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

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

i had my insurance thru work change mid stream and i had to restart the whole process all over again so my approval took 6 months total

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

it was good. i had many concerns due to my medical history and he was able to answer them and re-asure me that it could be done

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

i didn't want to go thru another liver transplant (due to my current one becoming fatty)

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

i had no choice ( my meds were absorbed thru the small intestines) so lapband was the only choice

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 had few fears of this surgery - again after what i had been thru already the larposcopic meathod was a peice of cake for 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?

my wife wasn't a 100% for it, but she did support my decision

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

no problems at all.

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

it was ok i was only held overnite do to my history.

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?

i was back to work in 1 week and thing were normal from then on.

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

for 4 days i had some pain due to the incisions and gas used for the surgery. and had to tolerate the postop diet.

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

150 miles, and it requires me to attempt to double up as much as i can per visit. (lapband Dr., Dietician, liver Dr. checkups etc.)

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.

after getting of the postop diet , i was able to eat anything that i wanted short of the couple of things that the dieticatain warned me about, citric items with menbranes , celery , any food that had similar fibers in them

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

first week was no activity second week i was back to work third week and on i was back to normal activity

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

daily vitamin, and 60 grms of protien suppliment daily

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 had none of these, due to the pre-op training and compliance to the rules set down in advance. ( obeying these is critical to living with any WLS )

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

for me it is the distance to my clinic, i had to go to the same facility that did my liver transplant in case of complications

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

none

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

i have 5 stab wounds which i was told i would have

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

i hit my first one 18 week post op. it lasted for 8 weeks and i finaly had to have my band tightened

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

no