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

a friend had it done, and I had seen the Al Roker special, I first thought I could never do it because I thought if you can teach me how to eat then I don't need it!

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

I was blessed because my insurance Trigon was the best, it was approved right away. My advice would be, not to give up! it's worth it

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

Dr. Thomas Clark of the Weight Loss Surgery Center of Hampton Roads was very infomative, he listened and answered every question we had. Ask all you want to, if the Dr. doesn't know, get a new Dr.!

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I wanted to be alive for my daughter.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I researched the different surgerys on the web

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

The nurses were awful and I hated the IV and the taking of the blood, I was there for 4 days, bring some lotion or oil, you get itchy

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

No

In the weeks after you got your surgery date, how did you feel? How did you cope with any anxiety you might have felt?

Like I had made the biggest mistake of my life, Self mutilations is what I called it:) I prayed alot and talked to other people who had the surgery

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

You should expect not to get alot of sleep, the tubes are irritating and a little painful, everything will be about food, the tv, the radio, friends who come over, everything, stay strong

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

mine was local 10 min

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.

It varied in the beginning from day to day, sometimes I could eat eggs, some days I couldn't as time went on my tolerance got better, Post op 1year 5months and milk is still not my friend

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

The days after it was just walking around, I would get winded kinda fast, by the 3rd week I went to the movies and that was my first all day trip, it wasn't bad but I was really tired. the 4th week I started going to the gym to walk the track and start some weight training, it was hard and I was tired on the way home. After about 6 weeks I started feeling better at the gym and not quite so tired.

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

Vitamin b-12, calcium, multivitamins

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 would say the dumping/vomiting trying to figure out when you are full and what you can eat was sometimes hit or miss I still get it from time to time if I eat to much or too fast

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

The first few weeks

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

We have support group meetings every 3rd Wednesday of the month, it was very helpful in the beginning because all the subject matter was new, now I find they repeat subjects to often. I do enjoy the family like feeling of seeing the other patients at their various stages

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

My scar is flat and about 3 inches long with 2 small circles on the side where the tubes were It is what I expected

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

After about 6 months I hit a plateau that brought the weightloss down from 5lbs a week to about 1-2 which is normal, After a year I don't see as much weight loss but I feel that I am not as focused on it as I was

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

I'm really not sure, my friends treat me the same way as always, men try to talk to me more, but I am leery