Your Bariatric Team

I had an email last week from the dietitian working with me on my "bariatric team" asking how I was coming along with my food choices and if I would like any recipes or had questions. She said she had been reading my blog and commented on one of the other posting as well.

This emphasizes a point that really I didn't give as much thought to as I should have before the surgery, and that is making sure that your entire medical support group is one that fits your needs as well as possible if you're going to go through with this kind of surgery.

I'm very online-oriented; I usually don't feel as comfortable in group settings and prefer that one-on-one type sessions be limited. I had second thoughts about my doctor for the surgery because he was described to me as being more "old-school", doing only open RNY surgeries instead of laproscopic and meaning I'd have a longer healing time and more scarring, but I went with him because he had a proven track record and really the open surgery is easier and less likely to have complications on the table. He was a straightforward no-nonsense guy and I've rarely seen him afterwards.

I realize that I now have a dietitian who is willing to periodically check in on my blog and will communicate with me over email as well as a physician assistant who will answer questions via email. When you have professionals willing to take the time to keep tabs on you over email, one of the biggest time sinks you can possibly have during the workday, you know you have a support team that is going out of their way to accomodate the patient instead of making it harder for the patient to fit their lives into the professional's schedule and I for one really appreciate it.

I'd also like to think that by keeping this blog and putting in the occasional "here's my status" entries that my doctor and dietitian can keep tabs on me without having to sacrifice a lot of time from their day. To be honest I don't know if the doctor checks it or not, but I was very glad when the dietitician let me know she still does since I suppose if I really had a concern of some sort and had it on the blog she might know if I should have it forwarded to the doctor.

I doubt the insurance-required psychiatrist checks the blog...I already give him half-reams of journal information periodically for sessions. I don't really know. I probably don't pay him enough to be a personal Dr Phil (then again, would I want a personal Dr. Phil? Probably not), and he doesn't strike me as the type of person who is really a technologist (but he's not a luddite either, since while in session he uses a bluetooth keyboard on his lap to type notes while we're talking. It's kind of neat. I like the blinky blue light on the USB dongle from his monitor when he's hitting the keys). I really don't know him well though because I think this type of doctor is supposed to keep a distance between his life and yours; he's here for therapy, not to be your friend. Paying for friends is legal in Nevada if that's what you think you're looking for.

Anyway, it's important that you find a team of people that will fit your needs. It's not easy. I've reached the point with hospitals and doctors and insurance where I feel mentally whipped; I'm happy that I can even get medications without having to jump through thirteen hoops ("My pharmacy will call the doctor's office to authorize the refill for me?? THAT'S GREAT!" - isn't it sad when that actually was a relief because it was one less thing I had to schedule to do? True story). When I was doing the hoopty-hoos to get the bariatric surgery done I more or less was a pinball, going from one post to the next as I was told to fall in line on a checklist of tasks and items. Whatever doctor I got, I went with. The only thing I actually stopped and changed was the psychiatrist because the one I first went to for the initial head test really really peeved me off with the handling of notification of results.

So if you can, make sure you sit and figure out what you need to make the surgery and post-surgery time a success then try finding people to make that a reality. I sort of lucked out with the group that helps me. I more or less stumbled onto a really capable team of people that seem to be working to help me. Other people may not be so lucky.