Just starting process....

Hello everyone. I'm brand new here. My mom's friend told me about this site and how helpful it was to her prior to and after having her surgery. 

I'm just starting the process for a VSG. I submitted all my paperwork, had my physical, attended an informational seminar and now have my first appointment next Wednesday (3/25) with the clinic. I was told this appointment would be about 3 hours as I would meet with the nurse practitioner, physical therapist and nutritionist. I also have my appointment for my psych eval on April 14th.

I was wondering how long the process took for you all from first appointment to surgery. I know I have to lose 5% of my current weight before I will be considered for surgery. My doctor recommends following the South Beach Diet. Did any of you follow this diet to lose weight prior to your surgery? 

I'm looking forward to getting to know you all here and learn from you too! 

Hi jeepsportgirl,

Sounds like you are well on your way!  While I didn't have VSG I wanted to take a moment to Welcome you to ObesityHelp!  We are glad that you have joined our OH community.  

As you check out OH, you'll see many features and tools that are created for our members as you embark on your WLS journey.  OH is a great place for support, research and tools to assist you with your journey.  Here are a few suggestions:

About Obesity
About Weight Loss Surgery
Medical Necessity
Post-op Planner
BMI Calculator
Health Tracker

We also have a great HELP SECTION with tutorials to assist you with navigating our site. If you need our assistance, you can reach us at [email protected]  You said you attended the seminar for the VSG, here is another link that may be helpful to you.

Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum (VSG)

We look forward to your updates

 

I made my decision in May and had surgery in July. My doctor had a recommended two week diet. I started using my fitness pal app to track my food intake. Good luck.

how long it takes depends on if you have insurance or are self pay

 if self pay it could be within the month

 if you have insurance it will probably be 6-8 months , 6 month supervised diet, blood tests , ekg, endoscope, sleep study

 my endoscope was delayed waiting for the cardiologist ok  and he wanted a stress test first (wait 1 month till there is an opening ) then wait till there is an appointment for the endoscope

if the blood work is not great you may need to see a hematologist (I did )

 

 all these tests are to make shore you are health enough for surgery but the whole processes  helps you get ready for your post surgery new life and  people that go through it all tend to do better