Surgeon visit - Full Recap

Hello!! I'm so excited to finally have a surgery date! And although it seems so far away, I know it isn't. The countdown is on! 42 days!

So my appointment took up most of my morning! I went in at 1015, and didn't come out until after 1230! I didn't believe my appointment letter when it told me it would take so long, silly me.

I arrived and handed over all my paperwork/xrays etc and waited to be taken in. The nurse saw me first, she weighed me (FYI in clothes, on their scale, I weigh 1.3 kilos more than stark nekked at home), and she also measured me. Hmmm. Apparently I am 2 cm shorter than I have been claiming all these years! I'm still going to say I'm 154cm, I need those 2cm. It adds 2 full points to my BMI! So unfair. I haven't shrunk, really. We had a brief chat about the surgeries, she herself has a band, so she knows what she is talking about. She told me that my Dr prefers to do the sleeve now and would probably try and talk me into it (I was prepared for this, as my referring Dr had told me the same thing). We picked a surgery date (yay!), then she sent me back to the waiting room to wait for the surgeon.

Now we get to the real reason for the appointment taking so long. He can talk! Forever! But not in a "we are having a conversation and time has passed quickly" way, it was more in a "I have said this speech so many times I can do it in my sleep so just be quiet and wait for it to be over" way. It wasn't too bad, he started with why people get fat, the history of obesity and diets, why commercial diet programs work short term, then worked his way through the history of weight loss surgery and which surgeries he does and doesn't offer. Phew.

He did wax lyrical about the sleeve and discussed why he preferred it now (more average excess weight lost, faster), but was honest about the benefits of the band (safer surgery mostly, more long term data). He said he can't predict who will do well with the band and who won't. I gave him my reasons for choosing the band and he said "ok, I'll show you what they look like", and that was the extent of trying to convert me! I was pretty pleased with that. I must say I didn't know there were so many types of bands! He had about 5 different types in his stash, but he did throw a couple out as they are no longer used. He also explained the differences and why he chooses his preferred band (allergan). He mentioned there were a couple of others he had seen at meetings and expressed interest in, but no-one followed up on it (his words - "their salespeople in Australia should be sacked).

So after all that, I asked my questions (thanks ladies), got some answers (he was very good at giving honest answers, no sugar coating), and then he sent me back out to the nurse to do some paperwork. The nurse handed over an opus of information/forms for the hospital, a band portion perfection plate/bowl/book, and sent me on my merry way. I was very glad to hear that all my follow up and fills/adjustments will be covered under medicare so my hefty surgery fee should be a once off expense as far as the band goes.

Would you believe I walked out of the nurses room straight into one of the people I work with?! She made a beeline for the toilet and then made herself busy reading a magazine, so I'm hoping this means she is also keeping a surgery secret and will keep mine too. Only time will tell, and I will wait to see when I run into her at work if she says anything.

Goodness this has turned into a novel! Congratulations to anyone who is still reading! I'm sure I have left bits out.

Oh yes I have - pre-surgery diet! I already knew most of this from my visit to the dietician so many moons ago, but it was reiterated at this appointment. I am required to do 2-4 weeks of VLCD (optifast or other of my choice). Roxy the nurse (not her real name, I'm just getting bored of calling her the nurse) said they would like to see me a couple of kilos lighter before the surgery, but there were no demands or "must be" weights, which is good. I will start on the optifast when we get back from a wedding we are driving to (leaving tomorrow, returning next friday), which will be almost 4 full weeks. However, I'm not going to be too hard on myself as it is our first wedding anniversary the weekend before my surgery so I know we will probably go out to dinner. I will just avoid carbs and stick to protein/vegies that meal.

So to wrap up, I will be stuck with reading blog posts on my phone for the next week (from tomorrow), so I may not get a chance to comment much. I will be trying to find some free wi-fi to get my fix, so I may not comment on many posts, but trust me I will be thinking of you all! Thank you so much for your support and comments!!

Better go pack!