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

I have known about this for years. Wanted to do this years ago. I think it is great.

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

Hang in there. I had absolutely no trouble getting approved. My physicians office did everything.

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

Find out everything you can about this surgery before you go to your first meeting. This way you are familiar with the procedure and can ask questions you don't understand. Dr. Terry took a very long time with me. He was very compasionate, caring and seemed he cared about me as a person who had an illness not just fat.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

There was no question. If my insurance approved it. I definately was going to have it.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

Dr. Terry decided this.

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 had no fears. I read everything I could find on the subject. Went to support meetings asked questions, listened to what people had to say. Got on this chat line and asked. This surgery is not for everyone. You have to be ready to make drastic changes in your life. Surgery alone will not do that.

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?

I would not change a thing. Family and friends were wonderful. I have a brother i haven't seen since Christmas, he knows I had it done through his daughter but they have not seen me. They will be shocked. My friends have been wonderful. I get to choose the restruant, can't hardly eat at the fast food places. They understand why.

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

I missed 5 weeks. They were supportive, wanted to make sure this is what I wanted to do.

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

I was there 5 days. They put me in a big air bed. I hated it, day after surgery told them I wanted a regular bed. They gave me morophine and it made me deathly sick. When I begged them to stop that the day after surgery I got better. They took my cathader out day after surgery had to put it back in that night, could not go to the bathroom. Had wonderful care, the docs were wonderful. I guess the most important things to me to take were a picture of my husband and son. That helped when I was trying to go to sleep. The other thing is I went to town before and bought me some wonderful smelling body wash, this way I took a shower before hand and smelled good and then when the nursing assistants came to wash you off you smelled good. That made me feel good. I took books, stitchery but I never did it. I could not get interested in it.

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

None

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 had no anxiety. Even after I had a surgery date I did not tell my boss until I knew my surgery was approved. On the count down from Feb 1 to Feb 17, I tried to eat at all the places that tasted so good and would be a long time beofre I ate there again. My birthday is in Feb. So this was my present. When Dr. Terry went to get a date I told him my birhtday was in Feb could we have it as close to that date as possible. It was the most wonderful birthday present I could ever receive.

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

Sleep alot. Bad taste in your mouth. Kind of swollen. Had very little pain, felt some discomfort in the first couple of weeks. Took me about 6 weeks to get back on my feet. Only trouble I had was bladder trouble. It felt like I had a bladder infection. Had to put me in hospital with cathader and run lots of fluids to get it to work and put me on a medication.

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

5 miles.

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.

I can't eat carrots, they tear my stomach up. Things still taste like cardboard. Sometimes I can eat something go back to eat it again and can't. I have no appetite. I do once in a while have a couple sips of soda (I still miss this very much), couple bites of sweets. I can pretty much eat anything I want. I have had a couple of things that made me nauseas but have only thrown up 1 time in 5 months.

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

I went very slow the first couple of weeks. But gradually increased. I didn't start my excercising until about 6 weeks. My iron level was down.

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

Daily vitamins, calcium, B12 shot every other month.

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?

The nausia, vomiting lasted until they took me off mOrophine. Har loss started at 4 months and I still have it. The hair loss has really bothered me. It has taken the shine away and what fullness I had. It is dull and the last perm I got did not take.

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

None!!!

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

Salmon Group Support Group and the WLS Chat Line. This support group is a wonderful thing.

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

It goes from my boobs to my belly button. My son calls it a zipper. That was the first thing he wanted to see when I was a wake.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

My most worisome plateau was when I was 4 pounds shy of the 200 pound mark. I tried everything. I got on the chat line and was told to strickly eat protein within a few days that 5 pounds was gone. :o)

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

People are shocked who haven't seen me. Treating me differently no. Now my husband before surgery never showed me any attention, none. Now that I have lost all of this weight he shows me alot but it is very hard for me to accept it. He always said he would love me and show it no matter what and then he didn't do that.