Pre-Op Day

So Friday was my pre-op day.  Having never undergone any kind of surgical procedure I didn't know what to expect.  I was nervous but excited.

I was scheduled for 3 tests, blood work and a pre-op clinic visit.

The 3 tests I had were :
GB Ultrasound - this was a simple ultrasounds on mostly my left side.  I would later find out that they were really interested in the position of my liver.  That's a normal thing.  The ultrasound tech was fantastic but he beat me up pretty good.  My liver wasn't cooperating at all so I had to roll into all kinds of uncomfortable positions.  That took about 20-30 minutes tops.

Chest X-Ray - this was the simplest of all tests.  They did a chest x-ray from the front and side, again to see where my liver is in regards to my stomach.

Upper GI - This was the one that was of most concern to me but it ended up being relatively simple.  If you love thick and thin barium then you're in like Flynn.  Basically I took some pop-rocks like substance and swallowed that.  Then I swallowed a little water and they told me to try not to burp.

Great...that's like telling a bear not to shit in the woods...

Well that went OK and then I had to stand on a machine and drink some thick barium.  That tastes like baby shit looks in case you were wondering.  Then they put me on this machine that was like a table out of Frankenstein and had me roll around to coat my stomach.  This was more to see the shape of my stomach to help my surgeon determine the best route for the surgery.

Then I had to lay on my stomach and drink a couple of sips of the thin barium which tastes decidedly better than the thick kind but its all relative.  It still tastes like white dog shit would taste.

After that I went to the pre-op clinic for an EKG, blood pressure and about a thousand questions regarding my medical history.  Then the awesome nurse talked to me about pre-op, day of surgery and post-op.  She was detailed, I asked questions (yes guys you get a catheter but in my case it will be under anesthetic) and generally got a feel for what my experience will be like.

After that we had a 4 hour class with the Community North Bariatric team led in the morning by the nurse and after lunch by a dietitian.  A lot of this was repetitive but it was great for my wife.  She was admittedly overwhelmed with the information so I hope she will comment on it here.  The best question she asked that day was if there was any support for the spouses / significant others.  The short answer is not really and the long answer is sort of...

What was disturbing to me was how much people seemed to want to second guess the nurse and dietitian.  Again folks I'm no doc but those of us who are doing this surgery are all doing it as an elective procedure.  We should be taking copious notes and doing every thing they're saying.  In other words we should be model patients.  I have no doubt that some of these folks will cancel their surgery or just follow the plan half-heartedly.

The other thing that was disturbing was how many folks were not there with their support person.  I'm sure scheduling a whole day for this is hard for folks but it tells me that they do not realize the gravity of the change that is about to occur for the person they are supporting.

Want some proof?  When you get home, pull out a 1/4 cup measuring cup.  That's the maximum I'll be able to eat after this for about 6 months.  Maximum folks.  Many times I won't even feel like eating that much.  I will lose 50-75% of my 176lbs in those 6 months.  I will drop sizes so quickly that super models will be jealous.

tl;dr
3 tests - Chest x-ray, Upper GI scan, GB Ultrasound
Had a 4 hour class after that
I'll be eating a maximum of 1/4 cup of food per meal for about 6 months