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

I first found out about the surgery through some acquaintances who had bariatric surgery. My intial impressions of the surgery were mixed. I was excited to be taking the step forward to changing my life forever, BUT I was SO nervous about going to sleep the morning of surgery, and never waking up again.

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

My insurance company was wonderful. My surgeons office submitted paperwork to them on Thursday, and on Friday morning I called to see if they had gotten everything that they needed. The nurse said, indeed, that they had, and that I was approved!

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 began with meeting with a nurse, giving my health history, and then checking my vitals. Then I moved on to a seminar, given by my surgeon, with about 30 people in attendence. The seminar was very long and drawn out, a couple of hours at the least. The surgeon was very detailed, and drew pictures so we could actually SEE what he was talking about. He answered everyone questions, and then brought the dietician in. The dietcian spoke for about a half hour. The dietician went into great detail about post op care, and post op diet. Again, Joyce, the dietician, answered everyones questions. Lastly, everyone got to meet with the surgeon one on one to ask any additional questions, and decided what surgery was best for the particular person. Dr. Ikramuddin and I decided that my decision to have the lap RNY, was a good decision for me.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I finally decided to go ahead with the surgery because I was so sick of being fat. I wanted to live to see my son get old! I wanted to feel attractive again! I wanted to be healthy again! Lastly, I wanted to grow old myself!

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

My decision was to have the lap RNY. I decided to have the RNY because of all of the surgeries that were presented to me by my surgeon, the RNY had the potential of losing the most amount of weight, and keeping it off. My surgeon told me with banding, there is a much greater chance of gaining all the weight back. In additional, you will not lose as much weight. I wanted to have my surgery done laproscopically purely due to cosmetic reasons, I didn't want a huge cut down my stomach.

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?

My single greatest fear was going to sleep the morning of my surgery, and never waking up again. For months before my surgery, I questioned myself whether or not I was doing the right thing. I was terrified of not being around to raise my toddler. I knew I had to put those fears out of my head and go ahead with the surgery. I knew that if I could get the weight off, my quality of life would improve immensly, and so would the quality of life for my family.

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?

My mother and father were very supportive. A lot of my friends were apprehensive about me having the RNY, they worried of the complications, they were asking me if I would just get the band done. My husband was also apprehensive about me having the surgery. He was afraid of losing me. He had been through 4 long years of health problems with me over the past years, namely my heart-I have a serious heart problem. He just didn't want to see me do something that was going to do more harm than good.

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

My employer was awful, and the funny coincidence is, that I work for the same hostital in which I had my surgery. You could tell when I told my supervisor that I was going to have the surgery and that I was gong to be out of work for 4-6 weeks, she was not a happy camper. I wasn't going to let my supervisors crappy attitude deter me from having the surgery. I went ahead with my surgery, and I had numerous complications. I was in the hosptial for 3 months. As soon as I hit the 12 weeks that FMLA law says that your job has to be held, they let me go. They claimed that when I was ready to come back to work, they would place me in a job that was comparable to my previous one. That never happened.

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

My hospital stay varied. I was admitted to the telepathy floor after my surgery, for heart obeservation. I stayed on the cardiac care floor for 2 days and then moved to the bariatric floor for 5 days. The cardiac floor was awful, the nurses were rude, and never came when you asked for things, including your meds. The bariatric floor was much better, the nurses were wonderful! You really don't need to bring much, the hospital provides basically everything that you will need, except a brush :) . There are some personally items that you might want to bring, just to make your stay a little more comfortable-some slippers, better hair care products, changes of undergarments, and some magazines, crossword puzzles, and books. Other than that, the hospital provided everything else for me.

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

I had numerous complications following my surgery. I stayed a week in the hospital following my surgery, mainly to watch my heart, as I have heart problems. During that week I was nauseous and dizzy. A week was enough for me though, I was ready to go home. I was discharged for 2 days and came right back in for nausea and vomitting, and chronic diarreah. The origin of my symptoms was unknown-for 3 months. I was unable to keep anything down. I vomitted and heaved so much that I aspirated it back into my lungs and ended up with a very severe case of pneumonia. I was placed on IV antibiotics for months due to the pneumonia. Because I was unable to keep anything down, and I had chronic diarreah, I was SEVERELY dehydrated. I was on continuous IV hydration for three months (the entire time I was in the hospital). I was given and upper GI, and it was found that my ENTIRE pouch was ulcerated. I had to be placed on IV Proton Pump Inhibitors (acid blockers) for 3 months. Even though my surgery was done lap, some of my wounds became infected, and had to be packed with, litterally, FEET AND FEET of gauze for weeks. My veins were so shot from all of the needle pokes, they had to get a PICC line in me, which took 4 hours of digging in both arms to get access-mind you, I was COMPLETELY awake for the entire four hours of digging, and could feel the whole thing. At that point, I was too weak to move. Eventually I had to be placed on feedings by vein, because I was unable to eat or drink ANYTHING. The chronic vomitting, nausea, and diarreah continued. Finally On Feb. 6, my Dr. took me back into surgery, and found that my bowels and stomach were completely twisted, I had a large amount of scar tissue that needed to be taken down, and my gall bladder needed to be removed. When I was finally discharged, I had to be taught how to feed myself by vein and flush my lines. I spent a total of three months in the hospital, and here it is 5 1/2 months later, and I still don't eat.

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

Because of all of my complications, the weeks and months following my surgery were hell. I was knocking on deaths door, I lost my job, and no one could figure out what was wrong with me. To cope, I just talked with my family and my Dr. I prayed! There wasn't much else I could do.

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

My first few weeks home from the hospital were 3 months after my surgery. I was so weak, I couldn't even make it up my stairs to get into the shower. When my husband would help me up the stairs, I couldn't stand long enough to take a shower. I didn't eat, and still don't really eat. I do a lot of protein shakes though. My energy is slowly coming back, and 5 1/2 months after surgery, I have found a job, and am on desk duty.

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

I didn't travel far at all. It takes about a half hour to get to the hospital, so this didn't affect my aftercare at all.

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 was in the hospital on TPN (feedings by vein) for the three months following my surgery. When I was finally taken off, I didn't want to eat. Sometimes I will force myself to eat, but that is only because I know that I have to eat. Food makes me sick, especially anything with ANY fat or sugar content. I prefer to just take my vitamins and drink my protein shakes. I have been, under the watchful eye of my surgeon and dietician, allowed to do this. I would not recommend that anyone else live like this. I am able to eat any kind of food, I just don't want to...For some reason I hate food now.

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

My energy still has not completely returned since surgery, but for 4 months following surgery, I could barely walk on my own. I was unable to climb my stairs to get to my bedroom, I was unable to shower by myself, because I couldn't stand long enough to take a shower. I couldn't even walk for more than a couple of steps before I would have to rest, or even collapse. Now 5 1/2 months after my surgery I am just beginning to be able to take short walks, like walking around the grocery store, or part of a mall. It has been a long road for me.

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

I have to take calcium, a multi vitamin, an iron supplement, vitamin C, zinc lozengers, vitamin B12, and protein shakes. For the 3 months that I was in the hosptial I didn't take any of these, so my B12 is extremely low right now. I am getting it daily to bring it up now. My hemoglobin was extremely low, and so I am on high doses of iron.

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 had chronic nausea, vomitting, and diarreah for approximately 4 months after surgery, which is why I was in the hospital for 3 months. The nausea and vomitting has subsided for the most part, unless I am dumping. I still have chronic diarreah, for which I am on a regimen of loperamide. The origin of the diarreah is still unknown, but we know that it wasn't there before surgery, so we are still working on solving the problem. I dump on anything that has barely any fat or sugar content. And because of my vitamin deficiancy for months after surgery, I am losing my hair. Hopefully with lots of protein, it will stop soon.

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

The worst part of the entire bariatric surgery process for me was all of the complications, and the three months in the hospital. It was stressful on my family as well. My husband missed so many days of work to come to the hospital, and had to care for my son for three months without me. I lost my job because of all of this, and I missed my son horribly.

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

I really don't have any support group that I attend or belong to. I do go on obesityhelp.com daily and post, and chat with others. I don't want to attend a support group right now, because all I hear is about how easy and what a breeze everyones surgery was, and mine wasn't.

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

I have 6 1/2 inch scars on my stomach from my lap RNY, and then 6 additional ones from the second surgery that I had done. I had the second surgery done lap as well. So in all, I have 12 1/2 inch scars on my belly. They are now healed up quite nicely and are beginning to fade.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I plateau for 2 weeks, and then my scale will drop a significant amount of weight-like 10 lbs, and that is how it has been the entire 5/12 months.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

I don't get starred at for being huge anymore, and I get tons of compliments. My husband is always telling me that I look great.