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Longer wait than I wanted!



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I have to be cleared by a pulmonologist prior to surgery. I called the office today to get an appointment and they said they will call me when the get to me on the very long list of people waiting for get appointments. They are scheduling appointments in to March now!!! I was really hoping to get my surgery done in Feb. I have a GI appointment in Jan. I thought that was bad. Im thinking about going to Phoenix to see if I can get into a pulmonologist sooner there. Flagstaff only has one Pulmonary Dr office. I know some of you have waited a really long time to get your sugeries done. Im anxious to get it done because I cant have my knee replacement until I lose weight. I really need that done ASAP. Oh well, patience was never my strong suit!!!

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yea it can take forever to get in to see specialists. It took an especially long time for me to get in for my sleep study. But take advantage of the waiting time by doing as much research as you can. By the time I actually had my surgery, I felt VERY prepared for it...

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Yeah, being in a small community, one often has to go to "the city" to see specialists quicker or are more specialized. Some complain that their surgeon is scheduling months out, to which my response is, "do you want a surgeon who is just sitting around waiting for you to come in the door, or one who is in demand?" But for a check the box type of specialist sign off like this, I see little problem with jumping the line by going out of town to get a sooner appointment. The only down side is if you wind up needing recurring treatment from that specialist, then you need to either continue with one who is inconveniently located, or transfer care to the local guy with the waitlist.

Either way, as cat suggests, waiting does have its benefits in being better prepared - I found that the extra time gave me the opportunity to work on changing my habits for the better in the long term - most of the dietary habits and disciplines that I evolved to while leading up to surgery stuck with me as things progressed post op - when I "cheated", I did so on things that were fundamentally healthy rather than just junk, and didn't have a significant transition from "weight loss" mode to "maintenance" mode.

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You are both right about research and changing habits. I have been working on both. I figure the more weight I lose before surgery the easier the surgery will be. So I think I have made peace with waiting. Its just I had it in my head that I could have it done in Feb. I just need to adjust my expectations and come back to reality. Im still losing weight and I will still have the surgery when it is supposed to happen.

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WOW that wait is as long as my pre-op entire bariatric journey was! Shame smaller areas have less access to care. But I do like the fact that you're using this wait to lose more weight! that's a positive way of looking at it

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Arizona is on a long wait for pulmonary appointments. Post COVID issues and just not a lot of them makes scheduling difficult. I work oncology and even ASAP appointments take up to a month (shorter sometimes if our drs call the pulmonary). You can always see if they have a cancel list (usually means get told less than 24 hours if someone doesn’t confirm/cancels).

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 0 replies
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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
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    • KimBaxleyWilson

      Three months and four days ago... I was in Costa Rica having a life changing surgery! Yesterday we had a followup visit with Dr. Esmeral via video chat and this morning my middle number changed.  I'm down 47lbs and two pants sizes. I can wear a Large tshirt for the first time in like... 14 years! Woot!! Everything is going great. I have zero regrets. I went down to the riverwalk with a friend and walked 2 miles on Monday without even getting fatigued. And no more snoring or chugging pickle juice for crazy leg cramps! I need to go to the gym more... I'm making new shirts next week so that will motivate me. LOL But I'm also just not as TIRED all the time! I have a LONG way to go...but seeing the progress on the scales and in the mirror is a huge motivator!! Thank you all for cheering me on and supporting me!!
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    • bellaamey

      https://alluniqueguide.com/java-burn-coffee-reviews/
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