Questions to Ask Before Surgery?

[SpartanMaker 1,327]

I'm having my last pre-surgery visit with my bariatric surgery team this week. Because that's how I roll, I have an extensive list questions so far. I'm curious if there are any questions you wish you'd asked your team, but didn't? What surprises did you encounter? What do you wish you'd known ahead of time about the surgical process, your recovery, or your weight loss?

Thanks all!

[IrishKatieKat 30]

Ask how your bowel movements change after surgery. They do alot. Ask when you can workout again. How long bruises should last. What size bruise is too big and when to fall a doctor. Ask what you need to do to keep from losing your hair. Ask about a abdominal band for recovery. They help alot!! Finally ask where you should go if there's an emergency post surgery. Back to them or local ER.1

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

Ask if you have any choice in what size your stomach will be post surgery. I am not even sure if that’s a thing they could have done differently but given a choice I would have preferred mine to be smaller. I was able to eat more than expected at every given phase post op. I just measured my food and stopped when my plate was empty and I still lost weight though so don’t let me freak you out. According to my team at over a year out now my normal meals of about one serving of most things are typical but that’s me eating till I’m satisfied. I never really feel full. I see people on here who eat a lot less and if that is something they control I would have preferred to be on the smaller side.

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

I’m sorry I just realized you are getting bypass. I was sleeve. I guess you could ask about the length of your bypass. if you have a choice in that.

[catwoman7 11,278]

3 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

I’m sorry I just realized you are getting bypass. I was sleeve. I guess you could ask about the length of your bypass. if you have a choice in that.

that doesn't really apply to bypass. I've never heard of people getting a choice in that.

[ShoppGirl 5,072]

2 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

that doesn't really apply to bypass. I've never heard of people getting a choice in that.

Ooh. I saw something about size a while back. Not sure if it was sleeve or bypass but people knew what size they got. I thought it was the bypass but I could convince myself to remember it both ways. Lol I just know I wish I had at least asked. I thought about it surgery day about making a joke with surgeon about it and asking for an extra tiny tummy but didn’t. Of course now I have to wonder if asking would have made a difference because my stomach seems to be larger than most. I know someone else that had the same surgeon like 6 months before me and she can eat alot less. Maybe it’s cause my anatomy was different. I guess I will never know.

[catwoman7 11,278]

2 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Ooh. I saw something about size a while back. Not sure if it was sleeve or bypass but people knew what size they got. I thought it was the bypass but I could convince myself to remember it both ways. Lol I just know I wish I had at least asked. I thought about it surgery day about making a joke with surgeon about it and asking for an extra tiny tummy but didn’t. Of course now I have to wonder if asking would have made a difference because my stomach seems to be larger than most. I know someone else that had the same surgeon like 6 months before me and she can eat alot less. Maybe it’s cause my anatomy was different. I guess I will never know.

it's sleeve - there are different bougie sizes. But I'm not sure if all surgeons ask for your preference.

there is one revision to bypass where they can bypass more of the small intestine for some additional weight loss- but that doesn't seem to be a very common form of revision. For a virgin surgery, I don't know that anyone ever asks for your preference...or I should say, at least I've never heard of that.

Edited August 29, 2022 by catwoman7

[NovaLuna 710]

Literally the only thing that I wish they would have told me is that there is a 3% chance that you can develop a wheat allergy or celiac disease with any surgery that has malabsorption. I developed a wheat allergy and it completely blindsided me. I have crappy luck so had I known I would have expected it. Still would have done the surgery, but I would have expected it (not joking about the crappy luck. I had an MVD in 2017 and there is only a 1% chance of getting meningitis and guess what? I got meningitis. Yeah, my luck is crap). Also the hilarity of me having to call the bariatric surgeon because I was having chronic Constipation and their confusion because they'd never had a patient with my surgery have that issue as it's generally the opposite (diarrhea) made my day. I laughed so much when the doctor had trouble processing that (I absorb Iron really, really, really well so the fact that I was taking 3 iron multi's is what caused that issue. I now take 1 iron multi and 2 non-iron multi's and my iron level is the high side of normal... yeah). Also, keep in mind that everyone loses at their own pace and try not to compare yourself to others. You'll get there. It may be slower than someone else that started at the same time, but you could actually lose more than them in the end. You could also be a chronic staller (that was me. I've never met anyone who stalled as much as me) and that is incredibly frustrating (oh, the stress and frustration!), but it happens. And yes, even if you're not a chronic staller, stalls DO happen and are 100% normal (generally can last up to 3 weeks. Though some can last longer as I had a few that lasted in the 40 day range. No joke.).