My Question of the Day!

Hi,

As I warned you in my introduction yesterday, I'm full of questions even after all of my research.  Today's question/topic is...what medical tests did you have to do prior to surgery and did you do those through your PCP or your surgeon. 

I'm interested in everyone's response, and if you are a self-pay patient like me please let me know what your experience was.  :)

Thanks in advance!
Suzy

Hi...My doctor offered to do all my preliminary test.....blood work...EKG.....chest x-rays. But as a self pay person. All those test were included in my price and there were all done the morning I arrived for my surger at the hospital.

Thanks Simone, guess I should also add this to my list of questions for the surgeon.  :)

My PCP ordered an EKC, bloodwork, and I had a complete physical. My insurance also required a 3-month supervised diet with an approved Nutritionist as well as completing a psych exam (300 question test) and an upper GI barium swallow, both of which were scheduled through the surgeon's office, not my PCP.

I have an appointment with my PCP this Saturday and am trying to determine what I need to tell him/ask him etc...I don't know that he has a lot of experience with bariatric patients so want to make sure I get everything covered in this visit.  It is possible this will be my last visit with him prior to my surgery!  :)

I went directly to the participating surgeon's office and they did everything there accept the stress test but my surgeon's office did everything pretty much.

I went to my sleep doctor myself

Went to an orientation

Set appointment

Surgon did ekg and ordered stress test

Endoscopy at surgeon's office

Blood draw at surgeon's office

Phyc evail

Nutritionist 

And they also set me up with an exercise consultant 

Surgeon's office did all my paperwork and submitted it to my insurance after all the prelims

And because Ihad a bmi above 50 i was aproved without having a 6 month supervised diet even though I've been dieting since after St Patrick's day. That is when I was my heaviest weight. I was 279 I'm. 1 week from surgery 4 months later and 35 pounds lighter.

So ready for the change it's just the waiting 

Your surgeon will often give you a list of required tests/paperwork at your first appointment.

I didn't have to do another sleep study, since I'd had one before when diagnosed with sleep apnea by my GP a few years before surgery.

I had to have cardiac clearance (stress test) for the surgeon, but I'd also had that done previously when my GP put me on blood pressure meds.

I did need to have blood work done, and my surgeon wrote the lab slip for that.

My surgeon set just about everything up for me...I had to see my PCP for 6 straight months...could not miss a month or had to start over..I was scoped (both ends) stress test, psych eval, sleep test 2 times and of course all my labs, ekg, mammogram. I think he didn't leave much  out before scheduling me for surgery..took me almost a year to get all this done.

My surgeon set up my tests:

Sleep study,  EGD, blood tests, chest X-Ray.  My PCP gave him a copy of my most recent ECG and Echocardiogram.