Three consults in one day...phew!

I did it. Drove more than four hours by myself and had my nutrition, surgeon and psych consults yesterday. Needless to say I am a bit pooped today. I was very happy with the surgeon and nutritionist. Now we wait until my last 6 month supervised diet appt in June, then the paperwork will be submitted for approval. Once I get that, we schedule surgery. In the meantime I am to get my blood work and upper GI (gross ).  The only glitch, and it may be a whopper, is that my doc's scale stopped being able to record my weight in the second month of the 6 mos. We will try to head off this problem before we submit though. I am gathering up steam to start my pre-op diet...will need to lose 25-30lbs. Not too bad . So if I didn't have this torn meniscus and swollen foot/knee which I am told I have to lay on my back with my foot higher than my heart for two weeks and wear a compression stocking that costs $60 (uh-huh, right!), I am a happy camper.  -Julie

Good update on your progress, Julie.  It sounds like you got a lot accomplished yesterday; feels good, doesn't it?  Stay focused in the home stretch of the pre-work you need to do to get approved.  Although I suspect it feels like things are moving at a snail's pace, trust that things are moving along as the universe intends.   Good luck for continued success on your journey! Kellie

Good for you, Julie!  you really accomplished a lot yesterday.  I will be praying that everything goes well for your last supervised diet visit and the paperwork submittal (or is it submisson????).  You'll do fine on the prep diet.  Just keep reminding yourself that every pound you lose preop is one less pound you have to lost post-op.  Anyway, go rest that knee!

Hugs, Tracy

Julie, Good luck to you in the last leg of the tests.  I truly believe that the pre-testing is the hardest part.  If you don't mind me asking, do you have lymphodema that you have to wear the stockings? Jeanne

Congratulations on getting so much done in one trip!  I'm glad to hear you like the surgeon and nutritionist.  I didn't think much of my nut.  The surgeon was great but the nut really didn't have much to offer.  But you should have a leg up (pun intended) with having done a six month diet. Good luck on the next step, Sally

I think you deserve a bigger star just for managing four hours in Boston traffic!  EEK! As far as elevating your leg, if you are able to sleep on your back, you could elevate it at night while you are sleeping.  I do this when my thigh feels like it wants to swell, and when I wake up in the morning, it's much better.  Not sure I'd bother with a compression stocking. Did you get weighed at any of your consults?  If so, your doctor can include something in your record indicating that you weigh XXX lbs as of this date and because their scale capacity is only xxx lbs, they were unable to accurately chart your weight.  I was lucky (?!) in that my HMO's Weight Management Program had a scale that weighed up to 600 lbs, so even if my doctor's scale didn't register high enough, I could go around the corner to the WMP Office and get weighed.  Happily, this is no longer a problem!  Pretty soon, it won't be a problem for you, either. Kix trying to figure out how I'm going to sleep when my dinner of sauteed liver (marinated in garlic and organic soy sauce from Whole Foods) hasn't even started to digest yet.

Yeah, the traffic was tough, but I ended up putting on my Mississippi Blue CD and singing my head off. With the windows open . Luckily, it was just a matter of crawling for most of the time, but I was shocked later on to see people driving in the breakdown lane as if it was a third lane. And this when the traffic was much lighter and moving at 70MPH. Look, I'll own that I too can be a Massachusetts driver at times, as I had to drive into and around Boston to get my license, but even I know you can't do that!!! My WMP is up in Boston. We had no idea the scale would be a problem. We are going to find out if there is any scale in town I can use, as this one goes higher than most (oy veh!) I saw my PCP Tuesday and she is checking with my insurance to try to head off any problems. Kix, your numbers are so inspiring. I wish I could see pictures. Someday, huh? -Julie