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

My supervisor kind of knew what was going to happen, she had a friend who had it done and she was very nice about it. I just told her that they doctor set a surgery date for me and I would need a few weeks off. They worked it around my vacation and an accumilation of sick days so I could take enough time. We will see how long I actually need though.

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

I entered the hospital the night before as my surgery was supposed to be first thing in the morning. The night before I was pretty scared, they came in and put the IV in my arm and took lots of tests. My husband and mother was pretty sneaky and while the doctor was out, they snuck me in my last chocolate chip cookie and a little thing of milk. I was so happy but scared that I would get caught. Well I didn't get caught but felt so guilty. Well the night went on and they both left. The night was pretty hard to get through, couldn't really sleep as I was pretty worried. Now lots of people say that when you are in the hospital you should bring comfortable clothes but I never once got to wear the clothes that I brought. I was there from Sunday afternoon till Friday night. I had the open procedure done and I have a horrible scar now that is about nine inches long. I would say that the most important thing to bring would be good toilet paper, toiletries like shampoo, conditioner, soap and let me tell you I had to brush me teeth more than ever. OH yeah and don't forget about slippers or they will give you some that aren't very comfortable. I also brought some movies for the tv that was in my room and my gameboy. I don't remember being awake much. I had 36 staples and couldn't move much. I know that the first couple of days I couldn't even move very well because they gave me a epidermal in my spine and it put half of my right side to sleep. It was completely numb. They tried to get me up and they let go but I just fell.

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

Yes, I had a few complications. I had my incision seperate on me while I got pretty sick. Apparently my scense of smell and taste went haywire. I smelled EVERYTHING, I mean EVERYTHING. I could smell whatever was in the trash even if it was in another house. The smell of everything made me sick. I puked around every ten minutes. I did that for about three months. I hurt my insides terribly. I got to the point where I couldn't eat at all, I could bearly drink anything and was loosing weight so fast that I could bearly work, or wear clothes. My surgeon didn't know what to do so he just told me that it was all in my head and pretty much told me to just get over it. I am so glad he isn't a surgeon anymore. He doesn't deserve to be a physician. After a few months of him and not being able to work, I finally saw a doctor that was family recommended and he gave me some medicine that worked to make me stop getting sick. When I was getting sick I was completely dehydrated and had to go into the hospital almost daily to get IV infusions. I had 1-2 liters of fluid put in me a day.

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

Well I answered that in the previous question. I was very sick for the first three months. But I found a good doctor other than my surgeon because my surgeon was a very rude to me.

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

Well I was very sore. I had trouble going to the bathroom on my own, eating, moving, drinking, really anything where I had to move. I couldn't lay straight for a month or so, I had to sleep in a recliner chair.

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

a little over fifty miles from home. My aftercare was a long trip plus riding in a car was very painful as every move or bump was extremely painful.

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.

Well after surgery for the first few months I couldn't hardly eat anything. I did well to get a drink down. I was very dehydrated and the worse that I got the more sick I became. I still have trouble eating beef. It is very hard to eat because it is pretty tough. Other than that, I really don't have any limitations on my food. I eat just about anything that I want. One other thing that I really don't like anymore though would be milk. I never thought that would happen because i used to drink milk by the gallon, daily. But needless to say, I can't stand milk anymore.

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

I had no activity level after surgery. I could bearly get from my chair to the bathroom. It was great if I could get up to walk up stairs to my bedroom.

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

Well mainly I have taken a multipack vitamin from the store and take mostly stool softners as I have had major problems with my intestines/bowels.

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?

Vomiting and dehydration were the worse side effects that I had. I had that for almost three months.

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

The sick part afterwards.

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

I don't have any aftercare or support group. I guess it would be helpful but I don't have that option. I will not go to a meeting that supports my surgeon as I don't like him.

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

My scar is nine inches long from my breast line to my belly button. It is about a 1/4 thick. It is thicker than I expected.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I have had a few plateau's but if you change your routine it usually helps.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

I notice lots of people treating me differently now. I mean people compliment me all the time. I also have those people who tell me that what I did was wrong and God wont forgive me for changing myself. You get it from both sides but you learn to deal with it. You get tired of people calling you skinny or slim. I feel strange when people say stuff to me even when they really mean it as a compliment. It is very hard to take a compliment because I spent so many years large that I never had compliments back then just sarcastic comments.