laura S.
Got my orientation date!
Jul 31, 2010
July 31, 2010
I don't know if anyone else ever reads these things, but I want to keep notes of my progress along the way so that I can look back and see my progress.
Well I finally took the big plunge and talked to my doctor about 6 months ago about weight loss surgery. I had recently switched doctors as my former family doctor just was not very approachable. My new doctor (Dr. Gannon... she's great!) was very open about this. I had pretty much prepared a complete presentation about what I wanted to do because I was so nervous to even bring it up in the first place. This is something I've been considering for about 4 years now and it was not a snap decision. I know it's going to be a battle, but I have to do something. I can't continue the way I am. I can't do anything anymore and I can't seem to lose the weight on my own. I was shaking when she finally came into the room, but she was wonderful and made me feel really good about my decision and praised me for having the guts to make it. She feels I'm an excellent candidate for weight loss surgery. She then sent me off to a sleep lab to have my sleep apnea diagnosed and get me a CPAP machine. Gave me something for my acid reflux problem as well. All this time I was afraid to go to my other doctor about any of the issues. He just made me feel like I was wasting his time and if I would just quit being so lazy, I could lose the weight.... What a difference with Dr. Gannon. She treats me like I'm human! Wow! I actually walk out of her office feeling good about myself!
It took about a month for the sleep study results and to get my CPAP machine. I have no idea how I lived without it before. I'm not sleepy all the time and it's way quieter than I thought it would be. Roger and I joke around about sounding like Darth Vader when I sleep, but what an improvement over a dying chainsaw!!!
My application was sent to the Hamilton "hub" for Bariatric Assessment, and then it was sent from there to Windsor. It went to Hamilton on February 25th and I got a letter in the mail on July 19th with instructions to call to set up an appointment for the mandatory Gastric Bypass Group Orientation. I will be attending the one on August 26th and Roger is going to take the afternoon off work and come with me. He has been wonderful through this. He is completely behind me, whatever decision I make. I don't think I would have had the guts to finally start this process without him.
I have been doing some reading about the surgery and results which is part of the homework! I knew this was not going to be easy, but there are a few things that I had never heard of before. The hair loss aspect is freaking me out to be honest. I've been losing hair on my own for the past few years and it's really scare to think that I'm going to lose a whole lot more. Might look into some wigs options just in case. Another one is the fact that you can't take a normal drink anymore. I drink a lot of water through the day, and from what I've read I won't be able to gulp or swallow a normal mouthful any longer. I'm really going to miss that. Along with all the other scary surgery-related problems that can arise, it's obvious to me that no one would just jump into this lightly. After losing so much weight I'm going to have to have more surgery to get ride of the excess skin and until that happens, that will just be lovely I'm sure! I wish I had never gotten to this point, but now that I am, I'm going to try to be positive and grin and bear the more negative aspects. Surely the weight loss and the ability to move normally and be active again will outweigh the other things! (Positive thinking!)
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I don't know if anyone else ever reads these things, but I want to keep notes of my progress along the way so that I can look back and see my progress.
Well I finally took the big plunge and talked to my doctor about 6 months ago about weight loss surgery. I had recently switched doctors as my former family doctor just was not very approachable. My new doctor (Dr. Gannon... she's great!) was very open about this. I had pretty much prepared a complete presentation about what I wanted to do because I was so nervous to even bring it up in the first place. This is something I've been considering for about 4 years now and it was not a snap decision. I know it's going to be a battle, but I have to do something. I can't continue the way I am. I can't do anything anymore and I can't seem to lose the weight on my own. I was shaking when she finally came into the room, but she was wonderful and made me feel really good about my decision and praised me for having the guts to make it. She feels I'm an excellent candidate for weight loss surgery. She then sent me off to a sleep lab to have my sleep apnea diagnosed and get me a CPAP machine. Gave me something for my acid reflux problem as well. All this time I was afraid to go to my other doctor about any of the issues. He just made me feel like I was wasting his time and if I would just quit being so lazy, I could lose the weight.... What a difference with Dr. Gannon. She treats me like I'm human! Wow! I actually walk out of her office feeling good about myself!
It took about a month for the sleep study results and to get my CPAP machine. I have no idea how I lived without it before. I'm not sleepy all the time and it's way quieter than I thought it would be. Roger and I joke around about sounding like Darth Vader when I sleep, but what an improvement over a dying chainsaw!!!
My application was sent to the Hamilton "hub" for Bariatric Assessment, and then it was sent from there to Windsor. It went to Hamilton on February 25th and I got a letter in the mail on July 19th with instructions to call to set up an appointment for the mandatory Gastric Bypass Group Orientation. I will be attending the one on August 26th and Roger is going to take the afternoon off work and come with me. He has been wonderful through this. He is completely behind me, whatever decision I make. I don't think I would have had the guts to finally start this process without him.
I have been doing some reading about the surgery and results which is part of the homework! I knew this was not going to be easy, but there are a few things that I had never heard of before. The hair loss aspect is freaking me out to be honest. I've been losing hair on my own for the past few years and it's really scare to think that I'm going to lose a whole lot more. Might look into some wigs options just in case. Another one is the fact that you can't take a normal drink anymore. I drink a lot of water through the day, and from what I've read I won't be able to gulp or swallow a normal mouthful any longer. I'm really going to miss that. Along with all the other scary surgery-related problems that can arise, it's obvious to me that no one would just jump into this lightly. After losing so much weight I'm going to have to have more surgery to get ride of the excess skin and until that happens, that will just be lovely I'm sure! I wish I had never gotten to this point, but now that I am, I'm going to try to be positive and grin and bear the more negative aspects. Surely the weight loss and the ability to move normally and be active again will outweigh the other things! (Positive thinking!)
About Me
London, ON
Location
33.9
BMI
Surgery
08/11/2011
Surgery Date
Jan 23, 2010
Member Since
