Hello,

I am just starting the process. It is something I have been discussing and thinking about for years. I remember discussing it with my father 14 years ago. Finally decided it's time after seeing pictures from Spring Break and after telling my son I can't do the cliff diving with him or go down the waterslide with him. Couldn't pull myself up out of the water to go up the stairs to the cliff diving and couldn't go up the 190 stairs to the top of the waterslide. I would have held up a lot of people. My best friend and another friend were with us so they did those things with him. I was mad at myself!!

I have a consult set up for Wednesday with one of the local surgeons. Apparently he is amazing! I actually got his name from a friend. All the new patient paperwork is filled out and turned into his office. I called the insurance to make sure I have coverage. They said that the only thing they require is a minimum BMI of 40 without any illnesses and 35 with sleep apnea, hypertension or diabetes. I have sleep apnea and hypertension. I had my doctor send in a referral just in case, but the coordinator said she won't even go look for it unless it's required by the insurance, which it's not.

I over research and over plan everything. I think I have already watched all of the videos that my surgeon's office has online. LOL My bujo has pretty much become a VSG notebook. I took so many notes off of those videos.

What can I expect at the consult?

If the doctor supervised diet isn't required by my insurance, how long should I expect between the consult and the surgery?

Things you wish you had before the surgery? Things you had that you didn't need?

Best multivitamin to take? Liquid or chewable?

Do you really come home with oxygen?

Do you regret it or would you totally do it again?

Sorry for all the questions.

Thanks!

Victoria

You can watch some great YouTube videos by Erin Branscom (My Level 10 Life) about the process. I liked them so much I joined her facebook group, and I never do stuff like that (I don't agree with everything she says).

I have never heard of anyone coming home on oxygen. Mostly for sleeve gastrectomy or gastric bypass (the most common WLSurgeries) they are done with small incisions, and I can't imagine why you would need to come home on oxygen unless you required oxygen before surgery.

At the consult the surgeon will probably take a medical/surgical history and talk to you about the various procedures.

I haven't had surgery yet so I can't answer most of your questions.

For the consult, he/she will ask questions like you'd expect at any doc's office - history, probably questions about your eating, health issues, and will probably ask you what procedure you're interested in. I went in asking about the sleeve, but after the consult and research, I had the bypass on 3/3. I wouldn't think you'd come home with oxygen unless there was some kind of complication. As for the diet, your insurance might not require it, but your doctor's office might. If it's one thing I've learned from being on these boards, it's that EVERY surgeon is different in their requirements. It might even vary from person to person. I'm in a group of folks from my own surgeon's office, and some of us had to do the two week pre-op diet and some didn't. Your doctor's office will probably recommend some vitamins and such to you, plus some people tolerate pills while others need chewables.

I am a HUGE fan of early prep work as I lingered on here for 6 months before my actual surgery, and I think what I learned on here really made this process so much easier. I don't regret it. I wish I would I have done it sooner though!!

Ive had the consultation and it was a detailed history about all of the diets I have tried and failed, my weight, height, family history of weight and health problems, my health problems. I also had to go over all of the testing I have had done for my GERD and hiatal hernia. I'm not qualifying based on weight first but on the damage done by the acid reflux and the hernia. Currently in the waiting patiently part for the surgery date. Good luck!

18 hours ago, ucmgrad2001 said:

If the doctor supervised diet isn't required by my insurance, how long should I expect between the consult and the surgery?

Most programs make you go through classes and have several medical clearances, and that can take awhile. I did my six-month supervised diet before officially entering the program, so I didn't have to do that as part of it. I officially started in early January. I could have had the surgery as early as late March, but I worked in education at the time so I waited until June (so in other words, I COULD have had it after about three months if it weren't for my work situation)

Best Multivitamin to take? liquid or chewable?

A lot of programs want you to start on chewable. We were allowed to switch to tablet form after six months.

18 hours ago, ucmgrad2001 said:

Do you really come home with oxygen?

No. I've never heard of this.

18 hours ago, ucmgrad2001 said:

Do you regret it or would you totally do it again?

No regrets. I would do it again every year if I had to. Best decision I've ever made.

18 hours ago, ucmgrad2001 said:

A lot of the consult is to make sure that you understand surgery and you would be a good candidate. A history of your failed diets (I was like I’m gonna need an attachment, do we want to go back to the 90s or is a 20 year look back enough, haha)
I used a chewable one (barimelts) but quickly switched to a capsule when I could. It’s cheaper and I don’t have to taste it! But the barimelts aren’t bad really.
Never heard of oxygen. That’s a new one to me, I assume whomever had that was already on it or something.
No regrets!!! I’m 120 lbs down and still losing. Best decision I ever made. I am so proud of how far I’ve come. I feel like I’ve changed my life in all the best ways.

I started the process in January, and my surgery is in 3 days—on Monday!! My surgeon required an Endoscopy and 4 pre-op classes before scheduling the surgery. My BMI is 35 and I originally sought the sleeve, but after the consultation and the endoscopy (I have severe GERD), I decided on the bypass. I did not join the forum until this past week, so I was totally clueless what to expect. I was thrown for a loop when I was told I would have to give up Coke Zero forever! LOL! I am glad I had the months to mentally and physically prepare—I stopped drinking carbonated drinks in Feb, I gave up sugar in March, and I gave up slider foods (chips and popcorn) in April. It really helped me for the 2 week pre-op liquid diet—I wasn’t going through caffeine or sugar detox while “hangry!” Good Luck with your consultation—let us know how it goes! ☺️