Hi, Im new to the site and Im super excited to find out about the vertical sleeve through a friend. I found out a few months ago I was not qualified for the gastric bypass and it broke my heart. I checked it out with my family doctor even before I went any further and she said she would totally support me, the problem though later I found out was not having a BMI over 40 and then theres a HUGE waiting list IF im approved out of however many other people need it more then me. I was like wow, guess thats out. Then I found out about the lapband and have only heard not good things about it since. So I gave up....

then talking to my gf, we started talking about our next "diet".... and she told me about how she was looking into the VS... I had a big smile on my face again!! VS is for BMI over 30 and Im a 33. Sooooooooo I have looked into it and I want this more then anything, but now I need to get the okay from my family doctor in case there are any concerns later I dont want to say oh yes by the way, ha ha .... Im not too scared to talk to her about it since she was so good with the bypass... my only concern is saying, oh yes by the way, its in Mexico (we all know what everyones first reaction is when you say that lol)..... so I want to know what other peoples family doctors said to them?! I would love knowing so maybe I can take some weight off my shoulders... thanks ahead of time!!

Janice

I actually won't be able to tell my family doc until after I'm done - I'm out of the province til like 2 days before my surgery, back home for the weekend before, and then gone to Mexico on Sunday! So I'll have to tell her when I return. But I'm a med student and she is very respectful of my opinion and whenever I see her, she basically just lays out the options for me and lets me make the decision. I doubt she'd freak out, she'd probably just assume I did my research. I'll be looking for a referral to a shrink or some sort of support group, though, hopefully she can help me with that. So yeah, not much to say, I just wanted to respond to another Albertan, haha!

Thats very cool, and Im impressed with you being a med student and how many nurses are on this site.... thanks for the reply, yeah my doctor says that as well to me "I know you well enough you've done your research".... I look forward to hearing how your VS goes!! good luck my Alberta sleeve sister :thumbup1:

My PCP was very supportive and knew that losing the weight would cure my other health issues. I went to see her for a checkup last week and she was super impressed with my progress and my labs.

Good luck to you!

My PCP was very supportive. Honestly it was a bit of a wakeup call for me... I realized that no matter how I feel inside, I am obese. I think there was a very small part of me holding out on the hope that I am not to that point, and he would tell me to look at other options.

My PCP was also very supportive of me. He admitted that he didn't know much about the sleeve, but come to find out one of the other dr's in his office has actually HAD the sleeve and has reached her goal weight! I went for my first check up with him today after surgery on July 1 and everything was fine, he was amazed at how well I'm doing. I feel like any good doctor will support you in this decision giving how well it can affect your health overall. Oh, he also didn't make a big deal out of me going to Mexico to have the sleeve. He trusted that I had researched the heck out of the dr. and facility, and was cool with it all.

My pcp was supportive and I've been with him for 16 yrs so it was a relief.

Thank you everyone!!! Your words of support and stories mean the world to me!!! I am super excited and also very nervous about Tuesday!! Thats too cute about the one Dr having it done after another Dr asked about it. I did call my dr and left a heads up in regards to talking about the vertical sleeve when I see her, so Im hoping she finds out more about it if she knows nothing. She seems to be on top of things though so it should be interesting to see how it goes for sure. I think sometimes I expect the worst and then get the better of it later and Im always quite surprised. I hope I have another great story to share Tuesday evening!!! Hugs to everyone!!!

I don't have a family doctor as such, I've been disgustingly healthy in spite of my weight all my life, but before the VSG I thought I'd get a devil's advocate opinion on it and so I got an appointment with an intestine expert Dr that listed weight loss as his areas of interest in the hospital bio. He was very good at listing all the possible complications and reasons not to have the VSG as he really knew his stuff - but none of the arguments made me change my mind. It did help me make up my mind though. Best 150 bucks or so I spent after the several thousands on the surgery a month afterwards.

My PCP was supportive but cautious. I took in all the information on the procedure, Dr. Aceves and the hospital so he could check it out. Nina also offered to have other physicians that had the surgery answer any questions he has. He did check it out and said the hospital was a good one. He did not know about the sleeve and is not a fan of bypass but has been supportive and checking on me closely.

Mine surprised the heck out of me because I had expected to have to make my case. I told him that I had scheduled the sleeve and thought I'd have to debate and defend my position. Surprisingly he told me it sounded like I had done my homework and he would do whatever needed to help me. It was wonderful. He knew what the sleeve was and told me to go for it.

Thanks for the reply, all of your opinons are soooooooooo appreciated!!! Im on the 30 hour count down right now.... and feeling more and more confident about this as the days go on.... I am 100% yes at this point (even after watching the video which almost killed me - I have a weak stomach lol).... thanks for your knowledge around this!!! I'll keep you all posted after my visit with my doctor tomorrow!!

So very very very good news, my doctor was great with the VSG, she says it sounds like the new and best upcoming thing. She was quite impressed and is very supportive with it, even Mexico! lol She said we would be very surprised with how much medical stuff actually occurs down there, she had no issues!! She wanted to know what she needed from her and I said just her okay, otherwise Im ready to go for Sept 16th!! woohoo!! I wish it was in 2 weeks rather then 2 months, but theres still alot of reading I need to do.... and I so cant wait!!! thanks everyone for your words of encouragement!!

I'm glad your doctor approved, and you can just get on with it. Hurray!