What kind of advice would you give to someone just starting the process?

What kind of advice would you give to someone just starting the process?

Get a binder and put tabs in it for different sections and keep copies of everything

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

One of the better things to do is use this site. It's a double edged sword - can be confusing at times because so many doctors do things differently, but the members will give you a good feel for what to expect going through all the stages. You'll always find somebody that's right where you're at, those that just had their surgery, and those that have been on the other side for years.

Personally I think step 1 of the process is to research and decide what type of WLS is best for you. There are probably half a million threads on here asking "What type of surgery did you choose and why?" It's a good way to see what reasoning people had for their choice and why.

Edit: It's also important from the start to ask yourself what do you expect from having WLS? What is my relationship with food going to be in the final months before WLS? What about after? The mental side to WLS is a much bigger part of all of this than I ever expected.

Edited January 16, 20188 yr by orionburn

I would say be patient The pre-op process can seem like it lasts forever - especially if your insurance has a lot of requirements. My timing from my very first consult to surgery date was nearly 10 months (my surgery required 6 months pre-op diet) and there were so many days where I just was ready to give up on the hope of surgery. Also, really start working on your "head" - I had RnY and went into it assuming I would get sick from all of the bad food which would be negative feedback to force me to eat good or healthy food. Fast forward to after surgery, I don't get sick from anything....so I had to take a massive step back and work through all of my mental food issues to be successful. I wish I had started that work ahead of surgery.

I am currently in the process. I have my nutrition class Thursday. Still waiting for weight history from PCP. Psych evaluation done they sent it straight to the dr so no idea what it says.