Question:
Has anyone gone threw WLS surgery without a sleep study or stress test?
— D. Cornell L. (posted on March 2, 2003)
March 1, 2003
I didn't have either of those tests. I did have extensive blood work,
urinalysis, gallbladder ultrasound, chest xray, carotid artery ultrasound,
clearance by a second MD. The blood work included the usual stuff, liver
enzymes, hepatitis screening, arterial blood gas.
— Diane M.
March 1, 2003
Stress test appears dependent on your age and other co morbidities. SLEEP
STUDY or another oxygen saturation test before surgery is a MUST. Not to be
a alarmist but people have ended up on the memorial page because they didnt
get a sleep apnea test. I myself nearly died after minor knee surgery a few
years before WLS, beause of sleep aonea. Get your PCP to order a sleep
study or demand one from your WLS.
— bob-haller
March 1, 2003
My surgery is in about 6 weeks, and to my knowledge, I will not have any
tests done. For sure, not an endoscopy or sleep study, maybe just some
blood work. I am really healthy though, so maybe that's why.
— [Deactivated Member]
March 1, 2003
Open Rny 10/30/02 here and only had to have blood workup, ekg (no stress
test), chest x-ray, and urinalysis. My surgeon asked very specific
questions about sleep apnea. Evidently he didn't think I had this
particular problem and I concur. I seemed to be rather healthy CONSIDERING
the HORRIBLE weight I was at. His policy seemed to be "What ain't
broke don't fix." I think about it now, after reading about all the
extensive testing a lot of other WLS people underwent and it rather
unnerves me. I guess you could say I was lucky! My sister is having WLS in
April by a different doctor and she is having ALL the EXTENSIVE preop
testing. Know what? I'm SO glad she is. Must admit at the time, I was
glad I didn't have to have that sleep apnea testing and the drinking of
that awful stuff for an endoscopy (?), or a bowel prep. Naive of me at the
time. I want ALL that and whatever else might insure the total safety for
my sister.
— Ginger M.
March 2, 2003
I didn't have a sleep study, but I had a gallbladder sonograph (good thing
-- they found gallstones, so they took my gallbladder out during the RNY),
and an upper GI series (good thing -- they found out I had a hiatal
hernia), an EKG, a stress test, chest xray, and bloodwork. I felt I was
perfectly healthy, but would not have known of the hiatal hernia or
gallstones without those tests and am VERY glad they were done.
— Suzy C.
March 2, 2003
Every doctor is different but WLS is no different than any other surgery.
If you're not at risk based on the doctors assessment they most likely
won't order one. Just as insurance won't pay for unnecessary testing
either. If you've had previous surgeries without one I wouldn't worry
about your bariatric surgeon not requesting it on this one either unless
you've had a change in your health or sleep that makes you worry you're at
risk.
— Shelly S.
March 2, 2003
I think the previous posts are right, it all depends on your surgeon and
also how "at risk" you are for related complications. All I
remember having done pre-op was some bloodwork. I had my lap RNY the end
of July 2002 and have about 5 more pounds to become a member of that
glorious century club! Good luck to you!
— Laurel C.
March 2, 2003
Just like they said, can depend on your surgeon, and also I find your age.
I am 23, and my surgeon chose not to do stress test or sleep test or some
of the other tests I know many people have because I am young and pretty
much healthy, so he figured I really didn't need to bother. I never showed
signs of sleep apnea or other problems. I had showed signs of acid reflux,
so I had to have an endoscopy, otherwise I probably wouldn't have had that
either. Saved me time and money!
— Lezlie Y.
March 2, 2003
The only pre op tests I had was a chest x-ray, EKG, & blood work. It
all depends on your surgeon & your insurance.
— Paula G.
March 2, 2003
I agree with other posters: depends on your surgeon, insurance and risk
factors. Be careful about "demanding" to have a sleep study. If
your surgeon does not feel it's necessary (and it is NOT necessary in every
case), he won't order it, and it can't be done without your doctor's order.
(Most likely, surgeons would be okay with having it done.) I , as a
lightweight, didn't need a sleep study, since I was in relatively good
health with few risk factors. My husband is also a lightweight. He has a
history of having had a coarctation of the aorta repaired as a teenager.
He did have to have a stress test, and CT angiogram, echocardiogram and an
MRI as part of his presurgical work up.
— koogy
March 2, 2003
No sleep study or stress test here. I am sure if my surgeon thought I would
need them, he would have ordered them. I was relatively healthy so
thankfully I didn't need either.....Karen (5 1/2 mons. post-op from lap
rny- down 114 pounds!!)
— karmiausnic
March 2, 2003
Me too, I had no co-morbs, I only had a Psych Eval and Mtg with a
Nutrionist! Thats all!
— heathercross
March 2, 2003
I didn't have a stress test and I had my sleep test prior to having WLS. I
think some doctors send people out for sleep tests seeking comorbidities to
qualify someone for surgery, if you are not having symptoms of sleep apnea
and your doctor has screened you and ruled this out, then I don't
necessarily believe that you need to have the sleep test done. I know some
insurance companies won't pay for tests that are unnecessary. After
surgery, I never went back for a sleep test and after I lost 50 pounds, I
sent my CPAP and oxygen back on my own. Some people would not agree with
that, but I knew the difference between how I felt when I had sleep apnea
and how I was feeling after my weight loss. I felt the test was
unnecessary (and to be honest, I hated those tests).
— Lisa N M.
March 2, 2003
I had neither test and in the case of the sleep test, I deeply regret it.
I had undiagnosed apnea and ended up in the ICU for 5 days after surgery.
This doubled my time in the hospital and since I was self pay, cost me an
extra $20,000 +. Please have all the tests you can prior to surgery and
get each co-morbidity diagnosed and treated or eliminated from the list of
possibles. Good luck to you.
— Julia O.
March 2, 2003
I didn't need a sleep study. I did have a stress test.
— barbara A.
March 2, 2003
much depends on your age and comorbidities. A person in her 20s with no
symptoms or family history of early heart disease probably doesn't need a
stress test. same is probably true for a young person who doesn't snore or
have morning headaches or other symptoms of sleep apnea.
but anyone over 40 probably should have both tests. as has been mentioned
in other posts, people die or have serious complications from undetected
medical conditions.
flame on:
i love this web site, but i remain deeply troubled by the apparent attitude
of some people that medical and psych tests are a waste of time or a
roadblock to prevent people from getting WLS. We are all doing this to
improve our health, so i don't understand the resistance to learning as
much as possible about our bodies before surgery.
flame off.
Kasey Jones
— Kasey
March 2, 2003
I had a sleep study and I would have never known I had sleep apnea without
it.. My dr in Texas requires( we transfered before I could get the surgery.
I am now in Georgia and with a new surgeon who doesnt require it.I am glad
I am on the cpap machine I will know that I wont have to worry about
complications of undiagnosed sleep apnea.
— Catherine B
March 2, 2003
I had surgery on 9/30/02 without ever having a sleep study or a stress
test. A sleep study was never ordered. They asked me questions and it
didn't apply to me from my answers. A stress test was ordered, but I
couldn't have it done when I went for it, and then I never went to get it
done. Thankfully, they still did my surgery under insurance. <3
Chrissy -96#s.
— Christine C.
March 2, 2003
I'm 25 and always said I was healthy other than being overweight...then I
started my journey towards WLS. In the past year I've been diagnosed with
sleep apnea (which I knew I probably had from what friends and family had
told me about my snoring), high blood pressure (which freaked me out and
upset me that I had a to take daily medication), and then to top it all of
I have gallstones (which does explain some major episodes of pain I've had
in the past). I agree with Casey, people should want to have these test
done to make sure they are as healthy as possible when they have this major
surgery. The cost is worth saving yourself from having complications or
another surgery (check out how many people on here have had to have their
gallbladder removed after WLS) Of course I wish the best for everyone and
I would hope that your insurance would pay for these important pre-op test.
— Sarahlicious
March 2, 2003
I didn't have to anything except meet with the nutritionist and an EKG.
— jen41766
March 2, 2003
No stress or sleep study here either. I had to have an appt. with a
dietician, EKG, PFTs, tons of bloodwork and an upper GI series. During my
upper GI, they found a mass in my small intestine (about an inch from my
stomach). I've had a month worth of tests and they have now determined
that its benign but the surgeon doesn't feel comfortable leaving it there
so they will remove it (along with a portion of my bowel) hopefully, during
my WLS. If it wasn't for my WLS preops I would never know it was there and
it could have caused me a lot of complications down the road.
— lindadougherty
March 3, 2003
My friend, Ginger Brewster, went through surgery without a sleep study and
she died from complications because no provisions were taken for her having
sleep apnea. Please read her profile on the memorial page of this website
for more details. I think if you are having any symptoms of sleep apnea it
is best to get tested. If you are young and are relatively healthy
considering the weight and don't have any symptoms of having sleep apnea
then you don't need to be tested.
— Hackett
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