First Appointment

[simplysmile 10]

Hello! I have my initial appointment on Friday. Could someone tell me what I should expect? Is it a full examination or just some vitals and then mainly discussion thereafter? If there is a post or another source of information that can help me better understand the process and what to expect, please let me know! Thank you

[catwoman7 11,223]

mine was the latter - (not even sure if they did vitals, but maybe they did. I think it was mostly discussion, though)

[GradyCat 3,696]

Where I had mine done, you attended a group "seminar" where one of the practice's surgeons talked about the different WLS options, how they worked, etc. and they answered any questions you had, then you left with a huge thick packet of information and application for WLS. After you turned in the application packet, you scheduled your initial visit with the surgeon where you talked about the specific WLS you wanted, asked questions, they got your history and vitals then turned you over to an office person to talk about the process of insurance approval, specialist's approvals if applicable, primary care doctor approval, psych visit, and nutritionist visit.

[liveaboard15 1,293]

My first appointment was about 5 minutes long. They weighed me, Took me to a room where a nurse went thru the paperwork and lab test that i brought from my medical record and asked me some questions, Surgeon came in after, explained what gastric sleeve surgery was and quickly read over the nurses notes and that was it. Got a binder with information on the steps needed to complete (Nutrition class, Support group, Psyc Eval) and in the mail a week later i got my lab orders and imaging orders to do.

[suzannethemom 121]

I had two “first appointments” with two different WLS centers and they were completely different. At center #1, I met with a physician assistant who looked like she was maybe 28 years old. She went over my medical history and weight issues. Then I met with a dietician for an hour. She grilled me about my previous BED in 2016 and decided that I was not ready for surgery and I needed to work on late night snacking. I was pissed, so I went to center #2. First I met with a nurse for about 15 minutes (vitals and paperwork). Then I met with the surgeon for about 30 minutes. We discussed my family history, weight issues, and surgery details and questions. He gave me a binder loaded with information from pre-surgery to post-surgery. The did blood work afterwards. I got a phone call the next day to schedule necessary tests and appointments with a dietitian, exercise physiologist and psychologist.

Edited February 2, 2022 by suzannethemom

[ShoppGirl 5,048]

Mine was just about medical history. We started discussing the procedures but they said I didn’t have to decide which one right away.

Edited February 2, 2022 by ShoppGirl

[Maurej 2]

My first meeting lasted almost 2 hours. The first hour I met with the surgeon. He had a PowerPoint presentation on his computer that gave an overview of the different WL surgeries available and explained the entire procedure. It was very informative. Then I sat with the nurse coordinator and she gave me a binder with all the information in it. She also gave me a checklist and went through all the appointments and tests I would need to have done prior to surgery.