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Questions for your surgeon



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I'm compiling my list for my surgeon like an informed patient and I thought I would check in to see what you all thought were the most important questions to ask?

So far I have

1. Please explain the surgery and where the incisions will be

2. Which incision will be the most painful? I'm assuming the site where the port from my band is removed?

3. Will there be more problem performing the sleeve operation because of the band

4. What are the chances this can not be performed in one surgery?

5. Will i lose slower because I have had a band?

6. What are the side effects of the sleeve? Possible reflux?

7. How long is recovery and when can I return to work?

8. If slider foods still go down how will I be successful with a sleeve if I wasn't with the band?

9. Is it true the part of your stomach that creates hunger is removed and is it true that it comes back?

That's all I have for now and sometimes it feels like I am swimming in information. I really want to make the right decision and use this tool correctly unlike what I did with the band. Thanks for reading this long post! And TIA for your advise!

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I'm stuck at #8. It's not a medical question and, unless you can answer it for yourself, you'll do well to work on it until you can. There's more than a chance that challenges will always be lurking. Not caving in depends on making smart food choices, taking responsibility for the choices (we "choose," we don't "cheat") and learning skills to cope with the devil that may dance on our shoulders now and then.

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Yes thank you I realize this as a bander who has struggled for years with the band and lifelong before the band. However my #8 question is in reference to the fact that many banders are unsuccessful for this reason while statistically many sleevers are successful. In my research I see that many sleevers can in fact eat sliders yet they are successful. Thats why I do believe it is a question for a surgeon.

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You get the added benefit of losing hunger w the sleeve.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

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I had a list of 50 questions for my surgeon... my first question was had ever had an malpracitce suits. Here are a few of my others:

1. What size bougie do you use?

2. Will you be able to use any of the same incisions from my band?

3.What are the worse complications that you have seen occur?

4. What Vitamins are recommended after surgery?/

5. Will I have self adminstered blood thinners after surgery?

6. Will I have JP drain?

7. Will I need an abdominal binder?

8. How much of my stomach will you remove?

9. Do you sew over the staples in the stomach?

10. How frequent are my follow up visits?

Hope some of these help!

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Thank you jennifer1 these are great!

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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.
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      1. LeighaTR

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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. 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.

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

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