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

My initial reaction was that is just to drastic for me it's fine for the other guy but not me, I thought the risks were to o great and overall I shunned the idea.

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

Listen to your insurance company, very few seem to reject WLS like they used to, but most of them have a procedure to follow, make sure you do and you shouldn't have a problem. Just make sure it is not an exclusion on the policy.

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

Our initial meeting great!! Dr. Johnson has a very soft non threatening personality and is very willing to make sure any question you have is answered. Even when I said I saw tis situation on TV about WLS. He just sightly rolled his eyes and smiled and did his best to calm me and answer the question. I would come with a written down list of any question that you or your family has If your doctor is not willing to answer these questions MAYBE you have the wrong Dr.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I finally decided that i could not live the way I was and decided the risk of surgery was worth the risk, I wanted to be happy and after much prayer and discussion with my husband and adult children decided I could always back out even up to the last day. But I didn't

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

Dr. recommended open so I went with it.

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?

THe only nagging fear was the amount of people that do die from WLS but if you base your decision on the what if fears you will do nothing in your life. It has no more risks than any other surgery so look at the long range benefits and then make a decision.

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 family was very supportive my friends were more shocked and wanted to know more about WLS

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

My surrent employer had a cousin that had WLS and was very supportive.

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

My hospital stay was wonderful and I had surgery monday and was released on Wednesday.

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

No 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?

It took about 2 weeks before I felt REALLY good after that I could sleep laying down and got better rest. No anxiety.

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

I tired rather easily and slept quite a bit I would say tell the company to stay home and if you have a family they can fend for themselves for at least 2 weeks. Expect the best but prepared to be too tired to do anything!

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

The hospital was 18 miles from my home a quick 20-25 min drive. The Doctors office was attached to the hospital.

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.

Dairy, like cheese and meat easily upset my stomach

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

My activity level was nothing the first couple of weeks then every day I felt more energy and started walking actually the more I exersized the better I felt.

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

Liquid vitamins that I add to apple juice. and I cut Biotin up and take it every day. I had thin hair before surgery and Biotin really did a good job at regrowing it for me. SO I just kept it up

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?

Nausia is the worst thing for me I am really relearning how to eat though I still eat too fast and too much.

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

Haven't found a worse part of surgery yet. DOn't know if I will.

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

My scor from my open is about 4 " long very thin and lightning up after only a few short months.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

about a month after WLS I did not want to exersize and was eating too many carbs after I cut back on the carbs and at least walked for 20 mn a day I started losing right away again

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Unfortunately yes- NOT my real friends prior to surgery. but co-workers are much friendlier and commenting positivly about how much weight I have lost