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I called Cindy @ Dr. Hart's office today & she said they got the psych eval via fax yesterday & that all my info was on Dr. Hart's desk.  I can't believe this is finally to this stage.  What a process it's been.  I know all these procedures are there for a reason & I wouldn't want to use a doc that didn't do all this, but it's still been a long affair.  I know everything will be fine, but I'm anxious to get that call....

Well, I finally got a copy of my psych evaluation via email today.  The bottom line is he found "Nothing significant was noted at this time that would contraindicate surgery".  That's really great news!  I'm so relieved.  Everything else was pretty much on target, except that he said I was trying to answer questions in the "socially acceptable" way, not entirely truthful.  That of course is not true - I just happen to feel strongly about important values like lying, cheating, stealing, etc.  I knew there were questions on there to determine that kind of thing, but I certainly answered them truthfully.  I take pride in my level of respect for rules & laws!!!  Overall, I don't really care what he thought, just as long as he approved my surgery & he did.

Well today I saw my PCP, Dr. Mills & he was very supportive.  This was a big surprise to me because every time I've every mentioned the surgery before he was very negative about it.  This time he told me he has quite a few patients that have been very successful with it.  The whole visit was a pleasant surprise.  He even asked me if he could do another EKG (I just had one yesterday at EJCH) if he didn't charge me for it.  That made me feel good that he wouldn't just "stamp" an approval.  So I'm glad I didn't try to do this without seeing him.  He even wanted me to go ahead & set up a 3-month follow-up appointment so he can help monitor my thyroid levels & all the other stuff that goes with it.

Now all I need is the report from the psych eval.  Whoo Hoo!

Whoo Hoo!!!!  All my testing is now done, well except for the primary care physician letter of necessity/clearance which I'll go to tomorrow.  Yesterday I went to see Rachel for the first time & it went fine.  She asked quite a few questions regarding what type of eater I am, when I eat, if I'm a binger, what I drink, etc.  She said she thought I was a good candidate for the surgery since most of my problem is volume eating, not so much the choices of food or times, but just that I eat too much.  So the surgery will certainly help with that!!!!

Then last night I went to my first support group meeting.  I was rather disappointed in it - the scheduled speaker, an exercise trainer, was not able to show up because she had come down with a case of shingles.  So Rita led the meeting & it was really just questions & answers.  I know that once I have my surgery done, I'll want more SUPPORT, not just what was going on there.  So I guess I'll have to a) give that one another chance; b) find support groups that are really that - support.

I spent the night in Duluth so I wouldn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to be at Emory Johns Creek at 8am this morning.  Traffic was terrible on Pleasant Hill/State Bridge so I didn't end up getting there til 8:05am.  But that wasn't a problem - they were running late as well.  I had my bloodwork drawn first, then I had my upper GI series & then the EKG.  I thought I'd had an upper GI before, but this was nothing like anything I thought I remembered.  They had me on a table that was vertical at first, then they laid me down & had me do a 360 degree roll to coat my stomach.  At one point they even put a blow-up thing under my stomach to produce pressure on it.  Quite interesting & not nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be.  The barium solution was no milkshake by any means, but it was certainly tolerable for such a short period of time.  I finally got out of the hospital about 11:30am & headed home.  I had to stop for diarrhea on the way home, which is the opposite effect they said it would have on me.

Sure am glad to have all that out of the way.  Now after tomorrow it'll just be a waiting game!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I finally got the worst of all the pre-op testing out of the way today, or so I'm assuming anyway.  I had the psychological evaluation at Dr. Richard Van Haveren's office.  My appointment was for 2pm, but his several pages of instructions said to arrive early, so I got there about 20 minutes til.  He gave me some preliminary paperwork to fill out & then we went to his office to talk for about 45 minutes or so.  He was neither friendly or unfriendly, just kind of there.  I was quite nervous - how often do you go to some appointment with the sole purpose being to judge you.  He asked about my history, family, diet history, what I had done to research the surgery, if I knew the risks & long-term life changes required, etc.  Then he took me into a little office with one lonely desk in it & gave me 3 different tests to fill out.  One of them was just a single sheet of paper that I was supposed to rate my likelihood of overeating in each situation, such as after work, in a restaurant, when depressed, etc.  The next one was a T/F test with about 200 questions & the 3rd one was ranking your response to the questions by False / Slightly True / Mostly True / Very True.  This one had about 374 questions, some of which were quite amusing like "have you decided what wording you'll use in your suicide note?"; "Has your drinking caused problems at work?"; and then they'd trow one in just to see if you were paying attention like "Everyone looks forward to going to the dentist?".

What a hoot!!!! I'm quite convinced that the tests are not designed to see IF you're crazy or not, but to determine to what degree you're crazy!  Especially those questions about "I think someone is stealing my thoughts" or "I think I am meant for something famous & great".

Anyway, I'm really, really glad that is over & done with.  I'll be really curious to read his report.  It's always interesting to see what other people's perception of you is.  My experience is that some of it will be true & some of it will not be true.  I don't really care, as long as he just gives me immediate approval for surgery.    I just hope it wasn't a waste of 3 hours of my life that I'll never get back!!!!!

Well I'm so happy I can hardly stand it!  On Monday night my DH & I had another talk about this WLS & he finally agreed that he'd be ok with me having it done.  He said he's still nervous about it, but he'll support me anyway.  This is just such an amazing relief - I didn't even realize how much stress it was adding to the process by him not being on board with it yet.  After our discussion it was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders (no pun intended)!

Yes, God is good.  I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful, caring, deeply loving husband.  And some of the best friends in the world.  So far I've only told about 4 of my close friends that I knew would be supportive & yes, they have been.

Now my Mother, on the other hand, as usual, has been nothing but negative.  She of course has not cared enough to do any research on her own, she's just been listening to people tell her bad things about WLS.  That's a whole 'nother issue - that she has told several people that I'm thinking about WLS without regard to whether I want it known or whether I want to be the one to tell people myself.  She even asked me if I'd told my brother & I told her no, so she told him herself.  That really pissed me off!!!!!!  For her to ask & then tell him.  GRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I must say that I'm proud of myself because I actually spoke up about my unhappiness with her behavior.  This was a big step for me. :>)  I usually have just steamed without saying anything.  I hope this is a sign that I'm trying to learn how to deal with feelings & not just "eat" them away.

Good for me!!!!!  Now if I can just get over this feeling that I'm going to be the only failure at WLS...

Well, I had a few questions after my first consultation & I emailed them to Mildred.  I want to know if she has any recommendations for a new PCP & whether I'll be having an EKG or Echocardiogram at my pre-op visit.  The paperwork she gave me said EKG but I thought I remembered seeing an order for an Echo while I was at the office.

Let's see how responsive they're going to be...

Well today was my first consultation with Dr. Hart & his staff.  I was very impressed with the fact that they actually had all the information that I had filled out online there & had even looked at it all.  I didn't have to fill out pages & pages of redundant information.

DH came with me to this consultation.  I think this was a good thing, but he was very argumentative with me while we were there in the office.  I know he's concerned & wants me to be happy, but what will make me the happiest is for him to give me his full support!!!!!!!

I met Mildred, Dr. Hart's nurse, today & she is awesome.  She did everything she could to diffuse the tension between DH & me.  I'm sure she's dealt with this all before.  She of course weighed me & measured my height.  What a shock that was, not the weight - I pretty much knew what that was, but my height has shrunk!!!!!  I'm now apparently 5'2-1/2" tall.  I've been thinking all this time that I was 5'4" tall.  Nothing like being told you're a whole inch and a half shorter.  That just makes me think how much fatter & shorter I must look.

Dr. Hart was very nice.  He has a great sense of humor, which is very important to me.  He said I was "an ideal candidate" for the surgery - that I had enough wrong with me that would be improved, but that I wasn't so far gone that the surgery would be risky.  That was really good news to me.  Dr. Hart took a very long time to answer any questions & I did not feel rushed at all.  What a pleasant change from most doctors.  I really feel confident in his abilities too.

Before I left, Mildred talked to us & told me all the next steps that needed to happen.  I made the appointment to see the dietician April 2nd before I left & she set up the pre-op testing for April 3rd at EJCH.  I'll have the support group meeting also on April 2nd.  I'm so very excited to see actual progress being made!!!!!

Now if I can just get Greg to see how much this surgery will help my health...

Well, tonight was the informational seminar put on by my surgeon, Christopher Hart, MD.  Dear Hubby agreed to go with me.  He is still very opposed to this whole thing, but at least he was willing to listen to what the doc had to say.  He even spoke to the doc after the presentation to ask him how it is that people that can't stick to a diet or exercise plan can do so after surgery.  Doc explained that the stomach will feel very full after just a little food so that I will be satiated for a long time.  DH still thinks I will have problems with "head hunger" & that I will be "miserable" & the doc explained that you learn to deal with that as you learn your new eating habits.  And he explained that a lot of the "head hunger" is just from habit.  Then DH wanted to know how people stick with exercise when they couldn't do it before.  Doc explained that as you lose weight, it gets easier & therefore keeps you motivated.  Doc said studies have proven that even a small amount of weight loss can make it much easier to perform exercises, I forget the numbers he said.  Anyway, I'm at least very happy that DH went with me this time.  Dr. Hart was very inspiring & instilled a tremendous amount of confidence in me that I have made the right choice - in RNY & in my doc!

I decided after reading the chapter on insurance appeals in my book that I would call BCBS of FL to request their denial in writing, a copy of the page and section in our Certificate of Coverage that has the verbiage about no WLS and the instructions for the appeals process in writing.  I spoke to Margie W. & at least she wasn't the pain in the butt that the other people have been.

Time will tell if she does what she said she will do, though.