Curious...

I was just wondering. Now that I have had my 2nd consult and I am happy with this dr, how long will it take until I get a date? I just want something to look forward to, a count down so to speak. I know you all probably had different time periods, I was just wondering about how long I should expect to wait. I do know that my insurance told me that I was approved before I even went to Barix, but who knows, they could still end up giving me a hard time about it. Robyn

Robyn, I went to Dr. Irgau for my first consult on March 3rd. I had my surgery on June 14th. I could have had it the beginning of May but I wanted to wait until school was over so I could have the summer off without losing time at work. All my appointments fell into line without any complications. That is the biggest time factor. Do they make you go to classes and such? I got on the phone the minute I left his office and starting filling in my calendar. Good Luck, Ellen

Same here. Initial consult end of March, could've had surgery June 22 but waited till July 13 because of vacation plans. The sooner you get all of your pre-op appts done, the sooner you get your date. Dee

I don't have to take any classes or have any testing done. The first dr I saw required a psych evaluation, but this dr told me I don't need it. He also said I don't have to go through a lot of the testing that some people in their program do because I don't have any health problems and I guess my age is helping me there too. He said surgery would be in Nov or Dec, but that depends on my insurance. I sure hope they come through for me. I wish there is something I could be getting done now but I am just sitting here waiting. Robyn

This is a little p.s. to my previous post. I meant to add that I do have to meet with a nutritionist but that is not until after surgery at my 1 week checkup. They don't require it, but strongly suggest that I meet with their support groups or at least find another one that I can attend. I will be looking because I think that it is so important to my success. Robyn

Robin, There is a support group in Rehobeth on the 1st Tuesday of the month. I started going to it in September. Went to my 1st appointment in December and had surgery in April. There is a varity of people there with different Drs. since it is the only support group South of you and I think the closest. Start going to one as soon as possible. You learn so much and each Dr. is different. See you lighter. Joanne

I would still go for a COMPLETE physical if I were you. After I started my process I found out that I had damage to my esophougs (SP?) from reflux and had to go on prevacid for 3 months prior to surgery and I also had high bloodpressure that needed to be addressed before surgery. I felt fine. I had no symptoms other than the cronic heartburn that I was taking Tums & OTC Zantac for. I also found out that I had Severe sleep apnea that required the use of a CPAP machine. All I knew was that I snored. I had no idea that I was stopping breathing every minute or so and never truly achieving REM. You really do need to go to the support meetings since you are not going to get much training prior to your surgery. I got 6 weeks of classes + private meetings with a nutritionsit and a dietition before my surgery plus the exams by a Cardiologist, pulminologist, 2 sleep studies, endoscopy, endincronologist (sp?), nurse practitioner, psychologist plus the visits to my PCP for the BP & numerous visits to the Gyno to address the problems with my period. I was well prepared to take care of myself during the liquid, pureed and adding regular foods stages. The more information you have as to what to expect before surgery the better off you will be after. Afterall this is a HUGE lifestyle change. The day I decided that I was actually going to do this, I felt exactly like I did when I found out I was pregnant. Please take very good care of yourself between now and your surgery. If you smoke, Quit. Start trying out different protein drinks. Cut back your sugar intake to no more than 6g per serving. Start practicing eating 6 small meals per day. Good Luck Dee

Hi Robyn, I took a little longer than some to get mine because I had to get off of medications before surgery that would prevent healing (chemo - meds). But even with that I had my initial consult in mid April and my surgery on Sept 1. You'll do fine... the hard part is fitting in all the appointments!!! HUGS Rachel