Appt with surgeon

Hi all. I'm new here but have been reading for a few weeks. I have had my first class of 6 and have first appt with surgeon Thursday. I'm hoping for some input about what to expect, what to ask, etc. I haven't decided on which surgery...or honestly...whether to do it at all. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!! I'm nervous, excited, nervous...

My program required we attend an information session first - which discussed the various types of surgeries and allowed for general questions. It was only after that you could make an appointment with a surgeon. So there are a few things to consider and my answers are tempered by the fact that I don't know your age, weight, height or BMI

1 - Based upon my age, height, BMI, weight and other medical conditions, I was leaning toward a sleeve at my first appointment, but realized I am hiring my surgeon to exercise his best medical judgment. (I'm a lawyer - people hire me to solve their legal problems. If they could do it themselves, they wouldn't need me - what they need are my 30 years of experience. I try to give other professionals that same respect).

2 - We discussed the impact of both VSG and RNY on my life given my other medical issues, including severe knee osteoarthritis (as in I need them replaced I'm bone on bone in both knees) and asthma that periodically requires the use of oral steriods to control flares.

3 - We discussed the impact of both types of surgeries given my position in life as a post-menopausal woman and the vitamin deficiency/osteoporosis risks

4 - We didn't make any hard and fast decisions at the first appointment because my program required three months of supervised weight loss and meetings with the registered dieticians along with other pre op testing. We refined the discussion over the time period.

5 - I spent about an hour with my RD on the first visit talking about food, how I eat, preparing meals, weight loss attempts in the past, any food issues/allergies, and getting my notebook which I was to bring to every appointment. I was put on a 1200 cal a day high protein low carb diet to follow while I was in the program.

6 - I met with my Nurse Practitioner who would be my go-to for issues with medication, questions about tests, deciphering test results, etc.

All in all, at my center, my first visit was about 2 hours long and I was warned of this in advance. The way the program works was explained and I was sent home with a boat load of reading, a list of follow up appointments to make and tests to be done.

My first visit was on May 11. My surgery was done on August 23, 2016. I am nearing my surgiversary.

Best of luck in your process.

Welcome! I recommend doing what you're doing - reading through posts here in the VSG and RNY forums. And have a notebook close by so you can write down your questions :D

Start researching all you can on the big 3 procedures:

• RNY - gastric bypass
• VSG - vertical sleeve gastrectomy
• DS - Duodenal Switch

It's best that you select the procedure yourself because you KNOW yourself better than any doc can size you up in a 15 min consultation.

Thank you so much for the responses! They are all really helpful! I will continue to read here and do research on the various procedures. Thanks again!

So I had the appt today. Wow. A WHOLE LOT of info...but I was glad about that. Overall it was a good appt EXCEPT that they said I may get denied by my insurance. I have a BMI of 39 and apparently my insurance company is VERY strict about needing a comorbid condition of BMI is under 40. For instance...I have high blood pressure but they require that you be on at least 3 meds for this. And I have sleep apnea...but they require that it be a certain TYPE of sleep apnea. Hmmmm. Anyone experience this?