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

my freind had it but i still had serious doubts of it ever working for me

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

what a nightmare that was the insurance co is into economics cost verses death death wins

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

really scary i thought he was going to turn me down for too many health problems but he just wanted to know that i had a better than 50% chance of waking up

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

i had 9 drs that told me if i didn't loose max lbs fast i may not see my next birthday

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

i left all that up to the surgon to decide

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?

well to be honest the only fear i had was where i was going to spend eternity because i was convinced that i would not survive the procedure but didnt have a real problem with that i had sunken to the bottom as far as the depression scale goes

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?

they were very supportive through the whole thing i can only hope that i will not let them down

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 great he helped me make arrangements to be off work as long as it took i was off for 6 weeks

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

my post op stay was very uncomfortable not due to anyones fault but due to the inscesion and drain tubes sticking out everywhere espically the g tube in my nose i was in paitent for 6 days i can't think of anything special to bring just relly a pair of loose fitting shorts because when they start you walking you don't want everybody to see all your glory haha

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

i developed fat necrosis wich caused an infection they had to open my insecision and i in turn had to pack it 3 times a day with gauze and combine dressing it is 7 weeks post op and me insecision still has not completely closed but it is getting better everyday

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 still have some problems with nausea after eating i still am fighting my compulsive nature

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

i was moving very slow at first couldn't sleep in bed had to sleep sitting up quite a bit of uncomfortable pain but that is to be expected after all they rip your stomach half open

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

i had to go to nashville,tn 200 miles i went every week after sugery for 3 weeks

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 am still having a lot of trouble with any solid foods meats namely chicken,pork,

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

i am now walking 1 mile a day

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

calcium supplements multible vitamins asprin

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?

still having nausea,and had 2 occurances of dumping so far all i am doing is hoping the nausea wii get better

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

The worst part of the whole thing was the nasal g tube that thing was horrible especially when they removed it thatb was the longest 3 sec of my life or so it seemed

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

the oly support i have found so far is this page and the chat room on this page thank you very much i don't really know if anyone will ever read these comments but it really helps just to put them on record and to look back at them every so often

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

my scar is 15 inches long it was quite a challenge to get it heald after sugery because of the fact that they had to open it back up qnd let it heal secondary.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

i am at 9 weeks post op now and have hit a plateau i am have a rael hard time emotionally with it but hope to get over it

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

well i sure do get tired of the old question how much have you lost all the time i feel like saying LOOK I WEIGH ON THURSDAYS NOT MO,TUE WED OR FRI I juess the all mean well but it does get very frustrating it seems like they are almost hoping for a reason to say that it is not working