ObesityHelp

July 10th, 2007
Just to start off...I am PISSED..I just spent over an hour writing this HUGE blog and I accidently pressed the 'back' button and lost it all.  OMG!!  First off, I just changed my 'status' from wanting surgery to surgery date scheduled....well sorta...lol  Everything from OHIP was approved, including my gallbladder removal and the total allowed for surgery is $30,500.00 US!    I see my surgeon on August 24th to book the actual date....read on for details..lol
Here we go again... *HUGE SIGH*
A lot of stuff has happened since May when I last was on here.  I was scheduled for a seminar/meet the surgeon on June 6th and 7th.  So I went with my MIL.  She was supposed to drive me to ALL my appointments because I am not a fan of driving in unfamiliar places, but long story short, I ended up driving and dragging her along.  I was NOT pleased, she was only supposed to come to drive, not hear all the nitty gritty crap details.  Needless to say, she was pretty good, she didn't say anything when I was having my mini fits about stupid drivers and getting lost, and I made her sit in the waiting room for 2 hours while I saw the surgeon!  lol  So, this seminar we had to go to for 4 hours was interesting to say the least.  Chantelle (Wanda's receptionist) overbooked, and there was 60 fat people stuck in this tiny room.  It was hot and jam-packed and  the chairs had arms on them (!!!) Hello?  You'd think they would at least have the courtesy to book a room with armless chairs??  Anywhoo..we were given our 'blue bariatric binders' (and according to Wanda this is our 'bible') and the seminar covered all the same stuff I already knew (I have been researching this forever!) so it was boring!  The only thing that broke up the night was this poor lady...she sneezed in the middle of Wanda's speech, and farted so loudly...even Wanda stopped talking for a brief second.  OMG...it was so funny, but I felt awful for her!  And of course me....I am thinking "OMG in this small room hot as it is...."  Her face went beat red, and her husband gave her a dirty look, and Wanda continued her bantering, but man, it was funny!   So..we went back to our apartment (very cool..supplied for patients for $69/night and it is an actual appartment!) and I had to meet with Dr. Carlin the next day.  Now.. Dr. Carlin...he is a real treat! (No sarcasm intended! )  First off, he is a cutie!  When he walked into the room, my first thought was "Yay!  I will have this cute doctor doing my surgery!"  Then when reality kicked in again I realized "UGH this cute doctor will get to see me at my ultimate worst!  Feeling crappy, not showering for a few days, he gets to play with my insides and my mounds of fat, and if I am really lucky I will lose all my dignity when he inserts my catheter!"  My happy bubbles quickly burst!  Anyways, he is a really sweet guy.  I am very pleased, I trust him 100% and he is genuinely kind.   (and did I mention cute? lol)  I was all calm, cool, and collected until he says to me "I think you are a perfect candidate, and I really look forward to helping you change your life"  WELL...then the flood gates open and I am crying, he hugs me and then I am crying harder and snotting all over his white coat.  Certainly NOT the first impression I was going for!  I speak to his nurse afterwards, because I had forgotten to ask him the most important question I wanted to ask...does he believe in God.  She assures me that yes indeed he is a man of faith, and him and his family go to church.  Honestly, it may sound like a weird question, but I didn't want to have a surgeon who did not believe in God.  I want positive vibes/thoughts when he is working on me, and I know his hands will be lead by the Will of God!  Anyways...I am told afterwards, it will be 6-10 weeks to get OHIP approval and then I can meet with him again to book the actual surgery if I am approved.  OHIP took 2 weeks  to get back to me with an APPROVAL letter...no questions asked, no fuss no muss!!!    So I call Wanda all excited now that the surgery should be pushed ahead about 1-2 months...only to have her inform me the earliest she can get me in to see the exercise specialist/psychologist/medical clearance dr is AUGUST 22nd and I see Dr. Carlin to book the surgery AUGUST 31st!   I start to cry on the phone (pissed off!) and she informs me in her snotty way "Well people have to take vacation time you know! And you 'OHIP patients' (as she likes to refer to us as) are lucky I even got these dates, people would kill me if they knew I got you in early"  WTF?  Early?  So needless to say, the surgery will be in Sept/Oct again.  So anyways, I get her paperwork in the mail today (she REALLY is a piece of work this girl!)  And the dates are changed that I meet the doctors Aug 15th now and Dr Carlin on the 24th.  God forbid she calls me to say she made a mistake, or did it to be nice or whatever!   That is only 45 days until I get a surgery date!  Now one other thing to mention about cutie-doctor, based on my weight I am supposed to lose 47 lbs by their normal guidelines, however he said to me "if I see you are on your way to 47 lbs and you lose 25-30, I will not deny your surgery"  So, I pretty much haven't eaten much in the last 25 days.  My waist is down 4 inches, but I haven't weighed myself yet.  I am wearing clothes I haven't been able to wear in a few years!   So my next course of action is I have to see my GP to get a chest x-ray/EKG/blood work to take down to Dr C.  Then I have the psych test (eek!!!  you watch that will be the one thing I fail!  lol )  The one other issue that I am dealing with right now, is that I have a HUGE (20X22) ovarian cyst.  Dr C wants that aspirated (for the 4th time) 1 month before the surgery (so he has room to work down there!  When he was examining me, he said the cyst is so big, that my womb feels 5-6 months pregnant!) I am pretty incapacitated now, I can't bend over, when I stand up or walk it feels like my uterus is about to fall out between my legs.  So I can't wait 3 months to do it.  I will have to call the ever-so-wonderful Wanda tonight to beg for a time earlier than Aug 15th, or something?  UGH...  
So that's it in a nutshell!  I will continue to diet for the next 45 days and get those stupid 30 lbs off.  The cyst will be likely 6-10 lbs (last time it was almost 10 lbs!) and then hopefully I will be pretty close!  More to come!!  Wish me luck....