~~~ Triple C. ~.

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Well I'm finally updating my profile again....where to begin..hmmm?

First off, I am thinking I will change surgeons (yes after all I went through to see the surgeon in Sedalia). I'm still on the fence right now about this issue. However, I do have a "profile package" in with another surgeon. I'm a little nervous about the new surgeon because he only does Lap RNY and doesn't do WLS on anyone with a BMI over 60. I'm just really concerned that I will keep gaining as I have been (I know, bad me *L*) and he will turn me away.

I guess the reason for me wanting to change is because I have more confidence in his staff when it comes to working with my insurance. He also has a whole team in place for all pre-op needs including a psychologist. I had to find my own with the Surgeon in Sedaila, wasn't a easy feat either. I have also since found out that since my insurance requires psych evaluations, that they also pay from them as well....Yipppppeeeee!

I have not had my consultation set up with the new surgeon yet, just turned in my info packet to them. They actually send in a letter of medical necessity to the insurance company, wait for feedback and then set you up with a surgeon's consult. Sedaila actually set you with the consult then send you out to get all they "may be" required by your insurance company before they seek approval. So needless to say, I'm trying to fufill commitments to both right now.

I have been on the lookout from others with my insurance for what they were required to do for approval. I was just told by someone with my very same insurance that BCBS of MN are requiring 12 months SUPERVISED DIETING for every one who wants to have WLS. This is supposed to be a rule implimented since 12/15/05. I feel like I've been GUT PUNCHED :~(. While I realize that this could be a good thing I can't help but feel REAL depressed about it. I have been dieting none stop since I was 18 yrs old. I know that lots of people have and I just feel like I will be slapped again with disappointment of failing another diet again. I'm soooo frustrated about this. I could see something like 6 mos. supervised dieting but 12 months....gggggrrrrrrrr!!!

I have to admit that I don't know this to be a rule for sure, however, the person that told me this said that her Bariatric Coordinator told her this about the supervised diet, a new rule from BCBS of MN. My husband is equally as frustrated, noone knows more than he does how hard I've been trying to lose weight with success followed by a close failure. He has been there the whole time and he has done every diet I've ever tried. I'm more irritated because I have let weight loss consume my life to the detriment of my family. I feel like I'm being selfish more and more everyday. Only I have no real control over it right now. I need help, I need this TOOL to help me have the life that I need to have for me and my family. I would give anything to start my journey right now!

I must admit that I have thought about just giving up and not even trying to get the surgery. Stupid I know but I just feel like I don't have another "diet" in me right now. I'm a very broken person right now as it is, my mental state is very compromised right now. I know that I want to lose weight but I JUST NEED HELP!

I was told that I should write a letter to my insurance company since my med records are lacking. You see, I have not been to the doctor's enough in the last 5 yrs. However, I have been doing nothing but dieting, only I've been doing it on my own. I was tired of going to doc's only to be told that I NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT.
N-O D-U-H!!!!. It was humiliating and I just didn't want to be told I need to lose weight....this when I've come to the doc's to be seen for a COLD. So now I'll end up suffering the consequences for not going to the doc's to be humiliated.

All that said, I will continue to try to lose weight on my own for now until I decide what I want to do. But I WILL have my doc make not of it. It's a good thing my pcp seems to understand!

Bye for now,
                            Triple C.

Well I'm pretty excited today. I got an  e-mail telling me to call the surgeon's office and make an appointment for a consult. I can't believe how fast they called me. I finished my profile with them on Monday in the late afternoon and now I'm scheduled for a Surgeon Consult already. My appointment will be on Wenes. the 18th @ 3:00 p. I have no idea what to expect either, I asked the lady who help me set up the appt. and she just said it was a consult with the surgeon.

Never the less, I'm still excited because I'm moving forward and that's what I wanted is to move forward. I'm currently trying to help my mom get going with her WLS journey. She will probably use a different surgeon but she hopes to get hers done soon as well.

Gotta run now....will check back in later.
                           Triple C

Just wanted to update again.

I'm pretty excited because I finally turned my initial paperwork in to Dr. Hornbostel in Sedalia. I made it to the seminar that he has once a month. I was 30 mins late and very embarrassed about it, uuuuggggg! I used the direction and yahoo map from this site. However the directions from this site are to get to his office in Sedalia. He holds the seminar at another location. So instead of me making sure of the location that day, I called to get the seminar time but did not confirm the location for it. Biiiiiggggg mistake! My husband and I get to Sedalia @ about 5:45 p. The seminar starts @ 6 p., so I think this is o.k because I have 15 mins to find this place. Low and behold we have the wrong location and since the office hrs are until 5:30 p. I believe,... we were at a lost as to what to do

Now I realize when I get there, that you can't get in to see Dr. H without going to his seminar first. He has only one seminar a month, I did not want to wait another month. I'd already missed the one in Dec. because of a really bad snow storm, I wasn't going to miss another month. Now normally I would have said forget it if I have to show up somewhere 30 mins late. But I just could not wait one more month, I want to get going with things before I lose my nerves, which seems to be happening daily.

So after calling over to his office, I got the voicemail which gives offices hours and they had a message for emergencies to call the hospital. So I thought since the surgeries are done at the hospital, maybe just maybe they could tell me where Dr. H. holds his monthly WLS seminars. Mind you, this is after we go to a pharmacy close by Dr. H's office and asked them if they knew anything about Dr. H's seminars. Of course they didn't. Well the lady that answered the phone at the hospital in Sedaila said she didn't know where he held them now but Dr. H. used to hold them at the First Christian Church on 32nd street. So I tell her that I am from Lexington and had never been to Sedalia and asked if she could direct me to the church. She said she had not been living in Sedalia very long so she couldn't give directions. She offered to go find someone in the building that could help. She took a loooonnnng time and I just couldn't afford to wait as I was on my cell phone and my battery was running down.

Our next place to get direction for the FCC on 32nd street was from a gas station. So my husband goes in and gets directions, and on our way we go. We finally make it in the dark night and low lit streets of Sedalia, to the FCC. Guess what, THE MEETINGS ARE NOT HELD THERE EITHER......OMG. I felt all of my energy draining from me at that point because it is now 6:18 and I hate to be late (notice, I said "I", my dh doesn't care if he's late to anything. He is a procrastinator by nature. We usually take seperate cars alot and this is why).

As we approach the door of FCC there was a really nice guy there. I didn't catch his name. But he said that there were other groups meeting there that night but Dr. H's seminar was not one of them. However he was so nice as to call around and find out which church is was held at. Trinity Lutheran Church, was the church the very nice man had directed us too. I could have kissed this man for his very kind help. Not only did he greet us with a handshake upon meeting him, he also invited us in and then called around to figure out the answer the we would have never gotten had he not been standing there or been at the church that night. Bless his heart indeed and though I know that he won't get to ever read this but THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP AND FOR BEING SO KIND TO ME AND MY HUSBAND!

So all said and done, I have officially picked Dr. H. And though I was late, I was there long enough to satisfy what I wanted to know. I really liked his attitude and his confidence levels. I also liked his open honesty and how you could just tell he was just feeding us text book stuff. He also seems to really be abreast of the latest studies pertaining to bariatric surgery. It was definitely different then the other seminars that I'd gone to.

The thing that stuck with me most was at the end of the seminar. His last words to us was (not a direct quote but summarizing his point). "It doesn't matter if you come to Surgical Services of Sedalia for your WLS or not. Please go to someone who does these surgeries everyday. Not someone that has done 5 over the last 5yrs. or to someone not doing these surgeries often, BECAUSE YOU WILL GET HURT"!

His last words have been my thoughts all along. I have been checking out several seminars as to be able to make a wise decision on my choice of surgeon. I don't want to be one of those people who does not check things (especially the surgeon) out and have regrets about my surgery or choice of surgeon. Yes I realize that things can go wrong with ANY surgeon. But it sure helps if they are doing these surgeries often and if they have a very good track record. I want to lessen my odds of injury/complications, as much as I can. And that can only be lessened with a good quality surgeon, IMO!

Now I wait for my call from Dr. H's office to tell me when I can make a consult with Dr. H. I'm soooooo excited now!

More to come later......
                            Triple C.

Happy New Year!!! It is really surreal that it is 2006 already, where does the time go?

Well back to update.....

I went to for a physical and a full lab work up as I hadn't been to the doc's in years. This was actually my first full lab work up since being preggos in 1999-2000. I was a bit nervous because I don't really trust doc's and since I was actually seeing a new physican, I was even more anxious.

So I went in to see Dr. Spurlock and she was great. She questioned me about my weight. Now normally this would be my most least liked part of the the doc's appointment, I'm so used to going to the doc's with one problem (not weight related) and having my current issues ignored or told that I'm having said problem because of my weight. Hence why I just quit going to the doc's, yes I know that was a bad idea but I've been a pretty healthy person up till this point so I skipped out on yearly exams.

Anywho, to my surprise Dr. S was not opposed to WLS. She told me that I was still young and WLS would be a good idea as to avoid future weight related illnesses and possible crippling. I was very delighted to have her on board with me and my decision to have WLS.

My lab work results from 12/28/05, came back pretty favorable except I have an UNDER ACTIVE THYROID ! I'm a little discouraged about this because I know that this is probably why I have battled so hard the whole last year to lose weight and had been very unsuccessful. I am happy about the fact that she has put me on meds so that I can get rid of the awful fatigue that I have developed lately which was unbeknownst to me relate to a undetected thyroid problem. I've read about hypothyroidism before but didn't really think I had the symptoms. Or it could've been more of the fact that I didn't want to acknowledge the fact that I'd had several symptoms pointing to hypo-T. Either way I'm happy to be taking care of it now.

I've been searching out surgeons to do my WLS. I was contacted by a place call Liv-Lite in Junction City, Ks. I'm happy they contacted me because I should have already gotten my process going. I have been dragging my feet. I've already been to a couple of seminar and know that I want to have WLS but something is still causing me to move in slow motion about it. My only reservation is that Liv-Lite is about 3.5 hours (could be more like 4hrs) away from where I live. Well we are having vehicle issues right now so dh isn't to happy about driving a distance aspect of me getting  the surgery done. Problem is, from where we live everything will be quite a "driving distance" from our home. Travel times could range anywhere from 1hr. up to 4 hr drive times. If we weren't having vehicle issues and a tight budget right now he wouldn't be so concerned. I understand his feelings but will likely not let travel times/distances stand in the way of picking a good surgeon with whom *I* feel/am comfortable with.

Right now I have so many thoughts running through my mind right now. I really think I over analyze things to much. Often to the point of not being able to make a good decision about things. I mean I'm pretty confident and have gotten rid of most of my surgery fears. I'm now so consumed with whether the WLS program that I chose will have a great after care program and where do I go from where I'm at now. I'm awaiting a package in the mail from Liv-Lite soon. However, I am planning to go to another seminar with dr. Hornbostel in Sedalia. I've secretly been holding out for him (hence the whole me dragging my feet thing I guess *L*, hmmmm I guess I answered my own question about why I'm moving in slow motion) I really like all the reveiws and what his patients have had to say about him and his after care program. His next seminar will be this coming Wenes. (1/04/06). Last month we had an awful snow storm the night of his seminar and I couldn't make it. I'm thinking I'd be a month into my process now had it not been for the s-storm. Dr. H only has seminars once a month from what I understand.

I am getting antsy, this even though I've been dragging my feet on getting the process done. Now that I've decided this is what I want to do, I just want to get it over with before I lose my nerves. Weird I know *L* but I have issues that way!

Well I've rambled enough for now, I'm off to finish up dinner. Hopefully in my next update I will be able to unveil who my surgeon will be for sure and stop it with the teeter tottering. Also hope to have a possible surgeon consult date as well....

"Getting all of my business fixed in 2006"
                          Triple C.

O.k. a little about me. I'm a 30 yr old mother of 3 or my precious trio as I like to refer to them *LOL*.
                          
I've been married to my DH for 11 yrs (will be 12 yrs this coming April 29th). We were both 18 almost 19 yrs when we got married. It's been a tumultous journey but our love grows stronger everyday because of it!

I have been overweight all of my life but I was in denial about it for most of my life. I would attribute my weight issues to the fact that my mom believed in feeding a baby/child until the child is/was satisfied. She has even telling me stories of her taking issues with my pediatrician, he'd tell her I was getting to fat an she'd say as long as I was quite and happy she'd keep feeding me to satisfy me. She carried this theory through life I guess. I also believe some of it to be genetic also.

Alot of people in my family are obese/overweight. Living in poverty and learning to eat a healthy diet was definitely not a priority! My mom has been obese all of my life (although I'm sure she'd disagree with me..... can you see why I was able to stay in denial *L*). I now have my own daughter who is overweight. Though I'm better at watching my children's diet, I could do better with it. I don't want either of them to have to live what I am living right now.

I have gone to 2 WLS seminars to date. I am holding out for one more since having read some reviews that this dr. has received via this website. I considered Dr. Hitchcock in Shawnee Mission (I actually have my paper work filled out already for him just haven't sent it in yet) because my DH and I were really intrigued by him at his seminar on 11/15. The only reason I haven't turned in the paper work that I have filled out is because I have heard so many positive things about Dr. Hornbostel in Sedalia. I've mostly been impressed with what I've read about his after care program. But Dr. Hitchcock impressed me with his whole team that works with you during your WLS journey.

Dr. Hornbostel has a seminar on 1/4/06 and I will be attending that one and will definitely be getting my paper work in the mail after that.

I have also been battling with my own issues. I haven't been to the Dr. in yrs. I just had a Gyno appointment on 12/13 (last one was in 03') and didn't even request copies of my records so that I can forward it to the proper facilities. I'll have to work on that after I know who I will be turning paper work in to. I have an appointment to get a full lab and physical on 12/28. I'm a bit nervous because I"m so overweight and have no idea what will come from this visit.

I've been very lucky to this point, I've had no major illness or surgeries in my life. But I know that this will not be the case forever. I have an aunt who was just diagnosised with type 2 diabetes this yr. She is 46 yrs old, she has never had a major illness till this point in her life. On the other hand, my mom has Hypertension and Arthiritisis in several places throughout her body. She has just recently been diagnosised with Bipolar also. I don't want to meet with any of this illnesses or issues so I want to take control of my life and my health NOW! 

I had my blood pressure checked and it was 124/83. I was shocked to know that it was not elevated with me being as heavy as I am. I have just recently began to have problems with my joints hurting, my knees hurting and I can't stand for very long because my lower back can not stand it. I also have been dealing with heartburn a lot lately.

The reason I want to have WLS is that I need to improve my quality of life and become a healthy and vibrant role model for my children. I feel that is the most crucial part for me.

I have become quite the recluse lately. I have been above 300 lbs since my first pregnancy in 1995. Even though I have always been large in my adult life I never let it hamper my spirits though. I've always been pretty out going and confident about myself. I had a motto, "It doesn't matter if you are fat, as long as you can pretty it up, all would be fine". Well this was until I could no longer find clothes to "pretty up my fat". I've become more and more depressed over the last year and I am at my all time low when it comes to depression. In 2002 I'd lost 80lbs by walking, resistant training and ephedra based products. I have since gained it back and then some. It all started with my DH lost his job suddenly which made us have to move and a bunch of other down spirals to follow.

I have in the last 10 yrs lost 80lbs on my on twice. The last time I put so much work into getting those 80lbs off, my mind just can't seem to get out of "defeated mode" to attempt weight loss again. I have been dieting off and on ever since and now I'm at my all time high for my weight...go figure huh! But I was not able to keep it off and now I feel so defeated that I just can't seem to attempt to lose weight again without some sort of help.

Well, since I've rambled on for a while I suppose I will sign off of my profile now.....Have a good one all and thanks for reading!

                            "Forgiveness is a powerful thing"
                                       Triple C.