And so the saga continues...

I made it through my endoscopy. Dr Chung's group was excellent. I have my follow-up appt with him on July 10th but I already know that he dilated my esophagus when they did the endoscopy because I did have stricturing. 

In the meantime I passed my psyche evaluation. I asked the Dr to send me a copy of the letter she was sending to Dr Aranow and she did, thankfully. So in the next few weeks I will speak with Dr Aranow to see what his thoughts are on the surgery. I will also send a copy of the psyche clearance to Dr Bell's office in the hopes of getting in to see him to discuss VSG. 

It's funny, I went into this process thinking I *only* wanted the band. Now I'm almost sure that I don't want the band because I just have a feeling that I'll have problems with it eventually with my esophagus. Now it's between RNY and VSG -- 2 procedures I would have never considered in the beginning.

Hubby is aware of what's going on and is supportive. He trusts me to do my research and make the right decision for me. He brings up my surgery sometimes and, to me, that's a good sign that he's becoming more comfortable with the eventuality of me getting it.

I am going to a RNY support group tonight at Middlesex and will go to the next session Dr Bell offers too. At least I'm trying to be well informed!

Hope everyone in CT is surviving without any sun. This is getting ridiculous!

Hi Tammy!

I've been meaning to post here, but just haven't had a chance.

The appointment went very well!  I'm a perfect candidate (but we already knew that)! 

This past Tuesday I had a whole bunch of other testing done:  bilateral mammogram, abdominal ultrasound, chest/abdominal x-rays, upper G.I. series, and pelvic ultrasound. 

This is additional testing he likes his patients to complete in order to get a better picture of their overall health.  The only other thing I have left to do is the PAP which I will schedule closer to the surgery. 

Right now we're looking at November because of the six month diet required by ConnectiCare.

I finally told both my sisters about the surgery and they are both very excited for me! 

You'll have to let me know when you're going to be at the hospital next so we can get together again!

Dr Tim did my surgery on 3/19. I came out of surgery with six tiny incisions that were glued(sutures deeper inside). There were no drains at all. I was up walking and eating broth about six hours after surgery. The only thing that was annoying was the catheter, but that was minor. Definitely buy yourself a few boxes of Gas-X strips (not the pills) and pack them in your hospital bag. It really helps relieve the pressure from the gas they use during the surgery.

There is no need to tell anyone except those people close to you. You do not need a million people asking you about your private life. Your family and friends will have plenty of questions. I look forward to going to work sometimes to have conversations that revolve around anything but the surgery. Sure some people have noticed and remarked, I just tell them I am seeing a nutritionist which is 100% true.

This period leading up to your surgery is a very exciting time. Once you start the 2 week pre-op diet, it goes by very fast. Use this time to get ahead on some chores, paying bills, etc all the things you might not feel like doing right after the surgery. Physically, I felt pretty good the 2 weeks I stayed home after the surgery, but the anethesia made my brain very sluggish. This doesn't happen to everyone, but I was surprised how I had little capacity to concentrate on anything, even watching tv.

Congratulations and I am sure you will be as happy and successful with this surgery as I am. Dr. Tim is a great surgeon and the team he has assembled for us patients is fantastic.

CONGRATS! Good luck on Friday. June is a good month for anykind of birthday.

Congrats and good luck with the band.