My First Visit With Surgeon

[Kat56 0]

Hi Everyone,

I went to my seminar on March 17, 2008 and my appointment with my surgeon (actually, the nurse does this preliminary visit) is tomorrow at 8:00am.

What can I expect? I know that I will have bloodwork done, I know that I will have x-rays scheduled, an appointment with a nutritionist scheduled and an appointment with a psych scheduled for me.

My question is, will my life begin to change for the better beginning tomorrow? Will there be lifestyle changes beginning tomorrow?

Thanks in advance for any input.

Kat

[MaidMarion 1]

I think it would be hard for any of us to say what will happen for you. My changes started with the seminar in that I lost weight almost immediately although a lot of people go through the last supper syndrome. I know I was so worried about the psyche exam which was a piece of cake. I had an all day long behavior modification class that was informative and interesting. Did nutrition and still have exercise and rehab to talk to before I will go for my final consult with the surgeon and then the two week liquid diet for surgery. With Dr. Edwards our labs are done the day before surgery. I don't know if it means our blood work will be better or what because it seems weird to wait so long for them but every doctor seems to be different. Maybe you can find someone on here who went to the same surgeon? Good luck!

[Kat56 0]

Thank-you so much for replying to my post.

I am very happy for you that you began to change your life after you completed your seminar, that's excellent!

I enjoyed reading your response, it was fun and helpful.

...Awaiting Tomorrow...

Kat

[kathystrick 3]

So, Kat - How did things go today?

[Kat56 0]

Hiya Kathy,

It was nothing like I had expected. I don't believe that I worded my post correctly, what I was wondering was, "should I be ready for bloodwork?" etc, so I knew if today would be an "all day testing" or just a review of my medical history and appointments would be made by the office for me, none of that happened.

I was the first patient, I think that the nurse was a little tired, truthfully. Bloodwork was not done at the surgeon's office (the seminar stated that it would be) but I did get prescriptions to have blood work done, an EKG, stool sample, a chest x-ray and another type of blood test where they get the blood from an arterie, the list was huge!

I was given a book explaining the procedure, my doctor is using the "realize" band and I was given a list of things that I had to complete.

I have to make my own appointment with the nutritionist and she is on vacation this week, I also have to schedule my appoointment with the psych (I called and got her answering machine, I am waiting for her to call me back so I can schedule that) and I don't think that I will have to do the physical therapy part because I was involved in a horrid auto crash which has left me disabled so I am limited in what I can do physically.

The good news is that the hospital is right across the street from the surgeon's office so I drove there after my morning appointment and completed ALL of the testing that is necessary (since I did fast last night expecting bloodwork today).

I went to my doctor's office to request a letter of recommendation.

So, I have to complete a visit with the nutritionalist, the psych appointment, a support group meeting ... and ... I am not sure what else I need to do.

I do have an appointment for July 28, 2008, with my surgeon, the nurse said that if I have all of my paperwork back early, she would call me and move the appointment up.

So, all in all, that was my experience, thank-you for asking, I appreciate that!

Kat

[Kat56 0]

Kathy,

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR APPROVAL!!! I've been reading your posts and was hoping that you would get word soon, I just re-read your "signature" and saw that you were approved TODAY, I am soo happy for you!!!!

Kat

[kathystrick 3]

Wow! You had a busy day! Glad you were able to get so much knocked out at once though. Getting all of the hospital testing taken care of really seemed to be the biggest, most time consuming part for me. Hopefully you can get the rest taken care of and get that date with the surgeon moved up! Good luck!

[kathystrick 3]

Whoops! I just saw your congratulations! Guess I should read all the posts before I start blabbing!

Thanks, Kat! Your approval day will be here before you know it!

[mpope 1]

Kat, thanks so much for posting this. It is very helpful to us newbies to know what to expect at each turn.

[Froggi 4]

The first appointment I had was checking the heart talking and filling out paperwork on history etc. I had all the tests and labs done the next week and now I am working on a 6 month supervised diet starting tomorrow so I'd say around the end of october or beginning of november I should be close to surgery (hopefully) Oh and I'm waiting for my psych appt might found out when that is tomorrow actually.

[Kat56 0]

Whoops! I just saw your congratulations! Guess I should read all the posts before I start blabbing!

Thanks, Kat! Your approval day will be here before you know it!

Kathy,

I didn't see that you had been approved until after I posted my reply so it's all good, I was just so happy to see that!!!

Kat

[Kat56 0]

Kat, thanks so much for posting this. It is very helpful to us newbies to know what to expect at each turn.

No problem at all, I have received so much information from this forum and have read the "shares" of other members and they are all excellent people who share their experiences and since Kathy asked, LoL,

Take care,

Kat

[Kat56 0]

The first appointment I had was checking the heart talking and filling out paperwork on history etc. I had all the tests and labs done the next week and now I am working on a 6 month supervised diet starting tomorrow so I'd say around the end of october or beginning of november I should be close to surgery (hopefully) Oh and I'm waiting for my psych appt might found out when that is tomorrow actually.

It sounds like you are right on the ball with getting everything done post-op, I'm proud of you and I do wish you the best of luck!

Kat