Bariatric "Light Weight", The Process - West Columbia, SC

5/24/2016 3 of 3. Bitter sweet , the very last of my pre op appointments. The next time I write I will be SLEEVED. Well let's get into it. I met with my surgeon which I think is only the second time I've actually had a one on one with him. No big deal , if you are the type of person who needs a lot of one on one with the actual surgeon do not pick a busy practice. Thankfully as long as I have a good and response office staff I am ok. First I met with the nurse, he advised me that rx was being sent to my pharmacy today and they will used after surgery. The prescriptions were for Carafate, Prontonix, and Reglan. Two of the three are for controlling the acid in your stomach, the other for nausea. He also gave me some info on a service that provides a package of bariatric friendly vitamins for around 25 a month if approved by insurance. After all the drug talk he gave me a list of my appointments until 2/3/2017,,,whew!!!! Then here comes my surgeon, after looking through all my paperwork(took all of 30 seconds), he said well "doesn't look like we have much to do"…..lol. I hopped on the table for a quick abdominal exam, he pointed out where the incisions will be placed. He asked if I had any questions, just one "can I get a picture of the removed portion?". He let me know it is not normal for him but to remind him the morning of and he will make sure he gets it done and gives it to my mom. She told me when I expressed to her that I wanted the picture, that she did not want to see it. LOL so what did I do? Tell him to give it to her, I'll be sleep she won't be able to fuss at me. A quick stop on the way to give some information so that my STD claim can be sent in, and that was it.....June 1st I'll be back …. on the other side!!!

5/20/2016 Finally all pre op testing complete!!!!! Today was an early day, had to be at the hospital at 9am. Which would not be an issue if it wasn’t an hour and a half away. Since I arrived early, I swung by the surgeon's office to make sure my paper work for std was completed and pay my balance. Then off to patient check in. First stop was consent forms and an explanation of what I had to do as far as testing. Fast forward I had a leg x ray, blood work, ekg, chest x ray, urinalysis, and interview/assessment. Then a quick run down on when to stop medication, using the wash to clean my body for three days prior to surgery. I started around 8:15 am and was finished around 11:05. But I'm finally done all testing, next stop quick meet with surgeon on the 24th, then surgery on June 1st.....counting down

5/18/2016 1 of 3 pre op appointments. Today I had my last nutrition class. It always amazes me at each class how so many people go into the process of weight loss surgery with no clue. Every class I have attended there is always one maybe two people who asks questions that makes me worry about their commitment to their own success. People at this particular class (mind you everyone in this class is having surgery within a month) were asking questions that, had I not done my own research I would have wanted to know at my first consultation. For example, " can I drive myself home from the hospital", " how many weeks until I can start drinking soda", " does someone need to stay with me after". It was scary that a person would take such a big step with so little information. But I digress, I did some new information for once. First my surgeon does not require the dreaded "puree stage". The post op diet progression is as follows: One week clear liquids(broth, water, sugar free jello), Two weeks full liquids (protein shakes, cream soups, cream of wheat) , Three weeks soft foods (chicken, fish, eggs ). Between stage one and after stage three , you have to go in to be checked out and released to the next stage. Easy enough , right? The next new information I received is that they send you home with three prescriptions. One for blood thinning, to prevent blood clots, One for pain (duh), and the last for nausea. There was only one thing that made me slightly unhappy , STAPLES. I was hoping for steri strips or dissolvable staples. The reason this bothers me so much is the same reason I dislike needles, that foreign object sticking out of my skin creeps me out. On a brighter note, we don’t have to have a drain tube or catheter. Whoooo two more days until appointment 2 of 3 x-rays, blood work, consent forms.......