Questions to Ask

Good morning, all!  I have been reading your posts for a couple of months now and found great inspiration, wisdom and some very sobering moments along the way.  Today, I am so excited for Jaxxie on news of her upcoming surgery date - congrats!

I have my appointment at HRRH with the dietician, nurse and sw on Monday.  I am getting a bit nervous - half the time I think of this appointment as the inquisition, and the other half as a finally meeting another part of my support team!  I have my own list of topics and questions for them -- thought I would ask you folks if there were any tips YOU have for these appointments.  Thanks!

Good Morning!  I have those appointments in December at HHRH.  Who is your surgeon?

judy

I'm with Dr. Sohi....you?

I am with Dr. Huynh.  He was very nice at my first visit last week.  I have some health issues that I thought may not allow me to have the surgery, but he thinks I will be ok.  Still have to get the ok from Dr. Glazer though, and I don't see him till March! 

judy

For the appointments, all you can do is be honest. With the social worker, I had to do two appts which slowed down the process by 6 weeks as I have used food in the past in response to emotions.  I had to go to some classes and have a few therapy sessions to deal with this - I already had in the past, but she wanted to see action.  That was the only issue I had.  BTW, I had Dr Sohi as my surgeon and he is fantastic.  A very nice man who explains things to you. Good luck!

Hey ! Thanks for that :) I'm very excited too ! 

I went through Humber also , still am , but due to my surgeon ( Dr Klien ) being  significantly backlogged , I was given the option to have my surgery done at TWH , I chose to keep my aftercare with Humber though , as I have wor ked with them throughout the past year . 

I would echo what nbeatty says about being honest with them at these appointments . I had to have a follow up appointment with the dietician as she was concerned about my tendency to not eat much of anything at breakfast and then go and go until 2 or 3 pm before eating ( I work in home care so I tend to just run through my day without stopping ) ...and then munching from then on and eating in front of the TV . Mindlessly . Which I see now , is defo my problem . So I have been working on that and am much more aware of how it makes me feel . I used to get headaches all the time around lunchtime or so , and it sounds silly but I didn't put it together that it may have been because all I had eaten or drank was coffee and maybe a banana at 6 am !!! I think we get into habits and don't think for ourselves . I would never let my child do that ...why have I did it to myself all this time ?crazy! 

The social worker wilol ask about your family and growing up , and your relationships and stress levels , if you do have any issues be honest as they could be triggers for you , and again we don't join the dots . It's best to deal with them now , it can only help us right ? 

Only other tips are do some research before you go in on the procedure , go over your handouts and give yourself a summary of the phases of the 4 weeks after diet . They like to see you actually are making an informed decision here and know what you are getting yourself into .  make sure you have a list of the things you want to know ,like work time off , or if you have any questions about the actual process , or the aftercare . The time seems to fly by , they are a busy office and they are great but there is that sense of in and out and before you know it youre left thinking " crap ! I didn't ask this or that " !! They are always available though by email so u can keep in touch with any questions . 

Anyway , hope all goes well for you ! Keep us posted on everything , and stay in touch on here , it's such a good forum and great bunch of people . So much support . 

Good luck dear 

Jax xx

Thanks for the info and advice! Spent the day gathering all my information for my appointment binder so I have everything I need on hand.  Is there usually more blood work at this point?

If you have already did a full set of bloods ,then no I don't think there is at this point . I could be wrong , and of course it depends on your own individual situation health wise , but for me .. have only given one full set of blood work so far . The next for me is just prior to surgery . 

Good luck :) 

Jax xx

Thanks, Jax.  I had the vampire donation last time, so good to know I probably won't need to give again yet.