Deb S.

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And I'm feeling pretty good.   The surgery went well, and aside from the pain of the incision, I did well.   Spent 2 nights in the hospital and another 2 nights in the hospitality house across the street.   Since I've been home, I've just been walking, making sure I drink lots and lots of water, and adjusting to my new eating habits.  I bought Susan Maria Leach's book, Before & After, which has super recipes in it and has been very helpful.

I go back to work in a week.

By this time tomorrow, I'll be on the loser's bench!!!  I've done everything, packed what I think I might need, and have to get up at 3AM so I can shower and we can drive the 90 miles to the hospital to be there by 5:15.  

I am not really nervous, just excited.

And to top it all off, I interviewed for a management position and found out yesterday that I got the job!!!   It will be almost twice what I was making, which will really help our crippled finances.

I'm sure I will be anxious to get back to work and start my new duties.  
I lost 12 lbs on the liquid diet and my jeans are almost loose!  And I haven't even had the surgery yet!   Woohoo!!

All I can have until surgery is water, crystal light, clear broth, diet jello, 3 protein drinks each day and 2 protein bars.  It is a definite drag, but I can do it.

On Wednesday, I go to Dr. Warnock's office for the nutrition class and will buy some protein drink and bar samples.  Also have to do all the pre-admission stuff, see a cardiologist and the anesthesiologist.
I have to work tomorrow, and then again on Saturday.  After that, I'm off until I've recovered.  I'm planning to take 3 weeks off from work, and seriously hoping that is enough.  Can't really afford to take off any more than that.

My surgeon had a cancellation and I was able to get the date!  August 6th, only 10 days from now - I cannot believe it.  So much to do, so little time. 

Went out to dinner for a "last supper", as I have to start my 10 day liquid diet tomorrow.  Had a yummy steak, baked potato, creamed spinach, and my last vodka drink for a very long time. 

Looking so forward to being on the losing side!

I almost can't believe it's true - after all these years of pursuing WLS, I've finally been approved for surgery. 

Now I just need a date!!!

I called BCBS this week, and when I told the customer service agent I was waiting for approval for a roux-en-y gastric bypass, she said "It's gonna change your life.   I had mine 4 months ago!"    How exciting is that??   Her name was Juanita and she was soooo nice and supportive.

She said it looked as if it was in the final stages of approval review and I should be able to get an answer by Friday 7/27.

Hoping that my next post is to announce my surgery date!!!!!!!

Everything has been submitted to the insurance, and now I'm just waiting!  I did change surgeons - mostly because of the out-of-pocket costs.   With my initial surgeon, my costs would have been $1800, I think because a large portion of that was for his aftercare program, which is not covered by my insurance.

With Dr. Warnock, my out-of-pocket is around $600, which is much more do-able in our situation.  And the insurance covers 90% of the hospital costs, so I shouldn't be getting into a huge financial bind.    I really like Dr. W - he did my husband's surgery 3 years ago and is a very experienced bariatric surgeon - plus he's just a great guy!

Debbie at Dr. W's office said that BCBS - OK takes about 2 weeks to give approval, so I'm hoping for something in the next 10 days.  I've satisfied all of the criteria, so I am expecting an approval.

Only a few more weeks until my 6th monthly visit with my PCP - and will have satisfied the insurance requirement.    This week I had the psych consultation - a hour of face-2-face, then 2 different true or false tests.  Between the 2 tests, there were over 700 questions! 

Still have to have the dietician consultation and a cardiac clearance, but I think my PCP can do the cardiac clearance, since I don't have any problems.   I'm hoping to have the surgery sometime in July or perhaps early August.