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Obesity & Me

Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.

extremely frustrated and depressed, feeling like a failure, having terrible relationships in direct relation to low self-esteem, never feeling good enough

What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?

feeling like there was no reason to get up in the morning and that death would be a blessing

If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?

Shop in normal-sized clothing stores (although I'm still an extra large) and go out dancing.

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

I first learned about it through the internet and the impression that I got was that it may be my only answer

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

I had no trouble at all with getting insurance approval, which was a pleasant surprise. I was prepared for a long drawn out fight. I went to my PCP and told him I wanted the surgery. He put me on a new diet drug to try first. After a month of no weight loss on the new drug, I went back to my PCP (with the name and phone # of a surgeon) and asked for a referral. My PCP gave it to me and I went to see the surgeon. The surgeon's nurse did all the paperwork and two weeks later I was approved.

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

My first visit was very comforting. My surgeon sat and talked to me, I had brought a list of questions and he answered them all. That was the most important thing, to bring a list of questions.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

My body is screaming for the surgery. I am deteriorating both physically and emotionally at this weight. I knew I had to have the surgery or die.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

My surgeon really decided for me. I'm having an open proximal rny. If I had picked I would have picked the rny over the vbg because of the success rate of vbg being much lower. I would have picked the proximal over the distal or medial because I don't want the most drastic and I know that without proper nutrition distal's have alot more problems. I would have preferred the laparoscopy over the open, but my surgeon prefers open and said the scar's not that bad.

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 have many fears as my surgery nears, however, I am already dying from the obesity. I don't have any children and I'm not married, I'm still young and I want to be able to have a full life. At this weight there is no possibility of that, so I'm willing to take the risk.

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?

Almost everyone I tell is very skeptical and worried for me. I don't feel too much support from them, then again, most of them have never had weight problems so they have no idea what I face on a daily basis

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

I didn't tell my supervisor the nature of my surgery. I did tell him I would probably be out for about 3 weeks. However I ended up being out for 8 weeks because of wound complications.

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

My hospital stay wasn't great, I was there for 5 days. The night nurses were rarely around and it took about a half hour for them to answer my calls. The day nurses were much better. At first the morphine pump didn't seem to help, but once it was taken away, I realized how much it was actually doing to ease the pain. Showering was hard as was walking. Also, getting poked and prodded a few times a day was unpleasant. The only thing I really wished I had in the hospital was a clock, I didn't bring much and didn't need much that wasn't supplied by the hospital.

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

At two weeks post op the last inch of my incision had not closed and was filled with pus. The doctor cleaned the wound then ordered wound packing twice a day from the visiting nurses. The pain was excrutiating, which made me use the painkillers which I hadn't needed since I was about a week post-op. This was/is very hard, making my recovery long and painful.

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 felt very nervous and excited and I ate everything in sight.

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

My first week wasn't so bad, I did have trouble sleeping and stayed on the couch. At two weeks post-op is when I had to have wound packing and it was horrible.

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

My surgery was a little over an hour from home.

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.

In the beginning, I mainly ate pea-soup, cheese and scrambled eggs, I tried tuna-fish but I vomitted. After about 2 months, I was able to introduce new foods and now I'm able to eat anything I want (unfortunately, I rarely dump and I'm able to eat sweets again, which is a problem).

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

Until my wound closed at 2 months, I had very little activity. Then I was able to go to the gym and go on the treadmill for 45 mins every day. Now I am able to dance all night long (hours at a time).

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

I was anemic before sugery so I took iron pills for 4 months and I was on Pepcid for 3 months. Now I just take tums for calcium and a multi-vitamin. I drink a protein drink every morning to make sure I get my protein in.

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?

I had alot of hair loss (which was always my best feature before surgery), it's growing back in now. At first, the vomitting was pretty bad, almost after every meal, but I've learned to control it alot more. I rarely dump or feel much nausea and I sleep fine.

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

The wound packing I had up until 8 weeks post op, then the first 3 days after surgery.

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

My surgeon has a bi-monthly support group, however since he's over an hour away, I've only made it to group once. I also saw a nutrionist twice however, she was useless, my meetings with her lasted about 2 minutes and she didn't give me any information I didn't already know.

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

My scar is 4.5 inches long and nearly an inch wide with small dots that look like a catapillar from the staples. I was told by my surgeon that "they really messed up on the scar" and that I should consider scar revision. It's only been 7 months so I'll wait and see, it's beginning to flatten out. It's wider than I had expected but I'm learning to live with it.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

Since about 4 months out I have had constant plateaus. I get stuck at a certain weight and stay there for 2-3 weeks, then I only lose about 2-3 pounds and then I'm on another plateau.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Yes, I've begun dating again and everyone says I look great. I also notice strangers seem to be friendlier to me.
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