Imagine sitting at home, snuggled up in your pajamas in your favorite chair on a Sunday night.
It’s cool, as fall is starting to arrive, and you’re sipping hot chocolate. You’re mindlessly scrolling through Facebook before bed, and a thousand thoughts are swirling through your head. Suddenly, you see something that stops you in your tracks. It’s an ad for a bariatric surgery information session.
You’ve considered bariatric surgery before but never had the time, patience or money to delve into it. Since you have a few minutes to yourself, you click the link and read the information. It tells you there’s a free information session coming up at your local hospital. You take a deep breath, a sip of your hot chocolate, and you sign up. You just completed your first step to the new you.
NOW WHAT?
The same scenario happened to me, and it is what propelled me into my bariatric surgery journey. Maybe something similar has happened to you, but you were afraid to go to the bariatric surgery information session. I know that I scrolled past that same ad a hundred times before, but something that day made me click on the link and sign up. I was scared before and wasn’t ready. That day, I knew how unhappy I was at my current weight and knew something had to change. I also knew that just because I went to the session didn’t mean I had to get surgery. However, what I didn’t realize was meeting would change my life as I saw all the opportunities bariatric surgery could bring to my life.
At the bariatric surgery information session, you’ll get some more information on surgery and the health benefits, like reducing hypertension, type II diabetes and sleep apnea. You’ll see how much obesity affects a variety of people. Additionally, they review insurance and financial information regarding surgery.
being in groups of people gives you anxiety, I understand entirely. I almost walked out of my first support group meeting because of my anxiety. Luckily, more places are starting to have online bariatric surgery information sessions. I encourage you to face your fears through this process because it is scary at times. However, having support can make the process a little easier. Consider bringing someone along as a support person if you are afraid to go alone. The bariatric surgery information session gives you a general overview of surgery and the pre-op process.
FOLDERS AND FREEBIES GALORE!
At my local hospital, we were given a folder with some information packets at the bariatric surgery information session. One of the packs was for us to fill out there and turn into the medical team. It asked for our demographic information, insurance information and pertinent medical history.
A second packet was for us to take to our primary care doctor for him or her to fill out. It was mainly a referral request but also asked medical history questions. The final packet of papers was our pre-visit paperwork.
