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

I had a friend of mine that had a good friend of hers have the surgery 3 years ago. When we were talking about being overweight she told me about the surgery and I did a lot of looking on the internet about it.

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

I didn't have that problem since we are military.

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

I was very nervose at my first appt. So i wrote down all my questions so I wouldn't forget. I had done my own reserch on the surgery so I went in with a lot of knowledge and quetions. i felt very prepaired.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I didn't want to wait another 1-5 years to see if maybe I would loose weight or not. I see my kids growing up so fast and I know I'm missing out.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

It was the only one the doctor did. When he told me about the others it made the most sence. Even thought I don't know which one it is from the list, a breif discription is: They made a smaller interence to the stomach, then made a egg sized pouch from the top part and cut away the bottom, then brought up a part of the intestens, that they cut also, up and connected it to the new stomach pouch.

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 was most worried about them trying to do it lap. and then waking up not only with those insicions but the full open one also. Thank God that didn't happen. When the doctor told me about the 1% chance of dying, that was the first time I started to reconsider the whole thing. When i told my 4 kids seperatly about the op. my 8 year olds first question was."Can you die?" I told her that the doctor said there was a 1% chance, but he also said that he didn't forsee anything that would cause that kind of a problem. I overcame those fears when I looked at how poor my body was handling being overweight and that was putting my life at risk. So I would recomend weighting all the different aspects of having the surgery or what it could mean if you don't have it. For many overweight people if they don't loose the weight they will eventualy die from the problems the weight causes.

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?

At first my usband wasn't happy about it. When he found out about the 1% chance of death he said, "I don't want you to do it!" Well i continued to go to my appts. Then when I got my date and told him he freaked. When we talked about it I told him that since he never talked to me about the disicion that he must not have been that serious about it. Then from that point on he was fine. My kids were concerned, but they where so excited about the final out come that they didn't worry. My mom was very worried, she didn't want me to do it at all. But when she knew I was serious we talked alot about it and then she was fine. As far as afterwards, my mom came down on Sat.the day after my surgery and stayed for 8 days, it was great. My husband and kids were all so helpful and supportive.

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

I am a home schooling mom of four from 5-10. So that wasn't an issue.

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

The hospital was a realy good one. All I could eat while there was boilion, jello, and crystal light. I was in for 6 days and by then I felt like if saw another cup of boilion I was going to scream. I didn't feel some depression on about day 4 and 5. I felt like know one knew i was even there. Even though someone of my family would vistit each day it got harder and harder. The nuses I felt were more interested in getting my vitals then how I was doing. And i got so mad at the lab staff when they came in at 6 am (the night I actually got some sleep) though on the milloin watt light and repetedly tried to draw blood. I did have one nurse that when she came in she actually sat down and asked me how I was doing.

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

The only real problem was the one infection on the 8th 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?

My first date for surgery was 6/12 a wed. On the fri. before I started running a fever of 102.5. Neddless to say I was totally sick for a week and my date got postponed to 6/28. I think the stress is what got me sick. I with that I would have gotten something to relax me before the first date. I did for the second one, but the night before I couldn't take it and I only slept for 30 min.

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

While in the hospital. I was talking to my dad and telling him how I was worried about not having a recliner when I got home, because I sleep more comfortable sitting up in the hospital bed then laying flat. So out of the blue he bought me a recliner. I can't emagine how I would have slept if I didn't have one. We also put it in my bedroom so i could rest and not have a lot of noise.

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

We only lived about 25 min from the hospital. The only problem was when the infectionset in I had to go there everyday to have them repack it with a new dressing each day, untill I felt my husband could do it at home. I waited untill I wasn't crying any more from what they were doing.

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.

Since I'm only 7 weeks out, I still am learning. I'v found that heavy foods such as noodles, chicken, shrimp and breads are not good things to eat right now. I just found out that I should try tortilla chips and salsa, so I'm going to try that. I also found that a child hood favorite snack of mine went down great the other day, one taco shell with 3 peices of Delux American Cheese on it. I also tried the cheese with melba toast. I'm also going to try it with tuna salad. Fish, tune, and shreeded bar-b-q chicken go down great, so do bar-b-q potatoe chips. The only thing i've been able to drink is crystal light and there's only one flavor I like and I'm getting tired of it.

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

At 7 weeks I am still tired a lot. I get tired easy. But I'm going to start walking for 15 min.

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

The only vitamins I've been taking are 2 chewable Flentstones. But I'm going to check with my doc and make sure that's enough.

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 only i've had problems with so far is a sharp pain down my esophagus and in my stomach. It takes any where from 20-60 min to go away and it's happened 3 times. Sometimes i get that, I need to unbutton my pants on Thanksgiving, feeling. But it hurts.

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

When I woke up in the ICU, it felt like my ribs where broken. It was because when they do it lap. they fill your belly up with gas so they can see everything fine. And untill it dissipates it hurts a whole lot. It took about 7 hours to totally go away. I asked my husband to read to me from his mag. and even though I don't know what he read it helpped to take my mind of the pain.

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

I had gone to one support group meeting and got to know 2 people by phone from the group and they have been great help and support to me. I also have a friend of a freind who had the surgery and she has been a great support also. I do think that the groups are a great place to get plugged into.

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

I have 6 1 inch scars in a circle around my belly. One had external stiches by my belly button, but they all look pretty good.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I haven't as of yet. Now that's it's been 6 months the weight loss hass slowed down to about 2-2 1/2 lbs. a week. That scared me at first. I had to go into the Dr. to check my weight to make sure something wasn't wrong.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Not yet. Now that it's been 6 months I dont't know if it's that other people treat me different or that I feel better about myself. I have always been one to look people in the face when I talk to them and to smile. I never had anyone come out and say anything mean to me. So I think it's a combination of everything.