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Things you wished you asked surgeon on first visit



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Hi all, my first surgeon visit is tomorrow - (also w/dietitian, exercise physiologist and psychologist...) -- I have my list of questions, but what questions do you wish you'd asked on your first visit? Or what questions *did* you ask? I'd hate to get home and think "oh darn, I should have asked about XYZ..." -- thanks much! (I'm leaning toward sleeve, but that's the biggest question I have for my surgeon, whether he thinks I'm more of a candidate for sleeve or bypass, just fyi...)

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Hi! I was in the same boat you are! I'm a candidate for both the sleeve or bypass and I asked my surgeon which he thought was best. While he didn't come right out and say it he did give a lot of useful and helpful information for me to decide with the sleeve! I hope this helps! Good luck at your appt!

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I had tons of questions. Wish I still had my list but this is what I remember....

1) staples. I wanted to know if I would feel them at all when doing sit ups, that kind of thing (may seem like a stupid question lol but the thought of having staples inside me forever was scary!)

2) loose skin

3) pregnancy and whether the sleeve would cause me to have to have a C section (read that somewhere online!)

4) hair loss

5) be sure to ask about the pre-op diet (if he has one at all)

6) ask if he does a leak test!

7) I also asked my doctor approximately how many surgeries he has done, and how many of those have gone wrong (leaks, death, complications of any kind!)

I had a huge page of questions but that's all I can remember! If I find that piece of paper I'll comment again and tell you some others ???? in terms of sleeve vs bypass, my doctor had a flip chart that talked about pros and cons of both, which was really helpful. Statistically (by the scientific "averages" or whatever) they say that there is a greater possibility to lose more weight with the bypass vs the sleeve, but I'm here to tell you...I have seen people on these forums lose MASSIVE weight with both the sleeve and the bypass. Don't rely too heavily on the statistics, because everyone is different and the statistics also include people who didn't follow the recommended diet, exercise, Water intake, etc. Talk it out with your doctor and make the best decision for YOU - don't fret too much about "oh but I want to lose more than 60% of my excess weight, so I better do the bypass!" I have almost 200 lbs to lose, and my doctor told me if I work hard and do everything I'm supposed to do, it is obtainable with the sleeve. Good luck!!!! ❤️

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@raquel_c@dashofsunshine -- thank you both for the info! I have about 150 lbs to lose, ugh -- but am so excited to take this next step on the journey -- if you think of anything else, let me know -- thank you so much again!

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@@raquel_c He said that technically, the sleeve and/or gastric bypass should have nothing to do with delivering a child - he said it might be a little more touchy if you get pregnant right away and have to deliver before your stomach has completely healed, but if you wait the recommended year, your stomach literally grows back together and around the staples - making them part of your body, basically. So he said natural birth shouldn't be a problem and never has been for any of his patients. He DID say though that after you have bariatric surgery, a lot of other doctors/surgeons are a little freaked out by you (go figure - I guess because not all doctors know everything that bariatric doctors do about the surgery?) and that could lead a doctor to want you to have a C section just to avoid "possible complications." Of course every doctor out there now days prefers C sections anyway because they can schedule them and it's "less of a hassle" or whatever ????

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@@dashofsunshine thank you so much for that information! While I do not suffer from PCOS I have had a miscarriage. I turned 30 this year and one oft reasons for having this surgery is so I can have a healthy pregnancy and be considered "high risk". Everything I have read says one can have a healthy pregnancy, makes me feel better your surgeon agreed. Thanks again for your response and best of luck on your journey :)

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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