May 26, 2007 - The ice cream episode

May 26, 2007

Now this is me being a mental case. 

I went to the grocery store to get some low fat ice cream, because you know, you have to have ice cream in the house as all times (according to DH). 

I usually buy a low fat cherry vanilla or cookies and cream.  But all of a sudden this voice said, “buy the good stuff, you’re not going to have it for a long time” and the thing is, I am so used to the low fat crap, that I never look at the full fat stuff and didn’t know what to buy! OMG, there are some really good freaking flavors “on the other side.”  

So I know you’re wondering what I bought. I bought a pint of Hagen Daazs Chocolate Peanut Butter and a pint of Banana Split.  Hey, I could have bought the ½ gallons the Edy’s stuff, but I figured this was bad enough.

 

And if that’s not bad enough, we’re going for ribs for dinner with some friends tonight.

 


May 24, 2007 - Nutritional meeting

May 24, 2007

I went for the mandatory four hour nutritional meeting today. It was actually about 3 hours. First I met with Gina who weighed me, and interestingly, I lost 6 pounds since I weighed with the cardiologist last week. Not sure how that happened, but I'm glad.

There were 3 other patients in the meeting. Gina was very informative and explained the pre-op diet and the different stages of the post -op diet. She answered a lot of questions.  I definitley want to start tasting the protein shakes so I can figure out what I like and don't like.

Now I just want to get the sleep study over with and the follow up with the pulmonary doctor in June.

May 18, 2007 - The rest of the preops

May 18, 2007

I had the rest of my preops.

First I did the ultrasound of the legs, which I was worried about. The tech said everything looked good and no clots. When I saw the pulmonary doctor, I asked him if the report was back yet and he said no. I told him what the tech said and he said she's not supposed to say anything. I said, maybe she just said that then, and he said, maybe. So you know I'm all freaked out that.  

Then she did the gallbladder ultrasound. She said my anatomy was perfect and that I have beautiful pancreas...ooooooooooooooooook...

 

Met with the psychologist. She said her only worry is that I won't be able to stick with the program, because my tendency is to diet, then quit, but she has full faith in me. She stressed the importance of exercising on a daily basis and keeping a log. She said that in order to be successful, exercise needs to be a daily thing and that I need to keep an exercise log. I am going to try really hard to do this!

 

 

 

I met with the pulmonary doctor. My bp was 120/68. Yay!  Oxygen was 100%. Nurse said that was fabulous. Pulse was 102. Met with the doctor who changed my allergy medicine. He said Clarinex was a wimpy drug and doesn't help.  Then he asked me if I snored. Said yes. Asked me if I got up during the night, I said yes, to go to the bathroom. He said there's a reason I'm getting up and told me he wanted me to do a sleep study. So that's scheduled for 5/31. It takes about 2 weeks to get the results, so my follow up with him isn't until 6/12.

 

Met with the cardiologist. My bp a half hour later was 110/60 and my pulse was 102. She said my EKG looked okay, there was something that was on the high range but okay. When she listened to my heart she said I had a slight murmur and called it a functional murmur and asked if I was ever told about it.  I said no. She said if I was older she would send me for an echocardiogram but she didn't think it was necessary. She said if I wanted one, she would schedule it, but she was clearing me. She thinks my synthroid dose is high and that's why my pulse was elevated and that I should check with my doctor about the dose on Monday. I just had it checked so now I'm worried about that.

 

Stacey

 

 


May 15, 2007 - The preops

May 15, 2007

Today was pre-op day. 

I am going to try and be as detailed as possible for any other OH members who are also scared of hospitals and all things medical. I know for me, it does help when I read detailed information in someone's profile/blog. I really do appreciate those members taking the time to write in detail!

I got to the hospital with my sister about 7:15AM and checked in. I am very impressed with how organized everything seems to be at Cleveland Clinic (with the exception of one thing which I will talk about in a minute).   

First came the chest x-ray, no big deal. I stayed in that room for the video flouroscopy (upper GI). It really was not that bad and you all know what a wimp I am!  First they give you two small dixie cups filled with something that tastes like alka seltzer and was very salty. They tell you not to burp before they take the pictures or you will have to drink them again.

The thing that totally freaked me out was seeing my insides on screens all over the room.  I saw the spine and white stuff and a big black thing and I had no idea what the heck I was looking at, nor did I want to.  My eyes started to well up and all I wanted to do was run out the door with no bra on and the cover up.   I kept thinking, "I can't do this, I can't go through with this" and yes, I know an upper GI is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but that's just my craziness and we all have some. 

The nurses were so sweet. They asked me what was wrong and I told them how I hate to see stuff like that. They told me just to close my eyes and they would tell me what to do.  They gave me a big white cup (probably 18 ounces) of that white chalky stuff and I held it in my left hand.  Drink, swallow, turn, hold your breath, ok breathe, turn to the right, baby step to the left, lean back. Over and over again. It took about 20-25 mintues.  I did feel at one point that I was going to throw up, but I kept trying to focus on the drink being a frappucino. I told myself that if I threw up, I'd have to do it all over again. When it was done, I asked the nurse if I had to do anything else there. I was really trying to find out if the test looked ok. She said that the doctor was watching the scans as I drank the stuff and if he wanted more views, he would have had me drink more.

The mess-up came with the gallbladder ultrasound. Apparently, it has to be done before the upper GI, on an empty stomach. The prescription I gave them fell behind some folders and they didn't see it.  The ultrasound was on my chart, and on my list of tests for the day, and it was scheduled as the first test of the day, so I don't know why they didn't catch it. Anyway, I'll go back for that and the one of my lower extremities on Friday when I'm there meeting with the psychologist, pulmonary doctor and cardiologist.  Friday is going to be a long day!!

I went up for the EKG and that was over pretty quickly.

Went with my sister to Season's 52 for a healthy lunch and to walk around the mall afterwards. I'm sure I was a joy to walk behind...burping and farting all through the mall, but hey, I was just so happy I got through these tests!




May 14, 2007/Nervous

May 14, 2007

I have a bunch of pre-ops scheduled for tomorrow morning and of course I'm a nervous wreck. I am so not good with medical things and for me to say, "ok, let's run all these tests on me" is a big step.

All I want to do is throw up.



May 5 - Rambling/Feeling like crap

May 05, 2007

TOM hit today. (Mental note to self - do not schedule surgery the first week of the month!)

I went to the mall with MIL and SIL and was miserable. I felt like it was taking every ounce of energy just to move myself.  The 90 degree weather didn't help, I'm sure.  We did the entire mall, as well as some stores, and I felt like I had done a marathon. Totally wiped out. I know it's the weight.  It just can't just be the TOM making me feel like this. We had lunch at PF Changs. I know I overate, how can you not, the stuff there is so yummy.

I felt so much better when I was working out with my trainer.  I worked out with one for about 5 months this year. I really, really enjoyed it. I felt sooooooooooooooo good. Like I could breathe. Why did I stop? I wasn't losing weight.  My trainer said that I wasn't losing pounds because I was putting on muscle. I don't think that's the right thing to say to a MO girl busting her ass to lose POUNDS. I really didn't give a crap about gaining MUSCLE.   I wanted to see the scale move.  Come to find out, I was on the wrong thyroid medication for months.   What is it they say about hindsight?




May 3, 2007 - Moving Right Along...

May 03, 2007

Wow, I feel like I accomplished a lot today. I spoke with the insurance lady in my doctor's office. She called me and asked if I wanted her to schedule my pre-ops. Like, hello, yes, of course.  I figured it would take me forever to do it myself.  Within minutes she had me all set up!

May 15 - I'm having the radiology stuff, ultrasounds, upper gi and EKG

May 18 - Meeting with the psychologist and going for pulmonary and cardiology clearances

May 25 - Nutritional meeting

I'm nervous and excited!!


May 1, 2007 - Meeting with the surgeon

May 01, 2007

So today was the day. I had my consult with Dr. Rosenthal.

First of all, I have to say how impressed I am with everyone I met there. Super nice and they made me feel that they had all the time in the world to spend with me.

I met with the nurse first and of course, I was tearing up. She totally calmed me down. She took my history and looked over the forms I brought. She said that everything looked good and I didn't have any co-morbitities. Thank g-d. I'm a relatively healthy fat person!!  Dr. Rosenthal came in and I was very impressed. He answered all of my questions.  Even the silly ones.   He was very calming. He asked me which procedure I was interested and I told him the sleeve. He went into detail about the procedure.  I asked Dr. Rosenthal how soon I could get pregnant after the surgery. He smiled and said, "it's up to your husband."  I know they want you to wait 1 1/2 years after surgery. How practical that is, I don't know.  When he left, he told me the insurance person would be in. 

She was in within two minutes. We talked about BCBS of IL and she explained how I would have to go on a supervised 6 month diet. I kind of knew that. As she was walking out the door, she heard me tell DH how much less invasive the sleeve is. She stuck her head back in and said, "BCBS of IL doesn't cover the sleeve." I was crushed.  I finally have decent insurance and it's not covered?  DH was really annoyed, especially since we pay so much for it.  She said that they cover RNY and the band, but I'm not interested in either one. Then one of the interns came in.  

He was very nice as well. He went over my history again and asked if he could check my belly. This was the one and only time I was examined.  He said I had a very slight hernia and it was barely detectable and we would talk about in the future and that if I had the surgery, it would be taken care of.   He told me the nurse would be back in to give me my scripts for the pre-ops.

I got the scripts for the pre-ops, and with the exception of the ultrasound of my lower legs (they have been swelling lately) it's all standard; EKG, blood, the various ultrasounds, etc.

All in all, I feel much better. I will be self-pay and I would like to have all the pre-ops done this month. My birthday is June 9 and I would love to have the surgery done around that time. DH and I are going on vacation at the end of August and I figure that will give me enough time to recuperate and get used to my new banana!




About Me
Coral Springs, FL
Location
32.9
BMI
VSG
Surgery
08/20/2007
Surgery Date
Mar 21, 2007
Member Since

Friends 159

Latest Blog 8
May 26, 2007 - The ice cream episode
May 24, 2007 - Nutritional meeting
May 18, 2007 - The rest of the preops
May 15, 2007 - The preops
May 14, 2007/Nervous
May 5 - Rambling/Feeling like crap
May 3, 2007 - Moving Right Along...
May 1, 2007 - Meeting with the surgeon

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