Question

I have just scheduled my appt to get moving with my surgery. I will be doing many of the steps at one time due to the distance I have to travel to be at the doctor's office. I will meet with the psyc, nutr, and attend the seminar all in one day. Can anybody tell me what to expect on this day. Also, I would like to hear from some of you who have had the surgery. I am just curious if anyone has experienced any problems post surgery...i.e. hair loss, etc. I just want to make sure I take all things into consideration. Thanks, Amanda

Hi Amanda!! Check out my profile for information on my pre-op stuff. Everyone has different experiences, but hopefully my story can help you. I haven't had surgery yet. I just got a surgery date for 07/10. Hair loss is fairly normal, but patients that are diligent with their nutrition regimen don't have as much hair loss. Protein is super important after WLS and helps prevent hair loss. It's never a guarantee, but I've heard plenty of people say the hair comes back after a short time. My sister had WLS over 6 years ago. She had some hair loss, actually a lot of hairloss, but it stopped. Her hair grew back good as new and that hasn't been an issue since then. Good luck to you.

Hi Amanda - I had my nurse practitioner and nutrition's visits on the same day (since I have to travel two hours to get to the hospital), and then I had to go two hours in the other direction to get my psych eval done since my surgery hospital was months out on being able to take me for that. The nurse practitioner just asks you questions about your health -- to see if there are any special tests they need to do before the surgery to make sure you will be okay during it. I had to have an upper endoscopy because I have acid reflux and I had to see the cardiologist because I have weird heart palpitations sometimes. The nutritionist just talks to you about what you eat now and what the appropriate things will be for you to eat after surgery. Mine gave me tips about buying small containers and blending up some healthy choice soups and freezing tiny portions to begin with, since we won't be able to eat much. The psych evaluation was fine. I think they just want to be sure that you don't think the surgery will be a magic wand -- turning you from fat to thin in the wink of an eye. You need to know that it's just a tool to get you to your destination and that you still have lots of hard work ahead of you. I think we all know that, so it shouldn't be a problem. You'll have a full day ahead of you to be sure. Hang on and you'll get through it. Linda