Saturday, June 18, 2005

Pre-Admission Testing

Rene and I went to New Haven to see my surgeon and to have pre-admissions testing on Friday. Everyone was very thorough, So much so that I thought I'd never get out of there! 

 Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. I have had surgery where I met the anesthesiologist for two seconds before the surgery("Are you allergic to any medications?" "Sulfa." "Okay, take a deep breath...") and the incredibly pompus surgeon afterwards! Not ideal circumstances. And I'd have felt better if the anonymous anesthesiologist had asked if I'd ever had problems with anesthesia in the past, thank you very much.  

But I digress. I have way too many surgery stories!   I met with Dr, Bell's nurse for an hour, going over what I'll be able to have post-op, then with Dr, B, himself for another hour. It seems as if many patients "fall in love" with their surgeons, and I can see why so many rave about Dr. B. He was very attentive, answered all our questions, spent a long time going over my meds, never showed any signs of hurrying me along, and when I thanked him for this, he said that it's the only way to get all one's questions truly answered. And he really wanted me to be at ease with my decision. I am at ease. Except, of course, when I'm not!  

Then we went to Yale-New Have Hospital, where everyone was friendly, patient and very supportive. Freaky strange. Not my usual hospital experience, to be sure. (But the real test will come later, on the floor, with how over-worked, and therefore cranky, the nurses are. This is my litmus test of hospitals.) Anyway, I spent a lot of time with a Nurse Practitioner who took the longest and best health history of my life, apologizing, but explaining how important these details are to the anesthesiologists. 

 It was all designed to be very reassuring, and I am indeed reassured. Oh, and I'd lost 19 pounds since I had my informational session at the end of April! If you can lose that kind of weight, why don't you just go ahead and diet the weight away, why have surgery? People do ask. I have always been able to lose 40 or 50 pounds. I just always gain it back, and 20 extra, too. After a lifetime of that I am up to severely morbidly obese, so it doesn't seem like an option anymore.  

Of course, now that I've weighed in the trick is not to pig out and gain it all back in the next three weeks-something I could easily do! We did go out with a friend this week to use a gift certificate at a favorite posh restaurant this week, so I could enjoy a full meal there, one last time. It was great to eat whatever I wanted! It would be easy to fall into a pattern of doing that-but I am going to keep this sort of thing to a minimum. Luckily, Rene will be away for a couple of weeks, so I may be less tempted! 

Hmmmm. I can see that I will be semi-obsessed with this process for the next while; I hope you all will hang in with me, even when I get to be boring about it! 

 Blessings, Margo

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Margo, you are anything but boring!  What you experienced with your doctor is what all should experience. When our office takes a history people are shocked and ask, WHY would you ask that? I'm only here for a skin problem. WEll, the more information one has, the better a doctor can help you. In todays world it seems as though many people take lots of supplements and sometimes they can interact with other drugs, so that is important to find out.  I am really excited for you!!  Great days are ahead my dear!   Anne

Anonymous said...

The history that my doc's nurse practitioner took lasted I know at least an hour!  And I like my doctor too.  He answered all my questions, didn't seem in a hurry at all, and thats always comforting.
Congrats on your weight loss so far Margo!
And your gonna do great, just like I am.
Much love,
Connie

Anonymous said...

I'll be here! I am VERY interested. :-)

Anonymous said...

My best friend had the surgery. It has been a life altering experience for her. I am so glad you are having it done. I know of someone that had it down and they were not all that much overweight(had to go to another country to do it). I understand about the dieting part. That was how it was with my friend. Make sure to go to that support groups after surgery. She also found a few online support groups that helped.

Anonymous said...

Boring?  You could never be boring, and we would all go dinghy with unanswered questions if you didn't volunteer to tell us.  My love and positive energy are being sent your way.  I am so glad that you had such a positive experience when pre-admitted.  That's a good part of the whole experience .. the getting started with a feeling of confidence.  God Bless, Pennie

Anonymous said...

I will be right here. judi

Anonymous said...

I am happy that they seemed to be genuinely caring for you...

Anonymous said...

Margo:  I see I should have been catching up here sooner... I wish you the very best of luck with this surgery-- it does seem to be a godsend for many people.  xxoo, Albert