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

i saw comercialand i called braritric treatment center and they said i was'nt fat enough then i heard about lite life in indiana and then i drove there for four hours in the car, each time i had to go there i was that desperate

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

not a problem but i had to work double shifts to make the 1000. copay i wanted it that bad

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

he was wonderful but that was only the begining i got very sick and had to keep driving to indianopolis for appointments and they kept telling me it would get better in time i fianlly could not afford to keep driving that far ........

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

i knew before my first appointment that i couldnt go on this way

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

vbg

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?

yes all of the above

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?

they all though i was crazy to do such a thing

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

na

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

that was fine but i did not like the tube in my nose other wise it was real hard to wake up and i kept having sleep apnia which was mostly me being parinoid thinking i was stopping breathing but i was'nt

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

no that happened about 4 to 6 month into it

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 weight fell off and every thing was great for a while

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

before i left the hopital i lost 18 pounds so when i arrived home everyone was shocked it was great

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

yes about four hours and after a while i had to stop going back and when i got in trouble i had to seek help in hudson michigan the place that first turnned me away and after 7 months of vomiting i had to have an emergency reversal wi th a different doctor and that was scary to have to trust another 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.

mostly yogert cottage cheese ice cream mashed potatos any thing soft was fine meat did not work at all

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

that was all fine until i got sick then i fainted alot and threw up about 6 times a day

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

i took adult chewables from kroger beacuse i couldnt seem to get pills to digest

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?

about 7 months and it was horrible my body went into subliminal eating while i was asleep i would get food because i was starving to death

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

having to get it reversed and gain all the weight back and then some

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

none they mostly just want me to spend money or but there expencive package foods

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

very ugly and streched out

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

i am not loosing weight any more only gaining and gaining like a fraight train

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

i have people comment on how good i look since ive lost weight i think it is very annoying that no one can see me! i did not loose weight only gained so they are just trying to be nice , i find it an insult