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

I had a friend who went through it ten years ago and was successful and I thought she was VERY brave. I wouldn't have considered it at the time but then I was also thoroughly neurotic about doctors and medical care.

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

I went in Friday July 12, 2002 at 7 AM. Wheeled into surgery at 8:30 AM. Awake about Noon. Had GB/RNY-open. Felt like a sledgehammer to my solar plexus when trying to breathe deeper or talk. Pain meds dropped my blood pressure too much, so they took it away and I spent the night in icu. They had moist swabs for dry mouth. I was dreading the foley catheter and the ng tube but both were removed on Saturday without event or discomfort and they got me up to my feet. I went to a regular room (and I'd asked repeatedly for a private room and blessedly got one. Keep asking!) I didn't expect or want guest of my own and really did not want to be disturbed by others. I had to get up often for the bathroom so was also glad I was not disturbing anyone else by that or my cell phone use or when my iv sounds went off. (No cell phone use in icu or near a cardiac unit.) I had the last pain meds Saturday night and from then on, yes I was uncomfortable getting in and out of bed but it was bearable. I never took any pain meds at home either. I got ice chips on Saturday and first meal Sunday night (broth, tea, sugar free sorbet.) They disconnected iv's on Sunday afternoon (hurrah!) and let me sleep from 11 - 6 am Monday (also hurrah- ask if that is possible.) I came home after Monday lunch (broth, yogurt, and I live alone and was well prepared and it was no problem.) Take a cell phone if you are making toll or long distance calls and a charger, earplugs were an excellent idea and an eye mask (even flash lights wake me), slip on rubber slippers for walking and the shower and if they don't provide you with an abdominal binder (and they may not if your procedure is lap, get one at a medical supply store or even Home Depot.) I had one from the hospital which was fine there but went to my Home Depot back support belt worn backwards since I've been home since it was cooler. The support feels very good (still at four weeks)and I think it is keeping my scar from spreading.

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

I did not have to have a bowel prep before surgery but voluntarily had nothing but clear liquids the day before. All systems were working by Sunday (though I'd hoped everything would be out of my system by then.) I had no complications except my night in the icu. I had diarrhea for a week but when semi solids were added, like strained cream soups, it stopped.

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 am at four weeks and feel great. I have been really food focused though it is decreasing as the range of what I can eat has expanded. I have had chinese food, shrimp, fish, beef and pork chops. Albeit tiny bites well chewed in tiny portions. The initial warning bubbles have stopped. (When things bubbled, that meant I'd had enough.) So I am having to be cautious since one bite too many means I start to perspire and feel a little weak for a few minutes.) I've had no problems with fruit (no peel or seeds except in berries)but have not moved on to lettuce or raw veggies. Mostly still trying to get my protein in and not quite there but I am eating more and that helps. I drink a half bottle of isopure a day (trying to increase it to a bottle since it is 40 grams to a bottle) and if cold enough it is palatable. I am down 25 pounds (from 210 to 185) and thrilled. Already down from a women's 20 to a women's 16 or 14. I have been swimming twice at the gym (first time in 30 years I've worn a bathing suit and thought I was going to drown.) and I will start weight machines and a water aerobics class when I reach the six weeks mark. I get an occasional twinge when I think that I will never be able to eat dessert out again (forgetting that a bite or two will be more than enough.) and sometimes want to eat more than I can just for the sheer pleasure of the taste. I can find something good at most restaurants now - fast food places excepted - but expect Wendys salads and chicken will be o.k. soon. I have not had trouble with moist beef or chicken or peanut butter or refried beans or in fact, anything unless too much. I have not been sick or even queasy. Have even had one sixth of a bagel with peanut butter for breakfast and it was fine (well chewed.) and two wontons in soup including the noodle part. At three weeks I felt a slight emotional drop and went back on anti depressants, though a lower dose and cut into little pieces. Basically I feel real good and have much increased energy. I am now at seven months and feeling good. I am not getting enough protein and for the first time in my life I have been am off meat. It sounds good, smells good and tastes good for about two bites. However shrimp, lobster and crab sit fine (found a great $12.95 lobster.) I have lost 71 pounds and am now at 144. I have purchased my first size tens in more than thirty years but my waist is still a size 14- and most of my clothes are now size 12s. Oh well, I never did actually have a waist so I am looking forward to a tummy tuck. I have not been good about exercise or even my vitamins so must reform. I am going to sign up at that Curves for Women and have a gym membership but have not been managing to go. However, lest you think I have remained a total couch potato, I have been taking kayak lessons and have gone back to ballroom dance lessons. I had a two month plateau at 151 1/2 but could feel things shifting and then last week suddenly dropped 7 1/2 pounds. I still seem to be eating a diet primarily composed of grapes (and naturally I like the green ones and not the healthier red ones) but the cool moist crunchy sweetness is very satisfying and there isn't a lot left after you've crunched the juice out. But basically I can eat everything - just small quantities. My scar is not bad at all and I really attribute that to wearing a support belt for seven weeks. I do dump (one or two small cookies is o.k., 1/3 of a large blueberry muffin was not) so I am grateful since my inclinations were always those of a sugar eater and not a binge eater. I have lost muscle and strength and must really work on regaining those. I poop out fast in the kayak partly from lack of strength and partly from lack of technique. But when I am struggling to get back into the kayak from deep water (and boy is it a struggle but part of the lessons)and I am wearing a bathing suit, long underwear, a wet suit, a spray skirt, a jacket and a bulky lifejacket, socks and boots and hat and gloves, and it is all soaking wet and very very heavy- I think that this was me- without being overloaded and full of water - so I am filled with gratitude once again. And now I look like like a seal in a seal suit and not like a walrus stuffed into a seal suit as I did before in my men's short double x neoprene fishing waders. I had a little frustration over the plateau but have not have much anxiety- and now am getting very uppity with men (since I am now such a Goddess- at least in my own mind.) It was long overdue.

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

You may have some emotional lows- especially if you have gone cold turkey off anti-depressants. There is such excitement (and some fear) going in that then there can be a letdown even though there is some exhileration with the weight loss. Some people are very private about having had the procedure. I was absolutely open about it with everyone BUT my mother (who I didn't tell until after it was over.) I appreciated and continue to appreciate their interest and support. You may have some plateaus - even fairly early. The smell of food is so tempting and you may feel so deprived - especially before you can have at least a bite or two and realize that the bite or two is enough. You may not have a lot of physical energy because you are not eating enough- but that is the point of this. No matter how fast you are losing, it can seem like this journey will be interminable and that there is so much yet to lose. Focus on the losses and not the amount remaining to be lost. Get out and do things. Clip photos from mags with wardrobe ideas and don't buy too much but enough to feel good about yourself. Get regular photos taken of yourself. You need to see your own progress. Maybe get new makeup and a new hairdo and have your colors done if that interests you. Clothes I bought in September were terribly baggy six weeks later. I have had the best time at Ross and Marshalls and actually found more there than at Nordstrom's etc. Plan on eventually needing everything- even my shoe size dropped a half size and I now have liners in them. You will need nighties, undies etc. but you don't need those right away. Indulge yourself. This is for you and you deserve to feel special in all respects. Eating was the way many of us felt special when devoting our lives to taking care of others.

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

30 miles. Not a problem. I had two or three follow up appts and have another later this month.

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

Meetings at Mills Peninsula hospital third Thursdays. It was more helpful before. I have two other more local (San Jose) groups which I am finding a bit more depressing since the problems are more voiced. Blessedly I haven't had any problems. They were very helpful before surgery.

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

It is much better than expected. My surgery was open and is between six and seven inches. He managed to miss both my bra line and panty line so nothing rubs. Staples were removed at two weeks. I am still wearing the piece of tape at four weeks. It seems to want to stick through showers and swiming. The scar is very narrow, a few little red staple marks. I am still wearing a support belt (my back belt from Home Depot is cooler than the abdominal support from the hospital) and I think this is helping to keep the scar from spreading or turning red. I've seen some that looked a whole lot worse a lot further past surgery than mine. I am very fair skinned to start with and think there will just be a narrow white line in the long run.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

17 pounds in the first two weeks and only seven more in that last two weeks of my total of four. Hope to sustain about ten pounds per month but we shall see. I am 63 pounds from ideal so it may not be as fast as I'd like. Now seven months out and just had a two month plateau but I could feel it moving around. Then 7 1/2 pounds down in one week. I am now 22 pounds from my ideal weight if I was a twenty-one year old and since I am 57 I may or may not get there and I'm not going to get frantic about it. I'd like to have a waist. I never had one even at my youngest and slimmest so that is a tummy tuck objective. My hips will now fit in to size 10 pants but my waist is still a 14 so the elastic has to be generous. I might lose a couple of pounds with the tummy tuck and brachioplasty (for baggy arms) but it likely won't be that substantial. I am starting to investigate the plastic surgery procedures but doubt I'll be ready much before my one year gastric bypass mark and that is o.k. and I feel very lucky for that.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Not yet except in that I am so happy and so open about my surgery. It was a secret only from my mother (until it was over) and everyone had been very supportive. I am a practicing attorney, told every client I saw for the six months it was in the works and the response was uniformly supportive. A few were concerned about complications and risks but still supportive and many have called to see how I'm doing. Many offered help at home so I felt very loved and honored. I'd let my mother know I was thinking about the procedure and given her some materials to read. She is her usual controlling buttinsky self but actually took it fairly well though her feelings were hurt. However since I have practiced law for almost 30 years and am going on 60 (well, 57 actually), I did not need her permission to do anything and did not wish to hear from her about it. Now at seven months out, my mother is absolutely thrilled I did this though I am now so petite (compared to my former self) that she thinks I've gotten shorter too. I'd forgotten how little (about 5'1") I really am. One thing that has been fascinating is that my whole image of myself was as heavy- that was my cross to bear, my distinguishing feature etc. etc. Now I have clients who hadn't seen me in several years and didn't know about it who say- "You look great- what is different?" Others say "I never thought of you as heavy."