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

My oldest sister, neice and her father all had the surgery and have been post op for 2 years prior to mine so I was looking forward to it.

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

I had so much documentation about being overweight and already trying different things through doctors to lose weight that I was an exception to the rule. I was approved for my surgery with the first letter that went out.

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

It was very eye opening. I had done a ton of research and already new quite a bit about the procedure but he was very blunt. He was very upfront about the risks of the surgery to make sure I knew what I was doing. You need to ask questions even if you have researched this until you think you know it all there are still questions everyone has.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

Before even walking into my surgeon's office I knew I wanted to have the surgery it was after speaking with him and his frankness about the quality of life I was living being overweight that made me determined to have this surgery no matter the cost.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I did a bunch of research and talked to different people and everyone told me the RNY was a good procedure.

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 was nervous about not waking up. I think that that is everyone's fear about being put to sleep. I was not as concerned about dying right before they put me under because I had made choices in my life such as eat, eat, and eat some more and now I was making a choice to help me not eat. If you stay overweight you are at a greater risk of dying than going through the surgery.

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 AWESOME! I couldn't have asked for better support. I had already had 3 family members have this surgery a few years before making my decision and they were doing great. My hubby was FANTASTIC! When I told him he said to me he would support me in any decision I decided to make but he mostly wanted me to knwo that he didn't care what I did I just needed to do something because he wanted me around in 10 years and the rate I was going I may not be there. Everyone has been great with my post-op success. I just wish I could wrap my arms around everyone I love and who was there for me all at once and say, "Thank You for being You. Thank You for loving me when I was fat and Thank You most of all for loving me everyday!"

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

I told my employer why I needed to take two weeks off and they were very supportive of me. I work for a group of 11 doctors so I had there support 100%. They were fantastic. I was supposed to be off for 2 full weeks but by the beginning of the second week I was going into my job and picking up work to take home because I was bored. They did not want me back until I had a release from my surgeon but they were great.

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

I have no aftercare support withthe exception of calling mys urgeon whenever I need to. I have my family and friends. I think it is very important that the people closest to you understand and be a part of the surgery decision making and the process so they understand and support you after surgery.

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

I had laproscopic and my scars are just small pink lines on my belly. I am so glad I was able to have laproscopic. It is not what I expected I really had expected them to be bigger.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I have continued so far to lose weight. It has just been within the last week that I have had a little difficulty. I am 7 months post-op and have lost 125.5 pounds. I have 17.5 more pounds to lose on my own and then I need to get a tummy tuck which will take care of about 10 pounds. That is my biggest hangup is wanting this lasty 17.5 pounds to go so I can have my surgery and feel even better about myself.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Yes people treat me very different now. Not family or frineds but I notice more people look at me and they make eye contact and it is really sad because once you are overweight you will always remember what it is like for this to happen.