mindy0418

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Yeah.... It's been awile.... almost 4 months.

I do have to say, yes, I fell off the face of the earth.  But now I'm back... for a short time.  You see, I'm a full time student at Wilmington University as well as work full time.  I'm so close to being done (plan is to complete by August 2009) that stupid me decided to take 5 classes at once!!! So when you add work, homework, family, and trying to loose weight, you can only wonder how much time I had to sleep let alone update. I say for a short time because I turn around and do the same thing again next semester! But I only have to do that kind of crazy schedule for twelve more weeks then that part of my life is done and over with.  All I will have left is 4 classes during the summer and one goal accomplished!
Even with everything going on, I ended up up with 4 A's and 1 A-... that's a 3.9 GPA! I'm excited.

I'm also very excited about my SV's and NSV's.  As of this point I lost close to 50 pounds! I say close because I am teetering around the 48/49 mark and since school is over I have been working my butt off on the treadmill to get that 50. Hopefully I will get there by Christmas.  I know that there are people who had surgery the same time as me and lost more but I'm happy with what I can get! Words cannot express how much better I feel.  I think the added energy I have can take some of the credit for the good grades....LOL.  I can also do the treadmill for 30 minutes and walk over a mile in that time.  For me, that is a big victory knowing that this time last year I couldn't walk because of a broken foot due to a car accident.  I still have the screws in my foot to this day. Can you imagine the pressure relief on my feet from a 50 pound loss.

I also for the first time since surgery actually went to the store to try on some clothes. Well... the second time techincally but I don't count the trip to Lane Bryant for a new pair of jeans about 10 pounds ago.  That new system of their's can't tell me how many dress sizes I'm down (can't really say I went from a 28 to a 6....yet....LOL)! If you been there, you'll understand.  I went to buy a new outfit for Christmas since everything is so big on me that I feel so underdressed for Christmas Mass. So I went to Fashion Bug and I found out that I went from a 26/28 to a 22/24! I even tried on the 18/20 and it fit but looked kind of tight so I figured I'm not there yet but I'm close! I thougt it was too good to be true so I thought what the hell... I went to Boscov's to find a christmas gift for my mom and made a little bitty stop at the women's clothes. I fit perfectly in the 22W Jeans! Can you say fits of joy in the dressing room! I have a new outfit and I will have pictures... after Christmas.

So yeah, that's a little bit of what has happened. It shouldn't be another 4 months until the next update.

So I made it through the surgery with very little problems at all!  I woke up a little soar but really no pain ar all which I was very surprised about. About an hour after surgery I asked to walk (I had to go to the bathroom really bad). The first day my stomach was really tight and I had some minor gas pains but nothing a little walking couldn't help. Doc says it was a perfect procdure and I'm very happy with that.

I have been home since yesterday afternoon and it's a totally different environment than at the hospital. I'm a stomach sleeper so it's very hard for me to get comfortable sleeping on my back. Woke up this morning with pain in my left arm and neck. I think tonight I will try plan B and sleep in the living room tonight.

I have been sipping on water day and night since I got home to prevent dehydration. Today I can start full liquids- I hope that goes well. I tried to have  a popsicle yesterday and the cold started some pain in my stomach so i'm a little nervous right now to try anything else. Let's see how it goes.

I don't regret at all having the surgery and I know I will be a new person!

P.S.- I lost 11 pounds before surgery!!!!

Wow... 2 days left and I will finally be banded!!!!

I am more excited than nervous right now. I spent the last 8 days on a liquid diet which ended up to be not that bad.  I went for a followup with my pulmonary doc and got on the scale. It looked like I lost about 5 lbs. and that was on Wednesday. My hope was to loose 10 lbs before surgery and I might just actually make it.

Today I start the clear liquid phase. This is the part that I have been dreading.  My plan is to keep myself so busy getting ready for the surgery to forget all about how hungry I am.  My stomach is gurgling with hunger as I write! But I will make it. If I have gone through all that pre-op stuff with so much ease, two days on broth and water will be nothing.

I can't believe how may people around me are so supportive of what I am doing... I feel so loved.   At first I didn't want to tell anybody except for a few choice people (mom, best friends, boss).  I am to the point now that almost everyone around me knows and it's just easy for me to say it. I don't get scared telling people anymore which is a big step for me.  I usually like to keep my personal stuff to myself.  That is a big step for me.

Let's hope nervousness doesn't set in...

Just found out today that I have been approved! Surgeon sent all paperwork in Monday and I got approved today. Guess my insurance company has a great turnaround time.

So I am finished with all my appointments- last one was today which was the pre-op appointment with Dr. Peters.  He asked me to do a liquid "Optifast" diet 10 days before surgery so I start that on Friday... and right in time for my trip to see my best friend in Virginia. But it will all work out.

I am so excited! 12 days and counting!!!!    

So....

I'm cleared by the cardiologist and the sleep doctor!!!!

Also saw the Nurse Practitioner and Psychologist and they said nothing negative at all so I am going to assume that I am cleared by them also.
Found out that I have sleep apnea which is not a surprise to most of the family. They all think it is due to the weight (which I think so also).  Got fitted for a CPAP mask to wear at night. Should get that in the next couple of days.  Just another reason to get the surgery.

I have my first life skill class tomorrow night from 6-8 which is required by CHRIAS to get the surgery. I hope to get alot of good information about what is going to happen.

After my last doc appointment July 31, the dr. office should finally be able to send my request to my insurance company. Keep you fingers crossed.

On a side note... why is it that all the doctor scales are so different ??? I go to one that says 311, another that says 320, and a third that say 300.  The funny thing is my scale at home says 305! I know I know... different times of day, different clothing, etc can also be a factor but that much! Makes me question how much I really weigh.  I asked a few of the docs and they said the one at the surgeon's office is the most important because that is the one that goes to my insurance. whatever makes them happy.  Doesn't really matter anyway... I'm going to loose it all soon!
Just had to rant about that really quick because it was on my mind. LOL.

Hopefully my next update I will have insurance approval.

Well, I have gotten a lot done since the last time I posted.  I am actually quite a few steps closer to getting the surgery.

I found out by the great people at Chrias that since I missed seeing the doctor the month of January, I would have to be monitored for 3 more months before the insurance company would even look at approval. So I was quite ticked off at myself for not seeing him.  Something about being laid up for four months with a broken right foot. Grrr.... But then I got another phone call that said since I went in May already, I can go in June and July.  This means that I can get the surgery in August. So it's not as bad as I thought.  They put me down for a tentative surgery date of AUGUST 25!!!! Starting to get excited.... less then 60 days away!!!!

I have also done almost all of the pre-op work.  Here is a list of what I have done:

Cardiologist: Echo and Stress Test which were both very easy.

Pulmonologist/Sleep Doctor: Chest X-ray and Sleep Study.  The study was very interesting. Had to stay at this weird place hooked up to about 25 wires all over my body.Surprised I slept at all but I did!

Dr. Peters: Upper GI - That was not a fun experience and I don't ever want to do it again.  The chalky stuff you have to drink tastes horrible.  But I sacrificed for the need of the surgery.  Thank god it's over!

On Monday 7/7 I have quite a busy schedule.  I see the Cardiologist and Pulmonologist for the final appointment for clearance .  I also see for the first time the Nutritionist and Psychologist with PMRI. After Monday all I have to do is the Life Skills Classes and one more appointment with my doctor for the insurance company and my info can be sent to the insurance company for approval... yay!

On another note, I have told a few people about my surgery and surprisingly I'm getting some good responses.  All of them are really supportive and are very proud that I am taking this step for myself.  I am very proud of myself too.

So yup... I'm almost there.  I can't wait!

Well my first consultation with Dr. Peters was today.  I think that it went very well.  He was very nice and he truely felt that I can do this!  He did give me a little note though that I felt was very interesting. Since studies show that most Lap Band patients loose 40 to 60 percent of excess weight, it means that I will only loose about 100 pounds of the close to 200 pounds that I need to loose!  No problem at all in my eyes.  I am not using the surgery as a way to loose all the weight but as a way to get over that hump and loose the first 100 pounds! Obviously I cannot do it without some help! But I thought that was pretty interesting.

So now I start the grueling list of things to do before I can get approval from my insurance company.  The first is my appointment with the pulmonologist (sleep doctor) to find out if I have sleep problems. That is tomorrow at 10:30 am. Not a major thing for me. What I'm really nervous about is whether my insurance company will accept the "6 month monitored weight loss program" that I have been doing with my endocrinologist.  I am going to call the doc tomorrow to get a copy of the paperwork.  

Let the goose chase begin....