Salathia S.

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yay @ i've been featured on the monthly "Spotlight" on a natural hair website. woohoo ... check it out!
http://www.motowngirl.com/index.php/mg-spotlight-salathia.html 

today, i had 3 voicemails, back to back. THREE? back to back? SRSLY?
vmail #1: my surgeon's office: "WE HAVE APPROVAL FOR YOUR SURGERY".
vmail #2: my insurance: "WE HAVE AUTHORIZATION FOR YOUR SURGERY".
vmail #3: behavioral health: "DO YOU HAVE AUTHORIZATION OR A DATE YET?"

are they in freaking sync or WHAT?! so excited. i didn't get to speak w/my surgeon's ofc in time [they closed early today], so i will call them bright & early monday to schedule my consult - which is when i'll get my DAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE :)

MAN! so excited! this means that 2 to 3 weeks from now, i will be on the LOSING SIIIIIIDE! man. FINALLY! 

i'll have a vLog up in a little while :) promise.

[edit]here's the vLog! it's a rambly one but ... WHATEV! lol http://www.youtube.com/sheschanging[/edit]

so ... Christmas week brought a huge blizzard to the Great State of Oklahoma. what does that mean? that means i drove through complete WHITE for 16 hours to get home to my family [the drive is usually THREE hours].

it also means that i managed to NOT get stuck through all of that whiteness, but i eventually DID get stuck when i was mere MINUTES from my sister's house. 
while being stuck, i rocked my car back & forth [drive, reverse, drive, reverse, drive ... you get the idea] to TRY to get my teeny car out of that impossible situation. didn't work. eventually, some sweet angels came along and pulled my car out. but guess what? 

my transmission had already been strangled. HORRIBLE! so yeah ... the surgery? probably going to come somewhere around the END of january, rather than the middle ... possibly even the beginning of february - but i'm keeping my prayers focused on january!

waiting for a cab right now to come swish me off to work ... the guy's got 3 minutes before the time he's supposed to be here - make that 2. i'm hoping he's RIGHT ON TIME, rather than LATE! 

regardless of all the crap - HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone! God bless!

alright ... i know the last update i said everything had been submitted to my insurance, but um ... i guess i was wrong! i turned in everything to my surgeon's office the day of my last primary care physician visit, but sherry [f/my surgeon's ofc] had a hard time getting in touch with jill [my insurance case mgr].

i rly don't have many complaints, but that is my one peeve. it is crazy difficult to get in touch w/my case mgr - but don't get me wrong, i don't even think it's her fault! they're just always busy! there have been a couple of times where i've left more than one message and never had a call back.

anyway ... i called the insurance case mgr and asked her what was the best time for my surgeon's ofc to get in touch w/her so we could get the ball rolling - she told me she'd call them as soon as we got off the phone. next day, i called back and everything had FINALLY been submitted for approval!

you know i wanted to have my surgery before Christmas, but i'm not upset it didn't happen on the date i wanted ... mainly because money has been SO funky lately, and i've got an extra paycheck now that is going to allow me to get more things. money's been pretty tight, anyway.

i'm calling either my surgeon or insurance on tuesday to get an update on my approval so i can get my "official consult" started.

more updates to come!!! [by the way ... Christmas dinner was SO bangin lol]
merry LATE Christmas, loves!

so, yeah ... the waiting game. tomorrow is monday, so i'll be calling my surgeon to see if they've heard anything from my insurance. ya know, i wanted to have my surgery before Christmas, but i'm obviously going to have it after Christmas. FINE, ya know? i just need a date or some news or SOMETHING to stop me from driving MYSELF nuts. LOL.

i've found a positive in not having the surgery BEFORE Christmas, though. it gives me a couple extra weeks to get things i need. all of my pre-op diet food, my post op broths & some more protein. vitamins, too. [well, i have some of those, but i could always have MORE, ya know? never wanna be behind on those.]

wanted to say something really quickly: i think many of us know people who have gotten lax on taking their vitamins. they seem to be fine, too, right? well, i saw a post from a young lady here on OH who is in major health trouble because of vitamin deficiency. she has trouble walking w/o a walker & has nerve damage, for Christ's sake. so look ... i know that we all have different opinions on vitamins: taking regular vitamins vs. taking vitamins specially formulated for wls patients.
whatever your view, though - take SOMETHING.

aaaaanywho. my big post-op plan: PICTURES! i've got to find an amazing photog to snap some pictures of me. and i decided i want to take some vintage themed pictures, too. specifically pictures like my grandmother. she has these amazing pictures ... my fav is the one of her in her wedding dress [1937], looking over her shoulder. then, there's one sometime in the 40's where she's standing against a brick wall, looking so chic in this pant suit. yeah. i think it'll be really cute :)

so! i don't remember if i mentioned it before, buuuut i document this journey on my youtube vLog. the latest video i posted is featuring my 2 1/2 yr old niece, Sophia. i was going to do one with my 18 yr old niece, mika, but didn't get a chance. [there is one with her boyfried, peyton, & my nephew, mandrale].

anyway ... visit the vLog! http://www.youtube.com/sheschanging SUBSCRIBE! leave comments! ;)

vLog 9.2 featuring Sophi!

so ... the surgery? i'm not scared of it. i've got God on my side so um yeah - no spirit of fear there. the thing i'm ANXIOUS about? forgetting things. not being prepared enough. so i've started buying things! not really clothes [which, i probably should start buying some pants, at least, since the pants i wear NOW already fall off my butt ... lol]

today, i bought the protein sample pack from Bariatric Eating [.com]. i'm not the protein expert, ok? i've only "HALF" tasted a protein shake. [i mixed some protein powder in one of my fruit smoothies]. in reality, i know that some fruit may have too much natural sugar for my famous fruit smoothies - so i need to have a REAL protein drink. their sample pack is pretty awesome, though. [contains: blender ball protein shaker; 5 ready to drink proteins (2 OhYeah! ready to drink minis; 2 isopure plus; 1 believe protein latte); eight single scoop protein powders (1 inspire; 1 pure unflavored; 2 lean dessert; 4 nectar fruit juice). and it also has the book "eating & living well after weight loss surgery". it's not cheap, but there IS a lot of variety. ($59.99)

i also ordered pure unflavored protein. i wasn't gonna get it, but orders $75 & over had free shipping :) LOL ... im a sucker for free shipping. i actually had planned on ordering UNJURY unflavored ... i probably will next payday. just to have some variety and figure out what i really like.

ooh, when i went to wal mart, i saw something i have been wanting to try. those protein bullets. we'll see how those taste :)

just a little random update about what's goin on ... 

sooo! month 5 appointment DOWN & month 6 [last] PCP appointment SCHEDULED! [december 8th] 
here's how it went: the doctor still prescribed those pills. see, this is the thing - doctor knows, but doctor should also listen. he's nice, but when i say i don't like the way certain pills make me feel, then something has to change. these are weight loss pills, not pills for some medical issue that i have. that being said, the first OR EVEN THE SECOND time i said "i don't like the way these pills make me feel", he should have given me another option. almost 6 months later? right. still getting prescriptions for that same pill.

anyway ... did what had to be done - took my weight, temperature, blood pressure, gave me the prescription and i was out.

i called my surgeon's office to see what needed to happen after the next appointment. see ... i guess you could call me impatient - or you could just say that i don't like depending on other people to get things done. basically, if i left it in other peoples hands, i would have to sign papers for my records to be released ... wait for everything to be faxed back and forth - and who knows how long that could take! i'm not saying that EVERY doctor's office is inefficient, but i've come in contacts with a few that WERE. for instance, my neurologist's office personnel sent my prescription to the WRONG pharmacy [even though my pharmacy faxed them the request with their number included]. it took so long to figure out what happened that the pharmacist had to offer me some sample meds since my medicine is so important. 

that just reinforces what my mom always says: you can't depend on other people to do things for you. obviously, in this process there are going to be things that i can not do myself - but anything that i CAN do myself - please believe i WILL be doing myself. 
i've started that already, though; i believe i posted a few weeks ago that instead of waiting for my sleep study results to be faxed back and forth, i picked them up from my sleep specialist and dropped them off at my surgeon's office. 

and with my PCP information from the last 6 months? yup ... same thing. it's MORE important with this than anything else. i want to make sure that things are done as quickly as possible - this is why i got my last appointment scheduled for december 8th @ 8am. i'm never at the office for more than an hour (the actual visit between the doctor and i takes about 3 minutes - that's not an exaggeration, either. the weighing & blood pressure take about 4 or 5 minutes. most time is spent waiting for the prescription lol) ... anyway ... immediately after the appointment, i'll be getting the info printed & i'll deliver directly to the surgeon's office. I'M ON A MISSION! lol

last 2 vLogs will be posted tomorrow. i forgot to post one the other day, and i was going to post today and forgot lol. blah ... check tomorrow evening & they'll both be up!

God bless & peace!

not one person that has gasped, looked at me strange, or even felt embarrassed [like it's THEM lol] since i decided to have the surgery has gotten any type of weight loss surgery. not ONE. 
even worse, their gasps, strange or frightened looks, and embarrassment are not only unwarranted, but absolutely IGNORANT! now, don't mince my words - i'm not calling ALL of them ignorant (*wink*) ... but the things they say? they're uneducated. not ONE person who has begged me [they actually beg ...] to not have the surgery has done any research on the subject. they tell of horror stories that may either be true or twisted ... and the majority of the time, the horror stories are about someone they don't know. you know, it's that whole grapevine / telephone thing. (you know ... "the surgery was the best thing to happen to me! oh, girl - that is the WORST thing i've ever eaten" ... by the time it gets to the 10th person, it's "the surgery was the WORST thing to happen to me! it's been a week since i've eaten!")

ANYWAY! my point is - none of these people do research and none of them [that i've spoken to] have actually had the surgery.

so, a friend of mine / ex-coworker, right? i went to go chill with her one day ... and there it goes, i break the news. i didn't really know what to expect, because when i expect a positive response, i get someone threatening to picket the hospital on the day i have surgery (ok, exaggeration, but you get my point ...). 
anyway ... i tell her - she looks at me with a SAD face, cocks her head to the side and says "oh nooo ... don't do it, salathia. just don't". ummmm ... k, no lol.

she begins to explain to me that a coworker of ours had the surgery and is MISERABLE. my first thought? WOW ... really? she's like the happiest person i know! i've been at this company for 2 years, and i've never seen her in a bad mood. [and that is NOT an exaggeration!] 

she goes on to tell me how hard it's been for this post-opper. how HORRIBLE it is for her to eat, because she gets so incredibly sick. so of course, i said "wow ... that's pretty sad. but on the other hand, i belong to a community that is specifically for WLS pre & post oppers. the good definitely outweighs the bad ... but thank you for being concerned!"

then i started to think: maybe i'll keep it quiet from the post opper she's talking about, because i'm REALLY tired of defending my decision!

well ... that was a month or so ago. just so happens i have that post opper teaching a training class i'm in for a new device. the whole time, i found myself struggling with the option: to tell? or not to tell? ... THAT is the question!
in the latter half of the class, when everyone was experimenting with the new device, i decided to call her over. she's one of my fav people @ the company - and i'm just gonna go ahead and spill it.

"hey! well, such-n-such told me that you'd had the surgery and i thought i'd tell you that i'm having it, too! next month!"

her reaction? you'll be surprised.
a huge smile, and these words: "aww hunni. i'm so happy for you. you'll be SO happy."

wow, huh? i guess the lesson is that our friends & family [and whoever else finds out you're having or have had the surgery] are not necessarily lying to us - saying someone had a horrible experience when really they didn't.
a lot of the time, they only hear the bad stuff! they don't hear the every day good stuff that we get to see here on OH.com - how people have 100% gotten rid of diabetes ... women who thought being a mother was hopeless have gotten rid of their PCOS and mothered multiple children ... people with risk of heart attack have gotten rid of that risk ... and the list goes ON!

no ... what they see is the post-opper at work who accidentally [or purposely lol] ate something with sugar and ended up sweating, almost crying [or actually crying], and looking like they could keel over at ANY MOMENT! to us? dumping ... and while horrible, it will be over it less than an hour, usually. 

what they see is a person who is eating the TINIEST portion of food, thinking it's SO hard for them because they're probably SO hungry and they can't eat.  to us? a little more than that 2 oz portion on that person's plate would be too much food. we know that if the pouch is full, we're FULL ... not starving for food like someone in a poverty ridden country.

the remedy to this? well, honestly, for them to do research before they speak. but is that gonna happen? EHHHH, probably not. all we can do is give them a little lesson; i recommend being FIRM with your lesson. no pussy-footing around with this. why? because they'll KEEP bugging you. 
"hey. you're my friend/brother/sister/mother/yadayadayada, and i love you ... but i've done research on this, and you obviously have not. this is not a midlife crisis thing where i'm doing something irrational on impulse. i've educated myself and surrounded myself with post oppers who know this lifestyle in and out. you're going to have to trust my judgement ... and if you don't - fine, but you need to keep it to yourself."

i know, i know ... sounds harsh - but this is YOUR life. don't let a misconstrued story ruin the amazing change you're making in YOUR life.

 :) that was a nice rant! lol (oh, and BTW: my post op coworker is 3 yrs out & doing great!)

alright - besides that?! nothing, really! you know that i had my psych consult on wednesday ... that went great. the same night, i went to my first support meeting! THAT WAS AWESOME! i love that group. i can't wait to go back in december! i actually met some very great people ... one of them, mildred, will be joining OH, i believe.

oh! and a few minutes ago, i got a call from the behavioral health people through my insurance ... we have a telephone-appointment for december 3rd to talk about what's going to happen next. woohoo@that!

and my month 5 PCP appointment is monday. every thing's speeding up & i'm uber excited :D

God bless & peace, lovelies!

 finally, i met w/Dr. McKenna today [he thought it was funny that my surgeon's name is Nick Nicholson & his name is Ken McKenna ... that is pretty weird, though lol] ...

ANYWAY! i was scheduled to be there at 10a, but got there early - about 9:30a. he had a file sitting out for me w/a sticky note, advising me to start filling out papers.
well, okay ... the initial paperwork wasn't bad! it's not like when you go to a regular doctor and have to put E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G on paper. 
my luck wasn't so great, though. after the paperwork there was a test. there was a booklet & "T F" sheet with 567 [no, i didn't just hit some random numbers to make a point!] questions on it. 
at first, i'm thinking "well surely, this is just a standard answer sheet and has way more than is needed. um ... NOT. there were SERIOUSLY FIVE-HUNDRED SIXTY SEVEN questions ... i'm praising God that they were ALL true or false.

about 75% of the way through the test, he had me come take a break so i could do my interview with him. that went smoothly ... and after i was done with everything, he said everything is cool and that i'll receive a good report. HALLELUJAH! that means there is just a little more for me to do, and i'm there. [little more: November PCP appointment & December PCP appointment].

wow ... i'm so excited, right now. about a month left, guys ... a MONTH! whoo!

i also will be going to my first support group today :) i think i'm going to take a little nap before i go, though. i think that crazy long test made me sleepy! lol

oh - this will be on the  vLog later! and i vLogged day before yesterday, as well, so there is something new there :) subscribe!
http://www.youtube.com/users/sheschanging [BTW: the "Mika's Interview" thing is an interview i did for my niece's essay, so it has NOTHING to do with weight loss. the newest REAL vLog is vLog 4 - and vLog 5 will be up in a few hours]

alright - let me get this nap in, & i'll be back later :)
God bless & peace :)