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I finally have a date! My DS surgery will be Feb 9 with Dr Inman at St Vincent's Hospital in Carmel, Indiana.

Conveniently, this hospital is just down the road from my house, for which I am very grateful whenever I read about others here who have to travel across the US or to other countries to get their DS. It is very easy to take for granted that I have one of the good DS surgeons in my backyard!

I have my pre-op tests and physical on Jan 18. I m currently trying to get down 10 lbs (okay, those are the 10 I seemingly gained since early October consultation, stressing out about this process and of course, the recent holidays). I don't know if I will be put on a pre-op liver diet, but I am doing it anyway for myself. My surgery is supposed to be lap instead of open and i'd like to keep it that way! I already have a nasty c-sec scar from my belly button to my pubic bone (intersecting with 2 bikini c-sec cuts) . I have this fantasy that I can still wear a bikini before I am 45. Someday...

I am so happy that I got this date in February. At our last support group meeting, the nurse was throwing out late March or April as probable dates based on what she knew of the schedule at the surgeon's office. Yikes! When another OHer got Feb 3, I was like "hmmmm", but maybe that was just a cancellation she was fit into. Then I was given Feb 9 on Tuesday of this past week! Wow! That gives me hope for this Summer. I wanted to run some 5K this summer and i didn't want to have yet another Lane Bryant Summer. Before I gained the weight back after my last non-surgical attempt, I was wearing XXLs and some XLs from Old Navy and Target. I was almost in size 16! (I did wear a size 16 dress). I wouldn't even go NEAR the plus section at Target! I also was doing the same at TJ Maxx. I thought i'd never see LB again, but one knee injury and boom...it comes back so, so quickly. DS will change that.

So yes, the next month is full of appointments (I am also on an activity study thru the hospital for bariatric patients) and prepping for surgery and its aftermath. I am also looking forward to 2 local DS meetups where I can finally be one of those people with a date...and hope.

 So I was approved shortly after my last blog update, but had a snafu when someone approved the wrong CPT code (I was approved for RNY). That got fixed up quickly before turkey day and now I wait, wait, wait to get a date, date, date. 

In the meantime, I turned down holiday events back when i started this process in late Sept because I thought it would be speedier. Fool! And then I haven't booked Jan/Feb/March/April (or AT ALL in 2011) because of the unknowns. Do you know what that means? No money! 

I called the scheduler at the surgeon's office to poke. Left a msg. And I wait. I will try again tomorrow...

I just posted an album of photos titled "The Befores". It's not really fair because it doesn't have any current photos of myself and none of me at my highest. I have been very careful of photos of myself lately  -- i am either NO PHOTOS or very good with angles. It's amazing how many old friends on FB still have no idea I am this overweight. Almost all of the photos I have were in my "loss" phase a year and a half ago.  I wish I could have kept that up, but once I stopped killing myself at the gym (hurting my knee in the end) and starving myself, it went up, up, up again! 

I did cancel my LA Fitness membership because I just can't keep giving those idiots money. I joined a locally owned gym and will start hitting the treadmills as soon as I get some longer workout pants (my capris are too cold for this weather!)

I called the insurance company last Monday to check to see if they received my pre-certifcation paperwork. And they did!!! I decided to just go ahead and call myself since the letter hadn't come yet from Inman's office telling me whether or not they had everything they needed to send it in (I didn't receive their letter until Friday).  They told me they received everything earlier that day and it would take as much as 3-5 to review. Okay...fantastic!

Well, that didn't stop me from calling daily all last week to check. I read too many "Anthem approved me in 3 hours" posts in the forums that gave me hope this would be quicker. I got to know Phil, who answered most of the phone calls and was really nice about helping me. Today, the maximum of the days it is supposed to take, I get a grumpy mean lady who doesn't really want to help. I guess she didn't have her coffee yet? I should have waited to call until later, but I was anxious. I will try again later tonight since they are on California time. Maybe I can ask for Phil to help me? 

In the meantime, all of this waiting is stressing me out. I am not sure if I am normally a big stress eater, but I am NOW!  

I am going to update this blog with photos and try to do this blogging thing more often. I am inspired by a new friend I met who is a member here! Long funny story, but I am still WOWing over it hours after finding out today that she is a WLS chick too! I would have never guessed!!! I am so happy to have met her though!!!!! 

My consultation with Dr Inman was Oct 14 after the group presentation that day. Very quick with her, since I really don't any co-morbids or major concerns other than I may or may not have scar tissue from a vertical cut from my third c-section. Otherwise, she approved me having lap instead of open. The next day I did my Pscyh appointment with Dr Stowe and then I did a NUTR appointment. 

I went to my first DS support group this Tuesday. Amazing to see people from OH in person (even though i've been pretty much lurking). If you thought "After" pics were inspiring, seeing people live is even more so!

I may have been too antsy to move forward. I emailed the benefits coordinator at Inman's office to ask her if I had everything in order and I guess I have to wait until 3 weeks after my consultation to receive a letter from their office. Sigh...okay. I guess reading everyone's posts about their consultation and then insurance approval taking just a few days is asking too much when there is just one doctor who does DS in Indianapolis, much less the entire state! Also, everyone mentions phone calls from their offices, never have I read about anyone waiting for a letter. So next week I will be stalking the mailman....

I would love to at least know my date before my 40th birthday. I know it won't happen by then (end of Nov), but just to know the answer to 20 years of dealing with this weight will be coming!