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

I worked very close with the nurses and secretaries of my surgeon, and to tell you the truth, they did all of the work. They were wonderful! My insurance approved me to go to the hospital within the week...this wasn't a pre-approval for them to cover the costs of the surgery. They don't do that. I wouldn't find that out till after the surgery; they just approved that this surgeon could put me in the hospital for the operation in question. A little backwards if you ask me, but that's how my insurance handled it. In the end, they paid for 90% of the whole hospital stay and surgery.

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

He was wonderful. He answered every question, and even drew me diagrams of exactly what will happen during the surgery. The next visit, I had a whole page of questions written down for him (I recommend this....I always remember questions after I saw him). He pulled up a stool and answered every single question. He also sent me home with some informational pamphlets.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

When I peaked at 260 pounds at a height of 5'3". I couldn't stand it any more. Nothing was working. Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, grapefruit diets, protien diets, no carb diets(the hardest for me), you name it I tried it. I was so heavy that working out was nearly impossible. I knew I needed help....

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I decided if I was going to go through with any proceedure, I was going to have the most successful one done. Pretty much, if I was gonna do it, I was gonna do it right! So, I had the full open gastric bypass and stomach stapling done.

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?

Believe it or not, I was only really worried about future malnutrition complications. I'm not saying that I didn't think about dying, or other things that could go wrong, but I knew that other than being over weight, I was relatively healthy. I knew in my heart that things would work out ok. So, I went into the surgery with a positive attitude....thinking that this was the begining of the rest of my life! I truly believe that positive attitude helped me heal very fast and I was able to get back to work part time in 10 days following 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?

At first my father and brother were very worried. My mother just asked a lot of questions. I wrote down all of my families questions and concerns on paper, and asked the doctor about everything they feared. I also did some back ground research on my doctor to make sure I wasn't being operated on someone who was a quack! After I went through all of those steps, my family seemed to be more at ease and they were more and more supportive as my surgery date approached. And now, they couldn't be more proud. They admit that they were worried that I felt the surgery was going to do all the work(that I wouldn't exercise or watch what I eat). But they see how well I'm doing and how determined I am to change my life, they constantly are telling me how proud they are of me. It's a wonderful feeling!!!

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

I didn't mention it. I took vacation for 10 days following surgery. Then I came back on 1 week of half days....supplemented by vacation time. When I came back full time, I was only 3 weeks of no lifting, pulling or pushing, but I was at a desk job at the time, so it didn't affect my work. So, I was very lucky at the time.

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

For the most part, my hospital stay was very nice. I only had one incident where I had words with a nursing assistant. I didn't really need anything with me. They provided everything I needed. Maybe the most important thing was I wore very large clothes to the hospital, so that the ride home was as comfortable as possible.

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

No, not from the surgery itself. I came out with flying colors. I never even spent any time in ICU.

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 think I had only one period of about 2 weeks where I was depressed. All I wanted to do was sleep. It was about 2 weeks after surgery. I'm not exactly sure why I was depressed...all I remember is staying in bed all day, then I would go to work, then back to bed. I had to make myself stop that cycle...and I went for a few walks. It seemed to help.

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

It was hard to sleep at first. Since I had full open surgery, I had a huge scar and staples down my belly. I could only sleep on my back, when became very hard to do after awhile. Within a couple of weeks, I found I could roll on my side(it was nausiating to do this before...even painful), and I proped myself up with pillows and blankets. I didn't use pain killers for more than 3 days, and only at night to help get comfortable enough to sleep. Otherwise, everything went smooth. I wouldn't let anyone help me in and out of chairs or couches...I took my time and did it myself. I wanted to build those muscles up so my stomach would heal faster.

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

My hospital was 50 miles from my home, and my dad picked me up and drove me home. The hospital gave me a bath blanket wrapped up so that I could use it to hold against my stomach....it helped to support my stomach from all the jiggling and motion of the car ride. It helped some, but I was nauseous and tired by the time I got home. After a nap, I was just fine.

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.

The month after surgery I stuck to a pretty bland diet of yogart, cocoa wheats, oatmeal, milk, jello, juice, and apple sauce. After the month, I gradually would try just about anything. I found that if I didn't chew something really well was when I got sick. I had a hard time with eggs and bananas at first. Also, I still can't have a flour tortilla. It just seems to sit like a lump in my stomach. I stay away from starchy foods usually. They fill me up so fast that I can't have anything that I really should eat. I always eat my protien first. I found this out the hard way. Nobody told me just how much protien I should consume in a day, they just said eat the protien first. Then, I started to loose my hair in huge clumps! I found out I was only eating maybe half of what I needed in a day. So, I try to get 45gms of protien a day now. It's hard to do; I just try to work all my meals around having protien and now the hair loss has stopped. Now, it's been 7 months since surgery, and I can eat just about anything. Really greasy stuff gives me trouble....but I don't eat it that often anyway...and actually I really try to stay away from it. Chinese seems to be really hard on me.

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

Within 2 weeks of surgery I was taking walks outside. Not long walks, but for about 10 minutes. Withing a month or two, I was up to a half hour walk and I slowly picked up the pace so I was walking farther and farther in the same amount of time.

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

I take 2 childrens chewables everyday, and once in awhile I supplement my diet with a protien drink. I do this when I know I haven't had enough protien that day.

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 think the hair loss was the most drastic. I lost half of my hair. Luckly I had curly long hair and it wasn't super noticable. But, when I was ready, I just had it all cut off and now I love it! It's really short, but beautiful. And I think my hair is even growing back. I've had a few bouts of bad vomiting. Usually it was when I had some meat that seemed to have gotten stuck. I put some meat tenderizer in warm water and drank that, and it worked every time!!! I still occationally have this problem, so I always keep some tenderizer on hand. I haven't had any sleep disturbance....other than I don't seem to need as much sleep as I did before. It's wonderful!

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

The moments when I was being preped for surgery. I have to admit that's when it hit me that I was scared. The hospital staff was great though. They sat and held my hand until I calmed down...then they gave me something to relax me. The next thing I remember is being wheeled into a room and having a couple of nurses lift me up and put me in another bed. GOD DID THAT HURT!!! My folks heard me crying in the hall...but after they left me alone and gave me that morphine drip, I was fine :) Honestly, that was the only bad part. It was hard getting out of bed the first 4 days, but I was expecting it, and it didn't bother me at all.

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

I don't have one, and I would like one! I came back on this site to try and find one.

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

It's pretty big, but it seems to be getting lighter with each passing month. It's longer than I expected. It's from my breast bone to the top of my navel. It's also raised, and I'm not to happy about it, but I'll live with it.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I haven't really plateaued....I've just slowed down. I'm not worried about it though. As long as I feel good, and slowly I'm loosing, I don't care! On Jan. 31, 2002, I weighed 260lbs. It is Aug. 28th, 2002 and I weighed 168 this morning. I have nothing to complain about. I walk often (not as often as I would like, but I'm also a perfectionist :) As long as I feel healthy, and I'm not gaining weight, then I'm not worried about how long it takes me to get to where I want to be. And to tell you the truth, I'm not even sure what that is. I live for today now, not what may happen in the future. I seem to love life more, and that means more to me than any number a scale can show me.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Oh my god yes!!! People I don't even know stop me and tell me how wonderful I look and that they are really proud of me. That's what I keep reminding myself whenever I feel a little down. I also think I behave differently. I always have a smile on my face; I have a different attitude about how I approach things....all in all, I've never been happier.