So you think you want Bariatric Surgery? My journey

Day before surgery. My faith coat I bought on sale. It was a small. I could not get both arms in it.

Aug 08 4 months post op with Roxanne. If I learn more about this thing, I'll put these in order.

Aug 22 08, my first wild pair of pants with no elastic. Size 16.

Christmas 08 You are supposed to lose weight for 12-18 months, then you are on your own with diet and exercise. I only lost for 7 months and it quit. But my body and fat keep shrinking. This is size 10.

Nov 08 with the apron Charlotte made me.

November 08

Me and my friend, Beth Clark, around Sept 08. I think I looked my healthiest about this time.

One year picture. Size 8/10 for jeans, but draw backs like wrinkled skin and no hair.

I got my faith coat on in one year. It was snug but I got it zipped.

Day before surgery. I am built like my Dad and sister, Geneva. Bigger on top, no butt, no legs. My stomach was like a very hard, huge basketball, for years.

Oct 08, 7 months post op by our pond

Christmas 07. I had not thought yet to check into surgery. I had my information seminar 1/27/08 and was scheduled for surgery and cleared with insurance for 4/2/08. They zoomed all the paperwork through due to my diabetes.

On 7/17 I added a note about the expense of it that I had not talked about before.

I had a Bariatric Reux n Y procedure on 4/2/08. I weighed about 220. My highest weight ever has been 238. I had a severe case Type II Diabetes. I was taking 112 U of Lantux and various amounts of Novalog with each meal, meaning 5-7 shots a day. Still my sugar was running 250-300. My HA1c was 11.5 which is nearly as high as it rates.

Would I recommend Bariatric surgery for losing weight? Never. It is too dangerous.

Would I recommend it if you had Type II Diabetes or other health problems? Don't give it another thought, get it done. I wish I had done it years ago. I never considered it.

A Reux n Y procedure bypasses 2 ft of colon and something about it cures diabetes in almost every person. Most by the time they stay in the hospital overnight. I was taken off insulin at 7 weeks post op. At one year I was released by my Diabetic Dr because he had no reason to see me anymore. My sugar is normal, no meds, and my HA1c is 6.1.

Good points? It feels priceless to purchase and wear a pair of pants with no elastic for the first time in decades. It feels priceless to buy and wear a belt for the first time since having your first child who is now 36.

Depressing points? If you have it done in your 20's, 30's, or even 40's, you look years younger immediately. But in your 50's you have such issues with crinkling, crepe-y skin (as you have seen on tv) that is makes you very depressed. If you think you are embarrassed to be seen in a bathing suit when you feel fat??? It's nothing compared to not wanting people to see your skin that looks like a 90 year old. Last summer I was starting to feel good about being in a suit, thinking, Wow, next year I have to buy a new one in a smaller size? But then, you have upper arms that flap in the wind, a mid section (your 'apron') that you can pull out about a foot in front of you, and your knees need a 'knee lift'. You no longer wear sleeveless things because it's disgusting to show your arms.

They tell you at surgery that no amount of exercise or creams or anything but plastic surgery will do anything to this excess skin. They weren't kidding.

I am at 151 and stable. I looked healthier around 167. But after that my friends started getting on to me about being too thin, etc. But you aren't in control of this until your body tells you it quits. About 6 mo ago I started shrinking in my face and it got crepe-y too. I feel like I have aged 20 years in the last 6 months.

Oh, also, everyone's hair falls out at 6 months. Some people get it all back but most have much thinner hair, even if it was thick before surgery. Mine was thin like my sister's and my Mom's so it is still real thin.

It is hard work. You get very hungry and then you eat one bite and are full. You cannot have soda before surgery or until at least 3 months post op. Or caffeine or smoke. Caffeine or cheating with sugar make you sick to your stomach forever. So it's not an easy solution. But if you are sick and going to die if you don't have some changes, it is worth it.

When a beautful young overweight woman says, Oh, I'd like to have that done to lose weight! I just say, Then first take a look at my butt with sagging skin, then you decide. It's not a pretty sight.

Yes, there is good and bad. But I don't think I would be here today if I had not gotten it done. And I thank Dr. Gupta at St. Vincent's at Carmel in Indianapolis for doing a great job. Thanks for letting me share.

p.s. The Cost : The average cost is $25K for the surgery. You must be prepared to need an entire new wardrobe about 4 months out, from coats to shoes. There are some ways online to trade off your clothes with other weight loss surgery patients. I do that but gave my clothes away and tried buying new ones on sale.

They tell you that you must commit to taking a multiple vitamin a day for the rest of your life. I thought, Oh goody, no problem. I'll just take a Gummy every day. Well, that does not count. Only 3 Flintstone's Complete or generic equivalent. Or bariatric chewable vitamins which are very expensive. Plus you need Vitamin D every day.

Your stomach opening is the size of an aspirin so you must take chewables, liquids, or powders.

But....you also much take B12 sublingual weekly or a monthly shot. Plus B1 every week at least.

The hardest thing is calcium. It must be a certain kind, 1500 mg a day and you can't take pills because they are huge. Bariatric has chewables but they make you gag, or at least it did me. There are bariatric powders to put in drinks but they are very bitter. It says tasteless and orderless but they are bitter.

Your tastes are in a constant state of change. I went through periods where fruit Jello tasted wonderful. For a long time, a cookie with fiber I made. Right now I want a berry, and blueberry, strawberry or any kind of berry each day. So you might do good with a certain vitamin at one time, then cannot endure the smell or taste of it later. So it's really hard to get the vitamins and calcium down.

Just a note.