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

I met another truck driver in 1990 who told me about a doctor (Dr. Marcel Molina) who performed gastric banding. This band is made of the same material used for arterial bypass surgery and is not adjustible like the newer types being used today. The band actually grows to the outside of your stomach and therefore there is little risk of it slipping. It can however gradually pass through the stomach lining and be expelled it you don't control your eating. It is removable by just pealing (not as bad as it sounds) it off the stomach much like a bandaid. He had great sucess with it over the previous 10 years.

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

Fortunately the insurance approval process was pretty easy. I had Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Mississippi (not hmo/ppo). Dr. Molina wrote the letter to the insurance company and I was approved.

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

If I remember correctly the first time I actually met Dr. Molina was during the day long seminar which is required before surgery. He struck me as being extremely knowlegable both in the effects of other weightloss procedures and his own. I have recently discovered that even 10 years after I was banded, his approach has changed very little. His method is proven and I believe is the safest, most trouble free means of surgical treatment for morbid obesity. Dr. Molina has been performing this procedure for nearly 20 years now. There are not many WLS procedures out there where you will find patients 10 years post op and still doing well.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I met a lady truck driver who told me about Dr. Molina and the procedure, she was 1 year post op and looked great. She showed me her scar which was only about 2 inches long and told me that she had lost about 100 lb in that year. I strongly believed that this was the only chance I would ever have to be a normal size person. When I met Dr. Molina at the seminar and he explained the different procedures over the years, then explained his procedure, I was convinced. Other WLS tend to be far to radical for me. The band is simple and there is almost no medical follow needed past the first few months. The band felt so right for me and I had a great peace knowing that this would actually work for me. When you go to the seminar, listen to everything and take notes. The biggest factor that will help make the procedure a sucess is having no doubts that the prodedure is for you.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

This was easy once I found Dr. Molina. I knew about stapling but I also knew that if you over eat you could pull the staples loose which would put you in the emergency room. I had also heard about bypasses but was not interested in having my intestines re-routed. Dr. Molina's procedure is simple, 100% reversible if needed, required little follow up care and just plain made sence. The band is placed on your stomach through a very small inscision, no damage to the stomach lining resulting in weeks of liquid diet, no tubes and a fast recovery time. Since you are eating solid foods within a couple of hours of waking up from the surgery, you learn how much you can eat and drink from the very first day. Consistency is so critical when it comes to behavior modification and the non adjustable band provides that.

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?

Well maybe I am strange but I was so convinced that this was the only chance I would ever have at being a normal sized person that I really didn't get nervous until the day of surgery. My dad was a great help since he had been operated on 27 times during his lifetime. I knew I would be sore but since the inscision was only going to be about 2 inches long and no muscles were going to be cut, I felt pretty good about it. The fear I had the day of surgery was simply fear of the unknown. I had never had surgery before. I wish I could give everyone the peace I felt at knowing I had made the right choice. Dr. Molina has done this procedure appox. 7000 times in the last 20 years. It is safe and has the least amount of discomfort of any that I am aware of.

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

On October 14,1990 I had the surgery. I woke up with no tubes and able to eat a couple of bites of scrambled eggs and bacon or anything else I wanted. This is the unique thing about this surgery, there is no invasion into the stomach and therefore tubes and a liquid diet were not needed. I was walking the halls (albeit slowly) a few hours after waking up from the surgery. I walked at least once an hour. I also took a hot shower once an hour. This really helped with the pain. I had a few muscle cramps in my stomach the first day but they really didn't hurt, I just felt them tighten up. By the 2nd day, I was off pain meds. The hospital staff was great and really familiar with the surgery. I went home after the second day. And back to work driving trucks the second week.

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

I didn't have any complications from the surgery. The only thing I noticed post op was that once I went back to driving, my bra would rub the inscision a bit.

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 had never had surgery but my dad had had many. I felt so prepared between Dr. Molina's information seminar and my dad's experience with surgery that I didn't really have any anxiety. I had a great peace knowing that this was my one chance at being thin and having a life. I got a bit nervous while actually in the hospital waiting for surgery but I thought about it like this, I had given birth to 3 kids naturally with no anesthetic. Everyone seems to compare pain to childbirth and since I had made it through that I didn't figure this surgery could be that bad. In the end it wasn't.

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

The first week I was home, I watched to clock and measured my liquids with medicine cups. Two ounces and hour was the rule. For lunch I would eat 1/4 of a sandwich. I measured other foods with a tablespoon. The second week I was back to work driving semis. I counted bites of food and stopped at 6-9 bites taking at least half an hour to eat. At buffets I used saucers instead of plates. For liquids, I used 4 oz baby bottles as glasses and consumed over 2 hours. I felt great and so in control. I was never hungry and increasingly amazed at how little food I could actually eat.

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

I live in Houston so it was only across town for me. I never needed to see Dr. Molina after the surgery or any doctor for that matter relating to the surgery. I called in once a week for the first few months then once a month after that. After the first year I have not called in though I probably should have.

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.

The first few months after surgery, I could eat anything in small amounts eaten very slowly. Slowly I began to eat a little faster and found that anything dry like steak, chicken, rice and pasta would cause that stuck feeling and sometimes vomiting. This happend to me only about once a month for couple of months. I quit eating these things as I wanted to be able to eat quickly and get back on the road. After I gained 30 lb in 1998 after maintaining 150 lb for 8 years, I have began eating the above items again with the exception of rice and pasta. The only thing that is off limits to me due to the band is foods with high amounts of insoluble fiber such as most veggies. These foods seem to block the opening in the pouch for a couple of days before going down and cause me significant discomfort. I was never a veggie eater anyway so this really doesn't bother me.

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

The second week after surgery I was back to driving semis. The 3rd week I was back to pulling the 5th wheel release, lowering the landing gear on the trailer and unloading the trailer. (My trainee had been doing it for me until then.) My energy level continued to increase on a weekly basis.

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

I took flintstones for the first couple of months after surgery. Since I hate taking meds, I quit shortly after that and never took anymore. This is not recommended but worked for me.

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 occasional vomiting only really bothered me if it didn't happen until I was already back on the road. I really hated having to pull off the road. This happened rarely so it wasn't to bad. By the end of the first year, I no longer vomited more than once a year and haven't done so at all for about 5 years.

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

Not finding it sooner and worrying about whether or not I would be approved. Otherwise it has truley been the best thing I have ever done for myself. Thank You Dr. Molina!

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

I had not taken advantage of any support groups until just a few weeks ago when I found the bandsters email list. This list is for people with adjustible bands but they have accepted me no questions asked. I have also through the list found someone who is 11 mo's postop with Dr. Molina. I am very excited about this and love to be able to help others. I also have a web site and am hoping to find more of Dr. Molna's patients to add to the site and form our own online group. My web site can be found at http://www.nonadjustableband.com This site is for anyone considering or who has already been banded by Dr. Molina.

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

It is 2 inches long. The only thing a little disapointing about it is that it healed up about 1/2 and inch wide. I think this had to do with my bra rubbing on it because I went back to work to soon.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I had several plateus but it has been so long ago I don't really remember them. The weightloss does get a bit slower as you reach goal though.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

During the first couple of years everyone was amazed at how much weight I had lost, how little I ate and how much energy I had. Many times the truckstops would give me my meal for free because even though I told them the food was fine, they though I didin't like it.Now that I have had the band for so many years no one really notices except the occasional coworker I go out to eat with. Twice in the last year I have had coworkers just panic because I was leaving so much food on the table and not taking it with me. It was so funny because one of them actually took my partially eatend food back with them and ate it. I never laughed so hard. I am so glad that I am not obsessed with food like that any more. The only real agrevating treatment I have recieved was a couple of years ago from a doctor. I went in having some stomach problems and the doctor said that it was because I had my stomach stapled and to just LIVE with IT. I did not have stapling done and I DID NOT have these problems during the previous years with the band. I have proceded to find my own solution to the problem by going low carb and it is working beautifully for me. I haven't been back to a doctor and hope I don't have to. Some types of WLS can cause stomach problems such as dumping syndrome but the band does NOT and with a non adjustible band there is really very little follow care needed. Once it's there it's there and it works wonderfully.