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

My Primary Dr. mentioned as I have high cholesterol and high uric acid and am prone to kidney stones initially I was for it but worried about my wife and her reaction as she loves to baby me and take care of me and doesn't like when any other woman nurse or not touches me and it involved a hospital stay and many many appointments with specialists but she went to every single appointment with me thus calming her fears as she was very confident in my surgeon and he results with others at the support group meetings!!!

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

My stay involved surgery on March 6th at 12:30 it lasted until after 7:00p.m. due to the fact they had problems passing the intubation tube and the fact that all my weight was in my stomach!!!

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

From surgery NO my Dr. was excellent as was the nuring staff !!!

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

Extremly anxious I just wanted the date to come and do it already so I could start my new life!!!! Actually my wife was the one to help me cope by constantly telling me everything would be o.k. and reassuring me and helping me calm down she was my sole support!!!

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

the first 2 weeks it was a matter of adjusting to be able to eat again as I was on strict medifast 4 weeks preop and the amount of food I had to eat as opposed to pre-medifast no-one can believe the small portions I now eat. I found if I eat to fast or the wrong thing I get extremely nauceous and vomit or get the hiccups and vomit (even worse). So long as I eat slow and chew well etc. I have no problems!

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

About 20 minutes !!

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.

Any sugar, onions, beans etc.

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

My activity level increases as I continue to loose the weight I am now able to play catch with our boys.

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

calcitrate w/ vitamin D & Theragran M

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?

I only have these problems if I eat to fast or the wrong things!

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

The wait and worrying for my wife as she says and to quote her I'm her life and the idea of not knowing how i am and being able to see me caused her mega stress but it's worth it in the end and i would have done it sooner if i could do it again definately with the same surgeon and hospital I highly !!!!!!!!! recommend Dr. Oscar Lirio to anyone looking for a great caring surgeon you can find him and his profile on this site!!!!

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

My dr. has a support group the first monday of every month with all his successes and vital information necessary is given at those meetings!!!! It's very important!!!

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

Relatively small 6 inch incision but no it's not what expected as the Dr. used to use a larger incision previously as showed by a previous patient!!

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Since I've gone back to work people who treated me like garbage before or didn't speak to me at all are now trying to be friends and suck up. As my wife says I know where I stand with them they proved there ignorance when I was heavier by treating me for the person inside not outside as a result I now ignore them as they did to me now they don't like it!!