GloriV
6-25-04 I am considering the surgery. I haven't a clue where to begin. I know I meet the weight requirements, but don't know what it will involve with insurance. My mother is scheduled to have her surgery 7-8-04.
6-28-04 I have my consult with my PCP on 7-1-04 to ask for a referral. Wish me luck!
7-1-04 Well, I got my referral from my PCP physician today, but found out from my insurance that there are only THREE Dr.'s to choose from, none of which I know anything about. I called two and one has a 2 year waiting list (scratch him) and the other was able to see mein August. Until then I have many hoops to jump through and tests to complete. When I return from my vacation to NY, I will get a jump on things!
7-8-04 I met with the supervisor at tricare this morning to finally get some straight answers about what surgeons were covered and so on. So far three times I have gotten three different answers as to what was accepted, what tests were needed, who ordered referrals, and which Dr's were in network. I have to choose between Dr. Greene and Dr. Kalan. They are the two with the shortest waiting lists in this area, that my insurance covers. I think I pretty much have decided to go with Dr. Kalan. I have talked to three other girls who have had it through him and they were very happy. He doesn't have as many hoops to jump through, but his aftercare program is not very strong. That is what I am hoping to have you all and my PCP and nutritionist help with! I called and got lucky and got in for my psych eval today, the psychologist was great and I really enjoyed that. One thing down tons to gooooo. At least I am on my way. My goal is to have the tests done (or nearly done) by my consult with Dr. Kalan on August 12th. Think I am dreaming? Wish me luck!
7-11-04 My mom had her surgery 3 days ago and she came through with flying colors! I am very excited for her and hope she is successful. Just thought I would share. Now I can focus on my surgery preperations.
7-15-04 Hello all! Been a busy week here uggg. I had two root canals and had all my tests done for the surgery today. The only thing I have left is the sleep study. I already have the authorization from my ins, but I can't get anyone to call me back from the clinic. I really thought this process would have taken longer, but I have gotten all the stuff done within three weeks! My consult with the surgeon is August 12th and it looks like I will have everything done so they can submitt that day! I am psyched about that! My mom is not recovering well from her surgery. I keep begging her to join this site and talk to some of you, but she is just too weak yet she says. She says her incision (she had Lap) is oozing and the drainage stinks! That sounds like infection to me. I think I am going to post on the message board and get some feedback for her. Thanks for sharing this journey, I will update soon!
7-20-04 Hello all. I just completed my last test last night, the sleep study. Ugggg that was not too fun. Well, actually it was funny, how I looked I mean. I didn't know they were going to turn the lights out at 10p, so there I am getting ready to settle in and read, and they tell me "oh, no, you can't read, you just have to lay there and fall asleep naturally" NATURALLY?!?! Who lays in bed and falls asleep naturally. I wasn't even tired yet. LOL I go tomorrow to my PCP and get my test results for all the other tests I had to do for the surgery. I will update tomorrow.
7-24-04 Okay, now I am buggin' I am researching my surgeon and so far out of eight patients, ONE and possibly another have had problems. uggggg What does that mean? Should I start again and find another? I haven't even met him yet, but have done a backround on him and he is wonderfully credentialed, lots of experience, and the patients I have found have said he is awesome (except for the one who had the revision of course). One person emailed me with a list of GREAT questions to ask him at my consult, so maybe I will just wait and meet with him and see how I feel after that. Anyone else get scared thinking, what if I go through all of this and either it doesn't work, or something goes wrong making me feel worse.... I should have just left it alone. If anyone ever reads this, feel free to email your thoughts on this...
8-3-04 Well, I decided to change surgeons. I talked to TWO more patients and BOTH had to have their surgeries redone due to their pouch being too large and the intestine being attached too high. One person was very ill and could have died. That's it! God does not have to hit me over the head to get the hint..... no Dr. Kalan for me! My insurance covered two other surgeons and Dr. Finelli got good reviews on this site from his patients, so I am going to go with him. Good thing is, that I only have to wait till next week to meet him and get this rolling. So by switching Dr's., I only have a one week delay. Since I have all my tests done, it makes things a lot quicker. They told me he is scheduling September/October, I said NO PROBLEM, the other two had a 12 - 18 month waiting list! I feel a huge relief now that I am not going to "take my chances" with Dr. Kalan. I wanted to tell his secretary why I cancelled my appointment, but wasn't sure how to appropriately say "I heard he sucks" so I just cancelled with no other info. oh well. Wish me luck with my new choice!
9-3-04 Hello everyone. Time to update a bit. I got a copy of the letter my PCP sent to my surgeon, and well, to put it nicely, he thinks people seeking WLS are fat because they lack motivation and are lazy! I was devastated to learn he felt this way, when he communicated everything otherwise to me in our two meetings! It was terrible. I complained to the CO and XO of the hospital via email and cc'd my PCP a copy. Needless to say he is under investigation and emailed me a letter that was very remorseful where he admitted being condescending, biased, and a JERK! (not his exact words of course) SOOOOOOOOOOOOO I finally had my consult today in DC (which was a nightmare of a drive itself)LOL and I loved his nurse we chatted it up for 40 minutes following "business". My papers are being submitted today and hopfully I will get a quick yes and this will be all over! :) I feel good about Dr. Finelli's office so far. I have my meeting with him next week, the 13th. Wish me luck everyone, I am excited and hopeful!!!!
9-13-04 uggg I am going to go nutso! LOL I had my visit with my surgeon and had everything completed before I even went there and the secretary FORGOT to send it in! ugggg I called two times to follow up and finally she sent it just this Friday. I called TriCare every day this week LOL and they finally got it today, so they said it should only take 5 - 7 working days to get an answer! I am soo excited, nervous, and terrified for their answer. In all my worry and stress, I have put on 6 lbs! AHHHH I definately figured out I am an emotional eater! Now I want the surgery even more and feeling more and more yuckie about my body. Wish me luck and even say a prayer will you?
9-30-04 WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Got a call from Dr. Finelli's office and they said I was approved! I cannot believe it! I thought for sure they would say no, or that I needed more tests or something. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I am just sooooo excited!!!! Finally, some hope, some excitement! yes yes yes!!!! I should hear back from the surgeons office tomorrow or Monday about a date. I will call on Monday of course, just in case they forgot! Hee hee
10-01-04 TA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA The date is.............. December 13th at 2pm WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo
10-18-04 Not too much to report as of yet. The visit with the surgeon scared the shit out of me in terms of him talking about the possibility that I could die. I know the chances are slim, but the fact that they even exist scares me! I am 33, have three great kids, I don't want to die. I am looking for my optomism again and using my support systems on here to put me more at ease. It's funny how I knew all the risks from day one, but hearing it come from the surgeons mouth when you actually have a date, hit home. I have a few pre-op tests to get done, such as an abdominal sonogram and upper GI, that I will schedule here soon. I'll keep you up as the day draws near.... 66 days and counting!!
11-26-04 Well, it's 17 days and counting and it seems that my support system is quickly dwindling. My husband and family are not bubbling over with excitement anymore, it seems more like they are worried and guarded about my decision to have the surgery. I have been having trouble sleeping becuase I am so worried. All I want is someone to say "It will be okay, and we will get through this together", that's all I need. Am I being stupid, selfish, wanting this surgery. What if I die? What if something goes drastically wrong and I become a burdeon to my family forever because I wanted this surgery? ugggg My mind goes round and round with this stuff.....
12-6-04 OH MY GOD, just 7 days to go! I can't believe it is almost here! The nervousness alone has me trying to eat everything in site that I know I won't be able to have ever again! I am almost SICK of food! My birthday was this weekend so I went out and danced and drank like a fish and enjoyed every last minute of that! I don't drink much or often, so this was a double treat!!! I have an angel now, her name is Rochelle. And I am the luckiest WLS member here to have her! I have never met her or even chatted with her until she volunteered to be my angel and I feel safer and calmer somehow, just knowing she is there and cares! Make sure you ask for an angel or volunteer to be one, it has made a big difference to me! Thanks Rochelle! *hugs* Keep me in your thoughts and prayers everyone!
12-11-04 Well, my husband is officially graduated from Test Pilot School. Now it is hitting me that I am having surgery in 2 days!!! I have been so focused on him that I had no time to worry about me..... keep those emails coming, they make my day!! I can't wait to be a LOSER!!!!!
12-20-04 Well, I am home everyone. I been debating about what to write here knowing that some people just like me will be reading my profile at some point for ideas on how these things go. The other part of me feels like I owe it to those researching to knowthe truth about my experience and know that this is just my experience and not everyones.... well, it sucked. Every freaking minute of it sucked. The hospital was TERRIBLE. I have been in several hospitals to my own surgeries (tonsils and c section and with my son for his surgery), but this one threw me for a loop. They were unbelieveably understaffed to the point that I had to wait HOURS laying in my own blood to get new sheets! They forgot my medications when they were supposed to give them. When they did remember, it was at least an hour late. I wound up having some pretty serious complications from the surgery the second day that made my stay 6 days as opposed to the planned three. It was very scary and I felt the staff was desensitized to this. I am probably one of the most optomistic people you would ever meet, and I was so frustrated and upset, that I actually felt like giving up! Like just wishing I was dead as I lay there on ventilators staring at the celiing wonding if anyone was going to come and notice me. Uggg I could go on and on as I am sure you could tell.
As for the surgery itself, it wasn't at all what I expected. I was hoping to have much less pain then I had, but then I didn't expect the complications.... I am jumping all over the place hugh? Okay, here I will try to be lucid, I am still on pain meds that make me "fly" :) I had trouble waking up from the anesthesia so they would give me any heavy pain killers for fear of further sedation, so it took about three hours to wake me up and when I finally awoke, I was writhing in pain. It took about 45 minutes to get the pain to a manageable level and that was pretty upsetting. Everything seemed to be going good from there in terms of my recovery, I was started on clear liquids/crystal light every 20 minutes and I was tolerating that great. I had a lot of gas, which I never knew could be so damn painful. I wish I was like my hubby and could just "let em' go" when needed, that would have been a big help! LOL Well, all of the sudden my pulse oxygen started dropping and I couldn't breathe well. It dropped to about 73 and that was with oxygen! uggg So they rush me down to have a CT scan and do another upper GI swallow to rule out pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs) or leak. After TWO hours of having these tests, they ruled that out and determined that my bowels hadn't "awoken" yet so the gas and fluid was building up in my tummy which caused my lungs to collapse. Can you imagine. I am just like you ladies and gent's, no medical problems, other than being heavy, don't smoke, no drugs, nothing unusal, and all this crap is happening. SO, there I am on tubes to breathe and the Dr. decides he wants to help get that fluid out fast so he puts this tube down my nose into my stomach!!! I am awake, terrified, in pain and then he shoves a freaking tube down my nose! That hurt like shit! okay, so which one of you would like to wear a face mask over a tube that is choking the shit out of you sticking out of you nose??? That was the point that I really felt like giving up. I felt like this was rock bottom, my body was beaten and weak, I was terrified, lost all hope that this was going to be okay....
My husband was able to come about 10 minutes before all hell broke loose and stay for the rest of the time thank God. We have three young children (7,6, and 3) and being Military, have no family in area, so we had no other options for childcare. When things started going wrong, my hubby got my 27 year old SINGLE CHILDLESS, musician type, brother to stay with the kids. LOLOLOL If you don't find this funny, you don't have children..... Once hubby got there, I started to feel a sense of hope come back, a reason to fight, the look of concern in his eyes and sadness for me made me want to get better, at least enough to tell him how much I loved him. The next few days in the hospital from there slowly got better, hubby stayed on the shitty nursing staff, no further complications came up, and hubby washed me from head to toe every day, took me to the bathroom, on walks, wiped me, everything you never want to depend on someone for. :) It was a very humiliating, but bonding time for us both, especially since I couldn't talk, he just seemed to know what I needed without asking and NEVER made me feel like a burdeon. As soon as I was able to get that @#$#@%@#$% tube out of my throat a day later, I talked and talked all about what I was feeling and cried and cried and cried to him. He knew. He could tell. That's what makes him my best friend. Well, we are home and today I feel pretty good. The frist day was pretty rough, from the 2 hour car ride I was VERY bloated (couldn't fit my 26/28 PJ over my tummy and I am size 22 regularly) I am talking BLOATED. Hubby is still taking awesome care of me and the kids. What happened with my brother and the kids for 4 days??? Well, my house is still not clean, the boy weren't wearing underwear becuase there weren't any clean, no one brushed for 4 days (their teeth I mean), they had no milk and pretty much ate dried cereal for breakfast and lunch! LOL When we got home my brother said he couldn't wait to go back to work and he would never comment on how easy it was to be a stay at home mom and he was never having children! LOLOLOLOL I always said the best birth control was a weekend in a home with three young children. Babies are cake, wait till they can talk and run away! LOLOL Well, thanks for letting me share everyone. I am slowly gaining my hope back that things will be okay. I am still horrified that I did this! I wonder now if I should have just kept trying to lose weight or something. I feel butchered if that makes sense.... hopefully that will change as I get stronger and feel better. As for the weight loss? I have lost 14 lbs since the hospital, not bad hugh? I have a LONG way to go, but it's 14 gone forever, that kind of makes me smile.......
1-3-04 Hey everyone, well, I wish I could say this has been a magical journey, but I am really struggling. I am nausea most of the time, low energy, weak, just overall feeling like shit. I am very discouraged and wishing I never did this. The weight is coming off, but at what price? I miss my vivacious, energetic, optomistic self.... where did I go? Everyone keeps telling me it will get better, hang in there blah blah blah, and the physical part is improving, but the mental is holding me back. I really think the bad experiences in the hospital has set me back..... I am really needing some support....
1-5-05 Well, things are getting better thank God. After Monday, where I had to get back into the routine with taking the kids to school and managing my household, things started looking up. I think a lot of my depression came from being "trapped" in the house feeling like crap and isolated. I am a very social person who loves being out and about. Even though I didn't go out socializing, it felt nice to be amongst the living and functional people in the world. :) It really picked up my spirits and made me feel stronger, it was completely unexpected, but very nice. I also tried a bunch of different things in terms of medications and "foods" and think I may have found a good combination. I get up and eat something first. AFter about 30 minutes, I take two meds. The food seems to coat my stomach and not give me pain and nausea like before. DUGH right? Well, just wanted to post that I am starting to feel like myself again. Thanks for hanging in there with me!
1-14-05 Hello everyone, just a quick update. My body is so strange. One day I feel so great, strong, alive, ready to recover and the next I feel so sick, weak and have terrible pain in my left side right under my rib. I wish things would get more consistant! I still hate food, have no cravings, and am never hungry, so that's a good thing. I have met one person who had surgery the same day as me and I am looking forward to taking this journey with her! I will keep you all updated, thanks as always for the support!
1-25-05 Well, the drama continues a bit. Something "popped" inside and since then, there has been this intense pain and burning in the left side. I can't believe I was crusing along and now this. It's so frustrating getting better and then having a "setback". Mind you all, I am definately the 'grin and bare it' type, but this has been one scary and PAINFUL road thus far. I called the surgeon and until the my appointment (2-2-05) he just gave me pain killers. Great, those again..... My hubby says I am pushing way too hard, too fast. That I shouldn't expect to be back to my old routine already, but I can't help feeling like "enough already! It's time to get on with life". I will keep you updated after the Dr appointment.
2-2-05 Well, that wasn't what I hoped what happen. Doc says it's either a nerve caught in the stiches inside being pinched, which is treated with a steroid shot in my belly! OR a hernia, which means surgery....... this sucks! I am thinking I am just going to push through this pain and quit worrying about it. It's nothing, right? Just part of healing right? It better be! I seriously don't think I could handle going through another surgery! I would lose it. I am still panicked when I have to go back to the hospital to see my surgeon for follow ups! uggg. Good news, I am going to start counseling next week. I definately think I have some PTSD stuff going on from the drama in the hospital, it seems to cloud everything else, change my perspective. I never, in a million years, would have thought I would be dealing with this crap. I am rock of my family, friends, just a rock, and for me to feel like a pile of pebbles is just so out of character, it sucks. It's funny how these feelings have gone from depression to anxiety, at least they are moving along! LOLOL Well, doc says to wait a month and see what happens with the pain. PLEASE pray for me that it's just "healing pain" and it will go away with time.....
4-6-05 Well, it's been a while since I have posted, but wanted to thankfully report that the scales started moving again! I thought it would stay at 210 forever! :( It didn't take much to jumpstart things, just added a little more protein to my diet and started walking again! It feels so good to finally be under 200lbs, I cannot even tell you. I went through all my summer stuff from last year because the weather is finally getting warmer, and I put shorts on and they fell down! Shirts hang like rags, it's such a rush! As for my pain, it is definately still there. My primary care physician started me on amitryptaline about 3 weeks ago and I don't know if it's just "time" healing the nerve pain, or the pills, but I am virtually pain free. I still have movements that will aggrevate it and I still can't turn from side to side in bed at night, but I will take the majority of the day pain free anyday!!!! I finally feel like my old self again. Optomistic, happy, full of energy and life! I even feel more "romantic" and "flirty"! I went off my birth control pills after the surgery because my hubby had a vasectomy and I figured there was no need being that I was pushing 35. Maybe that's why I feel more "romantic" who knows, again, I like it and of course so does my husband! LOL Well, I will keep updating, I should probably add a picture sometime soon here.
6-27-05 Well, it's been quite a while since I posted an update, so I thought I would "Check in". I am almost 7 months post op and can finally say I am "pain free". I started working out in the gym about 4 weeks ago and I am lovin it! I feel like a new woman and finally don't regret having this surgery. Everything seems to be falling into place. I get the biggest kick out of wearing a size 16 from a 22/24!!! The fact that I can walk into a gym and not be ashamed or feel like everyone is looking at me and saying "oh how nice, a fat girl starting at the gym and thinking that it won't last". Now I know it will. I haven't "cheated" at all yet. I really don't feel the need to. I will have a bite of something here and there, but I don't miss or crave "bad foods" and feel like I am not controlled by food for once in my life! My hair is falling out horribly though. That sucks! I changed things up and am now having a protein shake for breakfast, an apple for a snack, something "sinful" like pizza or 1/2 of sandwhich for lunch, and another protein shake for dinner. I feel full, satisfied and definately look forward to that chocolate flavor twice per day :) I have tried like 15 different kinds of protein shakes and if anyone reads this..... Designer Whey protein (chocolate) ROCKS!!!!
11-30-05 It's been a long time since I have posted, but believe me if you have followed my journey, I haven't forgotten where I came from! I still check in with others who have my anniversary date to see how they are doing, maintaining and coping with new challenges. I would love to be a support system for anyone considering surgery or anywhere in between, feel free to contact me via email or phone! I am working out 5 days a week now, and love every minute of it. I am toning as I am losing and building muscle so my shape is forming nicely. My diet consists of a protein shake for breakfast, eggbeaters for lunch (2 eggs), and either a protein shake for dinner or maybe eat what the family is having if it's yummy :) . I snack throughout the day at 10a, 3p and 7p on either an apple, pretzels, or popcorn. I don't miss my old lifestyle or body for that matter. It's a new me, and I couldn't be happier!!! Love and support to all of you!
WEIGHT CHART
WEIGHT......TOTAL AMOUNT LOST.........DAYS POST OP
267 - 0 - 0 Days
250 - 17 - 7 Days
235 - 32 - 10 Days
225 - 42 - 14 Days
220 - 47 - 3 Weeks
215 - 52 - 1 Month
210 - 57 - 5 weeks
192 - 75 - 3 Months
183 - 6 Months
159 - 110 - 11 Months
132 - 138 - 24 months out! REACHED GOAL!!!! :)
