Baby_Phat
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Black American Forum http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/black_american/a,messageboard/board_id,4990/ site
I have been battling with weightloss for several years. The issue is no longer appearance. It's about my health and how I feel. I was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure. I have had GERD and moderate to severe sleep apnea for several years. I am 30 years old and I get winded from walking short distances and other minimal exercise. My lower back and legs ache as if I were doing hard labor. I have not had any children, but desparately want to. I know that I will not enjoy pregnancy or motherhood feeling the way I do now. My illnesses will only worsen. I want to be an energetic lover, wife and mother. I want to be healthy. My mother had this surgery and her life has changed so much for the better. She is the poster-child for wls. I had researched the procedure prior to learning about her decision. Seeing the results, ie no sleep apnea, controlled blood pressure, no type II diabetes, increased energy and enjoyment of life, has finalized the decision for me. My mother supports the decision, but my husband does not want me to do it. He wants to try another diet plan as he is also morbidly obese if not super morbidly obese at 380+. He does, however, support my decision. His support makes things so much easier, but I know he has a lot of hesitation. I hope that he can come to be as excited about this journey as I have.
11/8/04 I have my consultation with Dr. Schweitzer today. I am very excited and hope that things go smoothly from here on out. Most, if not all of my documentation is in place so it's up to the insurance company, psychiatrist and dietician now.
11/12/04 I have my psychiatric consult and dietary consults scheduled for December 7, 2004; that's a month away. Unfortunately, I have to pay upfront for the psych. consult then get 80% reimbursed. Boo!!!
1/4/05 Okay, so I'm a really bad girl. I haven't updated in a long time. Can you say busy holiday season? I have an angel and her name is Madame Rodriguez aka Sharon. She is so sweet. I called the insurance company (CoreSource) today to make sure that they received my surgeon's letter in November. I have been so anxious to hear from these people. They stated that the letter was received and that they couldn't approve me until my surgeon filled out their questionnaire to determine if the procedure is medically necessary. Hell yeah it's medically necessary. Anyway, I get home from work and low and behold there sits a letter from CoreSource stating that they sent the letter to the surgeon. I looked at the copy of the letter/questionnaire, and guess what? It was the same information that I gave to Dr. Schweitzer on the day of my consult. I told him that the info. was needed by the insurance company. Did they ignore me? Did my insurance company get the information and ignore it? Am I dealing with a bunch of morons? Good question. Well the letter was sent to the surgeon on 12/18/04, but the funny thing is that it was addressed to the psychiatry department of the hospital. Once again, I ask you am I dealing with morons here. UGH!!! Okay I must be patient. I'm going to call the surgeon's office to see if they actually got the letter and see if we can get this ball rolling. I want this surgery yesterday, but I'll settle for February or March. I am praying so hard for this approval. Please keep me in your prayers.
1/8/05 Playing around with my cheap-ass web cam today. This is me at @ 250 lbs.
1/9/05 How could I forget to mention that I am now someone's angel? My angelette is the beautiful, intelligent and friendly Kim M. We met for the first time last night for dinner and it was a true pleasure. Turns out that we even went to the same college. I recognized her before I knew who she was. Small world. She has her surgery on Friday 1/14/05 and I will do my best to fulfill my duty as her angel. Can't wait.
1/20/05 I just got an update from my surgeon's nurse practitioner. All requested information and then some is in the hands of my insurance company and will be submitted for review very soon. I am so excited and hope to hear something before the end of the month. Other than that, I've been feeling a little stressed with work and home issues. Once I hear something, good or bad, I feel like a weight will be lifted off of my shoulders. In other news, my Angelette Kim M. had her surgery on 1/14/05 and is doing well minus some pain from surgery. I hope to be as successful as Kim when my time comes. It feels good to support others and to receive support as well. It is a nice feeling when you know that there are people that you may not even know who are in your corner. I feel truly blessed. Speaking of a blessing, my awesome treadmill finally arrived on 1/15/05. Can you believe that this 300 lb machine was deliver to door only? My husband and I about killed ourselves getting that thing in the house. See, that's what I get for shopping on HSN. Anyway, now I have to plan some time to put it together. I can't wait to use it. Back to work...
2/7/05 Today was Phatlexus' wedding. Hubby and I attended. Sexxie Scorpio, Valerie Campbell and Lucious LA "That's Me" were there too. We had fun. Here are some pics of me and me/hubby. 2/13/05 Parents came to town today. Dad helped to get my treadmill into the basement and put it together. God bless him. I wish they could've stayed longer. It was a brief visit. I got on it for the first time tonight. I love it and plan to use it regularly.
2/20/05 I'm home trying to get myself ready to exercise, go shopping, etc. Feeling kind of lazy today. I will get on my treadmill however. It is my new love. I've been getting on it almost daily. LOL!!! I was playing around with my cheap web-cam again. Woo-Lawd, I just got my hair done yesterday and I needed it. Here are some new pics.
2/23/05 I called my insurance company (CoreSource)again today. These people tell me that I have given them everything they need. This was back in early January. So I've been waiting and calling every other week looking for an update. No new news. Well today they transfer me to the unit that makes the decisions. Great, somebody who can tell me something. What do they tell me, you may ask? Well, how about they still need 3 more things before they can approve [psych eval (hello, already did this; why don't you have it?), thyroid work-up (okay, I can do this; no problemo!) and a nutrition consult (mind you, my surgeon told me to hold off on this until I got approval; already cancelled one appointment)]. And, how about they put my case on hold because they didn't have these three things that nobody ever cared to tell me about. Arghhhhh, I was so mad. So I regained my composure then I 1) called my doc for a lab slip for the thyroid crap, 2) called the psych. office to have them fax my info. and 3) scheduled my nutrition consult for 3/8/05 (earliest date avail.). So if I don't hear something by the end of March, who's on board with me to blow up CoreSource? I started this journey with my surgery consult in November of last year. How long am I supposed to wait for a simple "yes" or "no?" I'm really frustrated, but trying to play it cool.
2/27/05 I'm meeting my Angel Madame Rodriguez later today. We are going to have lunch and catch the new Tyler Perry movie "Diary of a Mad Black Woman." I hope it's good. I can't wait to finally meet Sharon. As much as we've talked on the phone and internet, I feel like we have known each other for a long time.
3/25/05 I am too excited. Yesterday at @ 4pm, I was approved for surgery and today I received a surgery date of June 21, 2005. I never had plans of giving up, but I had become a bit of a pessimist. And although I was happy for other members of my BAF family who were getting approved, I felt a little bit of envy and wondered why my time had not come. Well, now it has and I want to shout with joy. I am so happy. I would be even happier if my husband could share in my joy, but his fear and adverse feeling about the surgery continue to get in the way. I love him so much and wish that we were on the same page, but I am doing what I need to do for me and I hope that he can accept that and one day be happy for me, if not about the surgery. I went to see my angelette Shaconda Manley yesterday evening. She had surgery two days ago and is doing so well now. I am oh too proud of her. She's a real trooper, as my parents used to refer to me when I was sick as a child. I will try to see her again today. I bought her flowers (lillies) that I think she will like. Next month, I'm hosting a Meet -N- Greet in Baltimore, MD at the Ray Lewis' Full Moon Cafe. We are going to have a great time. Hubby and I will be celebrating my approval tonight. He is taking me out to dinner.
3/30/05 Ever since I started this journey, my husband has been ambivalent and against me having the surgery although he says that he will support me. Well, he has told just about everyone he knows about my decision and scheduled surgery date. I have asked him to stop telling everyone. So, I get home from work today and he tells me that a couple (friends of ours) want us to come to dinner before the surgery so that we can talk about it. I told him point-blank that this was my business to tell and asked him to stop once again. He then raises his tone and informs me that these people are his friends and our friends and this is the type of things you share with your friends. I was so heated. Then he goes on to point out that I must not understand because I haven't had a lot of friends. Ooooooo!!! I need more than two hands to count the people he has told at work (we work for the same company in different departments and locations), his fraternity, family members, and childhood friends. This is getting out of hand. He always feels the need to tell me what all of these people think about me having the surgery; mostly bad things of course. I'm sure he never mentions my health reasons; only that I want to lose weight. I know he's scared and anxious and needs someone to confide in, but does he need to tell everyone. I can't hardly get him to talk about his feelings regarding the surgery with me. I feel violated. It is my choice to tell who I want when I am ready. It is not up to my spouse to tell everyone for me. I know that I am not wrong to be angry.
4/04/05 I am planning out my pre-surgery schedule. I called to schedule my anesthesia evaluation today. It will be March 9th at 8am. I will schedule to meet with my PCP Dr. Stephens on April 25th. All of my testing will be done between April 29th and May 16th hopefully. I will take off from work on May 25th and May 26th so that I can straighten up my house and go shopping before surgery on May 27th. Seems like a feasible plan. I hope that it is executed smoothly.
4/24/05 I have had such a wonderful weekend. Shaconda Manley and I planned a BAF Meet-N-Greet for MD/DC/VA. We also had folks come down from NY, NJ, DE and PA. It was so nice to meet new people. Friday night seven of us got together and went to club One and dropped it like it was hot. Who knew I could "drop down and get my eagle on." LOL! Some of us went out to a diner afterwards. I got home at sunrise. When is the last time I did that? Whew! Saturday night 18 or us gathered at Ray Lewis' Full Moon Bar-B-Que (Me and my DH, Shaconda Manley and her mom, Sweet N Low and her DH, Total Package, Teresa Neil, Ms Praise, Ms Thing, Ms R, Andrea F, Valerie Cambell and her mom, Dread Loc Diva, Sexxie Scorpio and two of my dear friends). We had good food and a good time was had by all. Pics from Meet-n-Greet below:
5/24/05 It has been a month since my last entry. I have been very busy getting my house in order. I have also started a new job which I love. My mind has been racing with all of the things I need to do and prepare for. I am currently getting my house in order as my surgery is in three days and my parents will be in town to help me in two days. I have been very nervous as I have never had surgery or any other major medical procedure. My nervousness and anxiety had gotten the better of me, but I turned it over to God in prayer and He is helping me to work it out. I'm just ready for this surgery to be over so that I can start a new, healthier and more active life. My mind and body are ready and willing. It's getting late so I am going to retire, but I will put in a passage the night before my surgery. I'd like to send out a great big thank you to everyone who has lent support to me, especially my Black American Forum family, my angel Madame Rodriguez, and my angelettes Kim M and Shaconda Manley. I have love for you all. Please keep me in your prayers as I transition to the next step in my journey this week.
6/12/05 In hind sight, I must say that my initial recovery stage was difficult to adjust to. I had never had any kind of major surgery and the pain was a bit much for me to handle. While I was in the hospital, I had the support of my parents and my husband. They really hated seeing me in pain. I had visits from my Angel Madame Rodriguez -aka- Sharon, my Angelette Shaconda Manley, and my BAF family member Phatlexus -aka- Nancy who had her surgery 4 days before me. Lucky Nancy got the bomb-ass suite whereas little ole' me had to share a room with the most annoying and complaining person on God's green Earth. I was happy to go home on May 29th after only two nights in the hospital. I really didn't eat much in the hospital because I was sleep most of the time. That morophine knocked me out so much; I didn't know where I was. Just kidding, LOL!!! I am now 2 weeks out and doing well. I have dumped twice. Lord knows that is a terrible feeling. Fortunately, I have been able to tolerate most of the foods I have tried thus far. It has been two weeks and I have lost a total of 22 lbs.(I really started at 246 lbs and lost weight on my own prior to surgery. So I've lost 34 lbs. total). I have gone from 234 lbs to 212 lbs. This is amazing. I've been on my treadmill daily and eating right. See my recent pic below. I took it today.
6/7/06 Oh my!!! It's been almost one year since my last update. except for the pics. That is really sorry of me, but I found myself with some down time and decided to post today. I was one year out of surgery on May 27, 2006 and I am down 100 pounds. I feel like a new woman. I look like a new woman. Hell, I act like a new woman. I am so sassy and energetic now that I'm sure to be getting on someone's everlasting nerves. Anyhoo, I just glad to be healty; I'm rid of the high blood pressure, sleep apnea, carpal tunnel syndrome and back/joint pain. I'm always running up and down stairs without losing my breath might I add. I want to do so much more with my life and I'm already on my way to doing that. I'm excited about looking good in clothes. I'm down from a 22 (234-246 lbs) to a 4 (134 lbs). Yes, that's right...single digits. I'm excited about soon starting a family knowing that I will have the energy to be there for my children. I'm also excited about being able to encourage others through this process and I simply enjoy being an angel to some wonderful BAF angelettes: Angela Holland, Kim M, Social Butterfly and Wanda F. They are all beautiful people. I don't know where Angela is in her journey right now, but she is in my prayers no matter what her choices have been. I would love to hear from her and all my other angelettes really soon. Last, but not least, I cannot tell a lie. A sistah can't wait to wear her tankini this summer. Closest I can get to a two-piece without out showing the extra tummy and thigh action. Much love to all of you going through this journey. I have been inspired by so many and I look forward to providing inspiration for and support to many more to come...Ericka 3:02pm.
FUTURE UPDATE
FUTURE UPDATE
FUTURE UPDATE
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