rumpole6

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Since my appointment for my sleep study is one month away and will affect my surgery date, I cleverly got on the waiting list to try to hurry thing along. Well, I got a call yesterday for yesterday night and I was unprepared for that short notice since I have work responsibilities and since I have a 2 hour commute each way I would not have been able to get home, pack a bag, eat, and get to the sleep center.

So, I decided to pack a "go" bag and keep it in my car so if I get a call I can accept the slot.

Since the diagnosis, I seem ten times worse to me and I really want to get treatment, never mind the surgery

Well, last night I spent a troubling night, the details of which I won't go into here, but I woke up with anxiety dreams and had a very difficult time falling back asleep. I am already a (diagnosed) poor sleeper so I am really dragging my rear end around today. Also, I am not thinking clearly and my mind is not even tracking correctly. Case In Point. I have an exhaustion headache going so I went to the medicine cabinet to get a few Tylenol extra strength. Well, I popped one in my mouth and I walked back to my desk. Then I realized that I forgot to swallow the silly thing!. I mean, really? I remembered to take the med but I forgot to swallow it?

So, I got my sleep study results yesterday and I was pretty much taken aback by how bad the results were. Things were the worst during REM sleep, my oxygen levels dropped during the night, I got no deep sleep. That is as in zero, nothing, nada. Things are better on my side, which is interesting since I prefer to sleep on my side. So of course I will need a CPAP which at first seemed like a hardship. But now I am thinking if it actually makes a difference it will be a good thing. I hope that as the weight situation improves I can go off the machine. But there are no guarantees.

Of course, my wife is not looking forward to sleeping with someone wearing a machine, but maybe if I am more "available" she will be won over.

I think I just made that word up. Anywho, I don't know if its the diagnosis or what, but I seem awfully tired even more than usual. So I will see the Dr on Monday to review the results, but the sleep center staff called me to see if I could make an earlier appointment for the second sleep study and fitting. So I know what's coming.

I've been main lining caffeine to keep going even though its against  Drs orders but I gotta get through the days. I already know I am working on the weekend so that means one less day of catch-up sleep. I am dreading getting the machine, yet looking forward to feeling less tired. It will be interesting to see how much the apnea  is contributing to the tiredness versus other factors such as weight, long days, stress, etc.

I was really starting to get nervous and afraid  and hopeful as my list of insurance hoops dwindles. I thought I was down to only needing the  psych consult and one more month of medical weight management before if was time to submit to insurance. But when I checked my messages last night, I found one from the sleep center asking for a call back at my earliest convenience. Utoh! When I called today the word from the pulmonary doc's staff that the results from my sleep study were in and 1) had sleep apnea  2) and a needed a second sleep study to determine the proper settings for my CPAP machine. No one told me about this second study might be a possibility.

So, I am a little bit upset... No one on my medical team (but me) is surprised at this diagnosis, both the surgeon and the pulmonologist both said they would be very surpized if I didn't have it, but i expected a mild case, nothing to be really concerned about  and hey, what's one more co-morbidity to convince the insurance company that my sleeve is required.  But now I am looking at having to sleep on a machine plus there is now a new requirement for insurance which is something called compliance which I have to demonstrate for a month. I think this diagnosis is early enough if I get the second sleep study in quickly to have a month to demonstrate compliance to contemplate surgery in July.

In a way it will be interesting to see how much fatigue I am suffering because of the apnea and how much is attributed to other causes. I had attributed it to long days 12 hrs 5days a week and age (58) but now I have to face up to the fact that the apnea is a contributing factor.

So, i guess it will all workout. thanks for listening.

Hey gang,

Last week I got my pulmonary clearance but I still need a sleep study. That is set for May 7. I didn't realize that would be such a long lead time; everything else seems to happen quickly. I need my 2nd month of medical weight management of which I am not sure what to expect since I had the first one at the same time as the surgical consult. I am guessing it will be more of the same: How to eat sanely. Which I already know how to do but somehow rarely do.

I also have to get a barium swallow yet. And the Psych evaluation.

I am still having a lot of fears: I read a story of a guy who still managed to eat a whole pizza, just a little bit at a time. He gained a lot of weight back. Or the woman who managed to get her entire dessert down, just a little bit at a time. Still the fact that it still take that long to consume gives me hope that there will be more time to shut the behavior down. When you eat a whole pizza in a single sitting, sometimes its gone before you even know you've eaten it. I had originally hoped that kind of thing would be impossible after the surgery, but apparently not so I better plan on dealing with it.

In the past I have always done better on a 3 meals a day plan with no snacks. It seems that once I start eating it is very difficult to stop. So I am concerned about this eating every 2-3 hours approach. It presents a lot more opportunities to fail. Having the smaller tummy should help shutting down. i hope.

I also decided to worry about surgical pain and how long that will last. I am getting the arthroscopic version to minimize the risk and the pain  but I mean there was no pain after getting my stents, but there was really no incision there at all. My dietician says make sure to get a pain prescription before you leave the hospital, but i am already worried about being able to take my pills post-op. An she saying that means yes there will be pain.

Hi All,

My screen name is rumpole6 and I just started on this journey. I am hoping to get the sleeve. I already selected my surgeon and I know my insurance company will help me pay for the operation assuming we can demonstrate medical necessity. I already have the backing of my PCP and I got the clearance from my cardiologist. On Monday I will be seeing the Pulmonolgist who may or may not recommend a sleep study. I still need a barium swallow, psych eval, two more sessions of medical weight management and then I think we can ask the insurance for approval.

I am a married, 58 year old male. I have two children, a boy and a girl. I work crazy long hours so its hard to get to the gym. I work in the city so I get a good amount of walking in, but as the doc says, I could do more.

My health is not the greatest (understatement). My BMI is around 38, I have 2 stents in my arteries, I am a diabetic, and I have high blood pressure. I am very tired of taking all my pills.

I have tried and failed on practically every diet you can name: Atkins, The grapefruit diet, low carb, low sugar. I did manage to lose 100 lbs on WeightWatchers but I couldn't keep the weight off. One of my main concerns is when I hear of people who fail to maintain even with the sleeve, which I am told doesn't stretch much. I mean, Its got to be better than I am now. I can see how very easy it would be to consume tons of calories over a day but still I can't see how it won't always be less. But I guess I am wrong about that.

So I am very concerned about maintenance. I hope with the support I get from here and other places will help me to tame my demons. I went to OA for a while and I thought that was on the right track, but I got bogged down with the religious aspect of that program.

Here are some goals:

1) Get off the diabetes medication

2) Significantly reduce the blood pressure medicine

3) Have more energy

4) Buy clothes in the regular department and not the big/tall shops

5) Not having a food centered life