Ok, I'm not that creative with the blog titles. 

Alot has happened since my last post.  I received my insurance approval within four days of submitting the paperwork.  I attribute much of that to the staff at Dr. Kligman's office.  I know I'm the annoying patient who calls all the time, but they were able to get my stuff navigated through the system.  

So I had the following pre-operative appontments. 
5/27  -  Bloodwork  -  The technician was able to get much of the blood she needed on the first try, which to me indicates her skills.  She had to move to my hand and do the next one for the remaining 4 viles of blood. 

I had to get another EKG while I was there, all I can say is they need bigger gowns.  My breasts were not covered which is absolutely embarrasing.

5/30 -  I had to get an ultrasound and Upper GI x-ray.  Out of all of the tests I've had, I will say that the Upper GI X-Ray was the hardest one.  That stuff they give you was horrible.  The process wasn't painful, but I threw up multiple times because I couldln't keep the liquids down.  

6/4  -  I met with Dr. Kligman and his staff one last time.  His staff was really nice.  Mary B gave me a orange, which helped since Dr. Kligman was late and I hadn't taken in my lunch portion of the liquid diet.  So far I ahve lost 8 pounds onthe diet in 6 days.  Though there were some days where I did have a more substantive mea.  

my impression of Dr. Kligman is that he is a very professional surgeon.  That is the main thing you can ask of someone.  His staff makes him more complete and adds more of a personal touch.  he is very honest, which is again something you would want.  

I have told most of my co-workers about what I am doing and have been surprised at how much they are supportive of what I am oing.  I haven't faced any opposition, though I have only shared it with the immediate staff in the office.  

Each time I speak about it, I am trying to be more confident about what I am doing.  I was s afrad to tell one of my mentors because I was ashamed that I need significant help to lose the weight.  She was surprised at how much I weighed, but understood why I'm doing tthis when I shared with her the health conditions i have racked up associated with my weight.  

Ok, this post wasn't supposed to be a novel, so I'll run.  My parents are coming Friday, so I have to get ready for that.  

More to come. 

Not much to report.  

I met wth Dr. Kligman and found him to be a wonderful man.  he is firm, but kind.  

All of my materials are ready to go and should have been submitted to the insurance company.  So now I wait.  I'm really hoping to be able to have my surgery right after my class ends on May 4 with my final paper due May 12.  

My students arrive on June 2, so I'm hoping that I'll be up and running by then.  

One aspect that dos make me said is the fact that my neighbor who has seen me all the way through this process has to lose some more additional weight, delaying her surgery.  Maybe it's God's plan, but my hopes were built on us doing this together.  I felt extremely bad that she was delayed once again in that she's be going for this surgery for two years now to only have been delayed time and time again.  I look up to her alot.  She sacrificed her chance for going to surgery in order for her son to go for surgery first. 

I'm a little tired, so I'm headed to bed.  Pleae continue to keep me in your prayers.  Now that I'll be doing this alone, I'll need as much support as I can get. 

Hey everyone:
Things have picked up around here.  I have gotten all of the clearances I needed to fulfill my requirements.  My neighbor who has been going through the process together with me went to Office Depot and made copies of all of the reports, charts, and lab in put them together in a binder.  By the time we got it together, I was so impressed that there was a concise document with all of my information.  It was so pretty!

So I had my appointment with Dr. Fullum on Thursday.  It was great to see him again.  He is such a personable professional.  He switched from University of Maryland to Howard University to head up their department and to gain a Center for Excellence for the unit.  After talking to me he sad that he would go into great detail the day before surgery, so I as like whoa, we need to talk to my parents.  He was patient enough to give my parents a call.  The call went great though Dr. Fullum told my parents that I was Type 2 diabetic which isn't something I had out righ told them.  They don't really see a distinction between insulin resistance and extreme cases of diabetes.  I hadn't gone into much depth with my mom because she is now dealing with both her sister and brother who are diabetics with some severe complications.  But I do think that the conversation with Dr. Fullum was the right thing to get my parents to understand why I am a candidate for surgery and why I wanted to do it. 

Here is where my head is spinning.  Dr. Fullum just moved over to Howard University, so he doesn't have all of his old staff.  So the current ones are new to bariatric sugery.  He didn't have a dietician and was still using the old forms from UMMC.  My neighbor who is much heavier than me couldn't get her blood pressure and weight taken because they didn't have a blood pressure cuff big enough for her nor a scale big enough to weigh her.  The hospital was generally clean and there didn't appear to be utter choas.  Which was what I had envisioned Howard being like.  But I am extremely concerned about the neighborhood and the support system piece.  I hate to say this, it feels like Dr. Fullum is a one man show right now.  

I had a chance to look on the UMMC website to look at their bariatric unit and it looks awesome!  The rooms are beautiful, the ratings are high, and the support system is there.  The OH members who have gone through Dr. Kligman recommend him and seem to present him in a positive light.  My neighbor and I have an appointment to see Dr. Kligman on April 9th, so I'll know more then.  

So that's what going on.  Please pray for me and the decisions I have to make.  But one good note, I love my cpap machine.  It has given me a level of normalcy during my waking hours and I am no longer fighting sleep.  My blood pressure has been stable at 123/80 which is a vast difference from 167/108 that I consistenty had at the beginning of this.  Yippe!  Of course, I don't want to use the cpap machine forever, but it has helped me a great deal.  After meeting the respiratory therapist she said that I had stopped breathing 117 times in an hour and only got into REM sleep for about 10 minutes.  I haven't gotten vivid dreams, but she said hat should come back in time.  

Thanks again for the support

Ok, it’s been a while.  Though a lot has been accomplished since then. 

I had my second sleep study done and supposedly the technician was able to get my snoring and sleep apnea under control.  I was still hooked up to a number of wires and sensors that monitored my brainwaves’ and sleeping patterns.  It is amazing that just positive pressure could correct many of the problems I have had with sleep over the past couple of years.  Right now, I feel so exhausted and worn down from lack of sleep and the evasiveness of a good quality rest.  I honestly believe that if I don’t correct the sleeping patterns and difficulties that I won’t be able to finish my graduate degree nor take on more challenges at work.  Fatigue sometimes feels as though it slows the processing power of my brain.  And the funny thing is, I am aware of it.  When the technician woke me up from the study, I felt wide awake and ready to go.  Not necessarily rested, but it was certainly better than a normal nights sleep.  Now later that day, I was exhausted again.  But if that little bit of improvement is any indicator of what is to come with the CPAP, then I’m ready for it.  The pulminologist didn’t even require me to come back for the test results, my sleep apnea was so severe that they put a rush order on my machine.  I’m supposed to get it on Wednesday.

 

I saw the psychologist who is supposed to be sending my report and evaluation tomorrow. 

 

I’m scheduled once again to see the pulminologist on March 18^th for a final check up.  Hopefully, I’ll get my clearance from him.  At that time, I’ll be done!  I’ll have everything that Dr. Fullum and the University of Maryland required for my surgery.

 

Speaking of Dr Fullum, I have a quandary to figure out.  For anyone who is listening or reading, you advice and experiences are always welcomed.   Back in December 2007, I had my initial consultation with Dr. Fullum.  He is a very pleasant and knowledgeable surgeon.  I was incredibly impressed with his kindness and seriousness about the surgery.  But the big est thing that I was excited about was that he was willing to speak with my parents during my next appointment to talk through questions they might have about surgery. 

 

In late January, I got wind of the fact that Dr. Fullum was leaving UMD and was going to Howard University Hospital.  At first I was thinking, this is a no brainer.  I will follow Dr. Fullum to his new location.  But as I am getting closer, I have some reservations about going through Howard University.  I am glad the Dr. Fullum is bringing his knowledge and experience to a community that needs to address obesity and the health consequences that come along with it.  But Howard University is located in one of the worsest part of DC where crack heads, drug dealers, and gangs are constant mainstays of the community.  I am unsure as to the quality of the hospital, but am concerned about my parents coming to Howard and seeing the quality of both the hospital and the surrounding neighborhood.  While Dr. Fullum was at UMD before leaving, he indicated that my neighbor and I would be one of the first ones he would operate on once he got to Howard.  That can be seen as an advantage but also a disadvantage.  Originally, Dr. Fullum’s patients were going to be transferred over to Dr. Kligman who was there before Dr. Fullum at UMD.  I’ve never met Dr. Kligman, but have heard that he can be somewhat harsh initially but is seen as a competent surgeon.  I have heard that the quality of UMD is quite good.  UMD has already obtained its Center for Excellence status when Howard University would be just starting the process.  So what is a girl to do.  If I stayed with Dr. Fullum, I could very well be looking at an April surgery date.  If Iwent with Dr. Kligman, I would be looking at least a May surgery date. 

 

I have an appointment with Dr. Fullum on march 20, 2008.  So I want to be very honest with Dr. Fullum about my reservations.  I just wish he had stayed with UMD another month until I could get through the process. 

 

My parent’s tried to start a conversation about surgery since I told them I had an appointment.  They don’t understand why I couldn’t just diet and exercise.  Or what co-morbities mean to my health.  That’s why I was hoping that Dr. Fullum could address some of their concerns.  They did say that they would support me.  But it’s kind of like support without acceptance. 

 

On the other than, my boss and I did have a conversation about surgery.  I told her I would know more after my appointment on the 20^th, but she was awesome about understanding that this is something I want to pursue to improve my health.  Yeah!

 

That’s it for now.

 

Things are moving along in the process.  I got the results of my sleep study which indicated what we already knew,  I have severe sleep apnea.  Essientially I am losing about 100 minutes of sleep.  That is alot when it usully only turns out to be about 4 hours of sleep.  Sometimes I am so exhausted.  So I have my second sleep study for February 28th.  

My other tests came out good.  I am not allergic to other things besides some trees which would indicate a mild seasonal allergy.  

I have my psych eval on February 29th.  

I'm hoping to have everything ready to go to Dr. Fullum on the second week in March.  It seems so far, but I'm sure that'l roll around pretty soon. 

I finally went to the doctor to take care of this cold I have been having for weeks.  I had gotten over the origional cold, but kept a cough that was realy annoying.  Then Thursday I started coughing up nasty mucus and having cakey stuff come out of my eyes.  Doctor gave me some antibiotics, zyrtec, and eye drops for can't you believe, pink eye. 

So things ae moving right along.