New to forum

Hi, just found this site and joined the BC forum. I live in Vancouver, and am scheduled for VGS surgery on Sept. 22 (four more sleeps!) at Ricmond Hospital with Dr. Nguyen. I'm excited, but not scared. Tried to find out as much as I could about what to expect, and would love to hear from others who are further down the path than me. Advice? Wisdom? Warnings? Good jokes? 

Congrats!  Cant wait to hear how you do.  I am waiting to see Dr Nguyen....how long did you wait to see him?

Hi,

i was was on the wait list for the initial orientation for just over two years from my GP referral. The team approach is really impressive and thorough. Before seeing Dr. Nguyen I met with; dietician, occupational therapist, fitness pro... Did tests; blood work, sleep apnea assessment, bone density... I don't have diabetes or anything else that had to be attended to but some people have to. 

What they said at the orientation was that the waiting time from that day to surgery would be 3 - 9 months, different for each person based on "getting ready" and all the preliminary tasks. It's the team as a whole that decides if you are ready or need to do more work first.

To me it seems like the most important things you have to do, besides getting to all the appointments etc., is to be really honest with yourself and the pros to understand how "ready" you are to make serious changes in your lifestyle (exercise and food). Also important is they want you to have or develop serious self-knowledge to have coping and problem solving skills to make the changes permanent. Tons of support and tools on all those issues.

Sorry to ramble! I just walked into it with no idea what to expect. It has been a very supportive, positive, rich experience that even if in the end I didn't end up getting the surgery it still would have been worth it. Be really honest and realistic, take the opportunities to grow as a person and it will be great. Dr. Nguyen and every person that I've had contact with are wonderful and supportive people who care deeply about what they do and sincerely want their patients to succeed!

Thanks for all the great info!   Was it your choice not to get the surgery? 

Oh no, I AM having the surgery - tomorrow morning, in fact! What I meant is that the screening part is so thorough that by itself it's really valuable. I learned a lot... Wish me luck!

Luck!!  I can't wait to hear about your next chapter on your journey.  Speedy recovery to you.