CarolinaGirl270
10/24/2006
Oct 24, 2006
This crazy new blogger is making me just a little bonkers!! It may take me some time to get this lookin' good but I will try to wrap my mind around it!!
I think I have gained at least a pound back. I have a tiny bit of restriction and that ain't sayin' much! I have been on a crazy sugar/food fest for about a week. I feel sick to my stomch since I have eaten so much candy and junk. I still PB french fries though so that's good for me!! If not, I would be right back to my old habits= diet for a few months and lose 15lbs, then gorge myself back up to 274! I need to work this out. It is OK to go below that 15lb failure marker! I may need therapy here soon. My next fill is on Monday, 6 days away.
I think I have gained at least a pound back. I have a tiny bit of restriction and that ain't sayin' much! I have been on a crazy sugar/food fest for about a week. I feel sick to my stomch since I have eaten so much candy and junk. I still PB french fries though so that's good for me!! If not, I would be right back to my old habits= diet for a few months and lose 15lbs, then gorge myself back up to 274! I need to work this out. It is OK to go below that 15lb failure marker! I may need therapy here soon. My next fill is on Monday, 6 days away.
Stephanie's Journey
Oct 14, 2006
christithomas.blogspot.com
This is the start of my Lap-Band journey
06/07/2006--I have 8 days until my consult and my mom has agreed to go with me. My kids will be with their dad and he can watch them while I get all my stuff done. I feel like I have a hiatal hernia. My reflux is so bad and I just ate 4 saltines w/ Peanut butter and "slimed" in pain for about 10 minutes. It felt like I was going to pass out from pain. If this is a sign of post-banding them I know I will be chewing until the end of time because that hurt me! I'm excited. I think I really just want them to get in there and fix my hernia but the band is just my "cover" hehe-no, not really. I hope my approval is quick!!!! It's funny to read other people's profiles and see how fast time flies from the excitement of the consult to the agony of a plateu and then on to more loss. I can't wait to look back on my profile. It seems like time is not moving now. I also have lost about 4 lbs. That is only because I had gained 5 lbs from eating junk food for a month and a half. I never want to get above 270. I feel and look just horrible, not that I'm a beauty queen now, but you know what I mean. My clothes keep riding up my ARMS!!! Not just between my legs--but my arms have ride up. I want to get rid of this GERD and joint pain. I want to play with my kids instead of resenting them for trying to get me to do something with them that I just wish I could but can't. I love my kids with all my heart and I want them to see me love myself too.
06/13/06--My insurance is a PPO so I can self refer to an in-network specialist at a higher copay. Well, when I got to work tonight there was a message on my phone from the program director telling me that she needs my REFERRAL!! AHHHHHH--I thought I could SELF refer??!!??!!?? So, I left two messages for her to call me since I will have exactly 24 hours to get a referral in my hand. Guess what me and my 13 month old daughter will be doing at 8am? Standing outside of doctors care waiting to be the first in line. They take sooo long since it is a walk in urgent care but also I use them as my PCP since the hours are great! I hope I can get the PA to write me a referral no prob. She wrote one for RNY a few years ago but I chickend out and it expired. She gave me NO prob then. I work 2nd shift and I don't look forward to spending tomorrow AND Thursday at the Dr's. Oh well. My mom says, well maybe this is a sign--yeah, a sign to get my butt out of bed in the morning and get my referral whether my surgeon wants it or not!!!
06/14/2006--OK--So me and my baby girl wake up this morning and head straight to the urgent care place that I use as my PCP. I had not heard from Dr. B's office but I wanted to play it safe. Well, not only did I try to get this referral but I had two prior referrals to a dermatologist and GI dr. waiting on my file when a women comes in the room and tells me that since I changed insurance that they cannot give me a referral!!! They are Urgent Care ONLY and my ins. only accepts PCP referrals---I almost fainted!! I have NO official PCP since I use them!! Well, God had his hands all over this because I kept calm and left the office. We went home and took a long nap ( I work 2nd shift so I need a nap) and when we woke up the surgeons office called me and said she had made a mistake and the I did NOT need a referral since my ins. pays for self referrals!!! DUHHHHH!!!!!! I was so stressed out, but before I went to sleep I prayed and left everything in God's hands and it turned out the way it was meant to. I also have learned another lesson from this--GET A PCP!!! Tomorrow is my consult and mom is going with me. My girls are going to stay at home with Dad. Wish me luck
06/15/2006--Today was my consult and all I can say is it was a VERY long day. My mom and I got to the hospital at 9:00 and waited to be seen until about 9:45. Then saw a nurse and was weighed and took my height and a little history they didn't already have on file. Then we were put in a room and the first person I met was the psych intern. Very nice and bubbly. We just went over the surgery and she asked me to tell her about the procedure and what I knew about it. Then she asked me about my anxiety. No long questionaires or anything. Then the nutritionists Tonya came in and she was very nice too. So far so good! Then I met with one of the other surgeons in the group who will not be perfroming the procedure but will be watching and learning. They did their first two Lap-bands 2 days ago. Dr. Ponce was the proctor at the surgeries but she said when they finally get my surgery (maybe around August) that they will no longer need the proctor. Then me and my mom had lunch at the hospitals cafeteria and then on to meet Dr. Byrne and have a class with him. I like him a lot. His personality is the kind I like. Dry wit and serious about his business. Then we went over the the psych hosp. for the nut class from 2-4. Then I walked my mom over to parking garage and I went upstairs to work!!! What a day!!! I am so tired. Most of the info was mostly geared towards RNY so I am glad I knew so much already going into it. The surgeon said I was an excellent candidate for the band and she was surprised by how much I knew. Now I just have to wait for the approval and to get a date!!
06/17/2006--I'm just in the process of waiting now. I'm trying to keep calm but I keep checking my ins. co. website!! I have only written about my surgery and nothing about myself so here goes. I am thiry two and I have two daughters, 6 and 1. I live about 20 minutes outside of Charleston and I love it here. I was born and raised here and I visit other places but I would never want to leave home. I have been gaining weight everyyear since I was about 9. I graduated HS in 1992 at about 175-180(I think). When I got pregnant with my first daughter in Dec. '98 I was 219 and ended up at 250. Then in 2004 got pregnant with my 2nd daughter and only gained 5lbs during, but after I gained 20. Having kids and eating to comfort the pain of a disappointing relationship has added a lot of weight in the last 7 years. I am living with my boyfriend/father of my kids, for about 8 years and that is up and down, day-by-day. I know when I met him I was settling. Does anyone know what I mean? I read posts about men who love women just as they are and are wonderful and I want to cry! I don't feel this way at all and I feel like we are just together for the kids. I hope that by losing a fair amount of weight that I can get enough self esteem back to find a way to work through this. I wonder if he would appreciate me and treat me better if I was 100lbs lighter? We'll see. Anyway, I work at a major teaching hospital in Charleston as a medical records coder. I have been doing this for 3 years and love it. I don't have any real hobbies since I have no time and my weight stops me from being very active. I am 5' 7" and on thursday's consult I weighed 272.2 and wear a 22/24 in tops and bottoms and a size 11w shoe. I want to at least lose 110 lbs to get to around 160 or so. I have not been that weight since around tenth grade in highschool. I don't really think of how fast or slow I will lose. I just hope to lose at a steady pace and not be a "staller" and not seeing the scale move at all!! I know with just Atkins and exercise I can lose 10lbs a month so I hope that is an indication of how I may lose after the band. My mom is so obsessed with me never being able to have a piece of bithday cake again! I know I can have it but will it send me over the edge with cravings for sugar?? We'll see. Just today I called her and she asked if I had changed my mind since the portions will be so small and could I really live my WHOLE LIFE like this??? I said "NO, I have not changed my mind"!!! I feel like I am leaving her in "fat-land" since she is also my best friend and she has no means to get the band too. I wish I could finance it for her!! I hope I hear something soon since I am not usually this calm and patient but in my experience, if I get too excited then time stands still. If I act like this is just another day then I will turn around and two weeks will have flown by. I just need to offer it up and forget about it.
06/19/2006--Ok, since I work at MUSC, I have access to everyone's chart, including my own. I finally saw my consult note was dictated in the system and they made me 100lbs heavier than I am!! It said 372 not 272! The BMI was correct but it said I was 137lbs over my ideal weight and with the band the surgeon has my goal set at 82lbs to lose!! That's not MY goal. I want to lose at least 110 to put me around 160. On Saturday I received the surgical estimate from our billing company. They state that I will be resposnsible for $300.00 copay and 100% covered after that. Thank you MUSC Options!!! This is not an approval, just letting me know what my portion will be if I get approval. My ins. co. is well know for approving this and RNY with out much hassle. I am still checking my ins. website but still nothing. The paperwork is probably still on someone's desk here in the hospital. Oh well, this is a real test in patience for me but it's good. Kind of like Christmas, you know it's coming but still a great surprise when it gets here!!!!
07/06/2006--Ok, did I finally get a tentative surgery date?? I have sent three emails to my hospital and have heard nothing-until today. The program coordinator (Amanda Budak) got my third email last night (she is on vacation still) and told me that if I didn't hear something from the scheduling person (Tarnicia Smith) that I was to call her Friday. Well, this afternoon I got a call on my cell phone and Tarnicia proceeded to tell me she never got any emails! Well, I emailed her from my job and I saw where she had opened them!! Anyway, I finally have a "tentative" surgery date of August 25!! Two days before my daughters 7th birthday!! Anyway, I'm not really excited. I'm a little nervous and I think this may not be what I was waiting for!! I asked her now that we have a date, when is my paperwork going to be submitted to my ins. co. and she said she would give it to the precert lady today. I hope she was not B.S'ing me just to get me to stop calling them. I know she's new and the other girl is still on vacation, but this sucks!! I have waited three weeks with NO word from the hospital and now I have a tent. surg date and I'm NOT happy?!?!?!? I told her I would keep checking my ins. web site to keep an eye out for an approval and then we will get a "firm" or solid surgery date!!! Yay for me--I think????
P.S-the good news is my brother and his kids are here visiting and it has been GREAT!!! My dad stayed with me for three days too.
07/11/2006--I just checked my insurance website and they have received my paperwork!!!!!!!!!! I'm in shock!! I don't want to get too excited. I have put everything into this. I feel like I can't move. I had a dream that I was denied last night after I saw a post that BCBS federal denied someone. I have a type of BCBS. OH PLEASE LORD, IF THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT FOR ME,LET ME BE APPROVED!!! My back hurts sooo bad today. It is on the right side and it is radiating down my leg. I need to lose weight. I have thought that I need to start my letter writing. Letting my mom know my wishes about my kids if something should happen to me. My date will be August 25 if I get approved and that is two days before my daughter's 7th birthday. Please Lord, don't let me leave here because of WLS. How would my kids live knowing that?
The two fears I have are PE and I already have asthma. I have been through lipo before but only on my face so this is the first REAL surgery and first general anesthesia I will have. OH, everything is moving a mile a minute and I just sat down at work. (I work 2nd shift and spend half the night on OH). I hope I get approved!!!
07/12/2006--I'M APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THAT WAS LESS THAN 24 HOURS FROM SUBMISSION OF MY PAPERWORK TO APPROVAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I'm so nervous now!!!! THANK YOU LORD, THANK YOU LORD!!!!!!
07/24/2006--Ok--tomorrow will be officially ONE MONTH UNTIL SURGERY for my Lap-Band. I still have not heard a thing from my doctors office. If I didn't check my ins. co. website daily, I would not even know that I was approved. I don't know what else to make if this except there is a new girl doing the scheduling. I know if I don't hear anything in the next two weeks I will call her to make sure I'm not forgotten. I still try to not get too excited. I don't want them to finally call me just to change the date or something.
I have been so sick this past week with a fever/stomach virus. I am still a little sick even a week later. I had to use three days PTO and I did not want to be out sick this close to surgery but I couldn't get out of the bed except to go to the bathroom. I've lost 5 pounds but I know it's all water since I'm dehydrated right now. I have a Dr's appt with my new PCP, Dr. Castellone, on Friday and I will let him know everything that's going on with me. I was sitting here at work today and I have the approved PTO slip for my sick days signed by my boss sitting on my desk. I check my voicemail and there are three messages about getting more work done but NOTHING about "oh, I hope your feeling better". I was out for three days and I easily could have been out two more. It got me thinking--She does not care about me personally and I felt guilty missing work!?!?! I didn't want to miss work and then next month take a week off for surgery but this just made me decide that I am going to take the week and not care what she thinks. This is for me and I don't care about the work, it will be here when I get back!
So many other people are constantly gone and I am always working hard and only taking time for me or my kids when we are sick. If I don't get this band now, I will blow the greatest thing that has ever come along for me! I need to learn to think more of my mental well being and not be such a doormat!!!
07/31/2006--There has been a hitch in my approval!!! Tarnicia called me today to schedule my ultrasound and my pre-op blood work for Aug 17 and then asked me what procedure I was having. I told her the Lap-band, then she tells me that I was appoved for the Gastric Bypass!!!!!!!! They had to resubmit my paperwork today for the band. Now I have to go through this all over again.
I was approved in about 12 hours for what I thought was the lap-band so I hope this goes fast too. I'm so scared they are going to deny the band. I refuse to have a RNY even though it is covered. I cannot live my life like that so if I do get denied, I will appeal. if denied again, then I will go back to WW and lose 20 or 30lbs and then have plastic surgery. I am not going to be self pay for the band so if I get denied, that's it for me and the band. I hope I get approved. My ins. website no longer says approved. It says "pending"--again! So, hopefully tomorrow when I come in around 5 pm I will have an answer.
08/02/2006--I'M APPROVED--AGAIN!!!!!!! This time for REAL!!! The Adjustable gastric banding procedure was approved! They have all the correct info and now I just can't believe it!!!!!!!!!!! I went to the website expecting to be denied and they had "see detail" where approved/denied should be. It then said "requires special processing". I didn't know what that meant, so I called the insurance co. and she said as of 8/2 there was a new note in the system and it was APPROVED for one day stay!!!!!! I then said "it was approved"? and she said yes, then I asked if it was 8/25-8/26 just to be sure and she said YES!!! The website should update tomorrow to say approved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it!!!!! Thank you Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bandland--here I come at last!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
08/11/2006--I'm just sitting at work doing absolutely nothing on this Friday night! I have exactly 2 weeks until my surgery!! I'm getting excited. My pre-op appt. is on the 17th--5 days away. I have to take my daughter who is now 15 months old. I will be getting an U/S and then meeting with the surgeon and having blood drawn and chest x-ray. I'm really not believing that I will be banded in two weeks. I have not told my boss but I asked for the Friday of surgery, Saturday (Sunday) Monday and Tuesday off and then back to work Wednesday night. I work at my desk all night and noone seems to bother me since I'm still on 2nd shift. I'm nervous about my whole dept. seeing my chart and I know I will discuss this with the surgeon and staff. My chart must be sent directly to my boss so she can code and scan the record. She will know I had surgery on the day of discharge and will probably ask me why I didn't take FMLA. I didn't want about 4 other people knowing about my surgery--that's why! My mom says that this kind of thing always gets out somehow! I'll deal with it when the day comes. I am going with the theory that it's 80% me and 20% the band. This is more of an effort on my part and I feel like I'm not lying to anyone about how I will be losing weight. Sort of Atkins--smaller portions and exercise and I just got tired of being this BIG!! Need another reason--no, I didn't think so : } I pray everything goes as planned! I'll update again after the pre-op appt.!!
08/13/2006--I just read this in a post and thought it was too cute--my new words to live by:
"Cleaning the house while the kids are still growing is like shoveling snow when it's still snowing"
08/16/2006--8 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not scared yet. I'm a little excited but only when I let myself think about it. My pre-op appt. is in the morning. I have to take foofie with me (my baby girl is named Sofia, but her nickname is foofie or foofer or any combination of anything cute and funny that happens to come out of my mouth when I look at her--like goofy foofie) ANYWAY, I will have her with me. I'm worried about that one. Ultrasound with my 15 month old?? Chest x-ray with my 15 month old?? Visit with the SURGEON around nap time with my 15 month old!!!!!!! She's a pretty good girl but I know everyone will think I'm crazy for bringing her but I am the only one who watches her during the day until I go to work at 4pm. SO---it's me and Foofie!!! 8:50 ultrasound 3rd floor main hospital, then 9:50 with Dr. Byrne 7th floor Rutledge Tower. I'll update tomorrow when I get to work.
08/17/2006--Oh!!! I don't think I have the mental strength to write about my day today. My worst fears were realized when my baby screamed and cried for almost the entire 4 hour visit. I had to run this way and that way and I was just so tired! I saw and did too many things today to mention but I had NO chest x-ray and NO blood work. I will have to have a barium swallow on the 24th to look for a hiatal hernia though. It seems like my surgeon was almost trying to get me to have a RNY? What's up with that??!!!??!!
I had to see a nurse anesthetist and then pay my $300.00 copay. I also had my gallbladder ultrasound and that was normal. I do have a "fatty liver at the upper most size of normal"(exact wording on the rad report) and I have mild common bile duct dilation. I get to keep my gallbladder but we'll have to see about the hernia. I have never had barium or general anesthesia before so this is all new to me. The only inpatient stays I have had were for childbirth! I am so ready to get this over with!! One more week!! At this time next week (10:55 pm) I will be sitting at work for the last time before getting banded. I will have to work until about 1:30 am and then turn around a few hours later and come back for my BAND!!
08/24/2006--Surgery is in the morning!!! I have to be at MUSC at 6am and then surgery is scheduled for 7:30. I had a barium swallow today which was soooo gross! I have no hernia! It was flooded downtown today and it took me an hour just to get to I-26. The crosstown was flooded and I had Sofia in the car with me. It literally felt like my car was floating. I'm so tired since I didn't have a nap and I only got about 3 or 4 hours of sleep a night this week.
I just wrote short notes to my two little girls and my mom. I started crying and had to go to the restroom to get myself back together. I'm scared of a pulmonary embolism. I also read yesterday that a woman died from complications from her asthma after band surgery. Of course, I have asthma! Everything is scaring me at this point. I told my mom today that she needs to bring tissues since I will be crying tomorrow. My baby will be coming with us and Isabel (my "almost" 7 year old) will be at school. After my surgery, my mom will go pick Isabel up and then watch Sofia until her dad gets her. Isabel has a Friday sleepover with my mom everyweek. I will be discharged on Saturday (Isabel's birthday is Sunday) if everything looks ok and I can get fluids down. I realized the other day that my surgery date is also my anniversay of working at MUSC. I started Aug. 25, 2003. COOL!!! Anyway, I need to go get a little bit of work done I guess. I'll put my head phones on and take my mind off of this worry. I love my family so much and I know this will make me a better mommy!
09/21/2006--It has taken me almost a month to get to a point where I felt I could update. I had no problems but I was just trying to move on with life. This was my first surgery and I did not like the general anesthesia. It took about a week to feel a little better and two weeks before I could sleep in my bed from all the gas pain. I could not burp for 3 weeks and just now I am starting to let out miniscule little burps. I am do for my first fill in 4 days (four weeks out). I had my post op on Sept 8 and I had already lost 8 lbs. Well, I am at a total loss of 11lbs now. I went from 268 day of surgery to 257!!! This is amazing to me. My clothes are looser and I'm looking a little younger. My fat always made me look like an older woman--I'm only 32!! I am finally starting to feel hope!! I'm glad my surgery was an overnight stay though. There is NO WAY I could have gone home after a few hours. Every two hours a nurse would come in and check my vitals and everytime they left I hit the button on my PCA! I was so out of it I almost fell asleep on the phone with my mom. PAIN in trying to get up out of bed. The gas was sooo terrible. I had a barium swallow the day before that totally plugged me up and I was constipated for 4 days after the surgery. It was traumatic for me but the nursing staff was great!! I'm glad I'm so far out. I'm starting to see the benefit from the surgery and not just the healing and hurting. I can eat about a cup to a cup and a half of any foods. I put myself on tuna/chicken salad a little early due to sever hunger. I love it with half a pack of whole grain melba toast. I hope after my fill I can still eat my melba's!! I took 3 bites of toast with peanut butter last week and had the "golfball" OUCH!!!!! So, no bread for me!! I feel so much more control over myself. I still have the ocassional craving but I'm good!!! It's so cool to eat a cup of food and be full for 4 hours!!!I'll update after my fill next week!!
09/25/2006--OK--I had my first fill today. I have 1cc in my 4cc band. I feel no different yet. Dr. Byrne had to poke me about 7 times to get the dang thing in! I was numbed up first but I felt like I was in PE class doing sit ups and turning everyway I could think of to get better access for him. He says that there is one lady they can't even fill under fluro?!?!?! OH NO He didn' really want to fill me today since I am only 4 weeks out but he was very unhappy with my 11lb loss. He said I should have lost about 30 by now!!! He obviously never heard that anything before a fill is a bonus???
I am only his 4th banding so he is also in the learning curve. I go back in a month and I hope I can lose a bit more this month. For me, 11lbs is great!! When I get back to eating real food in a few days I am going to cut back on the protein shakes and dairy. I will keep strict food logs and measure everything. I know some things I can change and I hope this helps my weight loss.
09/29/2006--I'M OFFICIAL!!! I PB'd on meatloaf the other day. I have also had the golfball and slime twice since my fill. 1cc didn't seem like a lot but it, along with my TOM, is working well. I can tell today though that I will need another fill as I am getting hungry after about 2.5 hours but I am eating about 1/2 cup of food. I am tight in the mornings and use protein shakes but at night I'm wide open. I guess I need to pack more in my dinners when I come to work. I know I need more veggies and water. Next Dr's appt is Oct 30. I hope I can get another fill then.
This is me after surgery--hehehehe (just not so "animated") (after Lap-band AND plastics AND tanning bed)
