Tomorrow I have an appt. with my surgeon. What should I ask him? This is our last time together before my surgery. Any suggestion would be great. If I don't know what to say I may sit there quiet just nodding my head. HELP!

My final appt is 2 weeks away. I suggest you write your questions down before the appt and if possible have someone with you, sometimes its tough to recall all the details.

As of now my concerns are:

Energy level

Anesthesia reactions

Generally what to expect the first 7 days post op

Hope that helps...

My pre-op Questionaire was like this:

Do you use a drain tube?

How many incisions will I have? (what he failed to tell me until I went to the hospital in horrible pain on day four po was he has to cut into a muscle to get to my stomach then stitch it and it'll hurt like hell and affect every movement u make and do not ice it after day one, use heat or it'll spasm (which it did) & feel like an alien popping outta your side)... Yes I wish he prepared me there!

.......(cont).....

Will I see you before surgery?

How long will it take?

How long should it take for me to come out of anesthesia?

How long will I be in recovery before I see my family?

Will u update my family?

Do I have a private room for my family to wait in?

What type of pain should I expect?

What type of pain signals a problem?

Will I be allowed Water or ice after?

What medicine will I be on after?

How long until you do the upper gi for the leak test?

How long will I stay in the hospital?

Are u avail 24hrs by phone?

Ok..... Now here's the things that I wasn't ready for while in hospital....

*Nurses walking me very two hours without fail!

*The shot in the tummy before and after aurgery(I for one say it hurt)

*breathing treatments every 4 hours (even tho I'm not asthmatic and had an oxygen line in my nose try say its standard to clear out the lungs so u don't get phenumonia)

*the alien muscle-lol

*itching at the incision lines

*how horribly bad & painful the burping is trying to get out the gas they inflate U with (walking, sitting up at an incline and having someone rub circles on your back like patting a baby will get that out)

Otherwise I think I was very prepared!!! I had a rough first few days but now I'm two weeks po and started mushy food on day 10 and I think I'm doing pretty well.

I haven't lost anything near what the most people post, I was -8 week one and -11 by this second week but as long as I'm at least two pounds a week my dr says its a success. so I have to have patience!!!

Good luck

Based on surgery last august

They will want to pass gas to relieve pain - ask doctor about this, what you can do to help in process

They will want you to drink - with IV I never felt thirsty and doctor had it removed so I would start drinking

Clarify Vitamins and diet

Schedule of follow up appointments

Other than that this is what you may expect

walking - do it soon to help with blood flow, do it often

shots - they gave me twice daily in side, no pain, just to stave off infection

drainage tube - annoying, more painful when they took it out than anything else

breathing device - never used it, probably don't need the oxygen (nostril tube) but hey enjoy clean air to breath

My doctor had a ton of prescriptions for me to fill. I made sure to take a pen and paid to write down all instructions because there are a lot. Also if you are currently taking meds make sure to ask if you should stop those pre surgery.

I'm off to my last Dr. appointment before surgery in the a.m. so I'm so glad you asked this Priscilla and thanks to those who responded.

I've just started writing a list with these so I don't forget. Otherwise I would probably leave the office and then think to myself "I should have asked.... I wish I had asked.... What about this...?, etc."

You guys really made my appt. count. I asked:

1. Bougie size? He looked at me and laughed and said that it was a 36 and that no one ever asked!

2. How long would I stay in the hospital? 1 night maybe 2 depending on how I feel.(Did you know my kids wont be there!! May push 2 nights??!!LOL)

3. Drain? Yes, with removal instructions

4. Energy level? May be low can get b-12 shots if needed.

5.How long before I can drive? 1 week

6. Prescriptions prior to admittance? 1 Nausea med to take on the way to hospital.

7. Can i compete in the 10k that I have been training for 10 days post op? YES!!!

Hope this helps others because it really helped me!

Awesome. Your posted question and replies are helping me develop my list for the final pre op doc visit.

What in the world is a bougie?