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

I saw it advertised on TV. It sounded drastic but I felt hopless because I tried everything else.

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

The bariatric hospital did most of the work for me. Just make sure to get all the information they ask for.

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

I sugest you ask alot of questions. I didnt ask enough and was suprised at how complicated the surgery really was.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I just decided this was my only hope for ever being able to lose weight and keep it off.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I had heard thay the rny was the best type of surgery because you couldnt really stretch out you stomach after like the regular stomach stapling

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 wasnt afraid of the surgery because I didnt ask enought questions about it in the first place. I should have been more prepared. It was more compicated than I thought

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 and friends were happy with my dicicion. They all knew i needed to do this

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

My work was very understanding. I was off work for 6 weeks.

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

I felt very alone in the hospital because i was over 200 miles away from my home town. I stayed 4 days but I should have stayed longer because i developed pnemonia when i got home. dont forget to bring comfortable clothes for the ride home because of insicion pain and a pillow helps so the bumps in the car are not so painfull

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

Yes as I stated I got pnemonia after I got home from surgery. I was very nauses for at least 6 week, had dry heaves and vomiting. Alaso i developed an ifection in my insicion that became quite serious and had to take many antibiotics to clear that up then 8 weeks after my surgery I ripped open my insicion on the inside (it was an abdominal hernia) and I needed a second surgery to correct that. It was awful i felt that I had to start all over again from the beginning (post op pain ect..

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 both scared and exited. I felt better when I got my family's approval and my job was understanding. I sure went on some eating binges but I suppose I needed to get it all out of my system

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

This had to be the hardest thing for me. I was nauses and still in alot of pain but It does get better.

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

I traveled about 200 miles for my surgery. It was very hard to go back to the surgeon as often as I would of liked. It helped me tp have a good family Dr at home that I could call with problems

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 the first stages that were ordered by the Dr (liquid, soft foods etc) I had to eat everything very slow or I became sick. At that time high fat foods gave me diarrhea. I can eat just about anything now as long as it it low in sugar. Ive tried a few times to eat to much sugar and experinced dumping.

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

It got better after about 6 weeks but at first i was very ill but that was because of all my complications

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

for the first 6 weeks i took sugar free vitamins but i dont take anything now and im fine. I just donated blood and I had no problems

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?

The nausia was the worst for me. It still happens sometimes. Of course dumping is awful but i dont do it nearly as often as before

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

The pain of having surgery was an awful experince. I never thought it was so painful. also the nausia after was scarry because I thought it would be like that forever.

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

I dont seem to be able to find any aftercare programs in my area although i would love to go to one.

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

My scar is about 12 inches long. It was much bigger than I expected

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

Ive hit a few plateaus in the past 8 months but I try to not let it discouage me. It would happen in any weight loss program. I once went 6 weeks without losing anything but then all of a sudden I dropped 14 pounds in 2 weeks. It is bound to come off sooner or later, at least thats what I tell myself

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

I havent noticed anyone trating me differently yet but i still need to lose over a hundred pounds to be near my goal weight.