The Appointments

Does anyone else around here have a full schedule?  Yep, mine is chalk full of appointment after appointments.  This is on top of my already busy life with two kids, a husband, and a launching business.  Then when you have gone to that appointment, you can go ahead and schedule another appointment with someone different.  Whew!  I'm tired to say the least and if you have to drive more than 30 minutes and find childcare, that's a whole different monster.  My poor mother, who watches my children part time, she did not even know what was going on since I kept it to myself for awhile.  Bottom line, you are committing to something that's for sure...appointments. 

Get out your calendar and let's go through these bad boys for what to expect.

The Orientation
This is the introduction.  You have already filled out the patient application.  You hopefully have already received word that your insurance covers the surgery.  You will know if you have any pre-surgery requirements or if your insurance only covers a certain type of surgery.  During orientation you will get a higher level overview of what you are about to embark on, get blood drawn for labs, get the EKG and talk to the Sleep Specialist.  It only took about three hours.  And did I mention the 320 question psychology test, true/false/Scranton, (I felt like I was in school again).

The Nutritionist
Meeting with the nutritionist was super important for me.  I had a lot of questions about what I would be eating and how my body will process the food.  Gaining weight back, Am I going to throw up everything,  you know the usual worries.  I actually found out a lot from the women I interviewed but it was nice to speak with a nutritionist.  It will be nice to speak with my sister about it too after she knows.  She used to work in a hospital as a dietician and I am absolutely positive she worked weight loss surgery patients.  It was a long time ago, and things have changed with the surgery (the sleeve is newer) so this could be good or bad for when I tell her.  Not sure what her experience has been like and if she is against it. Regardless, I know she loves me and will support me no matter what.  My nutritionist was the first one that used the word "tool".  That is something I have heard a ton.  Surgery is no magic pill, but it is the most amazing tool you can have to help you lose the weight.  I still have to do all the hard work and make the right choices.

The Physical Therapist
Dr. Babbit was great, actually a Chiropractor.  He gave me some exercises to do, to help my lower back.  I asked about what type of exercise I should be doing post-op.  They want you walking everyday at least for 20 minutes.  That is to start.  You can gradually increase from there.  I also grabbed a brochure while I was waiting that talked about metabolism.  And that you have to be careful your body does not start burning your muscle.  That is why you should exercise at least every other day and life some weights on the opposite days.

The Psychologist
After I took that huge long 2 hour test all I could do is wonder what the results were.  Am I normal or are they going to have to get out that little white jacket for me.  My doc said there are two types of profiles, the normal and the medical.  Rarely he gets "a crazy", well truthfully... never.  The medical profile is the one that is starting to not trust their body.  I guess that was what I was.  Not really sure what else it means.  But there you go.  You can read more about my appointment with the psychologist here.

The Sleep Study Results
Well you heard all about this here.  It's the appointment they will review your results and if need be (you have sleep apnea), put you on a C-PAP machine.  I was too emotional during this appointment, so she suggested I talk to the surgeon first to see if I really needed the machine before she set me up on one.  The awesome news is that my doctor said that I was just under the requirement for being on the machine and that after the surgery, she wants me to be retested in a year.  Remember not all apnea is caused by being overweight.

Surgeon Consultation
This was the one appointment I was most nervous about.  The one that would affect my future the most.  What if she told me no, I could not have it.  Then of course I was ready for plan B.  Dr. Patterson was amazing.  I felt so at ease.  She was "real", if you know what I mean.  I knew she was the expert, and she was.  She talked about risks I was concerned about and complications that could happen, but that had never happened to her.  The slight differences between each surgery.  And then she said she believed I would be a good candidate.  Was that it?  I was so stressed about this appointment, not sure why.  But I just wanted someone to tell me that I should or should not get the surgery.  Remember what I said about it is your decision.  Yep, that fact still remains.  I have done the research and already made my decision, I was just waiting for the approval and guess what, she gave it!  There were some people in my support group that had a doctor tell them no after they went through the process.  But if you meet the requirements and don't have any major health problems that could complicate it, chances are it will go through.

The Endocrinologist
My last appointment prior to the request for final insurance approval- And all I have to say is, probably my favorite one.  I am very aware of Endocrinologists and what they do because of my diabetic father.  Besides the surgeon, they are the very smart ones.  And mine was extra smart, Dr. Raum had a PHD in Biochemistry. Genius!  And so glad he is on my team.  He is the one that works all the numbers.  They work with your metabolism, blood pressure, blood sugars and whatever else you can calculate.  They find the balance.

That's it for now folks, unless you would like to make an appointment with me:)

-CB