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

I am a RN and first heard about this type of surgery thru grapevine at the hospital i worked at in the mid 80s ..the surgery was being offered at discount to staff who were over 100 lbs over ideal weight...i was about 250 at the time but didnt feel i needed the surgery..that i could manage without

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

the only insurance i have is MEDI-CAL ..finding doctor /hospital which could do the surgery wasnt easy..getting approval was simple.

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

Dr Orloff was second surgeon i saw for this surgery and i was prepared with list of questions i had printed from support website. Dr. Orloff answered each of my questions with compassion and great patience... One will get the most out of this meeting by being prepared and reading up on the different types of surgery. DONT BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

MY DISABILITIES. I havent been able to work for 2 years..I miss nursing but know i cant go back to it until the weight is done to manageble level.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

The doctor told me what procedure he does..i left it up to him.

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 really had strong feelings i may not survive this surgery...i got all my affairs in order...last will, power of attorney, etc just in case. I knew this was very high risk for me. Face your fears...accept them..and do whats necessary just in case something does happen Once i did that..i felt better about facing the surgery.

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

N/a been unable to work for 3 years now.

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

The hospital i stayed at was lovely. I had private rooms even when i was moved to surgical floor. The staff was friendly and suppportive. I took too much to hospital..i found i only needed a robe (caftan worked for me), toilitries, although hospital also provided all that if i needed it..i had my notebook to journal in and book to read although i didnt feel like it the first few days

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 scared and also excited..mostly scared. I am big chicken and dreaded facing the pain esp the IV'S It wasnt my first surgery and i know how my veins are..i am very hard stick and did have a lot of problems with that, as i feared. I also went thru mourning for all the foods i have assumed i will never eat again...and I allowed myself to eat whatever i wanted...as if to say GOODBYE to my favorite forbidden foods gained 10 lbs during this time...but got it out of my syetem

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

I was weak as kitten first few weeks..slept in recliner. I stayed with family and had great support. I know i couldnt have done this alone..it still very hard for me to think about food...i had no appetite...didnt want to even try to eat..MOM was great about fixing my broths etc ,,encouraging me to eat and to get up and move around.

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

the hospital /clinic are local

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.

my diet consisted of broth, yogurt without any fruit pieces, i was able to tolerate oatmeal at first, and coddled egg after the 3rd week. Fruit juice usually gave me diarrhea although i did like to suck on icecubes made of grapejuice. Tried some low sugar pudding but vomited it back up next morning...yuck.. due to the anastomosis my tolerance of any food decreased and my nausea and vomiting increased.

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

I was up my first post op day..and until i developed the lung problem on day 6, i was up walking in hall 2 -3 times a day and getting stronger every day. The lung problem knocked the stuffing out of me and i had to start all over again. It made me very week and had pronouced shortness of breath. It has taken time to recover from that and now am coping with stomach problems and not being able to eat.

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

At first i was taking whole food supplement, but when i first started having problems with nausea i stopped them thinking it might be the fiber in the product. At first i was trying the protein powders, mom got me 3 different kinds to try..none tasted good and was hard for me to tolerate.

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?

Nausea and vomiting was the worse for me. Even worse than the dumping type syndromes. I didnt have any n/v the first few weeks..it came on later..i coped poorly with it...avoided eating, didnt take in my water, etc...finally was becoming so weak and got so i couldnt even keep my yogurt down, i got in to see surgeon for help.

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

COPING WITH COMPLICATIONS.. COPING WITH PAIN esp when they stopped the PCA pump COPING WITH MULTIPLE IV STICKS had to have TPN/LIPIDS the second week needing 2 ivs ..

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

Online support group is GBIC..

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

the scar is huge...much bigger than i expected..but necessary...my surgeon was also able to repair ventral hernia.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

none so far lost about 60 lbs

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

dont go out much..family friends very supportive