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

I first found out about bariatric surgery several years ago when a friend of mine had the surgery. She lost an amazing amount of weight.

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

Insurance approval with Cigna HMO was amazingly easy. They require that you have at least 3 supervised weight loss programs with regular weigh-ins, at least one in the last year. Most of us meet that!! You must have a BMI of 40.0 or 35.0 if you have comorbidities.

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

My first visit with the surgeon went very quickly. He impressed upon me the importance of doing exercise the 30 days preceding surgery to strengthen the lungs. He emphasized all of the possible complications, letting me know that NO ONE PLANS on having complications so we should all be prepared for them. Ask LOTS of questions!!

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

Inability to keep weight off. Going through the "yo-yo" syndrome is really detrimental to my health!

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

My endocrinologist recommended the RNY LAP surgery due to quicker healing time. You must be under 300 pounds to have the LAP procedure.

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 really don't even have a thought about dying from surgery. If there are any complications, I will deal with them. Complications certainly can't be any worse than what I have put my body through during the past 15 years!

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 this point, only my parents and my husband and boss know. My husband has been very supportive since the first time I mentioned it. My parents are also supportive, but have many questions - which is normal!

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

My supervisor is VERY supportive. He said not to even worry about the time off. He would take care of my duties until I returned. I sent him the following e-mail: My doctors have recommended that I have Gastric Bypass surgery and Cigna has approved it. I had NO idea they would approve it so quickly, but it only took them two weeks to make the decision. This surgery is a pretty major procedure - especially for someone who is diabetic with high blood pressure, etc. They have told me to allow a full 5-6 weeks for recovery before returning to work, although I could possibly be back in as little as 4 weeks. This surgery will allow me to do better and live longer with fewer complications. They said if open heart surgery is a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10, then this surgery is an 8. (scary - I have never had surgery before) They are wanting to schedule the surgery at the end of January. (at the Zale Lipshy hospital) Would that date be alright, or is there a more convenient date? I know that there is never going to be a convenient time, but I would like to cause the least amount of upheaval as possible. I have not told anyone other than my husband and you at this point. (not even my parents!) After the date is official, I will let my employees know. I just wanted to give you the opportunity to have some input into the date. Please let me know if the end of January is good -- or give me a call today when you have a few minutes and I will come up and talk to you about it.

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

My stay in the hospital was fairly pleasant. I was at Zale Lipshy hospital and the entire staff was just great. My surgery was Thursday morning and I left on Sunday. The most important things to bring - toothbrush & toothpaste, comb, gown, socks ----patience *grin*

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

I had no complications.

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

Coping with the anxiety was hard. I had a hard time sleeping at night. I got my Will up to date - just in case. I used Tylenol PM's to help me sleep.

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

I am only in my first week after surgery. It is pretty difficult to get up and down. Laying in a bed is VERY uncomfortable. I am sleeping in the recliner. "Wiping" was very difficult for the first couple of days. Luckily, my Mom and Hubby were willing to aid me. It got easier each day and from day 4, I have been able to do it myself. I tire pretty easily still.

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

I traveled about 40 miles for my surgery. It has not affected my aftercare.

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.

Week 1 - the only thing I have noticed being sensitive to is milk. I had a protein shake made with milk and "dumped". The same thing happened when I had mashed potatoes thinned with milk. So, now I am eating things thinned with water. I have heard from other post-ops that a lot of times the dairy sensitivity only lasts a month or two. I hope so! After a few weeks, I found that I could eat crackers. I would eat Club Crackers or Goldfish crackers. I could also eat Graham Crackers and vanilla wafers at this point. I ate a lot of cheese because I could not tolerate ANY meat. I could eat peanut butter though. I also tolerated refried beans with melted cheese pretty well. It wasn't until I was 2 or 3 months post op that I could tolerate ANY type of meat. I couldn't even eat tuna or canned chicken. It was pretty touch and go. Then all of a sudden I found that I could eat things. I would try it and if it didn't work, I would just try it again a few weeks later. 7 Months - I can eat almost anything now. A slice of pizza, a slice of toast, a buttered roll, chicken, fish, and unfortunately even candy. I am not a dumper I have found out. I can now tolerate milk and ice cream also. I still have a tougher time with beef though. If I eat the ground beef, when you have to chew it up to the degree that we have to, I find myself spitting out pieces of grissle that a normal person would not even NOTICE when they ate it. It is just too big of a hassle. So if I eat beef at all, I eat a lean steak. But, of course, I am only eating 3-4 bites! I have TONS of leftovers. My dogs LOVE me now!

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

After surgery, I walked faithfully every day for five weeks. Now, unfortunately I am not exercising. I have lost 89 pounds over the last 7 months! And I am still continuing to lose. Yeah!!

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

Week 1 - I am taking two Tums with calcium per day, two Flintstones with Iron vitamins per day, and trying to drink two protein shakes per day. 7 Months post op - I am taking 2 biotin pills, 1 B12 pill, two One a Day chewable children's vitamins, and 1 gall bladder pill per day.

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?

Week 1 - I have only experienced dumping and it was not bad at all. Just a bright yellow diahrria-type stool. When I began trying to eat normal foods again after several weeks, I did a LOT of vomiting. It was very hard to realize when you are full. It only takes 3 or 4 bites, seriously! After a couple of months, I began using an egg timer so that I was waiting 3 minutes between bites. That helped TREMENDOUSLY!!! I rarely had vomiting episodes after that. About 4 or 5 months after surgery, I began to lose my hair. There was just hair all in the bathtub and all over the bathroom floor where I brushed my hair. I was advised by another lady that had the surgery to begin using biotin shampoo and taking biotin by mouth. I am happy to say that my hair is coming back in and looking full again. The biotin shampoo is CHEAP at drugstore.com (It is very expensive at Sally Beauty supply!)

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

The worst part about the whole procedure was the NG tube. (the tube that runs from your nose all the way down to your stomach) I HATED that thing! I could not swallow or talk until they took that thing out! Since you are not allowed to have ANYTHING to drink for the first 24 hours - until after the barium swallow test - my saliva was SO thick I would gag and then throw up. This was FUN with that nasty tube in your throat. When they removed it, the comfort was immediate!

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

The DALLASITES website was a tremendous help to me. It is an e-mail group on Yahoogroups.com for people in the Dallas area considering surgery or having surgery. I could ask them ANY questions that came up and get an immediate response. It was my lifeline. Dr. Jones also has a monthly meeting on the fourth Tuesday of the month. I don't go to it very often because it is so far for me to drive and I have to take off work early to get there on time.

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

It is very good now. It looked pretty scary right after surgery! ha! But once they took the staples out, it has healed very nice. I had the LAP procedure and it is 5 inch-long cuts - all above the navel. They are a light purple color now. (7 months post op)

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I really didn't have any plateaus to speak of. There were maybe two or three individual weeks where I did not lose any weight, but then I would lose a LOT the next week.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Yes. A lot more people are looking at me and opening the doors for me. It is a shame that people treat you differently just because of your weight, but it is the honest truth!