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

A friend and his wife had the surgery with success. I obtained the surgeon's name from them and went from there.

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

I had no problem getting approval. Ins approved my the same day!

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

My first meeting with Dr Aranow was great. He's very personable and completly in the know about what he does. He's exudes confidence because he's earned it. He does 300 plus bypass surgeries a year! Go into this meeting having done your homework about this surgery and a list of questions that you may have.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I had reached 330 pounds and couldn't breathe and I felt like I was having a stroke one night. After that scare, I knew I had to do something.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

As per Dr Aranow's recommendations on my weight, co-morbidities and overall success rates, we both came to the conclusion that "open RNY" was the best for me.

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 really scared. I had a bad experience with anesthesia and surgeon with female surgery and they scared me about ever having surgery again. I brought this issue up to Dr Aranow and the anesthesiologist and they calmed all of my fears.

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?

Every person that I told about having this surgery was completly supportive and in favor of my having it. I really didn't face anyone that had negative responses to me at all. They were still as supportive after surgery than as before.

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

N/A

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

I was in the hospital for 4 days, 3 nights. My overall hospital stay was a pleasant one. I didn't have any "bad" nurses or techs and didn't face any long "waiting times" after I called for medication.

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

Nausea. I was nauseaus for one entire day after surgery and it was tough. After removal of morphine and addition of another pain med and addition of anti-nausea meds, I was ok.

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

I was excited and very nervous all at the same time. I actually wrote little notes to my husband and two small children telling them how much I loved them and left them for them when I left for the hosptial. They were "general" in tone, so they could read them if I had died or not. I was very scared that I would be that stastic of not making it through this surgery.

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

I spent the first two and a half weeks sleeping on the recliner. I couldn't sleep flat in the bed it hurt and pulled too much. Pain was minimal. My dear husband took two weeks off to care for me and the children and it was WONDERFUL. I could just lay back and rest and recover and he took over with the kid's care, getting them ready for school, their lunches, meals, etc. Energy levels increased on a daily basis, but if I did too much on one day, I paid/pay for it the next day by being very tired and weak. Emotions run a gammut from happy, sad, confused, frustrated, depressed, down, up, you name it. Our bodies have just been through a major surgery, anesthesia and recovery, plus a detox of toxins that were in our bodies due to the old food eating and our hormones are messed up. It's a lot to handle all at once, but if you're stong, you can handle it and it does pass.

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

One hour ride by car. To another state. I sought out the best surgeon for this surgery and for this aftercare. It's been ok so far. Not that bad of a ride. I have not been able to get to the weekly support meetings yet because of weakness and tiredness still at only one month out.

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.

Home from the hospital and for two weeks: Liquid diet only. Protein shakes, milk, soups, pudding, sugar free popsicles, sugar free juices, water. At two weeks out: Puree stage. pureed tuna, shrimp, salmon, meats, fat free refried beans, cottage cheese, poached eggs, No starchy, veggie or fruits during this stage. At one month out: Back on regular diet, but to do it slowly as to not stretch the pouch with too heavy of foods. Back on full diet. All foods. I had no problems with any of the stages, but did grow weary of them towards the last days of each stage. It is do-able though.

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

Started to walk short distances right at the hospital. Walked more and more each day. Once home, started to walk on treadmill about half a mile daily and either walked outside or inside and increased up to one mile daily. Still get tired at the end of the first mile, so I'm still at this stage. One month out.

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

Multivitamin and B12 have to be started immediately when you come home. Calcium starts at week 6 post op.

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?

Just the nausea at the hospital. Once in a while if I drink too quickly, I feel like it may come back up, but if I stand up, it's ok. No hair loss as of one month out. Getting in all of my protein to help prevent that. Sleep was tough at first so I was in the recliner. It got better at week 3 when I was able to finally sleep on my stomach again. My back is sore from the over compensation of trying to protect my sore belly. I took Tylenol Rapid Release caps for pain once in a while. I can cope just fine with this.

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

The waiting for a surgery date after I had all of my appointments done! It seemed like an eternity, but it was only a couple of weeks! The nausea due to anesthesia was bad too. Overall, it was a great process. I haven't felt at all discouraged.

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

A weekly support group meeting at the hospital where I had my surgery. This is a very helpful tool as there are a lot of people that attend that are at various stages of their weight loss.

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

My scar is great! Thin, and only 4 inches long. My surgeon sutures it from underneath and uses steri-strips to close it up. It's in my opinion, not going to be an issue for me.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

At week 3 I had a plateau because my body was trying to figure out if I was starving it or not. I upped my exercise to get my metabolic rate up and it figured out that it was ok and I lost 8 pounds in one week. 28 pounds in the first month.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

YES; people are saying I look great already and people that were stand-off-ish are more friendly. Go figure.