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

25 years ago an aquantance had an early WLS. I thought it was amazing to see how he lost weight but I had no medical insurance and was only marginally overweight at the time. In 2001 I began to follow a friend of a friend who had an open RNY. She did amazingly well and I began to seriously consider it as an option.

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

In 2002 I was on Medicare. They approved the surgery on the first application that my doctor sent in.

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

I had researched the surgery and knew exactly what was going to happen. I think by doing this you can concentrate on specific information for your surgery. In my case I was on Coumadin. I was afraid that it would be too risky to do the surgery on me. But by spending the time getting to know all I could about the surgery, I was able to spend more time with my surgeon discussing the possible problems I might have due to the Coumadin.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I was 45 years old and facing certain knee replacement surgery. I knew that knee replacement at 305 lbs was going to be very difficult, so I finally decided to check into the surgery.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

The open RNY was my only option.

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?

Surgery is inherently dangerous, no matter what you have done. In my case I knew what the weight would do to me over the remaining years of my life and decided that whatever risk I had to take was worth it.

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?

I included my family from day one. I asked for their opinions, their fears, their support. I made it a point to educate them on all aspects of the surgery and felt we went into it as a team. My family has been very supportive and helpful. They have made the journey worthwhile. In retospect I would have talked to them more about adapting to the "new me". My daughter still has a mental picture of me at my top weight and says she misses my "Cushy" hugs. But she is coming around.

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

N/A

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

My stay in the hospital was longer than average because I was on Coumadin at the time. I was not able to use the post op protein drinks because they had vitamin K in them, which would interfere with the Coumadin. I think the most important thing to bring to the hospital is a deep conviction that whatever misery I was facing was just the begining of the journey and would be temporary. A positive attitude is absolutely vital.

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

I did not have any complications.

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 think I was too excited to let anxiety get in the way. I have always been a positive thinker, and I went into it knowing I would win.

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

One week after my release from the hospital I was mailing a bunch of letters, licking the stamps, and I went into dumping syndrome. I apparently tore something in my incision and went back into the hospital with internal bleeding. I healed very well and was released in a reasonable amount of time. I think I was unprepared for something like stamp glue to cause a dump. I had focused so much on food, that I did not consider anything else. I would advise anyone goping in for surgery to be prepared to just rest when they get home, not to overdue, and not to lick any stamps!

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

I had to travel about 50 miles one way. This affected my ability to attend support group meetings. I have never felt comfortable in meetings and having so far to travel was an easy excuse not to go. That was a mistake. (And continues today!) Support group is important to attend. It helps your journey and it helps those that are considering surgery and attending group in order to talk to veterans. I still do not attend group and I admit, that is to my own detriment.

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 was unable to use the protein drinks so my first food was wafer thin meat with V8 juice, cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, and milk. I could only fit in about a tablespoon at a time and kept a glass of water at my side all the time too. I am now nearly 4 years post op. I can eat about 1/2 a sandwich in volume and am still very limited on my ability to tolerate sugar and fat. No one should depend on an inability to eat those things however. It is vital that we never allow ourselves to get back into the habit of eating bad choices. We still have to change our behavoir, or we will gain weight.

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

Because I had lost some blood in surgery and then had a post op bleed, I was extremely tired and weak. It took me about 3 weeks to be able to function on a normal energy level.

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

Multi Vitamin B-12 Calcium Iron Preservision Tablets

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?

Hair loss has been an ongoing problem for me. But I still have plenty to look normal. I use it to judge when I need to increase my protein. After a few weeks it usually will taper off again.

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

Of the actual surgery and hospital stay, I believe the worst thing was trying to get food I could eat. I wasn't able to use protein drinks and had a great deal of trouble convincing the hospital dieticians what exactly I could eat.

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

My physician has an excellent group support system. However I have not taken full advantage of it due to the distance I have to travel to get to it.

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

My scar is barely visible.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I had probably six times that my body plateaued. I felt like it was needing a break and did not fret about them. When I reached my goal of 135 lbs I was content to stay there. However my body decided it wanted to lose more. I plateaued again at 125 and then recently dropped an additional 5 lbs.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Yes. I have had a few times when I had men appear to be attracted to me, that was a totally new experience for me. The only man who ever treated me that way was my husband. Also, it seemed like I was being given more "intelligence points" even though my intelligence had not changed.