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

I had a friend the had the gastric bypass and it has been great for her but I was concerned of all the negative comments that I had heard about it. Then a surgeon started doing the Lapband surgery locally and I researched it heavily before persuing it.

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

Make sure that you follow the guidelines that your insurance company sets forth for approval, I contact my insurance company and they sent me what I needed to do step by step and I was approved once it was submitted by the Bariatric Center, It did take me 8 months to complete what the requirements where

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

My surgery was done outpatient. I was there for about 7 hours total time from arriving to my discharge to go home. Make sure that you were loss fitting clothing like a large t-shirt and sleep pants and make sure that you carry a pillow to lay across your stomach for the ride home.

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

No complications at all.

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 few days where the hardest for me from the stiffness for the lapriscopic procedure. I had no anxiety after my surgery

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

You should expect to be sore for about a week except for the port area it was sore for about a month. But the more that you move around the sooner thr soreness with leave. I actually started walking a week after my surgery with the consent of my surgeon

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

I attend the monthly support group meeting at the Bariatric Center at the Hosptial where I had my surgery. I am also a member of the Bariatric Support Center International website and I am also on Obesity Help.com. It is imperative that you surround yourself with people that know what you are facing and that can give you suggestion to try that might work for you

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

I have 4 little scars from the laproscopic surgery. They are exactly what I expected just like the ones from my gall bladder surgery

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

at about 14 months I hit a plateau and I actually gained 10 pounds but with the help and supoort of my Bariatric Surgeon and the centers director I am back on track and have already lost 9 of the 10 pounds that I gained in less than 3 weeks

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Yeah they tell me all the time that I look good and that I need to stop wearing my big clothes. It had taken me sometime to get used to being able to wear smaller cloths and it is actually really nice.