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

I called a local hospital and they referred me to the clinic at Shands. When I got to the Weight Management Clinic they talked to me like they understood my struggles and really cared that I successfully overcome them. For the first time in my life I felt like there was REAL hope for me.

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

After my surgeon's office finally submitted the paperwork, it took a week to get the approval. I became very frustrated with the inefficiency of the paper trail in the doctor's office.

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

There was a lot of waiting, I was there for 6 hours, most of it waiting. I really wanted another surgeon, but couldn't go through the waiting three or four months to get another appointment. Nine days before the scheduled surgery after obtaining my pre-op medical clearance labs and xrays I was notified that my surgery was cancelled because the surgeon decided to go out of town but I should feel better because another lady was cancelled today for the 4th time. Now I'm looking for another surgeon. I was talking with one of the surgeons I work with and he asked me what I would do if one of his office staff called me and said this stuff. I told him I'd come to him and ask what was going on. He suggested that I go directly to the surgeon and do just that. So I did. Things weren't exactly as I had been told and as you are aware morbidly obese patients usually have multi-system problems that can be very difficult to regulate. The lady that was cancelled is one of those people. I decided to stay with my surgeon. I also met his nurse practioner and was very pleased with her.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I finally realized I would never be sucessful with weight management without help. A friend who had weighed over 500 lbs told me about his surgical experience, which encouraged me to go for help.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

The surgeon informed me what he recommended based on my previous surgical history and current medical condition.

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 waking up on a ventilator with my hands restrained, aspiration pneumonia, loosing control during the procedure, not knowing the surgical team and anesthesiologist, going to a hospital unfamiliar to me, and exposure during surgery. Being an OR nurse myself not knowing the surgical team was very difficult. Later after I was cancelled twice I was afraid I'd never get to have the procedure.

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 immediate family is extremely supportive. Most of my friends have also been very supportive, a few however love to dwell on the potential complications. For the most part I am blessed with a great family and wonderful friends. My husband is very supportive and makes special trips to the store to get whatever the dietician suggests when I am having trouble eating. My boss is getting stressed about when I can come back to work, but remains very caring about how I'm doing. (Her daughter is getting married 12/29 and some of her stress could be that, too.)

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

My immediate supervisor was great. I'd talked with her every step of the way because she is a personal friend and my pastor's wife as well as my boss. When I was cancelled both times she was super, encouraging me to hang in there and keep my hopes up. I'm currently scheduled to be off for eight weeks, but may have some limitations when I return because of the heavy work nature of my job.

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

I had my surgery on Monday and went home on Friday. Bring Chapstick!!! After this procedure you will not be able to drink for three days and your mouth will get so dry. Chapstick helps to prevent cracked dry lips. Basically bring a robe and slippers, socks if your feet get cold. The most important item I took was a Walkman. I'm a nurse and the sounds you hear constantly in a hospital are everyday things for me. The walkman helped me not to hear the codes etc that I normally respond immediately to, so I could rest and do the things I needed to do to help myself. The nursing staff at the hospital consisted of very new nurses and very longterm nurse managers but was missing the core of nurses that have practiced for 3-15 years and are not managers. Frequently I found these fledgling nurses did not know when to call my physician, did not have basic IV skills and had to wait hours for the house supervisor to come to their rescue.

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

I was cancelled once nine days before the surgery and again after I'd been admitted, had my IV started and pre-op antibiotics administered by an anesthesiologist who had never even seen me because of my history of asthma and the hospital not having an ICU bed and ventilator available for me. Finally when I had my surgery I flew through without any complications except that my IV's kept blowing and the neophyte nurses lacking IV skills.

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 was excited and anxious in turns. After my surgery was cancelled the first time my PCP put me on xanax round the clock to help me deal with the increased anxiety levels. Communicating with others on this website helped too.

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

Looking back on the first month, don't expect much energy, keep moving or the gas will make you wish you were dead. Plan to be very self centered as all you will be able to do is the very basics, like bathing, dressing, drinking and taking progressively longer walks. Expect to be sore but know that the more you move the faster the soreness leaves. Keep up with your protein!!! You need it to heal. Get a high quality skin moisturizer, as your diet has just taken a major turn from fats and your liquid intake is decreased your skin will become very dry, cracky and itchy. Put moisturizer on your skin everyday. Get a protein spray for your hair to get protein to your hair to prevent hair loss. Follow your diet plan, if something doesn't go down today give it a few days and try it again. Mostly keep looking forward, tomorrow will be better and you will be smaller.

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

I had a 1 1/2 hour drive to my doctor. He sees his patients 4-5 weeks after surgery and I didn't have any problems with the drive by then.

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 am lactose intolerant so the bulk of my first two week diet was my protein shakes. Before surgery I tried all the protein drinks I could find and decided I liked Herbal Life's high protein low carb shake best and it didn't upset my stomach at all. The first two weeks I had no problem with the clear/full liquid diet. The third week when I started the pureed diet the thicker stuff did not want to stay down and I started vomiting. I backed off for two more weeks and kept the protein shakes coming. I'm at 5 weeks now and am beginning to have better luck with the pureed diet. I still can't keep a scrambled egg or tuna down though I can keep ground chicken down as well as peanut butter crackers. Go figure! At 2 months/9 weeks I'm still having problems eating and keeping the food down. Eggs are beginning to stay down, however ground tuna and green beans come directly back up. I'm still relying on the protein shakes to get enough protein. I can tolerate applesauce but forget bananas, pureed peaches go down well and I'm getting to the point I can keep thick creamed soup down. I haven't had problems with toasted english muffins or toast, but haven't tried soft bread yet

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

For the first 4 weeks I gradually progressed to longer walks until I made it around the block several times a day. At 4 weeks when I saw my doctor he said I could go to the Wellness Center and use three machines only. The treadmill, bicycle and U.B.E. starting with a 30 minute workout and working up to 60 minutes by my return to his office 1/3/02. I'm getting stronger but still have to be careful because if I push too hard I won't be able to move the next day. The arthritis in my knees and shoulders still doesn't tolerate but so much activity. I expect this to improve as my weight continues to decrease. 2 mo/9 wks I'm up to 30 minutes on the treadmill, 15 on the bicycle and 8 on the U.B.E. I still have to be careful not to push too hard because my knees and shoulders still won't tolerate too much, but I'm getting stronger and almost to the 60 minutes they wanted me to reach by this Thursday.

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

I took Flintstones multivitamins with iron twice a day, tums twice a day, zantac twice a day. The protien shakes are loaded with vitamins and minerals too. 2 mo/9 wks I understand my doctor will be adding B12 this week and changing the Tums to Citracal D

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 during the beginning of my pureed diet, I backed off an went back to liquids and kept trying. My PCP put me back on Xanax to help me sleep as I've had a very hard time sleeping. 2 mo/9 weeks I'm still having dietary trouble with vomiting. I haven't had any trouble with dumping at all. Still having trouble sleeping and starting to notice some hair loss.

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

The seemingly ETERNAL waiting periods and the naso-gastric tube.

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

None at present. All of the doctors I saw at the Weight Management Clinic pre-operatively are gone and I'm not willing to start over with new doctors at this point. I read updates on this website almost daily and can call my surgeon's nurse practioner any time I need to and she will answer questions or get the answers and call me back.

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

It's obvious that a resident made the incision and closed my skin as the scar is crooked and oddly lumpy. The lumps will even out over time but if not I have a plastic surgeon scheduled to do my panniculectomy and other repair work next year after I get the weight off and his work is gorgeous. 5/31/03 I've had the panniculectomy and my plastic surgeon found a huge ventral hernia which he also repaired. Three weeks ago I had the upper abdominal scar revised and had a mastopexy. My plastic surgeon is extremely talented and his work on me has been excellent. I had some problems with anemia but I'm doing very well now. Maintaining my weight and feeling great.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I've had up to a week where I didn't loose an ounce with absolutely no cheating on the diet. My PCP says that when you're on a very low calorie diet that your body responds by decreasing your metabolic rate because it thinks it is starving. He said sometimes you can boost the metabolic rate by adding a hundred calories for a day or two to trick it into thinking the starvation is over so it will increase the metabolic rate again. He also says exercising will help boost the metabolic rate too, helping to get past the plateau.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Most definately. I've become less invisible. People notice me. My husband gets jealous flares when other men stop to talk to me. My friends are now recognizing my sustained weight loss and are refering their friends to talk to me about surgery.