Yesterday was my third visit to the weight loss surgery center and this time I met with the surgeon, (instead of the director) and went over some of the pre-op tests results that have come back.

My weighin at the office was 295 lbs, only a lb and half more than the home scale.  The nurse said it was a 13 lb drop from last month.  It was certainly a nice change from the 4 lbs gained the weighin before.   This month I barely ate anything, kept my activity to a minimum to reduce inflammation, and didn’t drink a whole for a few days before the visit in order to keep water retention to a minimum.

The surgeon is very nice and very thorough.  After the initial introductions and routine checklist of things to go over, he noticed I had a folder with notes and asked if I had any questions.  I didn’t bother him with the little stuff, those questions I will ask the next time I see John, the director, who I will be seeing at next month’s visit. 

The most important questions I wanted to discuss was the diagnosis of gastritis and Barrett’s esophagus.

He confirmed that Barrett’s esophagus could turn into cancer, so it is something that has been checked on regularly.  But it will not prohibit me from qualifying for the gastric bypass surgery.  He said the cause of Barrett’s esophagus is GERD, and the gastric bypass surgery is a cure for GERD.

I still don’t think I have GERD since I have never in my entire life ever had heartburn, belching, or any other symptom of it.   But at this point I am not going to argue about it, especially since it won’t be an issue after the gastric bypass surgery.  I may never know for sure what caused the Barrett’s esophagus, but it definitely has to do with stomach acids eroding the esophagus and after the surgery, hopefully, that won’t be a problem and the condition will not get any worse.  It will just be a matter of annual testing to be sure the damage to the cells that is already done is not becoming cancerous.  But I”m also still hopeful that I may be able to heal the Barrett’s esophagus eventually with natural things that are good for the digestive system and healing for the body such as Aloe Vera juice and other healthy supplements.

The gastritis won’t be a problem but it will need to be cleared up before the surgery.  He said what I was doing was what he would recommend – not taking any aspirin and taking Prilosec (a proton pump inhibitor) to reduce stomach acids, and also cutting out the diet soda.  I asked about testing for H. pylori bacteria that could be the cause.  He said that the gastroendologist would have done a biopsy at the time of the scope to determine if the bacteria was present but he didn’t have the results yet.  

I was very happy when he said it was ok if I keep my morning cup of coffee.  Wahoo!    

I told him the gastroendologist said she didn’t want to see me for two or three months and left me no instructions as to what to do for the gastritis and Barrett’s esophagus, so which doctor should I see about the results of the biopsy.   He said there is no treatment for the Barrett’s and what I was doing for the gastritis was fine, and if there was anything found in the biopsy the gastroendologist would get in touch me.     I don’t have much faith in the gastroendologist to do any follow, so I have marked my calendar to call her office in a couple of weeks just to be sure.  If the test for the H. pylori bacteria is positive, it requires mega doses of antibiotics for a few weeks so I want to be sure get it out of the way as soon as possible so the gastritis can be cleared up in time to have the gastric bypass surgery in late July or August so I can stay on track with the time table.

I also asked him taking a daily aspirin that I’m suppose to take for my blood pressure and congestive heart failure.  Having gastritis it is recommended to not take aspirin.  He said one baby aspirin a day with food would be ok.

I did ask him a few other questions. 

The results of blood work are fine, and showed only a slight Vitamin D deficiency.  The next time I visit I am going to ask for a copy of the bloodwork just so I have a record of everything they tested and also so I have a copy to take with me to the cardiologist so he has a record of it also and hopefully avoid duplicating tests unnecessarily.

My blood pressure was 142/94 – a little high, but will go down once I lose more pounds.  The medication I’m taking is still at the dosage from when I was closer to 200 lbs (at that weight the dosage had been cut in half from what I had been taking 18 months prior when I was 293 lbs).

The surgeon approved of me using Extend Bars and said it was ok if I switched to the Extend Bar Shakes the two weeks prior to surgery (when all liquid protein is all that is allowed) and for after the surgery during the recovery.   As long as whatever protein I use has very low sugar and high protein it is ok.  The Extend products have the same amount of protein and  less sugar than the Muscle Milk that John (the director) recommends.

I use Extend Bars (and their new shakes too) a lot when dieting because they are specially designed to keep blood sugar steady and keep my sugar from dropping.  If I have one for breakfast I don’t get the shakes or feel dizzy.   I’ve recommend them to everyone I know who is a diabetic and gotten nothing but positive feedback.

Overall is was a good first meeting with the surgeon.  I don’t know if I will meet with again before the surgey, but if so it probably  won’t be until the surgery date is scheduled.   I am grateful that all the staff at the weight loss surgery center are very nice, patient, and thorough, especially since I will be seeing a lot of them for the next few months and regularly for several years to come.  The most of the other doctors they sent me to for the testing I don’t like at all, but I won’t have to deal with them again once I’m done with all the preop requirements for approval.

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Currently Diet Pulpit is rarely updated. Lady Rose is now blogging at Blissful Moon, where she is staying healthy and continuing to have adventures, please stop by and visit.

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