Pre op testing tomorrow.....what to expect? I am so excited!

I have pre-op testing at St Vincents in Carmel tomorrow morning and I am really not sure what to expect. Any one else been there recently?

Your doctor may have ordered something different, but here's what I had done last week:

Blood work - 8 tubes
H pylori test - just involves breathing into a bag, drinking a lemon-lime solution, and breathing into another bag about 10-15 minutes later
Urinalysis

Chest X-ray
Upper GI - involves drinking a cup of barium (the only thing that kept me from puking it up was the knowledge that if I did, I'd have to drink another cup)

Pulmonary function study
Explanation of how to use the breathing thingie - for the absolute life of me, I cannot remember what it is called - maybe it's because it is 4 AM...  LOL

Anyway, it takes 3-4 hours to do it all.

First of all, congratulations! You're on your way! What you have done depends on your doctor and your insurance...mine consisted of:

Upper G.I., blood work, EKG, cardiac clearance

I didn't have all that done at the same time, but that's basically what I had to do. All the best, and keep us posted!

Jenny

Oh yeah! You can be my guinea pig. I go for my testing on Friday. I'll be very interested in hearing what you have done. Have a great day.

They take lots of blood, xrays, ultra sound, and breathing test.  It was very organized.  I went right through them all spot by spot.  I think mine took a couple of hours.

Carol

X-rays, blood, upper GI and breathing test....the GI is the bad one.  You have to drink the barium and swallow these crystals.  I almost got sick myself.  The rest is a breeze.  I didn't have to do the Pylori test.  I don't think the docs at St. V's order that? 

They are very organized.  You just kinda go from one to another.  No big deal.  Just remember, like someone said, if you don't keep the barium down you have to drink more of that....ick.

Good luck!

Hey everyone...thanks for all the information!!! It was VERY organized and I even had a printed out schedule where I was supposed to be and when!! They had a nice man escort me from one place to the other so that I would not get lost. The first testing I had was the bloodwork.....They had to stick me 4 times to get all 8 vials that they needed!!! Then I had to blow in a bag and drink a nasty clear liquid, wait 15 mins and do it again. Next I moved to the ultrasound. That was ok, (the gown was nice and big so it actually fit me) then I moved to get chest x-rays. They made copies for me (after I requested them) and next I went for the upper GI. It was NASTY tasting!!!! I had to pop an ounce of crystals with an ounce of nasty clear liquid and was told "This will make you want to burp, if you do you will have to do this again." So I popped my crystals and then she handed me a nice 6 ounce cup of white chalky stuff and said finish in one drink. Then, to make things interesting, I had to lay on the table and roll all the way around to "mix the liquids" and then she took several pictures. I thought we were done and then she hands me 6 more ounces of the white chalky stuff and said drink this while I take pictures....joy joy....by now I am feeling like ! We finished there and then I was moved into another location to have an EKG. That took all of like 3 minutes to do. Then I had to do a breathing test and learn how to use a lung excercise thing that they gave to me and told me to do and record 4x a day for 2 weeks prior to surgery. Lastly, I met with a nurse who gave me some instructions about surgery and filled out some paperwork. Oh, then I had to pee in a cup....which was hard for me since you can't eat or drink past midnight the night before. (If you do cheat they will reschedule this testing too!!) Then, I made the 1 hour 45 min drive back home....Hope this helps all of you up and coming testers!!!