Initial consultation/psych eval/telling my parents/omg

Dec 06, 2012

Today was a big day, the long-anticipated first visit to the surgeon I hope will perform my bariatric surgery some time in the next few months. Fortunately my husband was able to accompany me. I'd been okay with the idea of going alone but by the end of the day I was very grateful to have had him by my side for moral support—and for his better memory about the insurance questions we needed to ask.

The doctor asked which surgery I'd been considering. I told him that of the people I know who've undergone bariatric surgeries, the woman who had a duodenal switch seemed to be the happiest by far with her results. The doctor didn't dismiss the idea of a DS for me but did present a compelling case for the vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Because I'm generally in pretty good health I guess I don't need as radical an intervention as the DS. Which is good—I was concerned about the malabsorbtive component. If I can get decent weight loss results without messing with malabsorbtion, I'll be very happy.

We talked about the various tasks I'll need to complete before I can be scheduled for surgery: lots of lab work; visit an internist; take some “life after weight loss surgery” classes at the hospital; etc. Feeling pretty good about most of them, although I'm nervous about the endoscopy I scheduled for next month. Not because I'm freaked out by the idea of an endoscopy. I just don't want to have to ask for another day off work already. (A brand new job + initiating this whole wls thing = stressful.) I guess my employer will just have to work with me, though; I'm not waiting any longer.

One thing we were able to knock out today was the psych eval. The surgeon suggested calling the psych's office to see if they could see me today, and they could! They accommodated me right away and I'm very grateful. The whole evaluation took a little less than two hours: first there was an interview with the psych doctor, then I filled out a bunch of questionnaires.

During the interview portion, the doctor asked lots of questions. About my family (health history as well as relationships—like, if there was abuse in the household growing up), about my expectations for bariatric surgery, what I wanted to get from the VSG, care I've received in the past for depression and anxiety, etc. The three questionnaires were: a “personality inventory,” a bunch of questions about my attitude toward doctors and hospitals, and an “eating inventory” that was a little painful to fill out honestly. (Admitting stuff is hard.) Just hoping that I didn't inadvertently answer all these questionnaires in such a way that I'm labeled too crazy fur surgery...

Then, earlier this evening, I told my folks. They had no idea I've been contemplating bariatric surgery, so they were both surprised. My dad (who is a very mellow guy) brought up the whole “why-not-do-it-on-your-own” thing, which I expected, but he totally got it when I explained that wls could reduce or even eliminate my GERD and might even improve my sleep apnea. Dad has GERD and sleep apnea too so yeah, he GOT IT.

My mother, predictably, freaked out. At first. Again, I expected this. I think Mom's vague ideas about wls were based on band and RNY horror stories. She listened, though. It was difficult to admit to my family (including my little sister) how bad it's gotten: how difficult it is to exercise, the exhaustion, the joint pain, the much-worse-than-ever GERD, the much-worse-than-ever sleep apnea, etc. But they have my back. I am so grateful for my family. And the husband, wow, enough good cannot be said about this guy. Can't imagine how difficult this process would be without a solid support system. I hope anyone going it alone can secure a good therapist, and cultivate a circle of good friends. Bet the support groups are helpful. Hope to check those out too, down the road.

Anyway, it's been a long day. My head is pretty full. Need to get serious about the pre-surgical diet. They said to go home and throw away all the “bad” stuff but I'm going to ease into it a little; I can't waste food we already have. From this point on, though, all groceries brought into the house will be “good.” (I dislike using moral language to talk about food, but I'm tired and uncreative right now.) I'll be eating some meat and fish again for the foreseeable future, just for the sake of taking no chances with my protein intake. But another thing I like about the VSG is that it sounds like I can look forward to maybe going back to my vegetarianism eventually. (MAYBE—this point requires much more research.)

Oh, and we're switching insurance with the new year so in addition to all the checklist items I need to plow through for the hospital, once January 1 rolls around we'll have to see what additional requirements Blue Cross Blue Shield may have for us. Whee!  

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