Aurah

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Well I just showed up at Dr B's office this morning at 7:30 am when they opened. They weighed me and I've gone up 7 pounds lol. So now my BMI is 56. Dr B saw me for a few minutes. He told me he got my results for the random insulin level test he sent me for last week. WELL!! He said an average reading is 200 (not sure of what the measurement is). And he said he had never seen a reading as high as mine ever! Mine is 1500!! Can you say YIKES!? So this explains sooooo much!! With a reading like that, I am highly insulin resistant! Meaning that its next to impossible for me to lose weight. Side effects of having insulin resistance are: Fatigue (Finally know why all I want to do is sleep!) and depression (Who knew!!). So that explains those things! People with this condition gain weight particularly around the mid section. *Pats my stomach*
Anyways, I went into work and updated my cover letter and my other information I am submitting with my application. I took my package over to Dr B's office at lunch time, then called it an early day and went home! I wanted to see the docs office actually fax the application, but Dr B still has yet to fill the application out and he said he will probably be able to get it done on the weekend and have it faxed out on Monday. I am to call the office around 4 pm Monday to make sure it went out. I HOPE I get an answer in a few days and of course I hope its an approval. But I am expecting to get a reply from OHIP requesting more info from my Doc. Like per usual from OHIP. So 2 1/2 days (hopefully) until my application is sent out!

I guess I'm both! Today I called the imaging center where I had my xrays done to ask if they had been sent to my PCP's office yet. I had the xrays done last Thursday and they were sent to her last Friday! Ok, to be fair I learned that she was off for the week. Ok, no problem. So Colleen, the wonderful receptionist at the clinic said she would put my file on my docs desk on top of her pile and talk to her in the morning about getting my letter from her done up. I am waiting on only her letter to fax my application in! Then my doc actually called me a few minutes ago! 7:15 pm at night! How cool! She told me that I have Osteoarthritis in my knees and Disc Space narrowing on some discs in my back. Ok, so Im happy about this? LOL how funny is that!!?? I mean its not good news, but it IS more ammunition to put on my application for OHIP! So then I ask, how long till I can pick up the letter? Well.... apparently shes off AGAIN next week too so Im looking at a week and a half now. Screw that! LOL I'm putting my application in tomorrow without her letter! If I get denied then I would submit my application with her letter. But what sucks about this is that I am going to have to pay my doc $50/ 1/2 hr for her to write that darned letter and I might not even need it! She even said its kinda like icing on the cake. Whateva.... I'll do what it takes to get that yes for OHIP!! Fingers crossed that Dr B's office will let me come in and submit the application tomorrow morning! I'm calling them as soon as they open! Maybe I'll just show up there lol. Anyways, I'll let you know what happens!!

Well I made my appointment for submitting my OHIP application for May 29th at 2:30 pm! Fingers and toes crossed that I can get my letter from my PCP before then! I am going to call her office and bug them silly! I will go in a day or two before my appointment for my final weigh in. I want an accurate weight on my application and cover letter. I know I have gained weight this last month. I don't know if it is stress, the thought of surgery or the thought of not being able to eat certain things after wls, but I have been eating a lot. It probably is a combination of all of those things. From what I have read on the forums and other peoples blogs, I'm not alone in this department. So 1 week and a day! Then the real waiting will commence! UGH! And I will have to include a weekend in that waiting. But I would rather submit my application on the Thursday than wait for the next Monday! 
So to anyone who wishes to, please start swinging those chickens for me! :)

Time seems to be moving sooo slowly right now. I am waiting for my results to come back so my PCP can write me a letter to add to my OHIP application. I called my PCP's office and spoke with the front office gal and she said once the results come in they go on her desk and once the letter is written they will call me. I am hoping the results will get to her office by the end of this week, but more likely with this Monday being a holiday the results wont get to her till early next week. I plan on calling the office to make sure they get the results. And once they do I want to make sure that the office staff reminds my PCP about the letter she has to write for me. I understand all doctors are very busy, so I just want to make sure that my letter doesnt fall through the cracks.
I have to call Dr B tomorrow and make an appointment for the end of next week to submit my application. WOOT!

I finally feel like I might be getting somewhere! I met with Dr B today and I feel REALLY good about the meeting. I wasnt sure how things were going to proceed with him as I felt he might not be in favour of me having DS and therefore he might not be helping me as much as he could. Well, today he seemed very pleased with everything that I have done so far, and he even commented about how he thinks I'm going about this the right way, getting all the testing done and the results for the application together. Honestly, if I didnt see the light at the end of the tunnel, I would probably just fax my application to get it over with LOL. (I'm very tempted to Nbonay!! hehe)
I go for my xrays tomorrow and Dr B is now sending me for one more test. I have to get blood work done 1 hour after I eat sometime this week. It's to check my random insulin level.  So, the xrays and blood work shouldnt take too long to get back to my Doc's and then Dr Lim can write up her letter for me. I told Dr B that I did my sleep test and that they recommended that I get a Cpac machine for my heavy snoring. 
I had to move my yearly physical exam with Dr Lim to June 12th as I am on course for work on the 22nd (Darn it all!) Not really a big deal, except that Dr L asks for my last pap test results on the consult meeting paperwork. Results for the Pap test apparently take 3 months or more to be returned to the doctor. Well Dr L will just have to wait until it comes in I guess. LOL and I am jumping the gun here, I do need that approval first from OHIP!
So late next week I will be calling my PCP's office to ask if the xray reports are in, and if they are I'll be pushing Dr Lim to get me that letter!. I hope she's quick with it, seeing as how I'll be paying $50 bucks a half hour for her to write it up!

So I met my PCP yesterday. I put together a package of information for her so she can write up a letter of recommendation for me. She also is sending me for xrays for my back, knees and left hip. She thinks I have Bursitis in my hip. I've been having excruciating pain at times when trying to rotate my leg outwards. I also have lack of motion to the outside and an ache that comes along with leaving my hip in an outward position.
Anywho, I get to have the xrays done on May 15th. Hopefully the results of all of my testing will all be in at the end of May so I can look at submitting my application to OHIP early June. It can't come soon enough!!

BLEH, that's how I feel right now. I did the sleep test last night and I dont have apnea. I snore very loud and the tech said I should still come back for a cpac machine. So I asked him, if I need a machine does that mean I have mild sleep apnea, and he said welllll... I wouldnt say that, but your heavy snoring does disturb your sleeping too. So I'm confused. Oh well, guess I'll let the Dr sort it out. Man was that uncomfortable! Straps around your chest and tummy, wires galore and putty stuff stuck to your head (which remains glued to your hair after lol) and tubes up your nose to measure your oxygen. The tech came in around 1:30 am when he noticed me awake to readjust my straps and told me you are not sleeping well.  All I did was toss and turn. I eventually fell alseep after that, but it still wasnt a deep sleep. Gotta wonder if that affected the outcome.
Too bad they cant do housecalls and set you up at home. I def would have slept so much better!
Pretty sad to say but it SUCKS I dont have apnea cause it would have been one more thing to add to my application. I guess saying that they want me to get a cpac for my snoring isnt a bad thing either. Still proves I am having sleeping issues because of my weight.

Turned out that a few hours after talking to Terry at the sleep clinic, someone called and cancelled and I will now be doing my test tomorrow night!  WOOT!

I don't know how you all do this. I really feel like somedays I can't continue on this WLS journey. My stress level is so high thinking about all the testing I have to do and being so scared of OHIP denying me. What do you do when your denied the thing you want most in your life? God, I hope I don't have to find out! 
I have started keeping a binder of all the information I can get on DS and of everything I have to do to get my OHIP application organized and put together. I am heading to my PCP this Thursday to ask her to write a letter for me and to send me for hip and knee xrays. I finally got Dr. Bishop to order a back xray for me. I want to have all three done at the same time, but it took me 2 calls of me being really pushy before Dr B would ok an xray. I am angry about this. Isnt your doctor supposed to be in your corner, gathering all info that pertains to your case? The first time I called him about an xray all I got was a message from his receptionist saying Dr B says to go ahead and get your PCP to order the xray as he doesnt need it for my application and wouldnt be submitted it with it anyways. I say WHAT!!?? Grrrrrrr...so I called and talked to that receptionist again. I told her how would a bad back and xrays not be a good thing for my application? She said.... Well (really snotty like) 80% of the population has back problems you know!  SAY WHAT!!!??? I said what does 80% of the population have to do with my WLS?!!? I want an xray! So she goes back to Dr B and I get another message (all nice and perky now) saying your xray request papers are ready. Ok, so now Im not sure I want to even involve Dr B anymore. I have decided that I am going to make another appoinment with him and call him out on the fact that I feel like he isnt backing me and half heartedly going through the steps with me. If Im not 100% convinced he is behind me, then I'm going to do this process through my PCP. I DO NOT need the extra stress of having a Dr who doesnt want to help me because Im not having the RNY. 
*sigh*
Anywho, on the plus side of things, I've managed to move my sleep apnea test up from May 25th to May 19th and I am at the top of the list for a cancellation. The bummer about the sleep apnea test is it takes approx. 1 month for my doc to get the results! Ouchies! I talked to the most wonderful lady there, Terry, and she told me she would talk to the techs and try to get them to push my results through quicker. That way I can apply sooner! :) I have my walk in with Dr Lim this week, Yearly check up with Dr Lim on the 22nd and got my abdomen Ultrasound moved from July 8th to May 29th! Apparently the results of my bloodwork came back and my PCP found something with my kidneys. Its an EGFR test? and my result was 66. Now the nurse who talked to me about it says they get LOTS of false positives for this test. *PHEW* But if it's not then this is something that can lead to Kidney failure. *YIKES* Fingers crossed Im a false positive! I get to go pee in a bottle today for the second part of the kidney test. Oh joy! Do they seriously not see how hard it is to pee in that small cup when you have a fat ass belly blocking your way!? LMAO!

Well after much research and discussion with other DS'ers I have decided that DS is for me (Let's hope OHIP thinks so too!). I met with Dr. Bishop again today to talk to him about my decision, and he didnt seem too eager. He kept warning me about the malnutrition side of it and other issues that may arise later on.  I tried to put him at ease by explaining my reasons and that I understood the risks. I know he had one other lady who requested DS, and at the time the surgery was done in two steps. Apparently she was happy with the sleeve and never went back for the second part of the operation. So to make a long story short, Dr. Bishop obviously does not have a lot of experience in dealing with patients who wish to pursue the DS surgery. I do intend on making a few more appointments with him before he submits my application. I definitely want to see what he writes for my application. I want it to be as strong as possible. I'm hoping I can get the approval and show Dr. Bishop that DS is a good surgery and that Dr. L is a great doctor to refer future patients too!
Anyways, I have my sleep apnea test on May 25th. Seems like soooo far away! I put myself on the cancellation list, so heres hoping I can get in earlier!