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

I had heard about bariatric surgery for a while, and was prepared to get the surgery in 2002. But, 2001 I was laid off, and had to put it on hold until I was working again. In 2003, I started looking for a surgeon again, after my father offered to help pay for the surgery. The first surgeon I encountered, based in Danbury(forget the name) was not exactly helpful. He would only entertain an appointment after sending him a questionnaire, waiting 3 months(!), etc. Finally, when they got around to calling me back, the deigned to tell me that they could not help me, because I was self-pay. If they had bothered to tell me that over the phone, 3 months before, they could have saved me a lot of time and even more heartache. Frankly, I found the office conduct unprofessional. After that, I met Dr. Ehrlich, which brings us to the next question.

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

Honestly, I don't remember much of the first meeting, except the initial weigh-in, etc. One thing I did notice--the chairs had arms on them. :-( A 450 lb man is not exactly comfortable in an armchair, even a big armchair.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

Reversability was my major concern, which made me lean towards lap-band. If, 30 years from now, I get cancer or some other serious disease, I am going to want to be able to reverse the surgery. That is a lot more difficult with a bypass.

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

I stayed at the hospital about 7 days. I brought some books and stuff, but with the painkillers, it was very difficult to read.

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

The major complication was that the band was too tight. I had a minor fever, but that broke pretty quick. The doc had to go back in to cut a suture so I could start liquids.

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

The first week or so after coming back, I was in some pain(first day back, about 5-7/10). We had a major blizzard the day after I came back, so I had to deal with it, because I couldn't get to the pharmacist.

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.

My biggest food problem since surgery has been that I haven't been able to eat meat or eggs to any degree since I received my second fill. I've been able to compensate by eating foods like cheese and beans, etc. One thing that I've found interesting is that while rice was supposed to be difficult to eat, I've had little problem doing so,(though wild rice does come back on me).

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

This was actually a bit of a problem for me. I wanted to start exercising, but I was prevented from doing so because the sutures needed time to heal.

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

I've been on chewable vitamins mainly. I also take an occasional protein shake(but not the powdered ones--they taste horrible!)

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

The scarring has been minimal. I have one scar, right in the middle of my stomach, that looks just like a zit. Sometimes I forget and try to pop it, which is kind of goofy, I know.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I had a plateau for about two months, where I lost only 10 lbs, after losing 50 lbs initially. I had not had a fill yet(or not much of one, anyway), and I had just switched to daily workouts from every other day. Now I workout twice daily, for about 3.5+ hours of strenuous exercise per day. Since I'm not working, I want to pour as much effort as possible into helping the band do its thing.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

A little bit. However, I am maintaining a prudent pessimism w/ regards to my weight loss. Though I have lost 100 lbs, I've lost 100 lbs before. Allowing myself, at this point in time, a moment to "stop and smell the roses" would be the exactly WRONG thing to do. Right now, I need to push HARD in order to beat what the medical literature says I should reach as a plateau weight--300 lbs, or the end weight after losing 60% of the excess weight, which occurs in 60% of the patients. Extrapolating what my current rate of weight loss is, if I'm lucky, I can expect to "bottom out" at about 210. While I'll be satisfied if I meet what the medical literature says I'll be able to achieve, I'll be ecstatic if I'm able to plateau at 250 lbs.