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

My gynecologist suggested it to me. Amazed at how many people out there were just like me

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

Well I had a very fast approval. I was approved only after one week

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

Very nervous. But he answered all my questions and treated mysel and my husband as if he knew us for the longest time. You need to attend his support group where you learn everything there is to know.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

That I will be alive and healthy enough to see my daughter get married one day

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

Well Dr. Tenewitz does over 100 procedures a year and he knew which one needed to be done

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 had all the fears known but I knew I had to do it or either I could die from being obese so I decided I wanted to live and tried not to think about dying on the table (as they say) but I am here and so far no complications

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

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

Everyone at work was also very supportive of my decision. I was out for 7 weeks

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

Other than throwing up 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?

I went out probably like most others and went to my favorite places cause I knew later I could not have them again.

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

15-20 minutes

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

Tired at first then I couldnt beleive how much energy I had. It was amazing

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

Started off with chewable vitamins (YUK) sublingual vitamin B-12 tums Now use Multivitamins X2 sublingual B-12 Calcium Citrate

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?

Vomiting all the time and still do

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

Not being able to stop throwing up. Even if I just take a bite of something

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

Dr. Tenewitz support group Very helpful and important to me

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

Actually it isnt that bad looking long and narrow healing very good

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

None yet

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Yes people are being more friendlier