Bariatric Surgery FAQs: Your Essential Guide to Starting the Weight Loss Journey
Welcome back to The Weight Loss Collab! In this special episode, "Bariatric FAQs," your favorite duo—Dr. Dovec, bariatric surgeon, and Hannah Schuyler, registered dietitian—dive into the most common questions about bariatric surgery and weight loss. After sharing a heartfelt update on the grand opening of their brand-new Surgical Institute of Central Florida (and the emotional rollercoaster of getting there), they get back to basics, breaking down everything you need to know as a prospective patient.
From choosing the right program and understanding insurance qualifications, to prepping for your first consult and navigating pre- and post-op dietary guidelines, Dr. Dovec and Hannah give you a transparent, behind-the-scenes look at the bariatric journey. They chat about why communication, community, and convenience are at the heart of their practice, and address real-life patient concerns—like insurance coverage surprises, out-of-state travel, post-op recovery timelines, and lifelong nutrition tips.
So, whether you’re on the fence about bariatric surgery or already preparing for your first appointment, this episode is packed with practical advice, candid stories, and the compassionate support you’ve come to expect from The Weight Loss Collab. Let’s get started!
Transcript
She's a doctor. Hi, I'm Dr. Dovec, and she's a dietitian. Hey,
Speaker:I'm Hannah Schuyler, and together we are the weight loss
Speaker:collab. Nailed it. Nailed it. And we're back
Speaker:together. I know. First time just you and I in this space. In
Speaker:this space. I know we've had some amazing guests the last couple of episodes,
Speaker:but we just like it being us. I know we do.
Speaker:So lot's been going on. I know it has. Tell me about what's
Speaker:been going on. Yeah. So we. This is our first episode since
Speaker:we opened and did surgeries in the
Speaker:Surgical Institute of Central Florida. What a day that was. It
Speaker:was awesome. It's a day I will never forget.
Speaker:Like, okay, let me tell you guys, I know a lot of people
Speaker:follow us on Instagram, and they know the story, and they've seen the
Speaker:footage of it being dirt and then, you know, going up in
Speaker:cement blocks. And then ultimately, like, we were getting close. And then you
Speaker:get the approvals to do it, and you can finally do it. I mean,
Speaker:I've said this many times, but I just completely
Speaker:underestimated this project. Oh, yeah.
Speaker:Well, how can you. I mean, you don't know what
Speaker:you're getting into. And it's like, oh, it's a building. Right. People build buildings all
Speaker:the time. Right. But then there's layer on layer on layer on layer on layer
Speaker:on layer. And then even things like looking back to some of the
Speaker:approvals. I mean, a hurricane impacted all of this and,
Speaker:like, pushed our timeline. And it's just like, things that you can't even
Speaker:factor in going into it. That it's like, oh, great. Our
Speaker:inspection was, you know that there was a hurricane. I know. And
Speaker:it's. And it's. Talk about being dynamic. It's like, even looking at
Speaker:people like you in the very first day. You came
Speaker:before 6am to be the front desk.
Speaker:Yeah. Being somewhere before 6am is a big deal.
Speaker:Just, like, to put that out. I don't know if you noticed, but
Speaker:Aaron, my husband, when he saw you, he kind of started to cry.
Speaker:I was gonna ask if he cried that night because there were three distinct moments
Speaker:that he almost cried during the day. Well, he was like. One of them was
Speaker:about you. Yeah. He said, when I saw Hannah that morning,
Speaker:like, just choked me up. Like, because
Speaker:this isn't just like, oh, coming to my work a little early. This was.
Speaker:I. I'm there and I love you. Yeah, right.
Speaker:Exactly. It's. It's a little bit more so. Yes. No, he did tell me that.
Speaker:And I was like, well, I gotta tell him the bug guy was there.
Speaker:And, you know, because obviously we needed our bug treatment the first day we
Speaker:were operating. Definitely. Definitely we needed to. I went to ask if we
Speaker:needed anything indoors. We didn't. No bugs inside. And I
Speaker:was walking up, he's like. Hannah, just thank you for being
Speaker:here. And then later with the nurses, he was just like,
Speaker:I know it's really busy, but if you guys have, like, one minute, I just
Speaker:wanted to say how thought thankful I am and all this. It was really sweet,
Speaker:but I was like. I feel like he just. He. It. It's been a lot.
Speaker:Oh, actually, then it was really funny because then you came out and you needed
Speaker:something and he's like, what do you mean? Like, back. All
Speaker:right, back down was. That was sweet for a minute, but. Like, oh,
Speaker:yeah, yeah, that was a moment. But it is. And like. And
Speaker:that's kind of been, like, what's been powering me is this, like, visualization, this
Speaker:manifestation of this moment of having the bed
Speaker:leave after a first successful case that we didn't
Speaker:miss one detail that was like, mission critical. Like, just trying to get the
Speaker:medications and everything stocked and the supplies and the people and the
Speaker:trainings and the inspections and the. This, like you said, layer upon
Speaker:layer of things that when you look at it, I mean, I've been doing
Speaker:this in and out of a hospital for over 20
Speaker:years, right? Like, when you really think about it from medical school, and you're like,
Speaker:I know it. I know my surgery's inside and out. I know every supply I
Speaker:need. I know all of this. But when it comes to ordering it and
Speaker:is that the right IV that the nurses want? It just.
Speaker:We didn't forget any major details. And we went
Speaker:through many, many, many, many kind of like trainings and mock walkthroughs
Speaker:and just to be in there and then it kind of was anticlimactic, to be
Speaker:honest. It wasn't. I mean, it just. It was just kind of humming right away.
Speaker:It was like the nurses were just being nurses and they were taking
Speaker:care of the patients and they're bringing them where they need to be and they're
Speaker:helping them out and they're charting and, you know, just. Just out.
Speaker:It's quiet, you know, I mean, it was. We did five cases that day, and
Speaker:of course it was staggered, so there were never more than, like, I think two
Speaker:patients, really, two, maybe three, kind of in the pre and post op
Speaker:area at a time. And so it was Just, like, kind of quiet
Speaker:back there. And, you know, there were reps and things, but
Speaker:it's a big enough space that it never felt, like, crazy busy or overwhelming. And
Speaker:I don't think anybody was, like,
Speaker:panic. Like, nobody felt like they were rushing through things. Everybody was
Speaker:just, like. Just through their day. Yeah. It was just like another day. I can't.
Speaker:When the lights went down, the. Or, we always talk about that, but when we
Speaker:turn off the lights, we'd perform the surgeries in the dark because we're looking at
Speaker:screens and it just lets you see it. And I
Speaker:literally just felt like I was any Operation Planet.
Speaker:Yeah. I guess I was kind of trying to get, like, into the emotions of
Speaker:it and think, like, man, this was, like, just an
Speaker:idea. And then it was something that we built. And I was standing in here,
Speaker:like, with my jeans day and just, you know, like, with a sloppy
Speaker:ponytail on a Sunday, like, trying to, like, wipe something
Speaker:down. And. Yeah, like, no, it just feels like a regular
Speaker:old gastric bypass, which, I. Mean, is what you really want. I know. You know,
Speaker:we did. We did talk about getting balloons. Really? And then
Speaker:we realized Party City has since closed, and so we
Speaker:could not find a balloon location. And then actually, funnily enough,
Speaker:I, in my personal email, got an email from Michaels, like,
Speaker:yesterday that was like, we're now selling balloons. So I texted
Speaker:Aaron and I said, hey, FYI, some future balloon needs. We can
Speaker:go to Michael's. I know we needed that balloon with the number one. Yes.
Speaker:Is that the most important balloon of all time? The one. You know, we've
Speaker:done a lot of cases, a lot of things, but, no, it was
Speaker:a huge thing. I mean, truly, thank you for
Speaker:there. And just not even that. You guys have no idea about the behind the
Speaker:scenes of, like, Hannah has just, like, just.
Speaker:Is just malleable. You're like. You just, like, bend and twist into
Speaker:whatever we needed to do and. Oh, yeah.
Speaker:So I feel now like. I
Speaker:don't. I didn't realize it, but it was just kind of, like, dark. Like, it
Speaker:is, like, it's dark, and it doesn't feel like you're ever going to come out
Speaker:of this cave. And by doing these surgeries, I do see light. I feel
Speaker:like there's, like, a little sliver of light. We're not quite out yet in terms
Speaker:of. There's a lot of things to happen. Like, okay, like
Speaker:I told you, I went to the gym for the first time in, like, a
Speaker:year. Yeah. And that was. I don't know, like, when you look at
Speaker:it. Like, okay, am I losing myself here? This process?
Speaker:Am I, like, losing my family? Like, if
Speaker:I. What is fun? Like, right. I don't,
Speaker:like, have, like, free time or fun time. I, like, put so
Speaker:everything into it. I felt like, this. So much immense pressure. But now
Speaker:that it's like, okay, patients are coming and people see it, and then
Speaker:when people are like, it's beautiful here. I love the experience. The
Speaker:nurses and everyone was just so kind. This was just so great. I'm like, it's
Speaker:all worth it, and it's going. And you can see it now. Absolutely. All right,
Speaker:let's do this thing. Yeah. And we've already done another day, another
Speaker:couple of cases. Like, and that's the great thing, too, is, I mean, we have
Speaker:the team on the other end on Body by Bariatric side that has just kept
Speaker:things humming along with that. And then they've so
Speaker:seamlessly transitioned those people over to this
Speaker:facility that has been just. It's like, okay, great, we're
Speaker:gonna. We'll take care of all of that. And so, I mean, again,
Speaker:not without hiccups and trials and
Speaker:just all sorts of things that have to go in place. But we figured that
Speaker:out, and it's like, okay, now it's just. Will become business as usual.
Speaker:Oh, so true. And thank you for bringing that up. I do want to
Speaker:acknowledge all the people behind the scenes.
Speaker:You know, the whole team, like, you, like, Body by Bariatrics is still
Speaker:going. And, you know, and now it's like, okay, I get to
Speaker:come back. And it's like, I'm, like, reinvigorated, and we can't wait to
Speaker:now truly open up our doors and let people
Speaker:in and just get taken care of here. Yep. That's
Speaker:what we're going to do. And so today, to dive in, thank you for
Speaker:letting us kind of recap our feelings about all of this.
Speaker:Yes. We are going to be talking about bariatric
Speaker:FAQs. Yep. Back to some basics. Yes,
Speaker:basics. We did a podcast episode. A
Speaker:few. It's been over a year now. Yeah, it was two years.
Speaker:It was called Barry After Potpourri, and I relistened to
Speaker:that. And I think that's what kind of got me started and thinking. I. I
Speaker:was telling you that listening to my, like, tone and my
Speaker:vibe, I'm like, man, I was, like, free. Almost,
Speaker:like, blissfully ignorant to what was to come on this
Speaker:journey. Like, I'm building a surgery center. We're having so much fun starting this
Speaker:business, and I want to get back to Almost that vibe and that
Speaker:topic. And we are going to kind of
Speaker:start with the journey even before it's a journey I have, like
Speaker:that pre op. But even before then, when you're still just
Speaker:contemplating if you want to do this and some of the
Speaker:questions that you have as a consumer, as a potential
Speaker:patient to get you in the doors virtually
Speaker:to maybe our practice, maybe somewhere else, like, how do you
Speaker:come to this decision? Like, we talk a lot about the
Speaker:why, like why you want to do this. Yeah, I think that is the first
Speaker:thing. It's like you have to make that decision that
Speaker:either you're in it, which a lot of times when people, when I talk to
Speaker:people for the first time, they're like, yeah, I've made this decision, you know, it's
Speaker:not a question of, of if, but when.
Speaker:Sometimes I get people who are still on the fence and things like that. They're
Speaker:like, I'm going to go through the process and see and see what happens, blah,
Speaker:blah, blah. But most people, by the time they get to us, have decided. So
Speaker:I think that's the first thing. It's just like deciding like, yes, I am going
Speaker:to investigate this. I am going to get into
Speaker:this somehow. And that's, that's the first
Speaker:like commitment piece to yourself. And then it is, it's
Speaker:finding, okay, now where do I go and, and where do I,
Speaker:what do I do? And I think, like, I guess, I mean, I'm. I'm
Speaker:guessing most people just Google it, right? I. So, yeah, that's how we
Speaker:find anything, if anything. And you're looking at it. You're looking at reviews, you're looking
Speaker:at websites. I talk a lot. I do consulting all
Speaker:over. My passion is I want to increase access to care. And all
Speaker:those who qualify for bariatric surgery, less than 1% get it. And so I'm
Speaker:obsessed with, before I die, that number changing from 1% and
Speaker:beyond. And whenever I'm looking at that,
Speaker:I think a lot of programs make a barrier to
Speaker:entry. Absolutely. And that is something that we try
Speaker:constantly to fixate on our actual
Speaker:process of getting you in because it's
Speaker:already kind of intimidating a little bit.
Speaker:Definitely have to get vulnerable, like all of these feelings to decide,
Speaker:like, I'm putting my information in our club. Like, yeah, okay, just did
Speaker:it. And okay, what happens then? Like, what is
Speaker:the tone from the practice and what do. What kind of communication
Speaker:happens? And I think this is where we
Speaker:are setting ourselves above because of the way we communicate. Yeah,
Speaker:yeah. So if you're not a Body by bariatrics, patient or you've never heard
Speaker:us before, anything like that. We text all of our patients and it is
Speaker:the most seamless part of our communication, I would say, and part of our core
Speaker:value really, because we'll talk later a little bit about our three Cs and all
Speaker:of that, but that's one of the big ones is communication. And
Speaker:so you fill out that form and you're getting a text directly from us,
Speaker:and that's going to be a person answering you anytime that you respond
Speaker:to that. We don't have a chatbot, we don't have AI
Speaker:answering like that is somebody. And
Speaker:oftentimes it's somebody outside of business hours time. A day's
Speaker:a week. Yes. So that I think is the first step. So I think if
Speaker:you're looking for a practice, like, look at that, what is that
Speaker:first step? Like, is it some complicated form that's. I mean,
Speaker:our form is not the shortest, I'll say. It's got. You have to answer, you
Speaker:got to give. If you're doing insurance check, you have to put your insurance info
Speaker:in and things like that. But you know, what, what does that look like? Am
Speaker:I waiting for a call for somebody that maybe never
Speaker:comes? You know, it's like, click here to get started and oh, well,
Speaker:we'll call you. And then it's a week later. And you, you know,
Speaker:there's a lot that can go through your mind in that time. And so, you
Speaker:know, just, just having that ease of communication, I think is, is clutch with
Speaker:anything really. You know, we talk about this with our, the med spa
Speaker:that we also have. And it's like, you don't want, you want to be able
Speaker:to just to go on and click, click, click and be done and not have
Speaker:to think about it. And, and that's kind of what we want as well. I
Speaker:mean, think about it obviously, but, you know, just make it easy. So
Speaker:easy. That is like always the first thing. So other things
Speaker:to look for, I think in a program would be, like you said, reviews. I
Speaker:think that's really important looking at the providers. You
Speaker:know, obviously we know the bariatric community, it's a lot of
Speaker:women and I think a lot of times people would like to see a female
Speaker:provider if possible. So if that is something that is,
Speaker:you know, important to you, looking for that, looking, you know, for some people,
Speaker:proximity is going to be something that's important. Now we will see patients from
Speaker:all, all over. We're fully virtual as well on the consult side. And so
Speaker:we can see patients from anywhere and we'll talk again about some self pay things
Speaker:later that that may be helpful for people in other parts of the country. But
Speaker:you know, looking at realistically for you, what. Yeah, what do you need? Where do
Speaker:you need to be going? So what else can
Speaker:we look for? Well, people also want to know like is this
Speaker:right for me qualifies for this. Yeah. And
Speaker:you know, this is something that we kind of disagree
Speaker:with. It's really hard to have a
Speaker:consensus or a standard or some sort of guideline.
Speaker:Mainly for insurances they have to have like rigid cutoffs so that it's like,
Speaker:all right, you're above this or you're below that. So that's it.
Speaker:So if you're using insurance, they do base it off of
Speaker:bmi. Now about a year or so ago
Speaker:they finally, after like 25 years
Speaker:updated the consensus from the National Institute of Health
Speaker:and from the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery based on
Speaker:BMI body mass index that if your BMI used to be,
Speaker:used to be that if your BMI was greater than 35, you probably
Speaker:qualified. But now some insurances are getting more progressive because
Speaker:the evidence shows you're going to benefit if your BMI is greater than 30
Speaker:and you have weight related issues or greater than 35 without, without them. Yeah.
Speaker:But we are still seeing, you know, sometimes it's that 35 and
Speaker:40 threshold. Yes. So definitely. And that's something again that
Speaker:our program, any program can check to see if you have that coverage and what
Speaker:that cutoff would look like. Yes, there's BMI calculators online
Speaker:to search it pretty easy. And you know, sometimes
Speaker:you're right, right there. And so you know, we're going
Speaker:to, we're going to check it, we're going to see what's going on. Yeah. And
Speaker:then also for some of them, actually this is one that we don't see too
Speaker:often. But people of Asian descent, it's actually lower on most of them. It's
Speaker:32.5 for with a comorbid and I think
Speaker:37.5 without
Speaker:for patients of Asian descent. Exactly. So I
Speaker:mean there's just so much improvement with all of that. So again,
Speaker:if you want to see if your insurance covers, it's a free benefit
Speaker:verification, put in a front and back picture of your car, you can even text
Speaker:it to us and then we have a service that we will check
Speaker:it for free and we'll tell you not only if you have coverage, if you
Speaker:do, will also tell you what your estimated out of pocket expense might be.
Speaker:So we explain, we really simplify again, and we have a whole episode on
Speaker:this. But we explain things like copays, deductibles,
Speaker:coinsurances, maximum out of pocket
Speaker:expenses if it's been met, if it hasn't, if you need to work
Speaker:out a payment plan, if you need to finance it, the hospitals, the
Speaker:facilities, the Surgical Institute of Central Florida, we can work out those
Speaker:sorts of payment plans and arrangements. So again, we want
Speaker:you to be able to have these procedures and that's a huge thing
Speaker:we're going to. We've been really hitting it hard lately about going to
Speaker:Mexico, which is something that people do because
Speaker:again, they want to have surgery and they want to make
Speaker:absolutely certain that they can afford it.
Speaker:Yeah. But also we want you to have the best results. And
Speaker:again, what I have learned from this entire process is
Speaker:enough. And I'm kind of glad. Not kind of. I'm very glad to learn
Speaker:about all the backgrounds on risk management,
Speaker:infection control, quality assurance, the
Speaker:random pop up inspections that can happen. That they just want
Speaker:to make sure that everything is, you know, checked and balanced and done
Speaker:correctly. Yeah, that stuff. I mean, I had a patient the other day
Speaker:who told me about a time that she went to
Speaker:Mexico. She had a sleaze and that right before they were reeling her
Speaker:back, she said, hand to God, they had a garden
Speaker:hose. Like, they pulled out the green hose and they legit
Speaker:sprayed off the operating room table from the
Speaker:blast person. And she literally saw like, now I know that has a technical name,
Speaker:bioburden, which is essentially like, like blood
Speaker:and tissue and stuff off this table with a
Speaker:garden hose. Oh my God. But anyway, when I heard that, and then it's like,
Speaker:okay, to the point of no return. I'm here, I'm like, they're really
Speaker:me back. There's like a language barrier perhaps. It's like,
Speaker:I guess I'll do it. Dear God, please keep me safe. And then that's the.
Speaker:Yeah, I mean, I'm not trying to get a sleeve. I need to be read
Speaker:then, oh. My God, her sleeve is horrible. Yeah, I have a theory on that.
Speaker:We'll, we'll get into that. I don't even know how I got on this. This
Speaker:we're talking about like finding a program, but honestly, her sleeve
Speaker:was performed so bad. And then this poor patient has really
Speaker:been blaming herself, thinking that she. Why didn't I lose much
Speaker:weight? I think my theory on it is every Mexico sleeve that I've
Speaker:seen is so huge because I think they just want to get you, they take
Speaker:out like a sardines worth, they shove you back on the plane to the U.S.
Speaker:they want to make sure that you're not like vomiting and dehydrated. It's like, oh,
Speaker:I'm doing pretty good because they didn't take out any stomach. Yeah. So it's like
Speaker:didn't do it right. No. So fixing that and all that sort of thing. So
Speaker:anyway. Yes. Do your research, get your
Speaker:insurance tag. Yes. Hopefully we have an affordable, some sort of solution. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:And, and on back to the insurance really quickly is I think a lot of
Speaker:times we get people that, you know, text us or reach out and they're like,
Speaker:I'm assuming my insurance doesn't cover it. And it's like, well, you'd be
Speaker:surprised how we have people that. Or they find out not only does it cover
Speaker:it, it's covered at 100% or 90% or whatever. It's like great
Speaker:coverage. Like absolutely. So yeah, always reach
Speaker:out. It tend, doesn't hurt to check it. And the worst that we say is
Speaker:no, sorry, you know, you don't have, you have an exclusion and you don't
Speaker:have coverage. Yeah, exactly. And some, you'd
Speaker:be shocked. Some employers opt into having coverage that's so
Speaker:phenomenal that I get to tell people they've already approved
Speaker:it, you have a 100% coverage. Not only that, they'll
Speaker:pay you, they pay you to get healthy. They literally will pay for you to
Speaker:have your gas, your mileage on your car. You would pay for
Speaker:a hotel room to stay the night before after
Speaker:surgery. They'll pay sometimes for your vitamins. Like there are
Speaker:actual plans that is like, oh, so
Speaker:like I kind of make out on this deal 1 million percent. Yeah, absolutely. So
Speaker:yeah, yeah. Amazing. Well, yeah, that, you know, that's pretty
Speaker:amazing. Absolutely. So you get into the program,
Speaker:all is great. So then at the consult, so tell
Speaker:a little bit about our way of doing the console. So the
Speaker:console is a two part virtual console. Yeah, I said that before in
Speaker:my life. So basically you do like what we call like a group
Speaker:session and that is where everyone joins. It's via
Speaker:zoom. It's private though. Like you don't have to be on camera, you're not going
Speaker:to talk. It's just you, it's almost like a presentation or like a
Speaker:kind of like what sub programs would, would make you go through before you could
Speaker:see the doctor. But this is going to be live, it's with you. Everybody joins,
Speaker:they watch you do A presentation. You talk through our whole process.
Speaker:You talk through the surgeries, kind of give a background on bariatric
Speaker:surgery. And then after that, that same
Speaker:day, you'll see each of those patients one on one. And so
Speaker:that is when we get your history beforehand. So we know a little bit about
Speaker:you. We're sneaky like that. We get your, your
Speaker:history so that you guys can then have a conversation, you or Dr. Lane
Speaker:and the patient then can have just a conversation, find out what's going on
Speaker:with them, what are their goals, what has brought them to this
Speaker:point. I know you've said before, like, people get really vulnerable in that
Speaker:one. You hear lots of stories. So I think that there's, you know,
Speaker:that that initial consult is really vital and, and
Speaker:having that, like, really personal discussion. And so we try to take care of a
Speaker:lot of the, like, you know, you don't want to sit there with your doctor
Speaker:who's asking, okay, have you ever had a heart attack? Have you ever, have you
Speaker:ever have it? Like you'll fill all that out with one beforehand. So they already
Speaker:know that. So, yeah, that's that. And then
Speaker:basically then they get a checklist. And this is determined generally by
Speaker:the insurance. And then there's a few things that clinically you might decide that somebody
Speaker:needs. But if they need the psych evaluation, if they need nutrition consult,
Speaker:if they need ongoing nutrition education for a certain period of
Speaker:time, like, so we're going to send everybody like a customized checklist.
Speaker:It's not just okay here. Now you have to go through a six month program
Speaker:because we said so. And we'll see you at six months when you're done.
Speaker:Like, no, if you don't need that, we're not going to make you do that.
Speaker:Of course you're always welcome. If you, if you want to have a consult or
Speaker:you want to talk to me or anything like that, you can do that.
Speaker:But we're not going to make you do a bunch of unnecessary burden
Speaker:to get to surgery again. You've already taken this vulnerable step
Speaker:and you've gotten in front of us. So we're
Speaker:going to keep it moving. So you'll get your checklist, we'll
Speaker:follow up with you. We've got a team that does that on the back end.
Speaker:Leslie, our girl, we love her, she's going to keep track with you. She's going
Speaker:to text you, hey, you got your psych evaluation yet? Or what's going on? Or,
Speaker:hey, I got it done. They said they sent over the thing and she's like
Speaker:I never got it that she's on email. Like where is this person's thing?
Speaker:And then they send it over to her. She's actually really nice. She doesn't sound
Speaker:like that. So yeah, so
Speaker:we'll keep track and then that brings you to your final consult. Yeah.
Speaker:Now people will ask all the time like well why do I need a psych
Speaker:eval? Why do they need a psych
Speaker:eval? That's an insurance requirement. So I think
Speaker:it's really outdated to be honest. And I know that, you know,
Speaker:mental health professionals might have, might disagree. But it's not that we don't think that
Speaker:mental health portion of this is important. It's like what is this evaluation
Speaker:actually telling us? And so really what the goal of
Speaker:it is is just to make sure that there's no like glaring things that
Speaker:are saying that you're not going to be successful with surgery is kind of my
Speaker:understanding of it. Like do you have a disordered eating?
Speaker:Do you have suicidal ideation? Do you have any of these other
Speaker:things? Like it's only surgery. I feel like that requires this. Oh yeah.
Speaker:Besides there's probably a couple others but. I mean this is the main one.
Speaker:Yeah. It is so outdated. So like people will ask all the time if
Speaker:they're going the self pay route or if they're using. If, if your insurance
Speaker:company does not have that on there. Like you just said, I don't make you
Speaker:do that. Right. I. We talk about this constantly
Speaker:but I do think like therapy helpful. Great. A one time psych
Speaker:eval. No. What's it going to do for you? Yeah, I mean, you know the
Speaker:answers. It's like they might be looking for like a hardcore like
Speaker:drug problem but I mean
Speaker:no, we just doesn't, we don't get that weeded out
Speaker:or whatever. No, no. And, and yeah, I just don't think
Speaker:it's. I think it would be more beneficial to say hey, we just like you
Speaker:to meet with a therapist once beforehand. But then also the insurance would need should
Speaker:cover that. They said the frustrating thing is they require these
Speaker:and then it's very hard oftentimes for people to find one that's covered by
Speaker:their insurance. Yeah, it's nuts. Or even your visits, like I didn't even
Speaker:believe that some of these insurances require all these visits with you and then they
Speaker:don't pay. Right. So we'll like just eat it. But it's like, well why
Speaker:is that? Yeah, it's not right. It's not right. Because this
Speaker:is their Game plan? Yeah, pretty much. It's like who's
Speaker:behind the, who's the wizard behind the screen?
Speaker:So yeah, so you'll do all of your requirements. You'll have your
Speaker:two part virtual final consult. And during this, this is
Speaker:where a lot of these FAQs are going to come to light. So people, during
Speaker:the initial consult, and I do like to keep the initial one very high level.
Speaker:Again, getting to know you, your goals, your
Speaker:struggles, your just your history. Like you
Speaker:said, help to decide like, okay, here are the surgical options. I think
Speaker:this one's better for you. This is why I want you to do your homework.
Speaker:Make sure you understand. Okay, so that's more high level. Then we really
Speaker:drill down. Then it's like, all right, buckle up. This is a very dense 60
Speaker:some page bariatric surgery success guide that we've gone through.
Speaker:And we start off right out of the gate on a pretty intense. On
Speaker:one of the topics about the multivitamin in calcium citrate.
Speaker:So we get questions all the time. Do I have to take this for life?
Speaker:Yes. Why do I have to take it for life?
Speaker:Because for the rest of your life you're not going to a most
Speaker:likely meet your nutrient needs from food alone. Most people
Speaker:aren't anyway, like, let's look at the realistic American diet. Like
Speaker:people aren't meeting what they need. So then you limit that by portion. You
Speaker:maybe are limiting the types of foods that you're choosing again, especially early on. Right.
Speaker:Longer term, maybe we're more flexible with what we're eating. But like you're
Speaker:limiting the types of food so that limits the nutrients. And then you're,
Speaker:there's malabsorption of those nutrients, especially in our bypass patients
Speaker:that you're not getting. Everything is not
Speaker:utilized that you're taking in. So we need to supplement.
Speaker:So you have to take it and it's at higher doses because we're kind
Speaker:of having to overcome that malabsorption threshold.
Speaker:And I've, I've read too that there's even some degree of malabsorption with the
Speaker:sleeve, but not quite. Like the bypass, which is part
Speaker:of the bypass is magic. But you know, I think that
Speaker:that's, that's part of it and that never changes like that. This is a surgery
Speaker:that permanently alters your anatomy. So why would it change after a
Speaker:year? You know, so yes, you are going to be on them
Speaker:for the lifetime. Find one that works for you. It might
Speaker:take some trial and error. If you can find a good bariatric one, a
Speaker:Day for your multivitamin. That's perfect because it's one a day,
Speaker:like, that's it. And then you'll take calcium citrate three times a day.
Speaker:And again, you just want to find the one that you tolerate and you like,
Speaker:you know, some common things that we might see. This is another one. Especially
Speaker:after I've, after you've seen patients and they come to me for a consult or
Speaker:ongoing treatment, whatever it is.
Speaker:A lot of people come to you and say, you know, I want the sleeve.
Speaker:And then you're like, actually, I think the bypass would be better. And there, the
Speaker:question is always like, but, you know, what about the vitamins
Speaker:and this and, you know, long term. And it's like, yeah, people that had the
Speaker:bypass 30 years ago maybe had some issues. We didn't know,
Speaker:you know, so now we know better and we do better and all of that.
Speaker:But also I'm like, we keep an eye on things. And so the
Speaker:common things, we check it at six months, one year, and then annually from there
Speaker:on. And the most common ones, some of you agree,
Speaker:vitamin D deficiency, which my number one was called, again,
Speaker:common in the general population. I had vitamin D deficiency
Speaker:on my. I was like 29 and 30 is the cutoff.
Speaker:Come on. I was a teens. Oh, yeah. So anyway, we'll
Speaker:check it. We're gonna check it there. B12. And that one is
Speaker:also because we set a higher threshold than like the normal. Yeah. So we
Speaker:actually have a lower. A higher cutoff. So sometimes you're in that range, too.
Speaker:Yep. And then iron. Yes. Iron deficiency, anemia,
Speaker:kind of, those types of things. So we're going to check those. And then we're
Speaker:going to tell you how to fix it. We're going to say, go get. You
Speaker:know, if your vitamin, if your vitamin D is 29, we're going to tell you
Speaker:to take 2,000 IUs a day. If your vitamin D is 8,
Speaker:we're going to tell you to take 50,000 a week for 8 weeks and then
Speaker:we recheck and then we do that. Like, there's, there's protocols for all of these
Speaker:things. So, you know, that's, that's what we're going to do.
Speaker:And we're going to keep an eye on it. We're not going to let you
Speaker:just like walk around not knowing what's going on. And your primary is going to
Speaker:do the same thing. Yeah, and we, we do like to own that. So we,
Speaker:we do have lifelong follow up. We have Amber, our physician's assistant,
Speaker:who is Bilingual and so sweet and so
Speaker:thorough. Oh, my gosh. Hand holding. Wait. Can I tell you, though? The other
Speaker:day, I was sitting in here. We're obviously at the office today, and Amber's
Speaker:office is, like, just down the hallway. And the door was open. And I
Speaker:listen. I can't hear her talking, but I can just. I can't hear what she's
Speaker:saying, but I can hear her talking. And I'm sitting here, and all of a
Speaker:sudden, she is, like, cackling, like,
Speaker:cracking up, dying with laughter. And I was like,
Speaker:no wonder. She's like, say sometimes runs behind on her appointments. You
Speaker:know, she. What is she doing laughing this hard at appointment? Apparently, a patient thought.
Speaker:We told them that they couldn't have sex for 18 months after surgery,
Speaker:not that they couldn't get pregnant for 18 months after surgery. And she was
Speaker:like, no. And so they were both
Speaker:just, like, laughing so hard. But I was like, what's happening there? The other day?
Speaker:So that's. That's what you're gonna get with Amber sometimes. She's just gonna. You're gonna
Speaker:be laughing with her on your post. She's super personable,
Speaker:super sweet. What you see is what you get. She is. We're
Speaker:gonna follow up on it. We're gonna. We're gonna make sure that you are
Speaker:great. Because sometimes you might feel fine, but you really don't realize that you're not.
Speaker:Or you don't know what's going on. You're like. Because a lot of the vitamin
Speaker:deficiencies, too. People are like, oh, could this be a vitamin deficiency? I'm like, I
Speaker:mean, you're fatigued. It could be eight different vitamin deficiencies. You know, it could be
Speaker:vitamin D, it could be your iron, it could be your B12. Like, I don't
Speaker:know. That's why we gotta check and see. But I also think that's why it's
Speaker:important that we don't tell people just to throw a bunch of vitamins
Speaker:at. You know, like, we're not saying take a multi and zinc
Speaker:and vitamin C, and we do tell you to take iron, but, you know, like,
Speaker:additional vitamin D and blah, blah, blah. You don't pile. It's not like this
Speaker:huge stockpile of vitamins that you have. No. You get a really
Speaker:good quality bariatric, multi, and that's.
Speaker:You're good. And then if, again, if you need one or two additional things,
Speaker:fine. We're talking about something like an omega 3 or
Speaker:a fish oil or something, you know, for other health issues, you can
Speaker:absolutely do those of course, too. Yeah, we. We get questions about that all the
Speaker:time. People have different, very strong opinions about supplements. And
Speaker:they're like, you're not familiar with some random thing
Speaker:like, I'm not mashonda after bariatric surgery. I know. Actually,
Speaker:Irene was talking about the other day, wasn't she? About like, it helps with a
Speaker:bleeding and bruising. Interesting. It is not good if you've had a kidney
Speaker:transplant. I know that. Wow. I read one paper about that. But.
Speaker:Well, Hannah was a dialysis registered
Speaker:dietitian for many years in Chicago, which
Speaker:is very complicated nutrition. It's. Yeah, it's
Speaker:tricky. It is super tricky. Dialysis is the hardest thing. I always
Speaker:feel. I think. I think pre dialysis kidney disease is harder.
Speaker:You do because you're trying to prevent
Speaker:progression. So dialysis kind of just
Speaker:have to give up on some things because, well, you'll dialyze it out.
Speaker:Yeah, we're not worried about damaging your kidney anymore. So. Yeah,
Speaker:those things are. Yeah. Yeah. So favorite pathway
Speaker:here. So we get lots of questions about
Speaker:vitamins. Also they ask about just like, return
Speaker:to work. That's probably a big one. When can I go back to
Speaker:work? Well, I say you can take as little off as you want
Speaker:or as up to four weeks. So obviously you'll be off for the
Speaker:day of surgery the next day. You're probably pretty beat up. Yeah, I'd say the
Speaker:average is one to two weeks. Yeah. You. You help
Speaker:tremendously. The most with our practice on paperwork,
Speaker:FMLA work excuse notes, return to work with restrictions
Speaker:or light duty. A combination thereof. Yeah. So, yeah,
Speaker:I would say, you know, I always tell people, I'm like, it really
Speaker:depends on your job. That's the first thing. Like, if you're like me who
Speaker:commutes to their guest bedroom and sits in front of a computer most days,
Speaker:like, yeah, you have surgery on a Friday, you might be back on Monday
Speaker:not feeling okay. And especially if your job is like a little more flexible or
Speaker:understanding and knows, you know, you kind of are making your own schedule or
Speaker:something, if you're in a high demand, you're on calls all day
Speaker:or something like that, you know, it's. It's. Again, it's going to really vary. But
Speaker:then I have people that are CEOs in prisons, I have
Speaker:nurses, a lot of health care providers that are, you know,
Speaker:bedside. Like, those people might need a little bit longer. Or if
Speaker:you're somebody who's working like, like an Amazon facility or
Speaker:something, or you're moving a lot of materials, like, yeah, you're going to need
Speaker:a little bit longer. But if by four weeks you're not feeling well enough to
Speaker:return to work, we need to investigate what's going on because you should
Speaker:be 100%. Oh, God. Yeah. Ready to go back to work
Speaker:four. Weeks and feeling even better than you did before surgery, because at that point,
Speaker:you've already lost probably 15 to 20 plus plus
Speaker:pounds. Yeah. And you know, like you said,
Speaker:you're a little tired in the beginning. Yeah. So you're a little white. I mean,
Speaker:it is still a major operation. You're figuring out your nutrition. You're getting maybe a
Speaker:little bit less protein or fuel, and you might be a little ketonic. We talk
Speaker:about the keto flu, like, all of these kind of vibes. Totally normal.
Speaker:Some days are better than others. Yeah. But you're gonna figure out your flow
Speaker:and get things, you know, going. Some people are like, I'm taking off as much
Speaker:as I can because I just want to do this right. And they want to
Speaker:learn the. Your fullness cues. And I appreciate all that, too. I think
Speaker:it's great. If you can do it, that's fine. But also remember, folks, FMLA does
Speaker:not pay you. So, yeah, short term disability does, but
Speaker:FMLA does not. Yeah, short term disability only pays a percentage, too,
Speaker:doesn't it? 60 usually. Yeah. Still, it's not 100. Nope. So some
Speaker:people are like, can I go back tomorrow? And we're like, you can if you
Speaker:feel up for it. Like, we. If you're taking narcotics, you can't drive,
Speaker:so. And they make you tired and groggy and, you know. Yeah, that's why. But
Speaker:yeah. Yeah. What? Day after surgery? I would say. Yeah. I wouldn't push it
Speaker:that hard, but, yeah, maybe. I know. People fly
Speaker:back two days. We do. That's another great question. So, yeah. Talk
Speaker:about who. What are the expectations for time in town
Speaker:if you're coming and flying in from out of town or driving in from out
Speaker:of town. Yeah. So I would say if you're coming, you know, from out of
Speaker:state especially. Of course, we have people that come from different parts of Florida
Speaker:where maybe they're two hours away. You could do that.
Speaker:I mean, if you're. Depends on what time you have to be here, you might
Speaker:want to stay the night before, just so you're nearby and easy to get here.
Speaker:But, you know, if you're coming from out of state, you're driving for
Speaker:a couple hours, more than a couple hours, or flying, we
Speaker:want you there the day before. That way, if something gets Delayed your
Speaker:flight, you know, doesn't take off sometime or something happens. You're.
Speaker:You have some flexibility built into that. So we want you here generally the
Speaker:day before and then obviously day of surgery.
Speaker:We want you to stay that one day post op, and then the
Speaker:third day or the second day post op, you can fly back. So you'll
Speaker:stay two nights after surgery, basically. Perfect. And then leave out. And
Speaker:then, you know, when you're in the car on the plane, you just kind of
Speaker:want to be up and moving, you know, every hour, every one to two hours.
Speaker:Get up, get a wind, get an aisle seat so you can walk it up
Speaker:and down the aisle. Yeah, that's it. It's really simple.
Speaker:And that's the whole point. So we want to make it so that
Speaker:you, you come in, it's really nice, you can safely go back
Speaker:home. And again, everything's virtual. So you'll have all of your follow up
Speaker:care. We text you the day after. You can text
Speaker:us anytime, you can call us, blah, blah, blah. So there's, there's a lot of
Speaker:communication there as well. People will ask
Speaker:a lot about incisional care when they can get those incisions
Speaker:wet. What is, what is it like? From my
Speaker:understanding, they are waterproof, so you can get them wet right away. People
Speaker:go in the pool. I'm fine with it. Yeah. I mean, these incisions are
Speaker:so tiny. I mean, we do the most. Show me, show me. I want to
Speaker:see. Okay, so three of the four. There's four total. And we do less incisions
Speaker:than anyone else. You're never going to find a bariatric surgeon that does less than
Speaker:5. Yeah, because we don't use a liver retractor. So we only
Speaker:use four total, three or five millimeters, which is the tip of the
Speaker:pinky. And then one is 10 to 12 millimeters,
Speaker:which is the width of the thumb. Okay, now that's it. So we try to
Speaker:keep them very, very small. And then we put these little trocars in. And
Speaker:then we have our YouTube videos. If you want to watch us doing a gastric
Speaker:bypass, a sleeve or revision, you can check those out as well. And
Speaker:then we close it with a plastic surgery closure. So there's
Speaker:a we. I get asked all the time, do you have to come in to
Speaker:get this? The stitches removed? There's no stitches on the outside.
Speaker:They're all, they all dissolve under the skin. They ask if there's staples.
Speaker:There's no staples. There's nothing to remove. And then we, we basically
Speaker:throw One little tiny stitch to pull that skin edges back together. And
Speaker:then we put a thin layer of. It's called dermabonds, and it's a waterproof skin
Speaker:glue over them, just over that little area. Some people, especially
Speaker:if you have white skin, you might have some irritation with
Speaker:adhesive. So sometimes, like the tape from the IV Site,
Speaker:that might get a little red and irritated. Sometimes you'll see, like, little
Speaker:bruises around the incisions. And sometimes people will have,
Speaker:like, just a little focal irritation from either the
Speaker:chloroprep, which is the skin kind of what we clean it off to sterilize it
Speaker:with, or from the glue itself. And if that's the case, we'll just tell
Speaker:people they can pick it off a little early, but otherwise, just leave it be.
Speaker:It'll either fall off. If the edges start to pull, peel up, you can pull
Speaker:it off at that time. It might get a little bit just itchy after a
Speaker:while. Yeah. You know, I guess a snack on your clay. Like. All right. Yeah.
Speaker:Pull off this area. Yeah. It's like a liquid band aid, and that's it.
Speaker:They can swim, get them wet, take a shower that night. Some people just want
Speaker:to, like, let me get this gunk off of me. We try to scrub you
Speaker:down really nice so that it's like, oh, wow. But like. Yeah, we
Speaker:try to assure that everything. Looks like after being on a plane. You just want
Speaker:to shower. Yes. Yeah, totally. As and to that. That can help a lot of
Speaker:people. That, like, warm, steamy environment, I think helps people, like, relax
Speaker:a lot. And, like, just like, when you're sick, it's like,
Speaker:I've been sick the last week, and I feel like I just keep going. Standing
Speaker:in the shower. Yeah. Like, I don't have the steam. It feels great.
Speaker:Yeah. We talk a lot about showering. In terms of
Speaker:our thoughts, if a shower doesn't come into one of our weight loss collab
Speaker:episodes, it's not a good episode episode. So definitely
Speaker:shower. We also have an episode called, hey, I just had bariatric surgery.
Speaker:Is this normal? So go back and listen to that. We talk a lot about
Speaker:this first again. Minutes, hours, days after surgery.
Speaker:And we talk about some troubleshooting tips to help with the gas pains,
Speaker:the incisional soreness, different things like taking
Speaker:a shower and just relaxing. And I think it does make you feel a lot
Speaker:better. Yeah, no doubt about it. For sure. And then we get
Speaker:questions a lot about the diets. Yes, tons. That's the number. You're the
Speaker:star of this show. It does feel like that sometimes you. Really are
Speaker:more than the surgery. People want to know like I mean, why do I eat?
Speaker:Yeah, well because what do we do every single day? We eat and people have
Speaker:such a strong relationship with food and all of that.
Speaker:Ultimately I'm going to keep it brief. I'm going to just give some of the
Speaker:high level and then we're going to be coming out with another. We have a,
Speaker:we have some basic nutrition episodes already. So you can go back and listen to
Speaker:those. We're going to do another one to like just really get into it a
Speaker:little bit more in depth. But three meals a day.
Speaker:Yes. Protein at each meal, starch free diet.
Speaker:Those are the three key things I tell patients on that. I'm like those are
Speaker:the three things. If we can hone in on that, you're gonna
Speaker:be sitting pretty and so three meals a day, that's pretty
Speaker:self explanatory. Protein at each meal. All right, so what's protein are
Speaker:animal proteins. Beef, pork, chicken, fish, eggs, dairy
Speaker:products, Turkey, seafood, animal pro,
Speaker:animal protein. And then you have our plant based protein. So things like soy products
Speaker:like tofu, tempeh, edamame, tvp, there's
Speaker:seitan which is a wheat product. So and
Speaker:then some things, you know we're gonna have like beans, lentils, those are gonna give
Speaker:some protein, nuts and seeds, that kind of stuff. So having a variety
Speaker:of your protein sources, you wanna make sure that you're getting 20 to 30 grams
Speaker:at each meal. And then the starch free diet, this is
Speaker:arguably most the hardest part for most people. But I always say that making this
Speaker:change is harder pre op because after surgery you're just
Speaker:gonna get full so quickly that and your cravings are not gonna be there like
Speaker:they are before surgery that you're like, oh this isn't really that bad.
Speaker:Eventually you'll want to reintroduce them and that's fine. But like early on it's kind
Speaker:of like oh, most people are, they don't care, they don't, I don't know.
Speaker:So that's gonna be avoiding rice, pasta, potatoes, corn, peas,
Speaker:anything made from grains. Our high sugar things like candies,
Speaker:cookies, cakes, technically not starches, but I include them in.
Speaker:This is our sugary drink. So sodas, juices,
Speaker:lemonade, sweet teas, things like that.
Speaker:Any of those really high sugar things that we want to avoid.
Speaker:And yeah, that is gonna be the basics. So you're
Speaker:gonna choose your protein, you're gonna pair it with a non starchy vegetable that's gonna
Speaker:Fill up most of your plate, those two things together, and then we're going to
Speaker:include some high fiber foods like fruits, lentils, beans,
Speaker:nuts, seeds. Wow. I want to dive in so bad. But we're going to have
Speaker:a whole nother episode on nutrition, one on one
Speaker:bariatric basis. And like you said, we have a lot of episodes
Speaker:on the app. I'm very curious about your thoughts. I'm just going to put it
Speaker:out there on total net carbs and
Speaker:I'm really obsessed with that and I. You are as
Speaker:much. I wouldn't say I'm obsessed, but I use them. Okay. Yeah. So we're
Speaker:going to talk a lot about what is a net carb. Yes. There's total carbs
Speaker:versus sugar, alcohols, us, fiber reading. A nutrition label
Speaker:is a whole thing too. Yeah. We're going to teach you how to make sure
Speaker:that you do that. And that becomes, if it has a label, you read the
Speaker:label. That becomes such a part of just your
Speaker:automatic response to food and all. That kind of stuff
Speaker:until it becomes routine and then you don't have to do that so much. We
Speaker:know. So there's a lot of other FAQs out there. Oh my gosh, so
Speaker:many of them. I mean, we just got, we just got to the final consult,
Speaker:basically. Oh, this is like, there's so many things. There's
Speaker:all kinds of post op things. There's people want to know about hair loss, people
Speaker:want to know about their bowel habits, are they going to get more constipated, they're
Speaker:going to have diarrhea, they're going to have constant stomach issues,
Speaker:what is relationships going to be like? There's like just so many
Speaker:things. People constantly obsess over the unknown, like,
Speaker:yeah, what will this be like for me? And I think that it's really important
Speaker:to ask those questions. I think though, a lot of people
Speaker:get in their heads about some of that stuff. And ultimately if you look at
Speaker:people that are maybe not, maybe not even the first year post op, but
Speaker:that are a little bit further out, their lives are pretty normal, you
Speaker:know, And I think that it's hard to see that because in the moment you're
Speaker:like, oh my gosh, I'm making this huge life change. And it is, I'm not
Speaker:like going to minimize that for anybody. But ultimately, like, long
Speaker:term, that stuff's not going to be an issue. And
Speaker:I don't think people believe us when we say it. I definitely get,
Speaker:sometimes have people, usually it's like, gosh, I don't Know, three or four weeks after
Speaker:surgery, I'll have this, like, random, you know, visit on my thing. And I'm like,
Speaker:what's going on? And usually if somebody has a problem, they're like, well, this is
Speaker:what's happening. And then I get some people. I'm like, what's up? And they're like,
Speaker:things are really good for me. Okay, so why. Why are we
Speaker:on this call right now? Like, once, like, I. I need a
Speaker:problem to solve here. They're like, well, no, I just feel like it's just. Everything's
Speaker:been too good. I'm like, no, that's great. That's amazing.
Speaker:That's exactly what I want. And so, wow. There's that doubt in people's mind
Speaker:that it can't just be great. And I always tell people, I'm like, you know
Speaker:what? It. Part of it is that if somebody. What you see online, what you
Speaker:see people talk about is always going to be the issues, because they are looking
Speaker:for a problem to solve, and so they're putting it out there. I'm having this
Speaker:concern. I'm having this, like, you know, is not posting online the
Speaker:person who everything is going great for because they don't have a problem. They need
Speaker:to be solved. They're just, like, living their lives. And so I'm
Speaker:like, It's like the majority of people, you get the ones that are a little
Speaker:bit louder because they just need a little help. But a lot of people are
Speaker:just. Quietly doing their thing. And so I think it's like that
Speaker:doubt in there. I love that. You're right. People
Speaker:are just like, we are here now. People are just humming along. I am
Speaker:doing well. You know what I would love to do? I know when we. I
Speaker:used to come to your house, like, back in the OG days of this whole
Speaker:thing. I would. I would love to hear, like, your
Speaker:spiel and your. Your approach. You feel like you're
Speaker:like. You kind of have a structure to it, or is it just like. Just
Speaker:kind of like a conversational type of a stance you take. Try to make it
Speaker:a conversation. Because, like. And I tell people this, you know, whenever.
Speaker:Whenever we start a thing I say, I always start my visits by seeing if
Speaker:they have questions or any kind of topic that they want to focus off, because
Speaker:everybody is going to have something that's different and unique to theirs. And I don't
Speaker:want to just sit here and say, well, you know, this is what you need
Speaker:to do, and I'll do that if you want me to. But, like, I think
Speaker:it should be tailored to that person. I think I catch
Speaker:people off guard a lot of times though. They're like, oh, I don't, I, I
Speaker:don't. Like they need something in their hands to be prepared or saying, that's fine
Speaker:if you don't, like, I will and I can get started. I can, I can,
Speaker:you know, guide it, but I always like to start that way. But definitely, I
Speaker:mean, a lot of people, we talk about again, those kind of like three basic
Speaker:things. I'm obviously can rattle off a lot of foods.
Speaker:Yeah, that's what I do all the time. It's just rattle those foods off.
Speaker:I was impressed by that. So, you know, I try to, I try to kind
Speaker:of touch on some of the other base. You know, we talk a little bit
Speaker:maybe about exercise. If I talk about the vitamins and things, it kind of depends
Speaker:on, on what else going on. I'll ask people like their weight
Speaker:history a lot of times just to see where they're coming from. You know, is
Speaker:this something that you have been dealing with since you were 8 years old or
Speaker:has it been since your last pregnancy? And there's a, because there's a
Speaker:difference too in how people have that relationship again with
Speaker:food or with their body and, and the struggles that they've
Speaker:experienced. You know, it's, that's two vastly different
Speaker:patients. So I, you know, even the other day I was talking to
Speaker:somebody and I said, you know, it was this, this man, very tall man that
Speaker:I was talking to. And I was like, the reason I asked this is because
Speaker:your, your issues are different than my five foot one woman. Like,
Speaker:it's, it's, you're totally, completely different people. And so, yeah, I
Speaker:try to tailor it and have it be that more conversation, but sometimes people just
Speaker:want like. Yeah, just, just tell me what to do.
Speaker:Yeah, I'll do it. Just give me, just give me the shopping lists and give
Speaker:me, tell me how to meal prep and tell me exactly what to do and
Speaker:think, please. And can you be there and prepare the meals and buy them for
Speaker:me? Okay. I can hardly do that for myself right now, so, you know, I
Speaker:know. Well, you got a lot going on. A little bit. Yeah.
Speaker:So, yeah, so that's kind of it. But again, we can talk, we'll talk more
Speaker:about that. I'll just, I'll just do a consult with you. How about that? Yeah,
Speaker:Always virtual, very convenient. And we also do a
Speaker:lot of support groups. That's another reason why when you're picking a program, you want
Speaker:one that is not going to sleep you and leave you. We are there for
Speaker:life again. And we offer every third
Speaker:Tuesday of the month at 7pm
Speaker:Eastern we go on Zoom and sometimes we'll have a topic,
Speaker:sometimes we have a guest speaker. We just had Dr. Irene Tower on
Speaker:and that one was the best ever. It was really good. It was really, really
Speaker:good. And it talked a lot about her services. So we do have people ask
Speaker:all the time about the loose skin and, and we have a whole episode
Speaker:and a whole blog and that. So many episode notes and things about
Speaker:that. We do opera cosmetic surgery now as part of this one
Speaker:kind of comprehensive experience. But on those
Speaker:support groups you can get your questions answered. You're
Speaker:almost always on them. Almost always on them. We do some that are just
Speaker:Q and A's. Yeah. Some of them are, you know,
Speaker:let's. Who needs support? Just stop talking. And people, people come on
Speaker:camera or people just put in the chat. It's very interactive. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:We have all that. We do that. We're doing some more in person stuff now
Speaker:that we have the space for. Top secret
Speaker:exclusive by invite only event coming up. Yes. So you'll
Speaker:see some of the after and they'll be like wait, I didn't know anything about
Speaker:this. That is because we announced it at our last support group.
Speaker:So we're doing something really cool. Yeah. So but there will be more things like
Speaker:that to come. We have the walking club. Yes. Now at Lake Eola. That
Speaker:is really great. So Amber puts that on. There's so many
Speaker:things. So these are all things to think about. You know again going back
Speaker:to if you're choosing a program, all of these things are things to think about
Speaker:and just you know, you want to, you want something you can trust.
Speaker:You want somebody that is there for you and
Speaker:you know, obviously we hope that that's us for you. But it could be somebody
Speaker:else. It could be, you know, maybe you had a friend that's had surgery and
Speaker:they had a great experience at their program. I think, you know, firsthand experience is
Speaker:always going to be the best indicator. So
Speaker:talk to people, ask people. You know, you just have that
Speaker:conversation. Very much so. So the three C's are
Speaker:fixing. We have a great community. We are very
Speaker:convenient. We offer virtual consults before and
Speaker:lifelong virtual follow up after. And finally we
Speaker:communicate easily. We text. That's it. That's very
Speaker:profound thoughts here. There's just summit right up. That's it.
Speaker:Yeah. So lots of other questions. We're going to keep diving in but make sure
Speaker:that you Join our private support group on Facebook. It's the Body by
Speaker:Bariatrics Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery Support Group. We have over
Speaker:10,000 plus plus members in that group. And you can
Speaker:get your questions answered on the spot, 24 hours a day by either another patient
Speaker:who's been there, done that, felt that, can help you with their advice, or
Speaker:we are also overseeing that and checking it out and chiming in. And
Speaker:yes, daily. Pretty much all I do is I'm like, heart that, heart that, heart
Speaker:that. Amazing. Congratulations. You're outstanding. Outstanding. It's
Speaker:Friday, for example. I'm like, oh, face to face. Friday they
Speaker:are. Look at the Slim Diaries. I know. Love it.
Speaker:Love it. All right, well, then of course you can find us on Instagram at
Speaker:the weight loss collab. You can find me at Hannah Schuyler, RD,
Speaker:and her at Dr. Dovak. And if you're ready to
Speaker:get started with that consult, go to bodybyberiatrics.com we'll get you
Speaker:going. Yeah. And we have an FAQ section on our website, too, but searchable
Speaker:FAQs and financial FAQs. Hopefully you'll find
Speaker:a lot of information on our website. We'll keep expanding upon these
Speaker:FAQs, and we'll be back very soon with another
Speaker:episode that breaks down even more. Love it. All right, we'll see you next
Speaker:time. Bye, guys. Bye.
