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

A friend of mine.. his sister had it done. I was so amazed at how healthy and happy she looked after having WLS. I wanted to be healthy and happy too.

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

I had to wait four months to get an answer I called a lot to see what was going on so I think that might have helped move things along.

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

When I first met him he came in explained the risks and the fact that you can die this is so with an surgery. He put me on a scale and talked about that said I was a good canadate. I had no questions becasue I had asked them all online so it was quick.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I am so tired of missing out on life and tired of disappointing my kids because I am always too tired or my back hurts too much. Sick of getting out of breath to just tie my shoes or even just to put my pants on.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

He only does open so there was no choice

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?

I fear leaving my kids I dont want them to grow up with out a mother. I pray I come out of surgery with NO complications so I can live and have a happier HEALTHY life WITH my kids. I know that if I dont have it I will probally be dead of a heart attack with in the next year. ALl I can tell others is trust in GOD that he will be there and protect us in our time of need

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 kind of shocked and said things like you just need will power put the fork down and you wont have a problem. Then later they said if this is what you want then ok.

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

I told them the truth. HE said well hell you will be back to work in a week I know someone who had it done and it was in and out and they were back to work in a few days. I was like ok not every one is that lucky. He said well ofcourse you cant lift anything but you will be back in a week. I have not had WLS yet but will be next month. My job is nothing but lifting heavy boxes all day. I will update this part later :-)

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

I was in George Washington Universty Hospital for 4 days. It was ok everyone was very nice and came in to check on me alot. My BP went really low because of the morphine so Iwas taken off of that. I was not up and walking like everyone else was that night or the next day because of it. They let my Husband stay all four nights in my room with me so that was a big plus to me. I had a private room. All of there rooms are private they have a wing set up just for WLS.

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

No complications form the surgery just from the morphine made my BP drop really low. I could not keep my eyes open all I could do was sleep. That was for the first two days. On the 3rd day I was up and walking and even took a shower had to sit down to do it though and my hubby had to help.

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

Well my insion did not want to heal. I got upset about that it kept getting bigger and bigger So I kept cleaning it and putting nesoporion on it and taped it close and it healed after I did that. I had a hard time getting all the fluids in but I would just do the best I could and it got better:-)

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

They should expect for you to be tired and in pain. I was so so tired and it hurt so much to go from my couch to the bathroom it was so hard to do. I would walk around the house alot because I was scared of getting a blood clot. But after walking for ten min I was so tired and had to take a nap. They should know you will have a hard time getting in your fluids and to be nice and help you and not get upset at it but try to be understanding and be there for you.

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

I live in St.Marys County and went to DC so it was about a 2 hour drive to get there. I drove to PG county and took the METRO to DC and After I got out of the hospital I took the METRO back Now that was exciting and it had snowed the 4 days I was in the hospital at that!!! It does not really affect my aftercare if I have a problem I call the office and talk to someone or I just go to DC and see them ...no big.

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 have not really had any major problems I could not eat very much after surgery I would eat two teaspoons of cottage cheese and could be full. Now I can eat half of a 6in sub and be full so it changes as you go on. One day I can eat half a sub the next I can only eat maybe two bites and be full so everyday is differnt and I just go with the flow. I can go an entire day and not ever fell hungery. Before surgery I would fell hungery 24/7 even after eating I would still feel hungery. Now that is not a problem I just make sure I eat something at leat 3 times a day and drink lots of fluids and everything is great.

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

I still have days where I feel so so tired even after just waking up then some days I just go to town and work hard at work then come home and start cleaning. Before I was tired all the time and would just come home and want to go to sleep. SO it is better than before cut I am still healing and I get really tired some days but I know it will get better as time goes on.

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

I take iron pills Childerns chewable vit. 2 tums for calcium pills to prevent stones

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 felt nausia for the first 2 weeks after surgery and I could not lay on my side for about a month and that made it hard for me to sleep I had to sleep on the couch on my back with pillows proping me up to half sitting.

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

Nothing really It went better than I thought. The only thing was my insion opening up like it did and I had to tape it shut so it would close up and heal

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

I have a support group at my docs office. We can discuss any thing we want and a Physicsrist(spelling?) is at every group to talk to everyone. I think it is helpful

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

I thought it would have been smaller. It would have looked alot better had it not come open on me. It is wider than it should be becasue of that

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

No plateaus yet I thought I would have lost weight faster but that is ok that I am not That way I wont have as much problem. I will go some weeks with out losing then the next week I will drop 4 lbs I think it has a lot to do with getting the fluids in.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

A little not much I get some comments like oh just because your getting skinnny now.... stuff like that but it is more like joking around kind of things.