Questions for Surgeon

I FINALLY (geez, it only took 9 months) meet my surgeon tomorrow.  Not surprisingly, given the time I've had, I have a LONG list of questions for him, but wanted a little feedback to see if anyone had some others that I should add. So here goes:

Questions for surgeon:

1.       Surgery:

a.       How many bougies?

b.      How many has he done?  Leaks?  Problems?

2.       Post-op restrictions. 

a.       Will I need more help than my elderly, somewhat immobile mother can offer?  For how long? 

b.      When will I be able to drive? 

c.       Weight restrictions – how much, how long?

3.       Post-op diet –

a.       Cornell VSG diet ok? 

b.      Lemon juice as seasoning or marinade for fish/chicken?

c.       How soon can I have raw veggies/Salad? 

d.      Tomatoes?

4.       Post-op meds – Any?   

5.       Pre-op clears– can I add Benefiber and Profect? 

6.       Current meds – can I continue taking?  If not, I will need to wean off in advance. 

a.       How will I know when I need a lower dose? 

7.       Current vitamins - I can take Bariatric Advantage multis and a liquid calcium, but there are a couple others I like to take, like fish oil.  Alternatives?  

8.       What’s the latest on NSAIDS?  Per Cirangle & Jossart, it appears they’re OK.  OCCASIONAL use of Advil – don’t much like Tylenol. 

9.       COST? I need a set figure now so I can settle my interest rate with the credit union.

WhWhat do you guys think?  Any other questions I should ask? 

If you require any new meds post-op (pain meds), can you get the prescriptions filled before surgery? What about over the counter aids, like gas-x? Is there someone from the office you can call 24/7 in case of complications? Thats all I can think of right now, but you can always call your surgeons office with more questions as they occur. Fred

Good ones!  Thanks!

The only other thing I asked about was how to keep my gall bladder healthy while losing weight.  He gave me a prescription for that. Have you seen the nutritionist yet?  She will actually answer a lot of the questions about what you can eat and supplements. 

Let me know what you think of Dr. Metz!

Susan

 

 

I'm not sure I get to see a Nut.  I got invited, but nobody seemed sure whether Kaiser would pay, and I suspect what I got out of my WLS class was supposed to suffice.