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

I TOOK DIET PILLS FOR @ LEAST 4 YEARS BATTLING TO KEEP POUNDS OFF AND THEN GAIN THE WEIGHT BACK. THIS FINALLY DEPRESSED ME SO MUCH THAT I JUST EAT TO SATISFY MYSELF AND THEN BE DEPRESSED AFTER EATING. MY AUNT IS A RN @ A LOCAL HOSPITAL AND I CAN REMEMBER HER TALKING ABOUT SOME PEOPLE WHO WORKED @ THE HOSPITAL WHO HAD THE PROCEDURE AND LOST A GREAT DEAL OF WEIGHT AND ABLE NOT TO EAT IN BIG PORTIONS. I THOUGHT OF THIS WHEN I WAS @ THE END OF MY ROPE. I THOUGHT I WOULD RESEARCH AND SEE WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT.

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

DON'T GIVE UP. THINK POSITIVE. THANK GOD FOR MY INSURANCE. I HAD NO PROBLEM WITH THEM. THEY WERE VERY COOPERATIVE. JUST 2 WEEKS FOR APPROVAL.

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

EXCELLENT. MY PHYSICIAN MADE ME FEEL COMFY. HAVE A LIST WITH YOU OF QUESTIONS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU AND YOU THINK OF WHILE RESEARCHING THE SURGERY.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

LOOKING @ THE SHAPE OF MY BODY AND HOW THIS WAS EFFECTING MY LIFE SO YOUNG. I THOUGHT IF I DO HAVE COMPLICATIONS, AT LEAST IT WAS BETTER THAN DYING FROM OBESITY.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

MY LIFESTYLE AND EATING PATTERNS ARE WHAT EACH INDIVIDUAL PATIENT NEEDS TO LOOK AT.

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 WAS SCARED @ FIRST, BUT THEN I THOUGHT, IF I DON'T DO SOMETHING, THE WEIGHT WILL KILL ME.

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?

THEY LEFT IT UP TO ME. IT WAS MY LIFE AND I HAD TO LIVE WITH IT. I LOOKED @ THE POSITIVE THINGS FROM SURGERY VERSUS THE NEGATIVE. MY FAMILY WAS AWESOME, ESPECIALY MY MOM AND DAD.

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

I WAS OUT OF WORK FOR SIX WEEKS. MY EMPLOYER UNDERSTOOD AND I EXPLAINED TO THEM THAT IT MEANT MY LIFE TO LIVE, NOT MY JOB.

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

MY HOSPITAL STAY WAS NOTHING LIKE I HAD SUSPECTED. I THOUGHT THAT I WOULD WAKE UP IN SEVERE PAIN. I WOKE UP AFTER THE ANESTISIA WORE OFF AND WAS LIKE I HAD JUST HAD A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP. MY PAIN WAS A LEVEL 2. I WAS SUPRISED, MY PAIN WAS NOTHING @ ALL. I WAS MOSTLY SORE THAN ANYTHING. MY PAIN WAS SO TOLERABLE, I HARDLY EVEN NOTICED IT.

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

NO, THANKS TO THE GOOD LORD. I HAD NO COMPLICATIONS AND CAME HOME ON THE FOURTH DAY OF HOSPITALIZATION.

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

THIS WAS HARD. I THINK THE THOUGHT THAT YOUR ORDEAL WITH WEIGHT IS JUST A TOUCH AWAY AND FINALLY HAVE A BIG SHOULDER OFF YOUR WORRY. I FELT EXICED AND GREAT KNOWING I WAS GOING TO START MY LIFE. WHAT KEPT MY ANXIETY DOWN WAS THE THOUGHTS OF ALL THE THINGS I HAVE WANTED TO DO FOR SO LONG AND WOULD BE ABLE TO DO.

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

JUST TO REST AND BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF. YOU WILL GET FRUSTRATED THAT YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO EAT, BUT JUST LOOK @ THE POSITIVE SIDE

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

APPROXIMATELY 4 HRS FROM MY HOME. THIS WAS WELL WORTH IT. THIS DID NOT AFFECT MY AFTERCARE @ ALL. I JUST FOLLOWED DOCTORS ORDERS.

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 BEST THINGS TOLERATED WERE SOUPS, SLIM FAST, PROTEIN SHAKES AND JELLO. SWEETS ARE THE BIGGEST THINGS OFF LIMITS AS WELL AS SODAS WHICH I LONGER MISS.

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

INCREASED ENERGY LEVEL. I WAS AMAZED @ THE ENERGY INCREASE. WALKING A HALF-MILE WHICH WOULD HAVE KILLED ME BEFORE

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

MULTI-VITAMIN, CALCIUM, AND B-12 & COLACE.

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?

VOMITING WAS THE ONLY EXPERIENCE THAT WAS THE WORST BUT TOLERABLE. I JUST EAT SLOWLY AND TOOK TIME TO SWALLOW LITTLE BITS. THIS PERSISTED FOR ABOUT THREE MONTHS.

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

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. IT SAVED MY LIFE AND MY SOUL.

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

DEFINATLEY OBESITYHELP.COM. ALSO, FROM THE HOSPITAL AND CITY WHERE I HAD MY SURGERY, THERE IS A WEB SITE AND SUPPORT GROUP OF PATIENTS IN THE AREA WHO SUPPORT EACH OTHER.

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

MY SCAR IS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE WEIGHT. I AM PROUD OF MY SCAR. IT IS MY LIFE SAVER.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

YES. PEOPLE LOOK AT ME AS IF I MATTER. I KNOW THE PROUDEST IS WHEN YOU HAVENT SEEN SOMEONE IN A LONG TIME, AND THE COMPLIMENTS ARE VERY REWARDING.