Bridgeda Atchley

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Had VSG on Monday. Feeling good. Focused on healing. Since my last post back in July, my husband abandoned me and our 2 kids. He is not getting surgery, but has found a girlfriend who just had it. Really? Yup! I can't wait to show him what he is missing out on. Hope his new gf shrivels up like a prune.

Well, it has been several years since I have been on this forum. Once again life derailed my plans. Now, I am going to get the surgery and so is my husband. I meet with my surgeon tomorrow. Hopefully he will be the right one and I can move forward. 

Unfortunately the New Year has brought me the same old problems. I thought I found a surgeon, but recently realized he is not the surgeon for me. He advertised surgeries in Austin only to get you to the seminar and tell you he only does them in San Antonio. Then his dietitian crams their shakes down your throat and his staff calls relentlessly if you don't get stuff done and turned in. It was almost like a collections agent! I finally had to tell them not to call me anymore. I may have found another surgeon. This time he is in Bryan. His staff seems very nice and they really want you to have all the facts before you choose WLS. I'll keep everyone updated.

Hubby is back over seas again. Finances got tight again and he was offered a great job in Afghanistan. Lots more money and he is on a base that is very small and primitive, so he doesn't spend money. LOL The only problem is I am having a hard time balancing work and the kids. I love my job and do not want to give it up, but I feel like I am always working and I don't have time for the kids. I wish my job would let me work part-time, but the current boss is not a fan of part-time positions.

It was been awhile since I posted here. My weight loss journey was derailed about a year ago. I now have insurance that will pay for WLS and I can't wait to get started. My insurance kicks in June 1st and I plan on being in he surgeons office with in that week. I now have a great policy that pays for WLS and pays 100% in-patient and out-patient with only $250 deductible if the surgeon is in network. That is going to be the trick. I have to find an in network doctor. My insurance is United Health Care and they are not making it easy to find a doctor. They don't list by specific procedure and there are a million general and abdominal surgeons. My husband is being supportive for the moment, but I think he is a little worried. He had made some comments about me leaving him once I get skinny. He is thinking about surgery too. Anyway, I hope to update this blog again soon with good news.

I can't believe it has been over a year. My weight loss surgery has been put on hold until after I graduate. My insurance changed on January 1st and of course the new insuraqnce does not cover weight loss surgery. Good news is, the hospital I am planning to work for when I graduate does cover the surgery and is starting to perform Lap Band right now. There is still hope for me. In the mean time I am having LASIK surgery next week! No more contacts or glasses for me.

Weight 274lbs BMI 42.9
I went to another WLS info meeting last night. This one was in Austin. Although, I do not like the idea of driving to Austin for my treatment, I really liked this surgeon and his staff much better. He gave a very informative talk and he brought his dietician who also spoke. He answered tons of questions and made himself available after the session to answer more. I was also very impressed that the hospital that they do most of their surgeries at is a Nursing Magnet Hospital. That distinction shows that they have excellent nursing care which is a huge deal for me as a nursing strudent. It is the nurse that takes care of you after surgery. The docotor comes to see you once or twice. It is the nurse that assesses your condition and informs the doctor if something is wrong. Good nursing really is as important as a good surgeon.

I also noticed that they did not ask for my insurance before I even got in the door. They also did not have me sign an "agreement" in which I agreed to not "call excessively in an attempt to shortcut the system." I just think if a program feels it is necessary to have me sign an agreement that states "any inappropriate behavior will result in delay or dismissal from the program" that this is not a good sign. That tells me they have had trouble in the past with patient who were upset or frustrated to the point that they became a problem. Plus, I am the kind of person who feels if I need to call everyday to check on the progress of my paperwork, then that should not be considered a problem. If the staff were doing their job then I wouldn't need to call. I definitely think the Austin group is going to be my choice. S & W is just not patient centered enough.

6/18/07
I was scheduled to go to the required Bariatric Seminar tonight and I had asked my mother to come watch my 3 year old, so I could concentrate on the program and not disturb the other participants. Well, it started at 6:30PM and is about 10 minutes from my house. I started calling my mother at 5:25PM to make sure she was on her way. At 6:15 when I had not heard from her or seen her, I loaded up my 3 year old and took off for the meeting. Of course he acted like a 3 year old and many people glared at me and huffed and made comments, but I was not about to miss this. I was really glad I went anyway, because when the session was over, I found out that they will be calling in 3-4 weeks to set up an appointment! That's not when I will see the doc, but when they will call to make the appointment. I am going to another seminar tomorrow night in Austin. No my mother will not be watching my child. I have arrranged to pay a babysitter. I hope they are a little more with it. I got the impression that the Scott & White folks are overwhelmed and not staffed well. 

I am so angry at my mother. She knew how important this was to me. She called about 6:50PM and left a message apologizing. She said she got busy at work and forgot. I called her cell phone like 20 times! I guess she became deaf too. Funny thing is she sent me a joke email at like 6:45pm. I really do not think she was that busy if she was forwarding stupid jokes. Now, I wonder if I will be able to count on her during my surgery and recovery. My husband is in Iraq and I have no one to help me with the kids. Is this a sign? Am I not supposed to do this? I will be praying hard about this. GOD is going to have to send me a lightening bolt on this one. LOL

Weight 273.5lbs BMI 42.9
I took Paul's advise frmo the insurance forum and re-measured my height in bare feet. I am just under 5'7". This resolves my problem of worrying about falling under a BMI of 40 during the 6 month diet if I have to do it. I think I will. My insurance has a very specific Coverage Position on Bariatric Surgery. Now, I am worried that I won't be able to get it all done before December.

Weight 272.5lbs BMI 41.4
I am getting very excited. Tomorrow is the next step in my journey. I will be attending the WLS Seminar that I must attend before I get to consult with the surgeon. I already have my referral from my PCP. I am pretty sure this is the right thing for me, but I want to hear what they have to say at the seminar. I have called the Bariatric Surgery Dept. at Scott & White a couple of times and left messages. I have also emailed them, but I have yet to get a response. That concerns me. I hope it is because I have not attended the semiar yet. I would be very leary of having this surgery if that is how they treat their patients. Unfortunately, these two surgeons are the only ones in the area doing WLS surgery. I would have to drive to Waco (about 1 hour away) or Austin (about 1.5 hours away) to see another surgeon. I wish the hospital I worked at did WLS. I know they have contimplated starting a bariatric program, but nothing so far. Plus, I don't want to be one of their firsts! I love our doctors, but practice does make perfect.

Weight 271.5lbs BMI 41
Well, things are getting kind of rough. My mom is not being as supportive as she was. I think she is just trying to make sure I know what I am getting into. She has two ladies that she works witht that had WLS back when Scott & White was just starting their Bariatric program. They had some complications and had to have the open surgery. She said they both look very good and are much happier and healther, though.

My husband is suddenly not being supportive. He is worried that if I get the surgery he will have to stay in Iraq longer, which I can't guartantee he won't since he is the one with the insurance. If something went wrong, he would have to stay over there to keep the insurance coverage. I don't blame him for wanting to come home. I know it must be hard working in a war zone and being away from his family. So, unless I can get the surgery by the end of the summer, I don't think it is going to happen. At least not until I get out of school and get a job with insurance of my own. On top of that I had nightmares last night that he was cheating on me and leaving me for a skinny, younger woman! I know that he would never do that, but it was still disturbing. It was probabley just Satin trying to steal my joy. LOL I am going to keep praying and I know GOD will show me the right way.

I did get some good news at work, though. I work for a local hospital in the ER and I was a little worried that the recovery period might endanger my job, since I would need some time off and then would not be able to lift much when I returned. They were very supportive and said just to make sure I had documentation from my doctor. They said my job would not be in any danger and that I am doing a fabulous job. I was even asked to work some more hours on another floor to help make up for their current staffing shortage. Mind you I am not an RN yet. I am just a clinical support tech. I know that my decision to return to school and get my RN was a good one. I love working in the hospital!

*UPDATE*
My hubby just called and has had a change of heart. He had a long talk with one of his co-worker/friends and he kind of put it in perspective for him. He asked him if a few thousand dollars was worth an exrta 20 years with his wife. I think that got to him. It was really funny because my husband is as redneck as they get and he was very homophobic when I met him. His co-worker/friend that is now giving him advise is gay and Adam was very freaked out about it when he came out to him. I of course told him that was a good sign because he must have felt very comfortable with him and not to worry because although I think he is the most handsome man in the world, he was not so irresistible that a gay man would try to convert him. LOL Since then Adam has really developed a friendship with him and has not changed his opinion of gay life, but has certainly become more tolerant. Another unexpected benefit of woking in Iraq. LOL