kimberjd
Time to update the profile...
Nov 13, 2008
Well, nearly two years ago I had a vision...a dream of creating a new and healthier me through the gastric bypass procedure. Something always happened that would push me off this course to finally having surgery, whether it was a job change, financial burdens, family/friend influence...I always allowed something to get in my way of accomplishing this. This past January, after a former colleague of mine had the bypass, I finally took the plunge and decided that no matter what, 2008 would be the year.
I first met with my PCP (I changed insurance carriers from Kaiser to Blue Shield, Riverside's Physician Group), Madeline Brooks, who was an absolute angel. A short, chubby physician's assistant, her beside manner and supportive nature instilled in me a confidence that surgery was not an impossible concept, moreover, a goal that would in time be actualized.
I learned I first had to do two things before receiving my referral to meet with the surgeon: meet with a nutritionist and then meet/test with a psycharistrist. I met with the nutritionist who was awesome. She supported my decision for the bypass rather than the lap band procedure because of the amount of research I had done in weighing out those two particular options. While she tried to motivate me to choose diet and exercise as my path to weight loss, she did understand how when one has tried those methods to no avail, those are in fact failed attempts...she wished me luck on my weight-loss surgery journey.
After notifying Dr. Brooks that I finished the nutritional component for this referral, I was referred for psychological testing with a horrible place. I had to take a 567 question test which I felt that any answer to any question could preclude an mental illness diagnosis.
I first met with my PCP (I changed insurance carriers from Kaiser to Blue Shield, Riverside's Physician Group), Madeline Brooks, who was an absolute angel. A short, chubby physician's assistant, her beside manner and supportive nature instilled in me a confidence that surgery was not an impossible concept, moreover, a goal that would in time be actualized.
I learned I first had to do two things before receiving my referral to meet with the surgeon: meet with a nutritionist and then meet/test with a psycharistrist. I met with the nutritionist who was awesome. She supported my decision for the bypass rather than the lap band procedure because of the amount of research I had done in weighing out those two particular options. While she tried to motivate me to choose diet and exercise as my path to weight loss, she did understand how when one has tried those methods to no avail, those are in fact failed attempts...she wished me luck on my weight-loss surgery journey.
After notifying Dr. Brooks that I finished the nutritional component for this referral, I was referred for psychological testing with a horrible place. I had to take a 567 question test which I felt that any answer to any question could preclude an mental illness diagnosis.
