Okay, so my PCP referral came through on Saturday for the bariatric surgeon and I had to work on my patience to wait until Monday to call for an appointment. The surgeon had an opening on Wednesday morning, so I am headed there tomorrow to do my intake appointment. The nurse said it will take 2-3 hours. Can anyone help me with what to expect?? I am so nervous, I don't want to mess it up somehow. I know I am a "good" candidate (High BMI, T2D), and I want to have the surgery so badly. I am just afraid of being turned down. Anyone have any tips, or even words of encouragement??? I haven't told anyone about this journey yet, so I am sort of out here alone. Thanks!!

Deep breaths, you can do this!! My intake was about 4 hours long and there was 4 other people doing it with me. They did bloodwork and urine sample, my biometric screening, a urea breath test, and then we met the surgeon. He explained all of the different procedures to us all in a group and then met with us individually. I am relying heavily on my insurance coming through so we talked about that whole process and what we’d do if I got denied. They will do everything they can to help with whatever insurance needs. They gave me all of the referrals I need for my insurance, as well as detailed information on the procedures I was looking at having done, and then took a “before” picture and sent me on my merry way! This month will be my month 5 of the 6 month observed weight loss time that my insurance requires. Im excited and hopeful, trying to stay positive. I do have the nagging thoughts in the back of my mind of what I’ll do if I’m denied but I try to not think about it. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, but for now, I’m pushing forward like insurance said “go!”

I think my first appointment was 2-3 hours long. I met with the metabolic physician, (I didn’t meet with the surgeon until my second appointment), the nurse and the nutritionist. I think I spent the majority of my visit with her. I had labs etc done and was given a large binder and a checklist of all the appointments and testing I needed. They also provided the names and information so I could schedule them easily.

One bit of advice they gave me made a lot of sense. Get the sleep study done first because if that came out wonky it would take the longest to straighten out. Mine was fine, but required a follow up that delayed my surgery 3 weeks. I never understood why I needed that follow up!

I was given a diet plan to follow for the next 3-4 months and I had to meet with the nutritionist once a month.

I left feeling very confident and organized.

I don’t know if you have gone yet to your appointment or not. But there is absolutely nothing to worry about. They will explain things to you and you ask anything you want to know. If you do not feel comfortable, they are not the right team for you! Good luck!

Its normal to be nervous! They are going to make sure you meet the very basics to qualify for the surgery and make sure you have a basic understanding of what all is involved. At my appointment they gave me a folder with a master checklist of everything I needed to do and when - like nutrition classes and psych consult, vitamin requirements - stuff like that.

How did it go?

On 4/13/2019 at 8:41 PM, GettingDHealthy said:

How did it go?

It went great!! Found out some super good news about my insurance and even got my psych appt done the same day! Hoping for a surgery date in May!!

I have my first appointment on Wed and I’m getting nervous. My online chart says it’s a 30 min appointment with the surgeon. It sounds like that is not typical?