My consultation.advice anyone??

Well I'm going for my consultation with Dr. Barker..does anyone have any advice for me? I'm nervous but excited. I'd like to be prepared for the questions ahead of time. Also I know it's a long wait in the waiting room so I've heard about that! :)

Hey Shawna. I know the feeling of being nervous and excited all at the same time. Boy this journey sure is an emotional roller coaster isn't it? Anyway... I wrote up a list of questions I wanted to ask my surgeon at the consultation. I'm sure there will be others on my list that you will want to ask and some that I wanted to know but you won't care about. But here is my list anyway. Hope this helps, Marianne C. How much of the intestines are by-passed? Is it "proximal" or "distal"? This has a lot to do with the side effects that can occur. What do you do about the gall bladder? Will you go ahead and remove it (best choice)? Do you recommend that I have a store of blood taken prior to surgery to keep in case of complications? Will you do a liver biopsy? I've heard that this is a common practice to show any irregularities. Will I be in ICU? How long will I be in recovery? Will I get a morphine pump? Will I have a drainage tube in my incision? When will it come out? How soon do I drink water, juice, broth, etc. after the surgery? Will you visit with my husband and friends in the waiting room after the surgery to let them know how the surgery went? When willl they be able to come see me? Do you do surgeries at other hospitals as well? What are the reputation of these hospitals? What type of complications have you seen during surgery and post-op? What is your most common complication? Have you had any patients die either in surgery, within a few days of surgery or later on because the surgery. How many surgeries have you done in the past year? Totally? How accessible will he be in an emergency? Where should I go? Hospital, office, ER? I have heard that it is harder to detect stomach cancer and ulcers after this surgery, especially in the "unused" portion of the stomach. Do you agree? How concerned should I be about this risk? What are your follow-up requirements? What about medications after surgery? I take Benicar and Citalopram. Should I be OK with these? Since my absorption rate will be less, how will that effect my dosages? What should I tell Dr. King, my primary doctor about that? Does he keep my PCP updated on tests, progress, possible problems which must be watched. When will insurance approval document be submitted to insurance? Since I hope to have my surgery in August, when may I go back into my pool after surgery?