What Next?

I went to the seminar today, and came out being much more informed and determined to have the surgery done if I'm eligible. I still don't know whether to have the by pass or the lap band; both have their advantages and disadvantages. We were all given a folder with lots of info and a list of the things we need to do as far as blood work and all the required testing. What should I do next? I already have an appointment set for my consultation on June 22, but I don't know if I should start doing the blood work now. Should I ask my personal doctor to do the blood work, or should I wait to be seen by the surgeon first? I would think that by starting all of this now the process would be a little bit faster. Can somebody give me their input on this? Should I start this now, or should I wait to see what the surgeon has to tell me? If I'm not eligible, then all the running around would be for naught, but if I am, then I would be ahead of the game.

Nereida, It is very smart that you are asking this because I learned the hard way what not to do. Call the surgeon's office tomorrow. Tell them what you want to know. Ask them what you should have done before you go to help expedite the process. Most likely they will fax you any information you might need regarding pre-surgical testing and blood work. And if they require you to have bloodwork done that requires a frozen specimen (which mine did and it was the beginning of some of my difficulties last year) make sure you go to a lab directly so they don't screw it up like what happened to me! Most surgeons have staff who will be more than willing to point you in the right direction on this. Who is the surgeon if you don't mind me asking? Kathy

Kathleen, I'm bubbling with excitement. I want to do everything possible to have the surgery done during the summer, if possible. I'm a high school teacher and the last day of school is on June 18, and I go for my consultation on the 22nd. If I could have the surgery done during the summer, I would have time to recuperate and be ready for the new school year. My personal doctor did some blood work for: diabetes, cholesterol, iron, and cbc. He told me the results would be in this coming Tuesday. I'm gonna take your advice and call the surgeon's office and ask them what I should get done before I see the doctor. The doctor I've considered is Dr. Opochenko. He's got his office in Egg Harbor Township, but does the bariatric surgeries in Atlantic City. I'm not too thrilled about going to that particular hospital, but, oh well.

Hello, everyone!!! I'm trying to keep you guys posted as to what I've been doing to speed up the process. I was told by one of my coworkers that I needed to make the psychological appoinment, like, right away, because it takes a while for them to be able to schedule me. I called, and they were able to schedule me for July 3rd. I was told that the evaluation had to be done after my consultation with the surgeon because they need to know if I'm eligible or not. The psychological evaluation is my out of pocket expense and it's $500, ouch!!!! I asked the lady who set up my appointment with the psychologist, if I could do anything to expedite the process, and she told me not to do anything. The doctor will let me know exactly what I need to do and where to go to get it done. I can, however, call the surgeon's office and ask if there has been any cancellations and try to move my appointment up. That would be great. Thanks, Nereida