Question:
How long did it take you to get an appt.w/Dr. Vierra in CA?

My insurance co. has told me I need to go to Dr. Ostroff/Dr. patti. He makes you lose 10% of your weight first. I don't have that kind of time.Plus if I was able to lose it I wouldn't need him. My insurance person told me after meeting with Dr. Ostroff I can then ask for a second opinion. Does DR. Vierra make you lose weight before the RNY? Thanks hope to hear some- thing. jc cardwell    — JC C. (posted on April 27, 2000)

April 27, 2000
I can't remember how long it took to get my consult appt. with Dr. Vierra. I think it was one to two months so if I were you, I would call and make the appt right now. He has about a two month waiting period from then till surgery. Dr. Vierra does require you to lose some weight but an amount is not mentioned. He says surgery is much easier if you do lose some and also he wants to see just how serious you are about the whole procedure. I saw him about a month after the initial visit and had gained about 8 lbs. He didn't hassle me about it but did ask what happened. Because of the gain, I had to see him again about a month later. At this point, I had lost weight and after talking he knew I was serious about having the surgery so it was scheduled. At first, it really irritated me that I needed to lose weight to have the surgery. After all, if I could lose weight on my own, why would I be there! But after my initial gain, I realized I wanted the surgery and would need to "play the game" to get there. My surgery date is June 21. Could have done it in May but I'm going away mid June and didn't want to compromise my trip. Therefore, I have had to go in and be weighed by Dr. Vierra's nurse once in April and once in May but will not see him again till surgery time. You said in your question that you do not have time to lose the weight but it seems most people from their initial consultation have about a two month wait till surgery.
   — Denise K.

July 18, 2000
Dr. Vierra gave me the illustration of how he promises not to operate on you after a hard night of partying or under the influence or sick or whatever, so he expects you to be in the best possible shape for the surgery too. You have to do your part to be as healthy as possible, to ensure success. Exercise and diet is part of that, and he makes you promise to do your best. But, I didn't loose very much, only a few pounds, and it wasn't even discussed. I worried a lot about it however.
   — Toni B.

July 18, 2000
I was referred for the appointment with Vierra in early June and was told the first available appointment was November 30th. And I was also told he expects a 10% loss before surgery, so I should do that during the 6 long months between then and the appointment. I wouldn't have minded losing the weight, but I wasn't willing to wait 6 months to SEE him, so I switched to another doctor.
   — Luci L.