Have a consult Jan 3rd. Looking for info on what his process is and did you like him?

55 minutes ago, reboot said:

Oh maaannn... I wish I could come but i'm in the middle of a move. I'm so happy your surgery date is approaching!!! Good Luck!

Thanks! I'm not sure what's going on with the July meeting. Based on what was communicated, I think some people are going to be showing up tonight *and* next Monday night. Doh!

Just confirmed that it's tonight, and *not* on the 10th.

Had bypass surgery today. Hope I’ll be much more mobile tomorrow.

I hope tomorrow is a better day for you!! It does get much better!!

@gr8ful I am very proud of you and the good results you're having. Your Dr Fitzer must be an excellent surgeon, because you're starting out well on your future life.

It gets better every day. I'm very blessed to have had a complication-free experience so far.

4 minutes ago, gr8ful1 said:

It gets better every day. I'm very blessed to have had a complication-free experience so far.

Indeed my friend!!!

Hi All,

I had my consultation with Dr. Fitzer about a 3 weeks ago. Since then, Heather has called a couple times to set up appt with dietician. I haven't called her back. I'm 390lbs, but have only one health issue, sleep apnea. Everything else is good. I'm scared to make the next step because i don't want to be sick to my stomach for the rest of my life. Happy to read you guys success stories, but still don't know if this is for me.

Fin

14 minutes ago, FINFAN3DP said:

Hi All,

I had my consultation with Dr. Fitzer about a 3 weeks ago. Since then, Heather has called a couple times to set up appt with dietician. I haven't called her back. I'm 390lbs, but have only one health issue, sleep apnea. Everything else is good. I'm scared to make the next step because i don't want to be sick to my stomach for the rest of my life. Happy to read you guys success stories, but still don't know if this is for me.

Fin

I understand your concerns, but I am 7 months post op gastric bypass and I'm definitely not sick everyday. This surgery saved my life. I love life everyday. Dr. Fitzer is amazing along with his staff. He knows his stuff. I hope you reconsider. Being heavy like we are, we need something to help us get our lives back on track. This is the chance to do so. I'd do it 1000 times over again. That's how much I love and appreciate the second chance at life. We are all here for you. Please reach out. You wont regret this opportunity. Dont let it pass. At that size, we are all at risk for something to happen at any given second. Time is now. Let's make it happen.

5 minutes ago, SampTheChamp said:

I understand your concerns, but I am 7 months post op gastric bypass and I'm definitely not sick everyday. This surgery saved my life. I love life everyday. Dr. Fitzer is amazing along with his staff. He knows his stuff. I hope you reconsider. Being heavy like we are, we need something to help us get our lives back on track. This is the chance to do so. I'd do it 1000 times over again. That's how much I love and appreciate the second chance at life. We are all here for you. Please reach out. You wont regret this opportunity. Dont let it pass. At that size, we are all at risk for something to happen at any given second. Time is now. Let's make it happen.

Thanks Samp! How old are you? I'm 51.

2 minutes ago, FINFAN3DP said:

Thanks Samp! How old are you? I'm 51.

37

22 minutes ago, FINFAN3DP said:

Hi All,

I had my consultation with Dr. Fitzer about a 3 weeks ago. Since then, Heather has called a couple times to set up appt with dietician. I haven't called her back. I'm 390lbs, but have only one health issue, sleep apnea. Everything else is good. I'm scared to make the next step because i don't want to be sick to my stomach for the rest of my life. Happy to read you guys success stories, but still don't know if this is for me.

Fin

Hi Fin! I too had some serious doubts when I first started considering weight loss surgery four years ago. It's not just a surgery, but a new lifestyle, and you have to get your mind right before you proceed. Would you consider attending a support group? Dr. Fitzer's office offers 2 monthly support groups to his patients. The groups are especially welcoming to pre-surgery patients, and everyone is very open about sharing their own experiences and answering your questions. The support group definitely helped me with my fears and made me feel less alone in my journey.

By the way, I am exactly 2 weeks out from gastric bypass surgery, and sleep apnea was my only major co-morbidity as well. But I knew that I could be told I have diabetes or hypertension at any given checkup, and I didn't want to wait for that to happen, or worse. I am doing great. I am not disgusted by food now, which was one of my fears pre-op. I feel like I now have a control over food, as opposed to food having control over me. And that is a GREAT feeling. :-)

5 minutes ago, gr8ful1 said:

Hi Fin! I too had some serious doubts when I first started considering weight loss surgery four years ago. It's not just a surgery, but a new lifestyle, and you have to get your mind right before you proceed. Would you consider attending a support group? Dr. Fitzer's office offers 2 monthly support groups to his patients. The groups are especially welcoming to pre-surgery patients, and everyone is very open about sharing their own experiences and answering your questions. The support group definitely helped me with my fears and made me feel less alone in my journey.

By the way, I am exactly 2 weeks out from gastric bypass surgery, and sleep apnea was my only major co-morbidity as well. But I knew that I could be told I have diabetes or hypertension at any given checkup, and I didn't want to wait for that to happen, or worse. I am doing great. I am not disgusted by food now, which was one of my fears pre-op. I feel like I now have a control over food, as opposed to food having control over me. And that is a GREAT feeling. :-)

I think that's one of my biggest issues right there... I really don't eat a lot. I know, it sounds strange for someone my size, but whenever people see me eat they say "is that all you are having?". I don't exercise at all though, as I ruptured my patellar back in 2006 from falling down three stairs. Yeah, i always wonder when something will go wrong, and always worried about the ticker, but i'm always ok, so just don't know if i want to take such a drastic step as re-routing my plumbing just yet. I am so envious of you brave people that did it though. My other issue is i have a very limited diet. I only have several foods i will eat, as I am very very very picky.

19 minutes ago, gr8ful1 said:

Hi Fin! I too had some serious doubts when I first started considering weight loss surgery four years ago. It's not just a surgery, but a new lifestyle, and you have to get your mind right before you proceed. Would you consider attending a support group? Dr. Fitzer's office offers 2 monthly support groups to his patients. The groups are especially welcoming to pre-surgery patients, and everyone is very open about sharing their own experiences and answering your questions. The support group definitely helped me with my fears and made me feel less alone in my journey.

By the way, I am exactly 2 weeks out from gastric bypass surgery, and sleep apnea was my only major co-morbidity as well. But I knew that I could be told I have diabetes or hypertension at any given checkup, and I didn't want to wait for that to happen, or worse. I am doing great. I am not disgusted by food now, which was one of my fears pre-op. I feel like I now have a control over food, as opposed to food having control over me. And that is a GREAT feeling. :-)

Well said man

7 minutes ago, FINFAN3DP said:

I think that's one of my biggest issues right there... I really don't eat a lot. I know, it sounds strange for someone my size, but whenever people see me eat they say "is that all you are having?". I don't exercise at all though, as I ruptured my patellar back in 2006 from falling down three stairs. Yeah, i always wonder when something will go wrong, and always worried about the ticker, but i'm always ok, so just don't know if i want to take such a drastic step as re-routing my plumbing just yet. I am so envious of you brave people that did it though. My other issue is i have a very limited diet. I only have several foods i will eat, as I am very very very picky.

I just wanted to give a thumbs up to a few of the things that SampTheChamp and gr8ful1 said. I too had been told for years that I needed to consider this, but always fell into the "I can do this myself if I put my mind to it" trap. The recommendations to look into this started 8 years ago when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure... I ignored them. Then I got sleep apnea - I still said no. Then I had a heart attack - AT 36 YEARS OLD - that still wasn't enough. It wasn't until I found my 2 year old son on top of me screaming"Wake up Daddy" after my blood pressure got so high that I fainted that I decided to do anything.

I called three different surgeons, then met a patient of Dr. Fitzer. I came in for my appointment and felt good but was still on the fence. It wasn't until I attended one of his support groups, and met, in person a number of his patients that have been through the process (Including these two guys) that I decided to go through with it. In the area - there is no one better than him. I'm 61 days out until surgery and absolutely can't wait. Having seen the new lives that people have been blessed with is beyond words. It will be a whole new life for me, and it can be for you too.

I strongly recommend you come out to the next group meeting which I believe is on September 3rd in Reston (correct me guys if I'm wrong). In the meantime, you don't have much to lose (except the low cost of the sessions) with starting the nutrition counseling with Jessica - who is awesome by the way! If you decide to go through with it, you'll be glad you got a head start on the counseling which is required by most insurance (mine is 6 months). You really aren't committed to anything until about a month or so before the surgery, so you have that much time to really decide.