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

heard about carnie wilson on entertainment tonight then found out 2 people i work with had bariatric surgery and lost a lot of weitht. was very excited about the possibility of having the surgery done.

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

no problems with insurance approval. the doctor's office took care of everything and my surgery was approved within 3 days.

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

write down questions before you go - do research in advance.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

couldn't stand my life as a 400+ lb woman

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?

all were great!!

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

no problems with employer. was out for 11 weeks.

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

was in icu for one day, regular room for 3 days.

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?

mentally it was tough not eating. couldn't watch food commercials on tv. cried because i couldn't eat, not that i was physically hungry. my husband helped me tremendously.

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

i was painful for the first two weeks or so then it got a lot better. it was hard only eating one ounce of pureed food 4-6 times a day. mental desire to eat was still there. had a lot of nausea and churning of the stomach. felt really ill for the first month or two

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

not far - maybe 10 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.

no food in hospital first 3 days, nothing to drink even until day 3. only pureed food for 3-4 weeks when i went home. mostly ate scrambled eggs and apple sauce. tried pureed sausage parmician and cheese steak - worked pretty well. sugar is off limits for the most part - i occasionaly eat a little but usually get diarhea from it.

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

take one-a-day for women, it has 150% daily iron requirement. also take extra calcium.

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 general nausea and stomach churning was rough the first month or so. i still have some churning and gurgling problems now and agiain (18 mths post op) and some days when i eat i feel nauseous but rarely.

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

very painful the first few days. the nausea for the first month was bad.

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

about 12 inches long, 1/2 inch wide. it's what i expected.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

definetly - many people talk to me now that would never have given me the time of day before. everyone knows me all of a sudden at work - many compliments from people i don't even know.