NantucketMom

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Been gone for a long time. I have been thinking a lot of having surgery. I have another appt. with the same surgeon on May 21st to restart the process of Lap-Band. It has been almost 8 months since I initially met with him. 

Went to Hawaii last month. 5+ hours on a plane is not so fun when you are a big girl. My kids and I had a whole row so I wasn't crowding anyone that didn't love me :) I didn't have to ask for a seat belt extender this time. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Guess it just depends on the airline and plane type. 

Went snorkeling and down the water slides in Hawaii. I wore a big t-shirt over my bathing suit and tried not to obsess over the fact that I am fat. Snorkeling was great!!!! I am glad I didn't skip it because of my size. My son also loved that I went in the pool with him :)

Yesterday afternoon I went to see a surgeon. His office is about 25 miles east of me, so it wasn't a bad drive. 

I got weighed, or at least that is what I thought. Turns out the "scale" is a body composition analysis analyzer. Not only did it tell me how much I weigh, it gave my BMI, BMR, impedance, fat %, fat mass, FFM, TBW, and my desirable ranges for both fat % and fat mass. Thankfully the girl gave me a sheet that explained what everything was! So it is official, I am overweight! lol!

The doctor was nice. We talked for about 30-45 min. and I feel like I am on WLS overload. He said I am a good candidate for Lap-band and also said a sleeve is an option. I don't like the idea of cutting out part of my stomach, so if I do this, it will be banding. He works out of a few hospitals, and the one that I would go to is his Monday hospital. 

He talked about pain mgt. and wrote me a prescription right then and there for pain killers, lol. I thought that was a bit odd. Figured I would get something like that upon discharge. I haven't set a date or even decided if I am doing this for sure, but I have a script for some good drugs, lol. 

He told me about the 2 week pre-op protein diet. I am a little confused about that. I get the powder, but I am I on a total liquid diet, or am I supplementing a regular diet. 2 weeks with liquids only before the surgery will send me from 0 to bitch in by the end of the first day  I could see going to all liquids a few days before surgery, but 2 weeks. I am hungry just thinking about it. 

I also asked what he thought my ideal weight would be. I am 5'8" and he said 140. No weight range, just a flat 140. Ouch, that seems unattainable! I don't think I have weighed that since about 7th grade. When I lost a bunch of weight 10 years ago 160 was nice and put me at a size 10 or 12 depending on the clothing. I also asked what he thought a how much weight loss would be successful for the first year. He said about 70 pds. 

So, like I said, I am overloaded with info. between doctors and the boards. I am going away to a wedding this weekend so it will be nice to have a bit of a break from thinking about it so much. 

So I went in this morning to talk to my regular doctor about Lap-Band. To my surprise, or maybe not, I have gained 8 pounds since the beginning of summer. 

Anyway, we sat down and first we talked about insurance (I have an HMO). He said they have several criteria:

1) BMI 40+...yeah I get an A+ for that!.
2) Co-morbidity...don't have one.
3) A year (yes, a full year, not the 6 months like I see so many people post) of supervised weight loss. He said Lindora, Jenny Craig, WW.

Truthfully he said, that since I don't have a co-morbidity that they probably won't approve me anyway. So, if I do this, I will most likely be a cash patient as I planned. 

He also wanted me to know that surgery isn't a walk in the park and that people do have problems sometimes. He made me very aware of dumping. He said he has had patients that consistently dump and have had their bands removed. He said out of 10 patients, he would say that about 6-7 love their band and 3-4 have had problems. Food for though. Mmmm....food :)

Good news...my BP was 120/80. Last few times it has been high. Score one for the fat girl!

Consult with surgeon this afternoon.

I have an initial consultation with a surgeon tomorrow (9/30). I am excited to hear what he has to say. I have already submitted all of my medical history.

But, before I go to see him I am going to talk to my PCP about the whole thing. He has always said, "diet and exercise, diet and exercise" so I don't imagine he is going to be thrilled when I tell him what I want to do.  Since I am a cash patient, I guess I don't really need his permission to get a Lap-band, but it would be nice if he was supportive, etc.  My BMI is 43.