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Good morning....I usually don't start with "good" in front of "morning"....but today, well today is a GREAT morning! My surgery went well, not a single problem. I had a hernia that I did not even KNOW I had, that was repaired. I did not use any pain meds the day after surgery and still have not, I feel great. This morning I weighed myself just to see if anything is happening, and to my surprise I have lost 13 lbs already! I can only pray for myself that this continues to be as smooth going as it is now. Thank you everyone for the support and kind words that were sent. Obesity Help rocks!

Well....it has been quite some time since I posted to my blog...more than 2 years! That is how long it has taken me to get my surgery finally approved. It has been a very long and stressful wait for me, I am so glad it is finally here. What happened between Nov of 2006 and today? Well let me tell you.....

I was originally with Kaiser through my work and had gone through most of their hoops to get my surgery done. My mom got sick in March of 2007 and we discovered she had cancer of the esophagus caused from years of acid reflux. They caught her cancer at a very ealry stage and they wanted to do surgery to remove it. That surgery involved somewhat of a modified gastric bypass. Well, my mom did not make it through surgery and was laid to rest on May 31st 2007. This really stressed me out and I decided to pass on the bypass for fear of loosing my life. That feeling lasted for a few months but I then realized the risks of NOT having the surgery were greater than staying obese so I decided to move on with the surgery. I continued in the program that Kaiser set and I basically had to start over. I was weeks away from receiving a surgery date in late March 2008 when I received the news from my employer that they were dropping Kaiser and moving us to Western Health Advantage on April 1st 2008. I fought and fought with WHA over the next few months to accept my Kaiser records and approve me for surgery, to no avail. I lost the first appeal, I lost the second appeal, I lost the case through the California Department of Managed Health Care. So, I had no choice but to follow WHA's program for 6 months and complete their requirements. 2 years, 6months and 40lbs lost later, I received my approval letter on 4-17-2009. Dr. Machado's office called me on 4-21-09 with a Surgery date of May 4th 2009. OMG 2 weeks!....in 2 weeks my life will change forever and I cant WAIT! I guess this is enough for now, see you on the other side of this battle soon!
CHAD

I went to my psych evaluation and nutritionist 1 on 1 November 13, 2006. The nutritionist set me up with some really good pre-op meal plans ( I am a super picky eater!) that I should be able to follow no problem. So far I have lost 7 lbs and have about 32 to go to meet my pre-op goal to get a surgery date.

My psych eval seemed to go very smoothly also, the questions were short and easy to answer. The psychiatrist was very nice and she made it sound like I was ready to go to the next level....but she would not comment on what she was going to submit so I will have to wait and see I guess. 

It seems to me like it is taking forever even though I know it is not...i just wich I could have the surgery and start losing BIG pounds. Oh well, I waited 34 years, I guess I can wait a few more months LOL.

I officially started my journey on a path towards a better me. I had my very first "bariatric" appointment today. I went to a 3.5 hour orientation class, and a 2 hour lifestyle change class. Both classes are held by the bariatric team that will perform my surgery. It is the first step Kaiser Permanente requires for bariatric patients. I have a better understanding of what I am looking at, and what changes I will need to make for the rest ofmy life.