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

on tv about 12 years ago.. was about to go and have the surgery and about the time i was going to be going into the hospital the doctor had his license pulled.. that scared me.. and then in 2000.. my sister said, life is to short have this surgery and start to live.. and thank God she encourgaged me..

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

My stay at Stevens Hospital was great.. They had a bed that was for my size, ( the only bad part was no one knew how to operate the bed.. it was to new) the nurses were great.. I got depressed and they sent in a Social worker to talk.. which was good. i have gone back to show them my weight loss.. everyone was excited for me. Bring a fan.. your not going to want to read.. i thought i would.. socks with the strips.. and something to wipe yourself.. if you to do it yourself.. to painful.. but the nurses were great in that area of help.

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

no complications.. i did have thrush which made my life hell for the first 3 weeks.. it made me sick to my stomach.. only needed to go back to hospital once to get fluieds back in... because of not being able to drink because of the thrush..

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

After i got home i had thrush, and that was the only hard thing to deal with for about 3 weeks.. trying to find food to blenderiz was hard.. nothing sounded good.. pudding was a life saver.. chile was great.. mashed potatos were also good.. but when i started eating real food, was hard because even the child's food size was to much, and my head thinking was.. dang.. i want to whole thing, but my stomach was fine.. it was the head thinking.. and sad.. very sad.. so on to counseling..

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

I have my whole church that is a great support, and also i go once a month to a support group that most of them have the same doctor as me. This support group that i go to once a month has helped me greatly.. there are people there who have been there, done that, and lived to talk about it.. some who have not had the surgery and are looking, and then just talking about what can be helpful.. what to stay away from, and just to talk.. talking helps alot.. knowing that someone has been there where your at.. your not alone...

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

my scar was small... I was very supprized.. i am happy with it.. when i looked at it in the hospital.. the only thing i was thinking was,, "oh my God, i really did this..", I can not believe i did this to myself.., no turning back.. and sometimes i still think those things.. maybe i do that because i had researced this for so long and thoguht i never would end up doing this really.. just thinking about it and never doing anything about it.. just dreaming it..

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

have not had those plateaus yet... not looking forward to those times either..

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

not yet... but i am finding i am treating myself differently.. looking up more when i am walking, shopping.. smiling more.. just to smile..