Louise B.

Obesity & Me

Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.

I ahve been over weight for most of my life, I dont remember a time when I wasn't the "chubby two buns" or the "Fat one". I have tried many many diets and all had the same result loose ok, then when it was time to stop the diet, back came the weight and more. Several times I decided no more dieting, I was just going to be me. That changed when I started getting high blood pressure, and a scare of diabieties. I thought I have to get a handle on this. I started thinking about surgery when a friend of mine mentioned he had the fobi-pouch. I looked into it and thought wow thats drastic. But after the fiasco wiht fen-phen,(which worked great for me) it didn't seem so bad, I have beed researching, and working on insurance for about 3 years.

What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?

The worst thing about being overweight is not being able to comfortably do normal things in life. Not being able to play with my children the way I would love too.

If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?

I tried roller blading for the first time. Kinda Scary. I can jump on the trampoline with the kids, go for walks, I really just enjoy life now much more than I did.

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

I think I answered this in the previous questions. I did a lot of research on the internet, and found out that it was a great tool in the battle of the bulge

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

Our insurance deal was a nightmare, but it was only because of a mix up. what ever you do, keep fighting!

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?

Most people were very supportive. I Dont think I would have changed a thing, I told only a few key people, and the people I knew wouldn't approve (my Dad) I waited until 3 days before to tell him. Every one has been so supportive now, they all see how this was the best thing I ever did!

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

I was only there for 36 hours. it was short and sweet The hospital was great. Don't bring a lot of reading material or stuff to do, all I wanted to do was sleep!

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

We have a great aftercare program, we have monthly support group meetings. And the Doctors staff is always there to help with questions. I think this is one of the most important things we have, there are so many changes that we go through after this surgery it is very good to have people around that know what we are going through.

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

very tiny scar! I had lap. the scars and much smaller than I expected.
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