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

I saw a advertisement on tv .Ithought they made it seem alot easier on tv

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

MY experiance was a nightmare but Iwasnt going to give up without afight .My life depended on it. my advice to anyone having trouble is dont give up

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

I was excited but nervous also. Ask alot of questions

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

Ilived in pain every day and new if i didnt do something I would not have hope of being free from the pain not to mention how depressed i was

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I had discussed it with my surgeon and I decided after hearing about both that the best one for me was the roux-en-y

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 didnt know anyone who had the surgery so I HADNT HERD TO MANY BAD THINGS AND DIDNT HAVE COMPUTER THEN SO IN A WAY IT WAS GOOD Because i didnt hear all the bad stuff. I think Its normal to be somewhat afraid after all there a risk with any surgery .But Iwill say it was all 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?

My mother and sister was very suppotive having been overweight themselfs. On the other hand my husband wasnt happy about my decision at all and i told him my mind was made up i was doing with or without him and eventually he came around and took me to all my necessary appts. He also took great care of me when i came home .

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

not employed

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

Iwas in the hospital 7 days i had a infection in my body and didnt find where it was comming from until later at my doctors visit when i had complained of how my inscion was doing.Bring a phone card if your long distance from your family like I was and the normal personel items toothbrush ,toothpaste,mouthwassh if you reflux pr blems like i did a robe for when you do your walking in the halls.Ialso brought a few of my own gowns not long ones makes it hard to get out of bed.

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

Ithrew up alot once i got home and started trying new foods Ialso had very loose bms sorry but its true and alot of trouble with acid build up and throwing it up.

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

when it got closer to my surgery date i had alot of anxiety but my surgery was 3 days after x-mas so that kept me busy . Other than Ijust tried to focus on the positive outcome

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

Idont go to the support groups because Ilive to far away but the surgery is geting popular where i live and they a even opened a wing in the hospital but the surgery done the man died of a heart attack just afew hours after . but Iknow people nkw thats had it done and am also helping support a person who is having her surgery where i did.Its very helpfull to me to hear other peoples experiances and to compare and no two experiances are the same

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

Its not to bad but it probably would look a little better but the doctor had to go and reopen it some to let the infection drain . With the weight Ive lost and how great Ifeel Ireally dont think about the scar to much

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

AT FIST I WOULD GET REALLY REALLY FRUSTRATED BUT THEN AFTER A WHILE IFIGURED THE ROUTINE OF STOPPING FOR A FEW WEEKS AND THEN THE NEXT TIME I WAS WEIGHED I WOULD OF LOST ALOT YOU JUST FIGURE THESE LITTLE THING OUT AS YOU EXPERIANCE THEM AND WHEN I ONLY LOOSE ALITTLE I KNOW NOT TO LET IT GET ME DOWN iHAVE EVEN GAINED A POUND OR TWO AND THAT REALLY GOT ME FREAKED OUT BUT THEN ID DROP THEM

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Ihave a few friends that I think are a little jealous becase of comments she makes before she was supportive of the surgery and now she makes little negative comments and now Im smaller than her but Itry and ignore it .Now when im out in public i dont feel invisable and Ienteract with people differently because im not embarresed by my size anymore