lisamomofboys

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I began my 14 days of OptiFast today.  It is not 100% awful, but it will certainly get old...but focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel here!  I am so stinking ready! I have so many appointments for me and my kids over the next two weeks that this time is flying by!

Man, I cannot believe I am so close now...it seems surreal to me.  I started this journey a different person.  I have recently divorced...not because of the surgery...but because sometimes in life you just have to do what is best for for everyone...even if they don't realize it yet. The happy ending is that everyone truly is better off and this was the catalyst to some really good things for him, so fingers crossed that things continue that way.  Regardless, I am changed and it is good and this is only the beginning!

The best is yet to come!

 

Finally!!!! I am scheduled for March 20th---I am so very excited and so ready to make this happen!!!!!

It has been entirely too long since I have updated anything on this site! Shame on me!!

Ok, so a TON has happened since my last post in November!

Had the barium x-ray...found a small hiatal hernia, so that will be repaired when my surgery is done.  Received my sleep study results and began using my c-pap about a month ago.  I have completed all pre-op testing at this point.  Monday I met with psych for the final clearance and now I just need to await insurance approval.  Oh my...patience is not my strong suit!

The good news is that I am down 18 lbs since my first visit on the 5th of November! Yeeeaaaahhh!!!!!!

 

So my sleep study part deux that was supposed to take place on the 6th was postponed until the 22nd because my middle son fell and broke his arm that day at school!  But, I was able to reschedule pretty quickly so I was ok with that :)

I had the study on the 22nd and am still waiting for the results to be sent to my doc so we can get this whole c-pap thing going.  I sure hope that once I lose this weight the apnea becomes a non-issue.  Fingers crossed!!!!

Other things are moving along for me.  Now that the study is done I feel like a weight is lifted. I also had my EGD done on Monday, so scratch that off the list!  They did find an ulcer, so I have added six pills a day to my routine. Lordy!

Tomorrow I go for a Barium X-ray and some lab work.  Other than that, I have psych appts on the 5th and the 12th and then my NUT visit on the 26th and that will conclude all of my pre-op testing.  Once all the docs send the notes, they will submit for approval...but my doc doesn't schedule a surgery date until we are approved....so that wait is gonna be tough!

Overall though, I believe things are going well.  My husband who has not had one positive word to say about the entire thing so far is very slowly beginning to come around.  Oh well, he will either be on the bus or he won't, if he's not....I have friends on the bus already!

I had my first visit today with my surgeon and it is starting to slowly feel very real!  We went over my options and agreed on the sleeve.  I was 99% sure this was what I wanted, but wanted to make sure that RNY was not for me.  After listening to him, I really think the sleeve is best. 

He is absolutely, fabuously awesome.  We really connected and this made me feel fantastic. He answered all of my questions, assured me that this is the right thing for me and confirmed that this is not the 'easy' way out, but rather, the most difficult way.  I needed to hear that I think.

We talked about a January-ish timeline and he agreed that was very realistic - EEEK!  I hope he is right!  After he and I finished, I was sent to the financial/benefits coordinator.  She too, was awesome and answered all of my questions.  I paid my enrollment fee, and took my packet and now I wait!  I must wait to receive my appointment packet in the mail.  This will be everything I need to do between now and submission for approval.  I will do my best to keep you all updated with this as it goes. I know that I have benefited so much from reading other people's stories....I want to be able to do that for someone else along this journey.

There are a lot of things to get done...but, they will get done in time and hopefully we will we be smooth sailing from now on.

So...now....I......wait.....for....my....packet.

 

 

MEH!

I called the sleep lab today to see if I could be put on the 'call' list in the even that someone cancels their appointment hoping that I could get in before mid-December and GUESS WHAT?!? I am going tomorrow night!!!

 

YES!!!!!!!!! 

Well, I knew the morning after my sleep test that I would be revisiting the sleep center to be calibrated with my machine.  So...when they called with my results, I was not surprised.  I was however, not pleased that I have to now wait until mid-December to go back. Grr....so much waiting.

 

Oh well, I shall wait patiently....eye on the prize baby!!!!

On Monday 10/22 I had my sleep study.  This was the first time I had ever done one of these puppies.  I had, however heard plenty of horror stories and knew what to expect, so that is a plus.

I had to be there at 8:30pm...which left my poor hubby to manage the boys for the evening.  My oldest could care less about me not being home, but the 7 & 5 year-olds were a little bummed that Mom was leaving...because, as it turns out, I cuddle better than Dad.  Silly boys, it only feels that way because I have lots more cushion than Daddy!

By 9:00 I was wired up like someone in the Matrix and was ready to settle in for the night.  Lights out at 10:00 and with the help of some melatonin, I was sawing logs by about 10:30....or so I thought.

The tech had to come in twice because I knocked the nose-piece off....then I somehow managed to pull the electrode off of my leg. It seemed like the night was rather short, so when she told me that I never once entered a restful state of sleep, I was not surprised.  She confirmed that I spent the majority of the night "not" breathing, and that I would see her again soon when I came in to calibrate my machine.

As I said, not a surprise....my dear husband has put up with the snoring for years and has most recently dealt with the gagging, choking and gasping for air that is a tell-tale sign of apnea....so this is a good thing!


Baby steps!!!!!!

SO I am totally counting down the days until I have my first consult with my surgeon.  Things have been so busy that the weeks that I thought would drag are flying by.

Perhaps some history of how I landed here...I am fat. I have been fat for too long and I am sick of being fat!!

I wasn't always chubby, I used to be in shape and the picture of health...now my goal is to get back to that with the help of WLS.  I have managed to deal with the weight over the years because I have always been able to use my sense of humor to combat it.  I could always deflect the attention or find a way to change the subject, but the truth is that I am so very unhappy with the way that I look that I MUST change it!

I must change it for me, my kids and for every other chubster out there that is on the fence about WLS.

It really hit me a few weeks back when I realized that I can count on 2 hands the number of pictures I have of me with my kids, on vacations, holidays, family gatherings, or just random shots....I always hide from the camera. Should I happen to get stuck in a shot, there is a scowl on my face...and if I have any control over the camera, the picture gets deleted.  Someday, down the road, my boys are going to want these pictures of me...fat or not, they will want these memories. I have been so vain and selfish that I have taken that from them and I refuse to continue that!  I have vowed that from that moment forward, I was going to allow the pictures to be taken...if for no other reason, to remind me of what drove me to this decision in the first place!

So at this point in time, I have scheduled my visit with Summa on November 5th where I will meet Dr. Mark Pozsgay

In the meantime, I did make an appointment with my PCP to see where she stood on the whole issue of WLS.  This proved to be a very interesting visit.  First and foremost, I have always been under the impression that I was 5'8" tall...turns out I am 5'7"!  During the nurses' part of my check-up I learned that I was 262 lbs and 5'7"...gulp.  Additionally I my BP was up...fabulous...and I was prepared to talk to her about my fear of having sleep apnea....bring on the co-morbidities.

Throughout all three pregnancies, I pushed insulin as well, so this coupled with the BP and my BMI she agreed that I was an ideal candidate for surgery!  DING DING DING, this is exactly what I wanted to hear!!!!  So before I left, I had my sleep study scheduled and I really feel like I am on my way.