New to this :)

[steffie78]

Hey everyone.

After thoughtful consideration and research, I have decided that I am most likely going to be doing the gastric bypass. I went to a seminar on Monday and did not get a great vibe from the surgeon so I am attending another seminar on Saturday through another group. Any advice any of you can give me would be greatly appreciated while I am just starting this process.

I'm most curious what testing you all had to do prior to surgery and how long it took from the initial consultation to the actual surgery day.

thanks!

Steph

[elenamurray1]

Welcome Steph! I had my surgery so long ago that its difficult to even remember all the testing involved. I'm sure some of the more recent post ops will help you there! Just wanted to wish you the best!

[Deleted]

There are so many variables such as insurance requirements, physician protocol, etc. so don't be disappointed if you don't get precise answers. I've seen approvals from less than a week to over several years waiting. Good for searching out another physician. I truly believe a good rapport with the surgeon is essential.

[shellyac]

Generally you will have to have a psych consult, a battery of tests to check your heart and lungs, you may or may not have to have a sleep study. Your insurance company may require you to have to 3 to 6 months of a doctor supervised diet which may be a easy as going in each month to get weight (the good news is that some insurance companies are doing away with this)

The best advice I can give is do as much research about your procedure, including what can go wrong both in the short term and long term. Read the stories of the people who have failed and the reasons why they failed and honestly access if those are reasons that can happen to you. It may or may not affect your decision on which procedure you have but at least it will allow to recognize when you might be starting to head down the slippery slope.

Get as much information as you can about your doctor, talk to his or her other patients.

The process can take as short as a few months (or a few weeks if you are self pay) to almost a year depending on circumstances in your life.

Also if you are going through your insurance, make sure that you find out what their requirements are and if your policy covers WLS. You don't want a nasty surprise in terms of what they cover after you start the process rolling.

Good Luck

[Elsa The Great]

Good luck on your journey. I had psych, chest X-ray, sleep study, stress test & an EJD because this is a revision.

Comfort and trust in the surgeon is a super important. I honestly believe any of the surgeries can be successful if your dedicated and use it as a tool and learn to live an active healthy life along the way.

Good luck & feel free to ask as questions come up cause they will!

[So Blessed]

I had
-psych test
-arterial blood gas
-other miscellaneous blood work
-pulmonary function test
-stress test
-chest x-ray
-barium swallow

[melissawhitener]

welcome !! i am new as well, found a surgeon i really like! do a ton of research on all the types of surgery, but keep this in mind. When I met with my surgeon it turns out for various reasons that I cannot do a band and I would have serious or severe problems if i did a sleeve or duodenal switch. Since I was leaning toward gastric bypass this is fine with me. don't get your heart set on a particular surgery until you talk w a surgeon about all your individual wants, needs, and gastro issues!!