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

I saw it on TV when I moved back to California and thought maybe this is the answer for me. The least I could do is check into it.

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

I was very fortunate in that my paperwork was processed and I was approved this first time around. My PPO is United Health Care.

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

I am a person who likes to listen to what is being said so I listened very intently and then I read all the information that was provided. I also went to several web-sites to see if this was the procedure for me.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I have Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and weight loss in the conventional fashion was not working and I was watching myself balloon up to 200, 225, 250 and finally 277 lbs I was less then 30 lbs away from 300lbs and I just could not let that happen to me.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I was not sure as to the proceedure until I listened to Dr. Popoola at the orientation.

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 very afraid that I would die and I almost did. I would not reccomend this surgery to anyone who has not first made a very informed decision because there can be complications.

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?

My husband was 100% for what ever my decision was to have or not to have the surgery he felt that the surgery would help with my health as I had progressivly gotten worse in the last 3 years. My son also supported my decision. My daughter supported it with trepidation, and after she found out that I almost died she was sure I should not have had the surgery. But today she supports me she worries when I get sick and she tells me how thin I am getting.

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

Do not bring anything except reading material, they provide you with everything nightgowns, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, soap etc. The nurses on my floor were great they encouraged me constantly. I had a hard time getting up and walking after ARDS but they did not give up in encouraging me. I was in the hospital for 12 days due to ARDS

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

As stated before I develope Acute Respritory Distress Syndrome. I do not recall anything after my surgery except that I had an unusally high fever of 202.8 (I never get fevers) and told the nurse that had to be wrong. The next day my roomie said that there was something definatly wrong with me that I was hallucinating and not doing my breathing treatments that I was taking off my mask (the therapist would leave the room)They took my pulse ox level it was 45, my roomie said that the nurses and doctors rushed into my room and started working on me. All I remember about ICU is that I had very horrible frightening hallucination and that the doctors and nurses were trying to kill me. When my sis-in-law left I thought that was it I was a dead women. My real first lucid memory is 6 days after ARDS the nurse was washing me up and getting me ready to go to x-ray, I remember that she was washing my hair. I lost 6 days of my life in the hospital and I am still traumatized by all that I went through.

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

My recovery was slow, I really did not have any pain that I could not manage I just kicked back and relaxed for walking I just puttsed around the house. When I got tired I listened to my body and went to bed.

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

480+ miles I live in Sacramento and traveled to LA. My drive home was hard but I couldn't afford an airline ticket we took two days to drive home and stopped by my mothers for a break in pace. I no longer see Dr.Popoola due to the fact that his assistant ordered a blood transfussion against my wishes so my after care is just fine with a local doctor.

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.

It was liquid for the first four weeks, and then soft foods, I couldn't keep baby food down so I had to go back to the liquid diet for a few days to rehydrate myself and then around the 6th week I started eating things like soup with crackers, Liversworth, KFC's mashed potatos and gravy, Taco Bells refried beans with sour cream. I could not handle the protien drinks and at 11 weeks post-op I am still trying to find alternatives.

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

very low in the beginning at 11 weeks post-op I can walk 3 miles.

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

Flintstones multivitamins, and now Avon vitamins

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?

11 weeks post-op and I still get sick from nausea and vomiting, I have insomnia, I have expereineced dumping from bread, pasta and chilli. I am just now starting to lose my hair I sure hope it comes back and thicker.

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

How hungry I felt when on ice chip and then the liquid diet.

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

I go to the web site thinnertimes and get support from there. I have not gone to a post-op meeting.

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

It goes from dark pink to purple it took a little while for it to close up as it became a little infected. I use vitamin E oil on it to help soften the scar.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I have not had one yet at 11 weeks.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

No I don't I feel that if people can not accept me for who I am then they are not worth my time of day or the recognition that they exist so I never really paid them any mind.