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

I heard about it when Carny Wilson had her surgery and thought that that might be a possible solution for me. I started reasearching then although it took me 2 years before I would have the surgery.

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

It only took 1 letter to get approval. Then the Insurance wanted the psych eval. I made sure that I sent all of my previous doctor's records of trying to lose weight in with the first letter. I think that all of the documentation that I had really helped.

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

My first meeting with the surgeon was in a seminar. He went through the history of dieting and why this just didn't work for some people and then took questions. He was very open with everyone, even when people asked his mortality rate. After the seminar I spoke to him personally and he answered all the questions that I had that I didn't want to ask in front of the other people.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I decided to have the surgery after I began to have other problems such as Sleep Apnea and Knee joint problems. I knew that I needed to do something or it was just going to get worse.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

During the seminar the doctor explained all of the procedures and told why he only does the RNY Bypass. He has been doing this surgery for 10 or more years so that was enough 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 did have a fear of dying because I have had a blood clot before and I know that a lot of patients that die do so because of a thrown blood clot, however when I saw the surgeon the day before surgery, he looked at my chart and saw that I had had 2 operations since I had the blood clot with no complications and had confidence that I would not have any problems as long as I followed his orders.

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?

All of my family and friends were very supportive. I would not have done anything different.

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

My supervisor was very supportive, he even sent me a book with recipes for people with WLS while I was recovering. I was out of work for 3 weeks.

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 3 days. The hospital stay was not bad. The staff at night was much quicker responding than the staff during the day.

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

No complications from the surgery.

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

Through the 1st and 2nd week after surgery I was really weak after doing small things. Beginning the 3rd week post op my enery level just went through the roof. Since I felt so much better I found myself doing too much and regretting it.

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

I traveled 3 hours to have the surgery. Because of this the Doctor kept me in the hospital just to make sure there were no complications.

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

I am taking VistaVitamins - Capsules. I take them AM and PM.

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 have had nausia and vomiting 3 separate times. Each time I had to have an endoscope because the opening from the stomach and intestines began to close up. The doctor went in and dialated the opening and every thing was great. I have not had any problems since September. I have had hair loss beginning at about 5 months but you can not tell. I have not had any severe dumping. I have tried things with sugar. If I eat too much i just feel sick to my stomach. I try to keep everything under 8 grams of sugar.

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

I have 5 small scars from the lap surgery. I was expecting to have open surgery so I think my scars are minimal.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

At about 3 months I hit a plateau and stayed at the same weight for about 1 month. After that the weight began to come off again and have lost 90lbs in 6 months.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

I have to travel and now when I get on a plane the flight attendants don't ask if I need a seatbelt extender and the other passengers son't mind if I share a seat with them. Before I could see the fear in their eyes hoping I was not going to be their seatmate.