Questions to ask at first appointment?

[dandylion_23 5]

Tomorrow is my first appointment with the Dr. What are some good questions to ask? I am so nervous I can't even think right now!

[Miss Mac 6,261]

How do you handle pain management?

Many people get excruciatingly painful "shoulder gas" after surgery. It is residual CO2 which is used to inflate the abdominal cavity so that the doctor can work more easily with his laparascopic tools. When I asked my surgeon about this, he said that he extracts as much of the CO2 as possible. Thankfully, I did not have any issue whatsoever with shoulder gas, even though I was cautiously expecting it.

I had a morphine pump the first day and hydorcodone the second day. Upon discharge, I used hydrocodone for two days at home, and that was all I needed. I have had 12 surgeries in my lifetime (including two c-sections and two joint replacements) and my sleeve was absolutely the easiest.

[byebyedarkpassenger 203]

Ask whether you'll need to be on a liquid diet before surgery and if so, for how long. On this site, off the top of my head I believe I've seen requirements ranging from a day or so to three weeks with the most common being 2 weeks.