Long time waiting to get appointment with Surgeon??

I waited 6 weeks and got a cancellation appointment last March. One of Dr. Irgau's surgeries took longer than usual that day and I had to wait 1 1/2 hours for the appointment. They wanted me to reschedule but I waited over 6 weeks for that appointment and I figured that an hour more wouldn't hurt. It was worth it!! Every second! -75 pounds in 7 months! Can't beat that with a stick!

Dineen...thanks for responding....I read your profile and you are inspiring.....I am, you are exercising and eating right and you just seem to be doing sooo well!!! You are my idol....I cant wait to be a loser, like you---(sounds funny doesnt it?) But, I cant wait..hopefully I will get an appointment and I wont have to wait so long....thanks again...shaughnessy

Hi, Just wanted to let you know that I just called last week for an appointment. They told me the same thing. They did call me on Monday and my appt is not until April 7th.

Sharon....thanks for responding...anyway....April 7?????????????????? I dont want to wait that long...I wanted it yesterday..you know what I mean? Anyway, what doctor are you seeing....I am seeing Dr. Wynn on a Friday.....I just dont know which Friday it will be!!! I want this surgery done no later than the end of June because I am off during the summer!!! Anyway..lets keep in touch...have you done any pre-op testing (sleep study, dietician, etc..????) hope to talk with you soon....shaughnessy

Best thing I can tell you to speed up the process is to get your PCP to refer you to your required pre-op testing. Cardiologist and Pulminologist are usually the hardest appointments to get. Call and make those appointments for like March. If you need a sleep study done, I recommend going down to the New Sleep Diagnostic center in Middletown. They're not as busy and the people that work there are stellar!!! Very easy to get an appointment there. I had to have 2 studies done, 1st was to diagnose the Apnea and 2nd was to figure out what settings the machine should be on. I used Dr. Ismail (633-9033) for Pulminology. Keep on top of his staff, they're sometimes not good with follow-up calls & faxing info in a timely manner. I recommend that you get copies of everything for your own records. I used Dr. Pastore (you can also use Dr. Leidig or Dr. Kelley 366-8600) you have to tell them you want Cardiac Clearance for gastric bypass or lap-band surgery (whichever one you're going with). You will also need an EGD done. I used Dr. Modi at the Endoscopy Center behind Home Depot. Not sure if you should wait on that cause I know that sometimes the CHRIAS docs like to do their own. The next set of appoints have to wait till you know what hospital you are having surgery in. I did my surgery at Christiana so I had to go thru their Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute (PMRI). I have BCBSDE PPO and I had to have $1200 for this part of the pre-op procedure. There is 4 separate appointments: Dietition, Nurse Practitioner, Psychologist and medical doctor. All appointments were at the PMRI bldg on Rt. 52. During all this I had to go thru my 6 weeks of classes at the PMRI. I'm sure the procedures at St. Francis are similar but I don't know exactly what they will be. Good luck. It is worth the wait. Use this time wisely to do tremendous amounts of research and studying about the different procedures and how you take care of yourself afterwards. Your life will change dramatically and you must prepare yourself for this. Your relationships will also change, some for the better, some might even end. Also take this time to get in and see any other doctors (I saw my gyno and got a mammagram, just to be sure I was COMPLETELY healthy). Remember, this is NOT a be all-end all to your problems! It is a TOOL and only a tool. You must use it properly in order for it to work for you. And it is FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! The doctors have set up a program for us that must be followed and adheared to. Start going to the support group meetings now. You will learn alot. I'm still learing.

Dineen...thanks for all of the great information!!!! I went to my first support group in Harrington last Thursday night and there were only six other people there.....but, it was very informative and everyone was so nice and caring!! My pcp told me that she thought that my echo cardio gram would be okay.....guess I have to find out. Anyway, I am going to wait and see when my appointment will be and if I have to wait forever (which I probably will) and then I will contact my pcp and get her to refer me to people that I need to see. I have been reading as much as I can on gastric bypass (which is the one that I want) and I have also been reading profiles and the message board everyday. Again, thank you for all of the information and phone numbers and doctor's names....that was very nice! Thanks....shaughnessy