Drvn2skcede

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I finally had my intake assessment on July 8th.  Everything went pretty smoothly.  The appointment was with Alison, she went over my questionnaire that I filled out at orientation, she went over all my blood work, checked my BP, my abdominal sounds etc.  My BW was all fine.  She said my iron was a little lower than they would like for surgery, but I didn't need to supplement it yet.  It came back around 25 and they like it around 35 or something like that for surgery.  She didn't seem to have any concerns over my sleep study and indicated that the results would be fine and she strongly doubted that the doctors would require any further testing or a CPAP, so I was really happy to hear about that!  My H. Pylori came back negative, but since i'm on PPI's and was diagnosed previously with a hiatal hernia, she suspected I would have to get another upper GI scope done, but there is no wait list for that type of test so it would not hold up my progression.  Other than that, she did have some concerns that I might need to speak with a psychologist, but was going to leave that up to the behaviourist to decide on.  It that happens, then I suppose my journey will be a bit longer.  I'm hoping to avoid that eventuality as I'm fully aware that our mental health takes a nose dive as we lose drastic amounts of weight - estrogen is released from fat stores and other hormones go all bonkers as well.  But I'm psychologically trained and stable enough to separate out emotions due to hormonal flux and those due to real life consequences and the mediation of hormones on those consquences.  So here's to hoping I won't get side tracked.  Beyond that, my next appointment with the Beh/Nut didn't get scheduled until late October!!  I was expecting late August/early September given the timelines of people ahead of me in the process.  I'm a little disappointed about that.  And Alison said that I could expect my surgery not for at least a year from the date of seeing her.  Again, a bit disappointed.  I was hoping it was a year from orientation (april), not intake.  But I guess this gives me more time to get my behaviours on track, so I won't complain but use the time wisely.

I had an appointment with my GP this week and asked her for a copy of my study results.  They weren't as bad as she made them out to be.  Hopefully the WLC will consider them fine and they won't make me get a CPAP afterall.  My sleep 'architecture' was perfectly normal and well within normal limits. As for 'sleep disordered breathing', the very first line states "There is no significant sleep disordered breathing observed" and then it goes on to talk about the apnea hypopneas index being 'very mildly' elevated at 9.5 per hour, where the upper limit of normal is 5 per hour.  Oxygen saturations were well maintained as well. So since it is so mild and likely to go away after surgery, I'm hoping the WLC doctors will not force me to get a CPAP.... The report said that 'at most' I have 'very mild sleep-disordered breathing'.

On the waiting front...  it's been 3 weeks since my orientation and still no call for the intake assessment.  I called the WMC this morning and they said it could take 'a few' months for them to call (last time I called it was about a month they said).  They wouldn't give me any more details.  I asked about the blood work and she said I'd find out when I got the call.  I asked if there was anyway I could find out where I was at in the process and she flat out said no, so I basically got shut down.  Nothing to do but wait.... which I find strange because I know of someone else who called 2 weeks after their orientation and they got all their relevant information - date for their intake appt etc.  Maybe some staff are more helpful than others? Who knows.

I've just discovered this blog feature and thought what a great idea to track progress, emotions, times and dates etc.  So here goes the first one.  Today is May 5th 2015 and so far i've gotten through the referral process and had my orientation.  I didn't learn much from orientation as I had already asked most of the questions on here or did my research ahead of time, but it was still interesting nonetheless. The orientation was April 20th and I still haven't received my appointment for my intake assessment yet.  It's only been 2 weeks, but another girl got her appointment a week after her orientation so I'm getting anxious about that phone call.  I check my answering machine first thing when I get home each day to see if they've called.  I was told i'd probably hear from them within the month, but of course this doesn't stop me from thinking thoughts like "with each passing day does that mean I am falling to the bottom of the pack within my orientation cohort?", "will I be the last one to get the call?" etc.

I'm also a little frustrated about my sleep test and the sleep clinic.  I knew to get the test done before this process started so I would be ahead of the game, but I thought I should get it done at the hospital where WLS will be done to facilitate the results.  It took 3 months to get the study done (I was referred last October and got the study done January 12th), I didn't get the results back until April 20th when I saw my GP, and then they came back as 'mild' apnea.  I only had 9 episodes that night, mild enough that they didn't even disturb me.  The report said that I 'could benefit' from a CPAP machine.  The problem is that because I was considered a 'mild' case, I'm very low priority on their list.  They tell me it will likely be 6 months to a year before I get into to see the consultant again.  Then i'll have to get a machine (an exorbant cost for only a 'mild' case that will almost assuredly go away right after surgery - and I suspect this because I only started snoring/having sleep issues with the last 30 pounds or so). Once I get the machine, I'll have to wait for another sleep test, and then i'll have to wait to see the consultant again! So I fear that because of this ridiculous diagnosis a) that this process is going to be about a 2 year process, b) if I truly do need the help, I'm not getting it in a timely fashion (and yes I have daytime tiredness, although this is going away now that my thyroid is being treated) and c) that it will delay my WLS process, only to buy that damn machine for the sake of making the WLC happy and have it useless a couple months after surgery anyway.  Needless to say, I'm extremely frustrated over my whole experience with the sleep study and sleep clinic at TOH.  My GP told me that we only get one free sleep study and if we need to get another later, OHIP would not cover it.  If it were not for this, I'd consider getting the study redone at a local clinic instead of waiting for the hospital.

So that's it.  Waiting (not so) patiently for the next step and trying to learn all I can in the mean time and making small changes as I go along....