015 Dr. Appointment Blitz

After completing the six months of doctor supervised weight loss, Jimmy was scheduled to go in for what we have affectionately deemed the “doctor appointment blitz”! Our blitz was on July 10, 2012. What it entailed were back to back visits with the Surgeon, Dietician, Physical Therapist, and Psychologist. Basically it was everyone you needed and wanted to see to finish getting your insurance approval.

The blitz lasted for approximately five hours. During that time we collected a TON of information, answered a plethora of questions and were given various tests to determine Jimmy’s physical and emotional/mental preparedness for his WLS. The best thing about the whole experience is that this team of blitzers will be helping Jimmy prepare for his surgery, file his insurance paperwork, performing his surgery (ok just the surgeon) and helping him with adjusting to a new diet and exercise program. So it was really great to get a chance to finally meet these people.

During our Dr. Appt. Blitz we also learned that for Jimmy’s safety and a possible transitional weight loss method, Dr. Hornbostel (Jimmy’s surgeon) would like Jimmy to consider doing the gastric sleeve surgery. It will help him to lose weight quickly without the complications of replumbing of the small intestine (on a person Jimmy’s size) that the gastric bypass would include. He is confident that Jimmy will do well with the sleeve and should Jimmy need an additional weight loss push in a year or two the gastric bypass will still be open to him since Dr. Hornbostel will be pursuing the gastric sleeve as a treatment for Jimmy’s acid reflux. The only additional thing we have to do to qualify to have the gastric sleeve as an acid reflux treatment is to have an EGD (esophagogastroduodenoscopy) to prove that Jimmy has a hiatal hernia which is causing his reflux. We even scheduled his EGD for July 17th before we left the office.

All in all, we have nothing about great things to say about Dr. Hornbostel and his team. They really took their time with us and made sure that we understood what we were getting ourselves into. They were realistic with us about the positives and the negatives of the WLS and they are prepared to go through them with us. All in all it was one of the best Dr. Appointments we have ever had.

Over the next several posts I will be talking about some of the specific appointments that Jimmy went through and our experiences through it all.

010 White Coat Syndrome

Have you ever experienced a severe spike in anxiety and blood pressure when you know you are going to the doctor or at the doctor's office? If so then you might be suffering from white coat syndrome. I personally didn't believe in this at one point and time. BUT then I started going to the doctor with my hubby, Jimmy.

Jimmy doesn't like doctors. He doesn't like needles, and he doesn't like waiting. All these things combined can make for a very stressful doctors visit. Especially when you combine a couple of those elements in the same visit. These things have a very real effect on his blood pressure.

I have been in a doctor's visit where they took Jimmy's blood pressure upon entering the exam room and found it to be high. Then upon his request they would take it after he had time to talk to the nurses and laugh things off and it has been as much as 15 points lower in both numbers.

If you are like Jimmy and the doctor is monitoring your blood pressure closely then you want to make sure that they get an accurate reading. Here are some things that you need to consider to get the most accurate blood pressure reading at the doctor's office:

• Are they using the right size blood pressure cuff?
• Jimmy has large arms because he is over weight so they have to use a thigh sized cuff to get an accurate reading on his upper arm.
• If they attempt to use a cuff that is too small then your readings will be high and vice versa if the cuff is too large.
• Are they taking your blood pressure in the same place each visit?
• Jimmy's blood pressure varies greatly when they take readings in his forearm versus his upper arm.
• Forearm readings (at least in Jimmy's case) are higher approx. 99% of the time.
• Have you considered asking the nurse to take a second blood pressure reading after you have had a few moments to get settled in the exam room?
• Answering the mundane health questions they ask every visit often takes your mind off the anxiety of the visit and helps you calm down.
• You may get a better reading if you have your blood pressure taken at this time.

Please remember that I am not a doctor but these are things that we have found to be true in Jimmy's case. Maybe you can find something in here that can help you too. Rest assured that White Coat Symptom is a very real thing and can drastically effect your blood pressure and heart rate.

Until Next Time,