September 5th, 2010

I had my consultation at the Hospital Diabetes Education Center. The appt was with a Registered Dietician and was probably the most helpful step of the process thus far.

The dietician sent me a packet to fill out a week before my appointment that asked for my medical/psychological history as well as a 3 day food journal. I brought the completed packet with me, and we spent the first 15 minutes going over my responses.

The only physical portion of the consultation was stepping on the scale. Always my favorite part... After that it was just sitting at a desk going over paperwork.

She asked me some more medical questions, my family history of obesity related weight concerns mostly... then proceeded into the information about the surgery. Since I had already decided on the surgery I was getting, she didn't bother going over the bypass or sleeve paperwork, and devoted the entire 40 minutes to the lap-band.

She explained the process where everyone else left off... at the point of waking up from the surgery. What to expect pain wise, what to eat, the first day, week, month, year of recovery. And most importantly what the rest of my life would be like. She took out a 2 ounce measuring cup and put it in my hand to help me understand what it looked like, (and to drive home the point that a piece of pizza would NOT fit in it).

She went over a lot of possible complications and the requirements for getting the most out of band. She was incredibly patient and encouraging, answering all my questions and honestly laying out the difficult road that only STARTS at getting the surgery. She have me a behavior modification schedule that the reccommended starting NOW to be an expert at it by the time the band is put in.

As I left I knew this was something I was going to do. I took the little cup home with me and set it on my foyer table where I would pass it often.

The next day I called the Doctor's office and scheduled the surgery. I'm still nervous, but really the hesitation and doubt have lifted. I'm so confident with my decision to get the lap-band. I'm really excited about this first step in changing my life.

:thumbup: