[hodegard]

...and I think I'm in love! LOL And what's more, my hubby was right there with me, and I think he might be in love too! LOL

Seriously, though... The appointment went great. I'm not a huge fan of doctors (a few bad experiences), so I'm really leary of them. But this guy is awesome! He had great "bedside' manner, was very informative (on a level that those of us without medical degrees could understand), and very straight forward. But DH and I like him a lot and have decided to move forward with steering the ship.

I have to schedule an appointment with a nutritionist (just one appointment, to talk about how my diet will change post-op, etc.), a sleep study (he thought that I answered "yes" to too many of the apnea questions), and an appointment with a psychiatrist. When he told us about the psychiatrist appointment, he jokingly said, "To make sure that you're not crazy..." And my hubby wanted SOOOOOOOOO BADLY to comment, I'm sure! He said that he wants me to schedule all of that right away because he'll probably schedule the surgery for mid-October!

I did a lot of research online before going to see him, and I was glad to find that he didn't tell me anything that I hadn't already learned during my own research. It just helped me to confirm that I am doing the right thing.

[jiffypop]

Well hodegard.. this is certainly hopeful... did he discuss the after-surgery stuff? like how much protein and support groups ? you didn't REALLY think we wouldn't ask more questions, did you????

and how did you find this guy? why does he have surgery openings so fast? is he new? how many surgeries has he done? what about the hospital? will the gowns fit? will there be wheelchairs big enough to fit you?

[peach pit]

wow! hodegard....mid October is REALLY fast!!!!!

I am glad that you and your dh liked him!

peach

[grammyX5]

I found my dr by a refferal from my family physican, I had my initial consult on the 6th of August and my surgery is scheduled for Friday. I had all of the pretests (psych and Family dr approval and cardic stress test they were able to use the one from the spring) I think that it was ment to be because it all fell into place.

[hodegard]

That's great, Grammy, that everything fell into place so easily. My doctor is doing the same in regard to using tests that had already been performed recently.

Those are all really good questions, Jiffy... The reason that he's able to get me in so quickly is actually because I just happened to catch him at a really good time. He's been a bariatric surgeon for a while, but the particular hospital where I will be going has just started up their WLS program. He was the chairman of the committee that "built" the program from the ground up. Since the program is new to the hospital (which, by the way, has an excellent reputation for everything they do), they are just going to begin performing the surgeries in October. So, like I said, I just happened to have good timing on this one.

When I chose my doctor, I actually researched the different programs at local hospitals and really liked this program the best. (It's kind of a "one stop shopping" sort of deal.) Then I researched the doctors within the program and chose him.

In case anyone is interested, here's the link to the program:
http://www.evergreenhealthcare.org/showpage.asp?sec=435