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What do I have to have done?

J

jduffy

Member
Going to Seminar at Cleveland Clinic on the 30th, next Thursday. I know that the doctors give a talk and then take questions. I've started to write questions and have several obvious ones on paper. What I'm looking for are some of the unique questions that, maybe you wished that you had asked before surgery.
I know that it's a long process before surgery. What will I have to have done before surgery? One of the unique, well, maybe unique questions I have is should I donate blood for myself?
I look forward to meeting and talking to many of you as I go through the steps to surgery. Thank you in advance.
jduffy
 
My surgeons office was wonderful and they gave you a step by step list of who, what, when, and where to follow and they made the process so much easier then I was anticipating. Each clinic/ surgeons office is different so just make sure you bring your questions list along, and if there are any unanswered by the end of the day make sure you ask them. Don't be afraid to call and ask more questions after wards too, a good surgeons office should be willing to help with them.
 
Thank you so much for the info that your doctor gave you all that info. Sounds like a good place. I have a friend going with me to help me listen to the seminar and ask questions too. My friend, Barbara, is a retired university professor so she's used to taking in info quickly and forming good questions. When I have surgery she will be taking care of my emotional support animal, Sir Riley Baldwin. Sure wish I could take him to the hospital with me. Maybe I will take the stuffed animal that looks like him with me to hold onto.
Thanks so much for your support.
jduffy
 
jduffy said:
Going to Seminar at Cleveland Clinic on the 30th, next Thursday. I know that the doctors give a talk and then take questions. I've started to write questions and have several obvious ones on paper. What I'm looking for are some of the unique questions that, maybe you wished that you had asked before surgery.
I know that it's a long process before surgery. What will I have to have done before surgery? One of the unique, well, maybe unique questions I have is should I donate blood for myself?
I look forward to meeting and talking to many of you as I go through the steps to surgery. Thank you in advance.
jduffy
Click to expand...

I had many questions. They were all answered at the seminar and also after the seminar via email. My surgeon's office has a patient advocate. I emailed my advocate quite frequently with questions and statements in general. I always got an answer. When I had a really important question I would receive a phone call from a nurse or the physicians assistant.

No need to give blood for yourself. The procedures, which ever one you choose are laprocscopic (probably using the Da Vinci robot) and minimally evasive and really no blood loss.

The biggest set of questions will be those that help you decide which procedure to do. For me the fact that I have T2 diabetes swayed me to going with the gastric bypass. It has the benefit of resolving T2 diabetes immediately for most people.

You will want to potentially understand the different benefits between gastric sleeve vs gastric bypass. Right now, gastric bypass is the gold standard in the industry. However, the gastric sleeve may soon be one as well as they gather more history and statistics on it. I see many people take gastric sleeve who are concerned about the malabsorption issues with the gastric bypass. Since I did opt for gastric bypass I must take vitamins and minerals daily. What this translate into is 2 bariatric advantage chewable vitamins designed for the gastric bypass patient and also one to two calcium pills for the rest of my life.

You will want to ask about exercise. You will want to ask about the post op protocols for food consumption. However, these are likely to be presented to you in the seminar. You should receive an entire packet of information at the seminar or perhaps your first appointment. Do yourself a favor. READ IT THOROUGHLY MULTIPLE TIMES. My surgeon's office actually gave us a quiz on the packet. We were required to get every answer correct before we could proceed down the path of prepping for the surgery.

Best wishes,

Ralph
 
thank you,

thank you, Ralph. Your words of advice really helpe me feel better. May I ask do all places use the Da Vinci Robot? I've heard some really bad "lawsuit" items about it. Do they let you select the use of the robot or traditional method? I was also wondering where you had your surgery done, if you're allowed to say.
Thanks again,
jduffy
 
jduffy said:
thank you, Ralph. Your words of advice really helpe me feel better. May I ask do all places use the Da Vinci Robot? I've heard some really bad "lawsuit" items about it. Do they let you select the use of the robot or traditional method? I was also wondering where you had your surgery done, if you're allowed to say.
Thanks again,
jduffy
Click to expand...

This comes under the heading of pick a highly qualified bariatric surgeon. Pick someone who has had a lot of good experience. Pick someone who is the best doctor in your state. I am fortunate. My Doctor was the best in the state and nationally ranked in the top 10 of the nation.

Also, pick a hospital that has earned the bariatric center of excellence award.

When you do this know that the Doctor will know how to use the Da Vinci robot. The doctor will have had 100s if not 1000s of procedures successfully completed using the robot. The robot is a huge benefit for the surgeon in that it makes his movements more precise.

I am sure we can all look for horror stories. There are many doctors out there who perhaps should NOT be in the business. Once again, do the research and you will have nothing to worry about.

I live in New York; Smithtown, NY. This is half way out on Long Island. I went to the Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, NY a recognized bariatric center of excellence. My Doctor is one of the top ranked Doctor's in the nation.

I walked into the surgery confident and relaxed.

A few years back I had a prostatectomy. Once again, I picked one of the top hospitals NYU Lagone in New York City and one of the top rated urology surgeon's who also used the Da Vinci robot for the operation.

Ralph
 
Mine was done laproscopically and even though my surgeon did a great job, a piece of my new pouch came loose from a staple and it led to me contiuosly filling my new pouch with blood I think I threw up about 800ml before I was wisked away back down to surgery they were able to find and fix the loose end really quickly and were able to just go down threw my throat ( I don't know the name of the procedure) but then they didn't have to go back through my incisions. Then they continued checking my white blood cell count during my stay to make sure everything really was closed up before I left-that was my only complication and since coming home I have been feeling great for the most part.
 
It's me again, jduffy. Yesterday I got my book of info and my Initial Worksheet (25 pages long). It took me 3 hours to fill it out. But, good news is that it's in the mail. That was the first step in getting accepted for surgery.
I'm getting worried that, because I'm 58, my insurance will deny the surgery, all because of Obama Care. It seems to ME that Obama Care wants to do away with "older" folks and the disabled. Please remember that this is just MY OPINION. Don't mean to offend anyone.
I see my therapist tomorrow and will share the booklet that I got from Cleveland Clinic.
Have a good one everybody.
jduffy
 
jduffy said:
It's me again, jduffy. Yesterday I got my book of info and my Initial Worksheet (25 pages long). It took me 3 hours to fill it out. But, good news is that it's in the mail. That was the first step in getting accepted for surgery.
I'm getting worried that, because I'm 58, my insurance will deny the surgery, all because of Obama Care. It seems to ME that Obama Care wants to do away with "older" folks and the disabled. Please remember that this is just MY OPINION. Don't mean to offend anyone.
I see my therapist tomorrow and will share the booklet that I got from Cleveland Clinic.
Have a good one everybody.
jduffy
Click to expand...

Funny that you say that.

I have had those feelings as well. However, my surgery was approved and my procedure occurred on 11/4/2013. I am now 70 years old. This surgery probably bought me more time here on Earth.

It would be good if you posted more information in your profile, like your wait, gender, the procedure you are thinking of doing, etc., etc.

Ralph
 
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