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

I don't recall how I first heard about gastric bypass, but I found a web page by a girl who had the lap band surgery done in Europe and I was hooked. I had no interest in bypass, but the lap band was immediately appealing.

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

My insurance did not cover it at all. So I had to pay myself.

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

It was a large, long meeting where they went through the risks of obesity in detail (as if I didn't already know), and then spent a lot of time on the risks of bypass surgery. I attended because it was required, but much of the information there was either not relevant to me, or I already knew. Now that I am 6 months post-op, I realized that the session left out the most important thing - how living with this surgery will really change your life. They need to spend more time on that subject.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I had decided all along to do it. I got around to it when I figured I could afford it, and when I realized how close to 40 I really was.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I never wanted the bypass. To me, it always seemed frankenstein-ish, rearranging body parts. It was too drastic, too permanent. The lap-band was simpler, cheaper, less drastic, reversible, and adjustable. The long-term effectiveness was comparable to bypass. I was only about 120 pounds overweight. I did not think my weight justified such severe surgery as bypass.

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 really had no fears like that. I also was not afraid of flying after 9/11. I just don't worry about things that are so statistically unlikely. I was more afraid that the procedure would not work for me.

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?

My family and friends have been very supportive. They have witnessed my battle all my life and they know that I did my research before doing this. Even my office has been encouraging and they have only known me a couple of years.

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

My office was great. I did not tell everyone, but it is a small office and word gets around. I spoke with the partners I work with, to let them know why I was taking time off. I expected to be out of work just a couple of days, but they knew better. I was out about 2 weeks. Surgery on a Wednesday, home on Thursday, dehydrated and back in the hospital on Sunday, home on Monday, tried to go to work on Friday but only made it a half day, then a holiday weekend and back to work on Tuesday. I was like the walking dead for about 3 weeks, and everyone was so helpful, carrying things, fetching water for me, trying to convince me to go home early. Now, as I pass scale milestones, everyone tells me how great I look and is very supportive.

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

My stay was only 24 hours. I really didn't need to bring much. My mother was there the whole time to keep me busy.

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

My complications were caused by me not drinking enough and getting dehydrated. I had no surgical complications.

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 didn't have much anxiety. But I came to hate my kitchen timer always buzzing to tell me to drink another ounce of fluids. I hated that part. I was also on liquids for 3 weeks, and struggled with that quite a bit. I was weak, taking in only about 500-600 calories a day, even after I went back to work. I lost 20 pounds in 20 days, which is a bit too much for the lap band.

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

Of course, I was sore. I hated having to drink all the time, but not being able to drink more than an ounce. I was up and about, even shopping, within a few days, but had little energy. Bending was hard, so getting in and out of the car was sometimes painful. I caught up on my reading, my crossword puzzles, and movies. And looked forward to finally moving on to pureed foods one day!

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

This is not an issue. I live in Houston, home of the best medical care in the country. Plus, we have almost as many hospitals as we have churches down here. My doctor's office for aftercare is actually closer to my home than the hospital was, but since I go there from work, which is downtown, everything is pretty convenient.

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 never found a chewable or liquid vitamin that I could tolerate so I simply skipped them. I don't like yogurt so I don't eat it. The full liquids and pureed diet is prescribed by my doctor, so I had few choices there. There's no point in going over that phase, since everyone's doctor will have their own rules. Since moving to maintenance, however, I have had many food issues. Here are the major ones: 1. No breads, no pizza crust, no soft tortillas, no pitas, no biscuits, no rolls. Bread dough swells up immediately in me, and I start vomiting. I simply gave them all up. I've heard that other people also have trouble with pasta and rice. I can manage pasta but don't eat it much since it has no protein. I skip rice, better safe than sorry. 2. No jelly beans. This was a recent lesson. Eating too many created a sludge that didn't digest and I ended up in the hospital because of dehydration when I couldn't get even water down. 3. I tried a protein bar, can't recall the name, which had large chunks of soy and chocolate chips. I was blocked for 24 hours after that one. We don't know if it was the large soy chunks or the chips. My nurse says either one of them could have sat in my stomach, not being digested, and blocking everything else. 4. Cheap cuts of meat don't work. So I gave up cheap Chinese food since their meat is often tough. Also cheap lunch meats don't work, but thinly sliced, quality ham or turkey is great. 5. Chicken gives me trouble. I have to be careful to chew well, and slowly. It cannot be dried, so usually I cannot reheat chicken because it dries out too much. Those are the main "problem" foods I have encountered. But as a way of eating more healthily, I also avoid all breaded foods, high-fat cream sauces (like with Italian food), and fried foods. What's left? Sometimes I think there's not much left, and there certainly is not much in the way of fast foods or convenience foods. But here's a snapshot of what I do eat now, and I am trying to expand my food range: cold cuts, any kind of baked or broiled meat, almost any kind of fish except fried, Healthy Choice dinners, tuna fish (the new flavored ones are really good), cheese, cheese, glorious cheese!, saltine crackers (I don't know why they don't hurt like bread does), Peter Pan whipped creamy peanut butter, beef jerky, applesauce, diced pineapples (I don't like much fruit), sugar free popsicles, fatfree fudgesicles, baked tostito chips with fat free turkey chili, mongolian beef from my favorite Chinese restaurant (not cheap), eggs however I want them (usually with cheese), dry cereal as a crunchy snack.

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

Pretty good. I was shopping at home depot in 3 days. I just did not drive for a while. However, whil I stayed on liquids for so long, I was generally weak and tired. Once I started eating solid foods, I did much better.

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

I started with 2 One-a-Day Women's Health vitamins because they were small, but they lacked some minerals. Since I can tolerate bigger pills, I now take 2 One-a-Day multivitamins. I try to remember to take my 2 Viactiv for calcium, but I have a harder time with that one.

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?

Hmm. Weakness was probably the second worst, after constipation but that was my fault. I did not know that constipation was a side effect of dehydration, and I was not drinking enough in the beginning. When it hit me, it was debilitating. I never knew that constipation could do that to a body. That day it was so bad, when I returned to my office just to email people that I was going home, my secretary walked me to the outside of the building to wait for my ride. She was afraid I would collapse. She didn't know what happened, and I was much too embarassed to tell her. But I could barely walk, I was so weak and visibly shaking from the episode. I have since then improved my fluid intake, but am constantly on the edge of dehydration. I'm not sure how I will be once summer hits here. It will be a bit of extra work to make sure I get enough fluids in. But it takes missing only a little for me to dehydrate again. The other side effect that is a bother is gas. I have much more of it now than I used to and I don't know why. I will start taking beano soon since nothing else stops it.

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

Nothing really about the surgery itself, other than writing the checks. The real problems I have came after, in learning to live with the band.

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

For several months I had none. I just couldn't get to meetings, and had no one to talk to. Occasionally I would post to the message board here and sometimes get answers but I needed more. Finally, this month, I have made 2 support group meetings, met one other person with a band who is really nice and even works near me so we may get a chance to have lunch together one day, and I will be going to an emotional support group this week. I have joined an email list as well. I feel so much less alone now. And I am getting such valuable information and suggestions from others, I just wish I had done this months ago.

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

My surgery was laproscopic so I have 4 small scars about 1/2 inch long each, and one longer scar at about 1-inch or so. They are in a line across the bottom of my ribs. They don't bother me at all.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

After losing 20 pounds the first 20 days, my weight loss slowed down a lot. Then I started working about and lost only about 3 pounds a month for 2 months. But I was really losing inches. Since then, I had a fill that was too tight and I lost a lot of weight only to gain half of it back when we loosened the band. Now I am on my second fill. We'll see how this month goes. It's hard to tell if I am plateauing when so much other stuff has been happening with the band.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Not really. I am still plus-sized, at an 18. Also, all my clothes are big on me so people really don't see how much I have lost. I think it will make a bigger difference when I get down to a 14 or so. That's when I'll look less like a fat person losing weight and more like a normal person with curves.