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

I first heard about bariatric surgery TV. Carnie Wilson was very influential in my decision to look into the surgery. I was very intrigued and skeptical at the same time.

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

I was luck, I had no problems getting approved.

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

Luckily my daughter and I went for the surgury together. She is the one who asks questions and I do the research. If she hadn't been there that first appointment I probably wouldn't have asked any questions.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I think Carni Wilsons website and this website had the most influence on me. I was really frustrated with failing on diets, and WLS was literally a lifesaver for me.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I researched WLS thoroughly on the web for about a year and decided RNY was the most successful as far as keeping the weight off.

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 tend to be kind of optomistic so I just figured everything would be ok. I also have that hide your head in the sand and nothing will happen bad( gets me in trouble) so I just don 't think about the bad things.

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?

Except for my daughter I don't have any family around me. Since she had the surgury with me I had no one to react to my decision.

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

My office manager viewed the surgury as cosmetic. He was ignorant. My immediate supervisor was supportive and actually had the operation herself about a year after I did, as did 3 other people in my office. I was personally out of work for 12 weeks because I had terrible depression.

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 stay in the hospital was very pleasant. The nurses were very helpful, although I felt they were not very knowledgeable about the procedure. I had more informative information about post-op procedures then they did. Then there was RN Vannessa, who pushed my morphine shot too quickly and caused me to vomit blood for 6 hours. Bring reading materials or portable hobbies, even a laptop. Anything to keep your mind off the fact that you can't eat. I was lucky in that my daughter had the operation at the same time and we were in the same room so we kept each other occupied. We were our own support team.

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

I didn't really have any complications. I did seem to get food stuck more often than my daughter did. I don't know if that was a result of being given my morphine to quickly, causing me to vomite blood for 6 hours the day after surgery or not, but that eventually ended and now I am fine.

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 both anxious and nervous waiting for the day of surgery. My daughter and I just talked things out and I did lots of research on the internet for the both of us.

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

At the time we had the surgury the closest doctors and hospitals were about 150 miles from where I live. This made it hard on the people who came to visit and the ride home when we were released was a little uncomfortable, but other than that it was 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.

I know people that have had the surgury since me and had different doctors and their diet after the surgury was very different then mine. We left the hospital eating pureed foods, not just liquids. I found that I couldn't tolerate sugar or certain dairy for quite awhile. It took 2 years before I could eat ice cream or drink milk. Now I can eat certain brands of ice cream but others still bother me (Friendlies in particular for some reason) and I can drink a juice glass amount of milk with no problem. This is the best thing for those foods that just need milk, like chocolate cake. I found that if there was a particular food that bothered me I just had to keep trying it every few months because my tolerances changed all the time.

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

I had more energy than I had in many years. I worked on the third floor in a building that had elevator problems all the time. I used to go to work and find the elevator down and would dread the climb up the stairs before WLS. I would have to stop atleast 3 times on my way up to catch my breath. After the surgury I used the stairs all the time instead of the elevator and didn't even get winded.

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

I'm not good with my vitamins. I find it hard to find chewable vitamins and the regular ones are huge. I do take my B12.

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, vomiting, gas, and hair loss were my worse side effects. If I had to choose one that was the worst it would be the gas. I used to double over with pain for hours with horrible gas pains. The nausea, vomiting ans hair loss lasted for months. The gas lasted longer. As a matter of fact I still have some problems with that but have since found some medications that help.

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

The leak test right after the surgury was a little hard to take. I had a hard time keeping the drink down. But I'd have to say the vomiting blood because of an incompetant nurse giving my morphine to quickly was the worse.

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

I didn't do aftercare support except with my daughter.

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

I had laproscopic surgery so my scars are very small.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I had several plateaus along the way after surgery, and they were very frustrating. I changed my eating habits a bit by adding more fattening foods for a few days and then went back to the diet and the plateaus usually ended.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

People definately treat me differently. Before WLS I never had anyone ask me if I needed help when I was trying to lift heavy things into my vehicle, now they ask all the time. I get treated much better. I also have people speak to me on the street who would never have spoken before. Before WLS I used to hear the cruel comments about how fat I was.