terrified

I have a real problem with doctors and hospitals and I am so phobic. I am seeing Dr. Needleman on Tuesday and I can't even think of questions!!! I went through the entire course at OSU for six months and the 4 week gastric bypass classes. I've lost a little in the past six months but I need this surgery. Help!!

Carolee, 1. Take a deep breath. 2. You might want to write down any questions in advance, I was the same way, my brain just froze up at the initial consult, and I could barely go Duh!!! Hopefully, the more familiar you become with the process, and the people at your hospital, the less phobic you will become.

you've come this far girl.....go for it....you might want to take someone with you if you can so they can remember things you missed. Hang in there....it will be a thing of the past soon. Dave

Hi Carolee, Totally understandable. Since this is such a life change you definately want to gather all the information you possibly can. I firmly believe if you completely understand all your options and have done your research you are in a much better position to make the best possible decision for you. Best wishes to you in your journey. About the questions for your Dr., remember, you are interviewing your doctor so you need to be sure you are comfortable with him and his skills/ablities. There's nothing wrong with treating your visit like an interview. Also remember, he does this surgery several times every week, however you will do this only once and you need to be sure that you have 110% confidence in his ablity to successfully care for you and perform your surgery. No question ever asked in the pursuit of knowlegde is ever wrong or dumb. SUGGESTION: I put a piece of paper on my refridge (I always had to pass it no matter where I went in the house.) and what I did was every time a question popped into my head, I would write it down, no matter how silly, strange or personal, I wrote it down. Then the day before my consult, I reveiewed the questions, looked up what I could and then took the paper with me to go see the Dr. I also agree with taking someone with you. I took my sister b/c she is one of my #1 supporters and she had questions that she wanted to ask the Dr. about and I was glad b/c she asked things I didn't even think of. You as the patient tend to get caught up in the whole thing and sometimes don't ask all the questions you want for what ever reason, mostly b/c of nerves and excitment. Just a sample of questions that I asked: What is your leak rate, have you ever lost a patient on the table, what about your complication rate, what is your stance on blood transfusions, how long have you been performing the surgery, do you have an assistant in the room with you, how many surgerys per day do you perform? I hope this helps. Best wishes again to you in your journey Kym