Follow-Up Care? Necessary?

[sirensiren 67]

Yesterday I went to the LA Free Clinic for my hypothyroidism (MAN, free clinics suck- I had children coughing on me for 3+ hours in a hot waiting room to see the doctor WITH an appointment!).

The doctor was immediately concerned about my VSG (performed in November) and wants me to come back for an EKG, bloodwork, liver function, and all sorts of other stuff.

Necessary?

I've lost 40 lbs in under 4 months.

I ask, because I feel like it's fair routine with everyone to get back to their day to day lives (assuming nothing alarming comes up), after they recover.

What kind of follow-up care did you have? What seemed necessary to you?

I feel great, I have more energy than I've ever had- the adjustment to the lower calories has resulted in a few dizzy spells which have lessened with time. I want to be safe, but I have a month ahead of me in which I spend my one day off a week sitting in this clinic, waiting to be seen in a closed room with sick people, screaming babies, and other such things you'd imagine at the free clinic. (Unfortunately, I cannot afford to go to a pay clinic- I know all the cheap ones and they are still expensive).

What are your thoughts?

[ShannonH 34]

Great question! Looking forward to reading some responses. Who sleeved you?

[Foxbins 625]

At 3 months, I had:

EKG--rapid weight loss can cause muscle to be lost, and heart tissue is muscle.

Albumin, Alkaline phosphatase, BUN, Bilirubin, Blood Calcium, chloride, Lipid panel (Total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL), GFR, Creatinine, Ferritin, Fasting Glucose, Iron (TIBC, UIBC, Transferritin with saturation, Iron) Potassium, AST, ALT, Sodium, Vit D, Vit B-12, Complete Blood Count with differential, Diabetes A1C, Vit A, Vit B1, Folate, PTH, TSH (TSH because I have hypothyroidism).

It was about 8 vials of blood. It's good to get baseline levels; this is still a somewhat new procedure and no one is very sure about long-term effects, but for sure early Vitamin or Iron deficiencies can be found and treated. Better safe than sorry, and all that. I think it would be good to get them done the first time, and if everything is normal, then annually.