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

My mother had a stomach stapling over 20 years ago and had kept all of her weight off. In fact, the same surgeon who did her surgery, his son and the surgery clinic will be handling mine.

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

I'm still waiting for insurance approval. From what I understand, the insurance company wanted some things done that I would have had to have done prior to surgery after insurance approval. The testing included, a more recent Echo Cardio Gram, my Psych evaluation and I had to see a cardiologist to get cardiac clearance prior to insurance submission for approval. I had all of these procedures within a 3 week time frame. All I can say to anyone is be patient...I know waiting is hard and being heavy we all want the surgery so we can start to live our lives, but this is the way insurance companies are these days. They'd rather pay for drug and alcohol treatment or cancer treatment before they would rather pay for weight loss surgery, which as we all know is much more costly than anything else out there, but the hardest to get people as a whole to deal with and understand.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I have wanted the surgery for the last 4-5 years. Especially seeing the results my mom got and has had for over 20 years.

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

My stay in the hospital was great. I was there for 4 days. The staff were wonderful. The most important things to bring are something to read and clean underwear.

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

I had absolutely no complications from the surgery. Even my surgeon's office was surprised.

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

In the first few weeks, I was feeling slightly sluggish...apparently, this is normal, considering your body is going through some major changes.

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

You may feel slow to do anything. I felt this way until my staples came out...then I decided that it was time to get up and move!

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

I live only 15 minutes away from the hospital.

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 had 3 stages of eating before I was allowed to eat a regular diet. The first stage was clear liquids for 4 weeks. The next stage was pureed foods, but no meat or vegetables. Stage 3 was soft foods including very well cooked vegetables. The after 2 weeks of this, I was allowed to start introducing more of a regular diet, slowly at first, then gradually increase the foods I was to eat.

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

At first I didn't do much. Then after the sutures came out, I began to get out of the house more. As I was healing up and feeling better, I began to increase my activity level. For the longest time, the only exercise I was allowed to do was walk for the first 3 months. Now that I'm 5+ months post-op, I do what ever exercise I want.

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

I have to take 12 calcium pills a day, 12 vitamins a day, 2 prescription iron pills a day, 2 vitamin C pills a day- these help you absorb iron better, a prescription calcitrol a day and 2 prescription vitamin D pills a day. Then of course, there's my protein...150 mgs a day, or 5 shakes a day.

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 worst side effects are the diarrhea, I have this problem because if I eat something with too much oil or fat content, it causes dumping. So, I'm still learning which foods to avoid. The hair loss has been the absolute worst! It started coming out at around 2 months post-op. After talking to another bypass patient is 6 years out, she told me she had the same problem, even with taking her protein. She stated that after 6 months the hair loss finally stopped and her hair started coming back in. The best thing I've found to cope with the hair loss is I went and got it cut short so it's not quite so noticable. And I've begun using hair restoring shampoo and conditioner... the loss is starting to slow down now, so I'm hopeful my hair will start to return in a month or two.

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

The clear liquids I had to do for 10 days prior to surgery and the 4 weeks following surgery!!! I became such a raging bitch, I think my husband was ready to divorce me.

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

I don't attend a support group... because of my job I work crazy hours and don't always have the time to go, so I don't.

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

My scar is from the top of my belly button to just under my breast bone. It's smaller than I thought it would be.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

When I went in to the doctor's office when I was 4 months out, that was my first plateau...the prior month I had only lost 9 pounds. I was so disappointed, but everyone said this is normal and not to let it get me down.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

I do and it makes me furious!!! I've only changed on the outside, not the inside. People look at me now when I talk to them, they actually listen to me when I talk and I notice I am taken more seriously than before. So to everyone out there...get ready and get used to it!!!