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

I am a nutritionist, I have known about the surgery for a while, but I did not know about the laprascopic surgery; that made all the difference in the world to me. I found my Doctor on the internet.

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

Stay persistant, my policy said surgical intervention for morbid obesity, I was morbidly obese so I qualified. I had planned on challenging anyone who said I did not qualify.

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

Dr. Ruteldge was friendly from the start. He really cares about people and it shows. Ask a lot of questions and be honest about what you expect.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I felt it was the only choice left.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

When I saw there was a laprascopic option, that was the one I wanted.

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?

My main fear was that I would die. But then I felt that if I did not have the surgery, I would die.

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 husband and mother were very supportive. My husband wanted to make sure that I really wanted to do this. My mother-in-law was very nervous about the procedure but she and my father-in-law understood my decision. I did not tell my father and grandmother until after I had surgery, I knew that they would not understand or approve. They are very happy with my weight loss though.

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

I did not tell anyone at work about what I was going to do. Only two people in my office know what really happened. The rest think that I am doing great on my diet.

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

I was in the hospital for two days. They took really good care of me. Bring very comfortable clothes to go home in

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 really nervous and excited. I was just ready to get it over with.

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

I was weak, in pain, hungry, cranky, nauseous, weepy (I don't know you will have to ask my husband about this period of time.

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

I was 1 hour away from home. I did not really affect my aftercare.

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

I wanted to start exercising right after I started feeling better, 3 to 4 weeks after surgery. I joined a gym 5 months after surgery. I feel great when I exercise, I really love to do it now. I just don't stay on a really good routine, I'm working on that.

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

I take two multivitamins every day and an iron pill. I'm trying to remember to take my calcium tablets, but I forget those most of the time. I take the iron because of anemia.

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

The first month after surgery was the hardest. You feel icky, you want to eat and you can't, you are in pain, your wiped out. But after that first month you feel great, you can breath, move, bend, it's wonderful.

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

There is a support group put together by some of Dr. Ruteldges patients, I participate in that and I answer emails of people who want to know about the surgery.

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

Since I had the laprascopic procedure I have 5 scars about 1/2 inch in length. They were really dark but now they are fading I hope the will fade to the same skin tone of my stomach.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I plateaued out about three times, you are afraid that you will stop losing weight but then you start losing again. Actually I'm glad that it has slowed down so much, I was freaking people out by how fast I was losing. They started judging themselves by my weight loss, I don't like that at all.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

People treat me a lot differently, at first I thought wow people are really nice today, but then I figured out it must be my weight because it kept on happening and still does. The attention is nice but deep down you sometime feel like if I was still really fat they wouldnt be so nice to me. This whole thing has made me appreciate my husband a whole lot more, I can trust him the most. He treated me like I was wonderful before I had the surgery, he likes the changes but it hasn't made him all weird. He's the same person and I love it.