Doc Appointment

My doc appointment was uneventful, I weighed about the same as my last visit, everything was fine. I had blood work done again. And paperwork filled out for my cpap company for prescription renewal and the last several months of my visits faxed over to the surgeon. I have that class in April I haven't gotten the date on it yet, then everything will be sent off for approval. Man what a long and tedious process!

In other news, going no-poo has turned my hair into a curl factory! I've lost a few inches in length because it is all curling up. I must admit I kinda missed the curls. I hated them when I was younger, but they've been gone for so long I was kinda missing them. I do notice tho when I don't use the baking soda rinse in the shower, it takes a lot longer for my hair to dry, like hours! But it doesn't feel gross, just different. I'm still in over production of oils, but that should tame down soon. The amount of hair I was loosing each day has slowed down a lot! My hair doesn't stink like I thought it would. Now mind you hubby hates the smell of it after doing a baking soda rinse, he says it smells like straight baking soda, maybe I'm using to much. I'll adjust it hopefully eventually I won't even need the baking soda rinse.

That's all folx

Yup this is me

No its not a full body shot, but you can definitely see how big I am in this pic. In a years time I'm hoping to be half this size. I have my last weigh in check up this week on the 25th. I won't be doing the Begin class this month, I'll have to wait until next months class. That is the last thing the surgeon's office needs to send the request to the insurance company.

If anyone out there is reading that has done this, I'd love to hear your story. Diet you follow, your experience, how you felt after surgery, just anything! If you've blogged or made a YouTube channel following your progress please leave a link in the comments, I would love to check it out.

I've had no luck finding an affordable personal trainer, so I'm going to check out planet fitness next week and see if I feel it will be a comfortable fit for me. I know this is going to take work, that it isn't a miracle cure, it is a tool. A lot of changes will be required for this to work. 

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. Surgery is a drastic measure and I've had a friend die from this surgery. Granted that was years ago and so many advances have been made since then. But still it isn't without a lot of risk. My main fear tho is failure, not death... just plain and simple failure. If I fail I let everyone down from family, friends but most of all myself. As it gets closer I worry even more. I've failed at this so many times already without surgery. I would much rather not have to go threw surgery. But this can't be the end of my story, I cannot die this large and have that be how I'm remembered. I'd rather die trying than to live like this anymore, then at least I gave it all I had.

Anyway if you have a story to share please do, or a recipe site for after surgery share that too!

Till next time ya weirdo's!

Almost There!

I got another phone call from Dr Galloway's office yesterday to update me on what is left that needs to be done. On the 24th I go to take a 2 hour class called Begin Class, near Dr Galloway's office, when I leave there she said bring by the certificate from that class and my $150 co-pay for the surgery. The very next day I have my last appointment with Dr Sherman at that appointment I get him to fax over my Oct-March records to Dr Galloway and she will get everything together to submit to the insurance company. She said NOTHING about seeing a psychiatrist which I was told would be one thing I would have to do for approval. Guess we shall see.

So I don't know how long it takes after submitting this to the insurance to get the approval, but it doesn't sound like by the way Heather (Dr Galloway's coordinator) talks. So I am hoping that I will have a date for surgery sometime in April.

Nervous but happy....

Surgery Update

So I got a phone call from the cardiologist office, I am cleared for surgery. It was exciting to hear the nurse explain how great everything looked in my ultrasound, working perfectly! Then I saw the vascular surgeon and got that settled they will put in a filter to stop blood clots in my main artery. They will go up threw the groin area in my leg all the way to just above my belly button and install the filter. Kind of scary that this will be something that stays in my body permanently.

Anyway my next step is to call Dr Galloway and find out what I need to do next or what they need to schedule next. Because at this point I have 1 appt with my regular doctor on the 25th of this month and thats the last scheduled pre-op checkup with him. All 7 visits with him will be complete! They say that is the hardest part to accomplish because you have to go once a month and always in consecutive months, if you miss a calendar month you have to start over and your last appointment has to be after or on the day of the month as your first, in my case that was the 13th.... so going on the 25th is fine.

I'm getting there! It has been a LONG process since my first visit with Dr Galloway. But it will be so worth it. I know I still am supposed to be scheduled to see a psychiatrist and I think take 3 classes? Before they schedule my surgery. I'll find out when I talk to them today.

Later...

Doc appointment today

Nothing much to tell, it was my regular weigh in appointment that I have to do every month for 6 months (actually 7 total) for my weight loss surgery. Lost 5 lbs since my last visit, bleh. It is what it is.
The rain and cold has been miserable today, guess we are lucky tho, our neighbors north of us are posting snow pictures, only pic I could post is the mud lake that is my front yard right now.

Later....

Busy Day

Good thing I set an alarm to remind me to do this blogging thing every day! I have it set for 11 which is why you are just now getting this blog entry!

I had a pretty busy afternoon, I had a doctor's appointment with the cardiologist for clearance for my gastric bypass surgery since I have a history of high blood pressure and afib. Didn't get out of there till well after 5 pm, my blood pressure was great and my EKG looked normal, so they are scheduling me to do an ultrasound of my heart then they will clear me for surgery. That's another hoop for the insurance company down. I will be so glad when all this hoop jumping is over with! I am so sick of doctor appointments! And you know they do this to see how committed you are hoping you will give up so they don't have to cover the cost of the surgery! Whatever, I'm not giving up now, I've come this far and it will be so worth it when its done!

Anyway I have to get to bed, I have to be at the DMV at 9 am to finally get my drivers license taken care of. So ready to have that done to and be legal again! Never let your license slip thinking you will take care of it later.... lesson learned the hard way.

Till tomorrow :)

The Coordinator

I called Dr. Galloway's office back and talked to the coordinator (I will remember her name eventually) and she said she has been swamped and they have been short staffed, but that she hasn't forgotten me and has my chart in front of her and hopefully can get on it tomorrow. So here we are still waiting.
I will continue to update as I get more info.

No news..

I didn't hear from the coordinator last Friday, she had said I should hear from her by Friday and I didn't, so I will call the doctors office tomorrow morning, since it is a holiday today, and see if she has gotten anywhere on my case and can tell me what my next steps are.
Until then....

Weigh in at home.

Good evening.

I weighed myself this morning on my scales at home, which read 340.6, well that's 12 lbs less than the reading at the doctor's office yesterday.  But at least now I have a starting point for future weigh ins at home.

No word from the coordinator as of yet, she said I should hear from her by Friday, so if I don't hear anything by Monday I will call the doctor's office and check on her progress.

Had a rough time sleeping the last few days, so last night I took a mild sleeping pill, slept till 11 this morning, then took a nap around 5 till 8:30, now I'll probably be up all night again. I will be tired, but I can't get my brain to shut down. My thoughts will go from what subject to another until I am backtracking my thoughts to figure out how I got where I  was in my thinking! It's not just this surgery stuff going on though, I have other things going on that have me stressed as well. My new goal is a saying I heard in a sermon this morning, I've heard it before but it never meant much to me until now. It is to "Let go and let God." That's my new mantra.

Ok till tomorrow, hopefully I'll have an update from the coordinator.

Bypass Surgery?

Ok where to start. I finally after considering it for a couple of years now went and saw a bariatric surgeon to see about gastric bypass surgery. I've been considering it for a couple of years I've made the appointment a couple of times and always chickened out. Well, I finally went yesterday and everything sounded pretty good. He suggested that I go with the gastric bypass instead of the sleeve or the band, so I guess we're going with the gastric bypass. Now I just have to jump through the hoops for my insurance company and do everything that they want so that it will be covered so the journey begins.

I have a list of things that they gave me in a packet that tells me some of those stuff that I have to do. I hsve to go and see a psychologist, I have to make appointments for 6 months in a row with my primary doctor, and take a couple of nutrition classes and pre op classes and anything else that the insurance decides that I need to do before they will cover this procedure. Anyways a coordinator will call me by the end of the week to let me know what the insurance said and where I need to get started next.

So this blog is where I'm going to post updates, and everything that's going on as far as the surgery goes. What the insurance company is requesting, about the classes, about the doctors visits, and anything else so that you get a rundown of what's going on as far as getting this done and then after its done I will post my progress for those interested or anyone else that is going through this. But for the most part this blog is for me.  To post what I'm going through, thoughts, feelings, emotions and anything else I decide to share. It will be a tool for me to vent and keep up with what I feel will be one hell of a roller coaster ride emotionally.

I'm excited but scared.  The results the doctor thinks we will get excite me, this will change my entire life,  but I'm also being realistic and know this journey isn't going to be easy by a long shot.  I've researched,  read,  and watched enough videos of other people's experiences to know I have a long hard road ahead.

Now for the nitty gritty,  I'm starting this journey at 352 lbs on the doctors scales yesterday,  I will weigh myself on my scale first thing in the morning to get that reading.  I am 5'4" tall according to the doc yesterday and I am 48 years old. I have sleep apnea, diabetes, high blood pressure and afib and usually have edema in my legs and feet. I also suffer from COPD. I am on medications for most of these things,  this surgery should eliminate most if not all of these health problems. That in itself is exciting!

The scary parts are yet to come!  The diet of liquid I heard about before and right after surgery, exposing myself to the emotions I'm sure will surface and the endless appointments to satisfy doctors and insurance. And pain, but it cant be as bad as the pains I face in life now due to insensitive people, the aches of carrying around this much weight and all the limitations it has put on me physically and emotionally.

So to say I'm scared is an understatement! I am terrified,  but I'm ready to face whatever comes to change my life. So here we go, pray for me, wish me luck,  and follow me on this journey.

Till next time.....