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

My best friend when I met her was looking into Gastric bypass with Duodenal Switch. I was her support person for 2 yrs. When my doctor suggested (and scheduled) surgery to remove part of one of my toes, I said ENOUGH! I like my toes LOL

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

I had a LAP RNY on 4/6/04. I left the hospital on the 10th. The only reason I didn't leave sooner was because I had a post op fever and we didn't know why. Turned out, I had pneumonia brought on by a cold I had preoperatively. I had no symptoms except the fever. Important to bring..your own toothbrush and toothpaste LOL

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

Post Op Pneumonia first. At 2 wks PO, I developed a stricture which required dilating 3 times. On the 3rd dilation, the gastroenterologist perforated my intestines so I had to go back in for emergency surgery. I spent 10 days recovering from that with TPN feeding me and with a feeding tube placed. 2 wks after that surgery, the feeding tube caused an obstruction and I was back into surgery. I had to have a blood tranfusion because of the frequent surgeries and blood loss. I returned again at 3.5 months out with an Ileus. It's been hard, but even with all of these, the surgery was worth it!

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 felt sore, tired, weak, and on some level depressed. I was mourning the loss of my best friend..FOOD! I did find that the more I got up and moved around, the less pain I had and the better I felt. Now I can do ANYTHING I want..including running up hills I would have needed help to get up before!

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

Take and make time for yourself. You will have a new way of living that takes some time to learn. You will be more tired then you expected and may have some post op complications. The first few weeks are yours..enjoy them. Getting water and your protein in will be impossible at first but hang in there..it will get easier every day.

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

2.5 hours. I did not affect my aftercare. Just meant I had to make a lot of trips back and forth.

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.

At first I could drink sweetened drinks. Then at a month out, I dumped hard on orange juice. Every day my ability to tolerate certain foods changes so this is very hard to answer. What works today could cause me to vomit tomorrow. In the beginning I could not tolerate ANYTHING! Right now, 4 months out, I still can't tolerate ground beef. Jerky ok...ground beef? PAIN!! I put whites on my forbidden list...breads, rice, baked potatoes..all starches and when I have tried to sneak a small amount back in I have always gotten sick! In the beginning, I could only eat about 4-5 bites of food. Anymore then that I would vomit. Now I can eat about 1/2-3/4C of food. I tolerate all vegetables well.

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

LOW! I could put my finger on it, but I just had no energy. I had to fight to get my things done in life. But that is no longer a problem.

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

OneSource Prenatal Vitamin, GNC's B-12 sublinguals, 1200-1800mg of Calcium Citrate/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?

I vomited sooooooo many times it has gotten to be tolerable LOL I don't sleep as much and I have more energy. I began losing my hair at about 3.5 months out, but so far its just lightly falling out. I coped with that by cutting my hair off and reminding myself that it's temporary and worth every follicle! As for nausea and vomiting..I didn't tolerate it well at first which was good! I wouldn't have known I had a stricture had I not called into my surgeon complaining about vomiting so much.

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

The tests! YUCK!! No more gastrographin for this chickadee!

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

I attend monthly meetings my surgeons office holds. Both in San Francisco and in Santa Rosa, Ca. They are very helpful. There are no better people to ask questions to, then the people who are ahead of me with surgery.

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

My scarring is better than I had expected. My surgeon is very careful to make clean cuts and put the skin back together like it was never open. 3 surgeries later and one as recent as 2 months ago, and you can barely see my scars already!

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I hit a whopper of a plateau at about 3 months post op. It lasted all month and then bamm...down I went again!

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Definately. I get more people talking to me, more men flirting with me, and no one stares when I pick up junkfood at the store.