rockinred
TIMELINE
10/18 - Appt. with anesthesiologist
10/6 - Pre-op testing completed
9/29 - I have a date!! Halloween! :)
9/28 - Sleep study at NEMC
9/25 - Follow up mtg. with psychologist
9/15 - APPROVED! (I didn't find out until 9/21)
9/14 - Insurance submitted & follow up with internist
9/12 - Follow up with nutritionist
9/6 - Meeting with surgeon
8/15 (weekly through 9/23) - 6 week behavior change class
8/15 - Meeting with nutritionist
8/11 - Meeting with internist & exercise physiologist
7/26 - Intake meeting with psychologist
10/6/06
I had to get up sooooo early this morning (on only 3 hrs. of sleep) to catch a train to get into Boston early this morning for my pre-op testing. My appt. was at 8am...I hate that damn 1.5 hour commute! Anyway, at least I had time for a nice leisurely walk (about 1.25 miles) from the train station to NEMC. I met with the PA who'll be doing my post-op check-ups...she's nice, but kind of all over the place. Then I had blood drawn, an EKG and a chest x-ray. I was only annoyed that the communication of what I needed to have done and where to go was non-existent. I was just handed a huge stack of paperwork with a vague instruction that some of it needed to be given to the anesthesiologist (my appt. is the 18th) and some was for me to read. After digging through it, I found the blood labs orders and the pre-op testing itinerary. Oh well. I know I'm not their only patient and that they're busy, but a little direction/explanation would have been greatly appreciated!
10/5/06
I told my mom tonight about my surgery. I was a little concerned about telling her, but she was very supportive and actually told me that she'd thought about it as well, but she didn't know that much about it. She offered to drive up from CT on surgery day, but I told her not to do that b/c DH would be at work (he can't take the day off...he's going to drop me off, then go to work & then come back to the hospital), I would probably not really be awake for most of the day and that hanging out in a hospital was probably not her idea of a good time (especially after driving 3 hours to get there!). She also gave me a list of things to tell the anesthesiologist as she's had quite a bit of surgery in the past and has had some bad reactions. I don't want any bad reactions so I was sure to write it all down! Well, I'm off to bed...I have to be on a 6:20am train tomorrow morning to make it to NEMC for my pre-op testing! Nighty-night!
9/29/06 (again!)
I have a date! My surgery is scheduled for 10/31/06 - Halloween! Interestingly, the only other time I've had surgery (tonsillectomy) was ALSO on Halloween!
9/29/06
I had my sleep study last night. It wasn't as bad as I expected and the nurse was a sweetheart. Actually, the biggest PITA was when I got a call yesterday afternoon that they were cancelling the appointment because I hadn't called to confirm the appointment!! They said they'd left several messages at home (which I never got) so they were cancelling (which they called me at work to do). If they were calling my work to cancel, why didn't they call work to confirm?!?!?! GRRRR! Plus DH had make plans to skip playing hockey yesterday AM so he could drop me at the train station (I can't park there overnight) and I had schlepped my overnight bag with me to work in downtown Boston and was planning on going right from work to NEMC for the sleep study. Well, I flipped the b*tch switch on the woman and she finally gave in & let me have the study. What an ordeal! The nurse couldn't tell me anything about the results so now I'm more curious than ever about my results. DH told me last night that there was a phone message at home for me telling me to call the surgeon's assistant b/c she had a "tentative" date for my surgery. I'll have to ask why they're calling it a tentative date...maybe b/c if I gain weight or pre-op testing doesn't go well that they can reschedule??? I dunno. I got into work early this AM (a 20 min. commute from the hospital was 1 perk of the sleep study vs. my usual 90 min. commute!). A woman I work with was asking about my sleep study and we got talking and I told her about my surgery. She was amazingly supportive and so sweet. For some reason, I just started bawling...I think knowing that the date is coming (instead of just "someday soon") is really shaking me up. It was just nice to hear from someone at work who is really supportive. I'm so afraid of dealing with the issue at work for fear of the stigma & ignorance that often comes with WLS.
9/25/06
I had my follow up meeting with the psychologist today. The good news is that I lost another pound (I think)...or maybe it was a half pound. Whatever - it's a miracle I lost anything after eating part of that brownie sundae at dinner on Saturday night (a planned splurge, but a splurge nonetheless)! I should be thankful for the little things, right? She was the final signature needed to FINALLY get a date. She said I was discussed at their meeting this morning and everyone else signed off. She said I should get a date with a week. I'm officially antsy....I've been promised a date for about 2.5 weeks now. When I was waiting for Dr. Kaplan today, I heard a guy talking about just getting a date of 10/24 which means they're now booking into LATE Oct. - so much for early October unless they squeeze me in somehow. DH & I will probably have to delay our Mexico vacation if that happens. DH got a date for his ankle surgery - 12/6 so he's also wound up & anxious. Well, tomorrow's our 2nd wedding anniversary and I think we'll stick together for awhile. It's 11:45pm and I need SLEEP! I'm off to bed for now!!
9/21/06
Thank goodness, the date of service on my approval letter was wrong. The surgeon's assistant said they always give a date much sooner than anticipated to make the ins. company push the response faster. YAY! I reminded her of our vacation in late Nov. and that Dr. Tarnoff said to shoot for early October...she said she'd "see what (she) can do" and get back to me in a few days!! I'm so anxious. I NEED a date! I'm a planner...I need to get everything all set in place. It's weird, but that's how I am. I told a co-worker/our office manager (she knows about the WLS) about how the date was wrong and she started freaking out about how I'd be out "the whole fall" and what a burden it was going to be on her. Whatever. I was a little PO'd. I always cover for her and NEVER give her a hard time when she takes time off, but she ALWAYS tries to make me feel like sh*t when I do. It really ticks me off. Oh well. She'll just have to deal.
9/20/06
I'm APPROVED!!!!! I got my letter in the mail today from BCBS and I was approved on my first shot. I didn't even know the hospital had put in for the approval, but what a great surprise! I love BCBS and I'd heard that they are pretty lenient with WLS. I'm a lucky, lucky, lucky woman! The letter gives the 'date of service' is 9/26 (less than a week away) so I'm freaking out, but I suspect that they must have put in a false date or something. If it's not, I have SOOOO much to do! I would really feel like a jerk not even being able to give a week's notice!!
9/14/06
Met with my internist, Dr. Rollinson, today. We went over the lab results from my last visit. Everything was good except my vitamin D (I was a 12 and goal is at least 20...20 what, I don't know -ha ha)! That was why she sent my the vit. D RX a few weeks ago. It's just 1 pill/week and I can definitely deal with that. I was concerned about my blood sugars. She said they were normal, but she also mentioned that the normal range is small (4.8-5.8) and I was a 5.3...normal but 2/3 of the way to not normal. She said if I ever needed a reason to look back on this surgery, she said that that could have quickly gone too high and I could have easily become diabetic (which I know and really encouraged me to go for this surgery). Diabetes in my family runs rampant and I know that it would be knocking on my door soon if I didn't do something.
9/12/06
Met with the nutritionist, Gloria, today. She was really happy with my progress so far (-11 lbs. since 1st weigh-in at the clinic). She reviewed by food diary and said she was really happy with my food choices. I raised a few issues I'd been struggling with and she helped tweak the plan. I also raised my concern of going to an all-inclusive resort (read: food & booze fest) in Nov. and managing to make healthy choices, especially when you don't always know what you're eating. She was very helpful & wants to meet a week or so before we leave so she can give me some tips/coaching. When I mentioned that I was supposed to be discussed yesterday at the committee meeting, she didn't think they had, but she volunteered to send an email to my 'team' to make sure I'm addressed as they're all going to be presenting at a symposium next week in NC so there won't be a traditional committee meeting.
9/6/06
I met with the surgeon today, Dr. Tarnoff. He was great and, while many questions didn't spring to mind, he offered to make himself available to me or concerned family members if any questions arise. The one thing I do recall is him asking how DH was dealing with it. I told him that DH was "supportive" (and I used air quotes), but he didn't really understand why I was going down this road and that it seemed so extreme to him. Dr. Tarnoff replied that it IS extreme, but the small calculated risk of surgery far outweighs the guaranteed risk of later problems & a shorter life span if my weighs stays the same. I also brought up my concern about going on our planned vacation to Mexico (leaving Thxgiving Day) in late Nov. I did NOT want to be seeking medical treatment in a 3rd world country w/o any specialists around!! Dr. Tarnoff said that if I were scheduled for early Oct., I should be fine to go and that I would be in a long-term phase, not an acute phase. He said that anything that would go wrong would be as likely to go wrong in 10 years as during our vacation. That made me feel a bunch better. Dr. Tarnoff ended things by saying that my weight was relatively low (I'm juuuuuuuust over a 40 BMI) which is excellent and will reduce my risk of complications. He said I'd be discussed the following Monday at the dept. committee meeting when all the doctors (internists/psych/surgeons/nut) discuss when a patient is ready for surgery.
8/20/06
Well, today I got a little 'gift' in the mail from my internist at NEMC -a vit. D RX. She's told me that many obese people suffer from a vit. D deficiency (something about the fat secreting something that interferes with the absorption of vit. D). At least it's only 1 pill/week...even if the pharmacy charged me a full co-pay ($7) for 4 little pills. I could have worse problems!
8/14/06
Well, DH has agreed to be "supportive", but I'm not 100% sure he understands what that means (especially when I've addressed trying to eliminate ice cream, a trigger food of mine, from the house). Anyway...so far, I've had the following appointments at Tufts NEMC:
7-26 - Initial meeting - met with behavioral psych
8-11 - Met with exercise physiologist (Dr. Pino) & an internist (Dr. Rollinson)
7/26/06 - Intake appt. with behavioral psychologist & was told I have a moderate binge eating issue (no surprise to me). I need to start losing ~23lbs. before surgery...their guideline is 10% of body weight, but the surgeon may say more or less.
8/11/06 - Met with dietitician & exercise physiologist - I need to change my diet & get on board with an exercise program. I'm actually EXCITED! (Weird...)
Tomorrow is my first meeting with the nutritionist. I need to get better with keeping food logs!!!
6/22/2006
DH & I talked about the possibility of WLS for me the other night. He was really against it and took the "you need to try another diet" line. I was upset and he was upset. I thought he was more upset about our relationship together with food changing (it's something we both enjoy a lot). Tonight, he brought up some statistics of WLS complications and he had obviously been doing some research. It turns out he is most worried about something awful happening to me during or after surgery and he also thought that he was somehow to blame for me wanting WLS (he's not). I explained that I would be doing it for ME...not him. I haven't even been able to get the referral paperwork from my PCP so I explained there's a long road ahead and I may not even qualify for WLS. I told him that he would definitely be involved in the decision making if we got to that point. He made it clear he wanted to be supportive, but has deep concerns for surgery complications.
6/18/2006
I'm so thankful to have found this board. I currently weigh approximately 240 lbs. and am 5'4". I've been overweight since 3rd grade when my love affair with and addiction to food began. I'm currently trying to find out more information about WLS. I am leaning toward a lap band procedure, but b/c of my sweet tooth (which is my downfall), I may opt for an RNY. Right now, my biggest priority is educating myself on the post-surgery diet(s).
I've only talked to 1 friend about me considering WLS so far and she has been really supportive/non-judgmental...I haven't even talked to my DH (married almost 2 years) about it. He is practically a professional athlete so his metabolism is insane & he can eat pretty much whatever he wants. We've been together for over 10 years and he's seen me thinn-ER and seen me gain over the years...and never once made a comment about my weight. I'm nervous to talk to him about it b/c I don't know if he'll be supportive of WLS as a tool to help control my weight.
10/18 - Appt. with anesthesiologist
10/6 - Pre-op testing completed
9/29 - I have a date!! Halloween! :)
9/28 - Sleep study at NEMC
9/25 - Follow up mtg. with psychologist
9/15 - APPROVED! (I didn't find out until 9/21)
9/14 - Insurance submitted & follow up with internist
9/12 - Follow up with nutritionist
9/6 - Meeting with surgeon
8/15 (weekly through 9/23) - 6 week behavior change class
8/15 - Meeting with nutritionist
8/11 - Meeting with internist & exercise physiologist
7/26 - Intake meeting with psychologist
10/6/06
I had to get up sooooo early this morning (on only 3 hrs. of sleep) to catch a train to get into Boston early this morning for my pre-op testing. My appt. was at 8am...I hate that damn 1.5 hour commute! Anyway, at least I had time for a nice leisurely walk (about 1.25 miles) from the train station to NEMC. I met with the PA who'll be doing my post-op check-ups...she's nice, but kind of all over the place. Then I had blood drawn, an EKG and a chest x-ray. I was only annoyed that the communication of what I needed to have done and where to go was non-existent. I was just handed a huge stack of paperwork with a vague instruction that some of it needed to be given to the anesthesiologist (my appt. is the 18th) and some was for me to read. After digging through it, I found the blood labs orders and the pre-op testing itinerary. Oh well. I know I'm not their only patient and that they're busy, but a little direction/explanation would have been greatly appreciated!
10/5/06
I told my mom tonight about my surgery. I was a little concerned about telling her, but she was very supportive and actually told me that she'd thought about it as well, but she didn't know that much about it. She offered to drive up from CT on surgery day, but I told her not to do that b/c DH would be at work (he can't take the day off...he's going to drop me off, then go to work & then come back to the hospital), I would probably not really be awake for most of the day and that hanging out in a hospital was probably not her idea of a good time (especially after driving 3 hours to get there!). She also gave me a list of things to tell the anesthesiologist as she's had quite a bit of surgery in the past and has had some bad reactions. I don't want any bad reactions so I was sure to write it all down! Well, I'm off to bed...I have to be on a 6:20am train tomorrow morning to make it to NEMC for my pre-op testing! Nighty-night!
9/29/06 (again!)
I have a date! My surgery is scheduled for 10/31/06 - Halloween! Interestingly, the only other time I've had surgery (tonsillectomy) was ALSO on Halloween!
9/29/06
I had my sleep study last night. It wasn't as bad as I expected and the nurse was a sweetheart. Actually, the biggest PITA was when I got a call yesterday afternoon that they were cancelling the appointment because I hadn't called to confirm the appointment!! They said they'd left several messages at home (which I never got) so they were cancelling (which they called me at work to do). If they were calling my work to cancel, why didn't they call work to confirm?!?!?! GRRRR! Plus DH had make plans to skip playing hockey yesterday AM so he could drop me at the train station (I can't park there overnight) and I had schlepped my overnight bag with me to work in downtown Boston and was planning on going right from work to NEMC for the sleep study. Well, I flipped the b*tch switch on the woman and she finally gave in & let me have the study. What an ordeal! The nurse couldn't tell me anything about the results so now I'm more curious than ever about my results. DH told me last night that there was a phone message at home for me telling me to call the surgeon's assistant b/c she had a "tentative" date for my surgery. I'll have to ask why they're calling it a tentative date...maybe b/c if I gain weight or pre-op testing doesn't go well that they can reschedule??? I dunno. I got into work early this AM (a 20 min. commute from the hospital was 1 perk of the sleep study vs. my usual 90 min. commute!). A woman I work with was asking about my sleep study and we got talking and I told her about my surgery. She was amazingly supportive and so sweet. For some reason, I just started bawling...I think knowing that the date is coming (instead of just "someday soon") is really shaking me up. It was just nice to hear from someone at work who is really supportive. I'm so afraid of dealing with the issue at work for fear of the stigma & ignorance that often comes with WLS.
9/25/06
I had my follow up meeting with the psychologist today. The good news is that I lost another pound (I think)...or maybe it was a half pound. Whatever - it's a miracle I lost anything after eating part of that brownie sundae at dinner on Saturday night (a planned splurge, but a splurge nonetheless)! I should be thankful for the little things, right? She was the final signature needed to FINALLY get a date. She said I was discussed at their meeting this morning and everyone else signed off. She said I should get a date with a week. I'm officially antsy....I've been promised a date for about 2.5 weeks now. When I was waiting for Dr. Kaplan today, I heard a guy talking about just getting a date of 10/24 which means they're now booking into LATE Oct. - so much for early October unless they squeeze me in somehow. DH & I will probably have to delay our Mexico vacation if that happens. DH got a date for his ankle surgery - 12/6 so he's also wound up & anxious. Well, tomorrow's our 2nd wedding anniversary and I think we'll stick together for awhile. It's 11:45pm and I need SLEEP! I'm off to bed for now!!
9/21/06
Thank goodness, the date of service on my approval letter was wrong. The surgeon's assistant said they always give a date much sooner than anticipated to make the ins. company push the response faster. YAY! I reminded her of our vacation in late Nov. and that Dr. Tarnoff said to shoot for early October...she said she'd "see what (she) can do" and get back to me in a few days!! I'm so anxious. I NEED a date! I'm a planner...I need to get everything all set in place. It's weird, but that's how I am. I told a co-worker/our office manager (she knows about the WLS) about how the date was wrong and she started freaking out about how I'd be out "the whole fall" and what a burden it was going to be on her. Whatever. I was a little PO'd. I always cover for her and NEVER give her a hard time when she takes time off, but she ALWAYS tries to make me feel like sh*t when I do. It really ticks me off. Oh well. She'll just have to deal.
9/20/06
I'm APPROVED!!!!! I got my letter in the mail today from BCBS and I was approved on my first shot. I didn't even know the hospital had put in for the approval, but what a great surprise! I love BCBS and I'd heard that they are pretty lenient with WLS. I'm a lucky, lucky, lucky woman! The letter gives the 'date of service' is 9/26 (less than a week away) so I'm freaking out, but I suspect that they must have put in a false date or something. If it's not, I have SOOOO much to do! I would really feel like a jerk not even being able to give a week's notice!!
9/14/06
Met with my internist, Dr. Rollinson, today. We went over the lab results from my last visit. Everything was good except my vitamin D (I was a 12 and goal is at least 20...20 what, I don't know -ha ha)! That was why she sent my the vit. D RX a few weeks ago. It's just 1 pill/week and I can definitely deal with that. I was concerned about my blood sugars. She said they were normal, but she also mentioned that the normal range is small (4.8-5.8) and I was a 5.3...normal but 2/3 of the way to not normal. She said if I ever needed a reason to look back on this surgery, she said that that could have quickly gone too high and I could have easily become diabetic (which I know and really encouraged me to go for this surgery). Diabetes in my family runs rampant and I know that it would be knocking on my door soon if I didn't do something.
9/12/06
Met with the nutritionist, Gloria, today. She was really happy with my progress so far (-11 lbs. since 1st weigh-in at the clinic). She reviewed by food diary and said she was really happy with my food choices. I raised a few issues I'd been struggling with and she helped tweak the plan. I also raised my concern of going to an all-inclusive resort (read: food & booze fest) in Nov. and managing to make healthy choices, especially when you don't always know what you're eating. She was very helpful & wants to meet a week or so before we leave so she can give me some tips/coaching. When I mentioned that I was supposed to be discussed yesterday at the committee meeting, she didn't think they had, but she volunteered to send an email to my 'team' to make sure I'm addressed as they're all going to be presenting at a symposium next week in NC so there won't be a traditional committee meeting.
9/6/06
I met with the surgeon today, Dr. Tarnoff. He was great and, while many questions didn't spring to mind, he offered to make himself available to me or concerned family members if any questions arise. The one thing I do recall is him asking how DH was dealing with it. I told him that DH was "supportive" (and I used air quotes), but he didn't really understand why I was going down this road and that it seemed so extreme to him. Dr. Tarnoff replied that it IS extreme, but the small calculated risk of surgery far outweighs the guaranteed risk of later problems & a shorter life span if my weighs stays the same. I also brought up my concern about going on our planned vacation to Mexico (leaving Thxgiving Day) in late Nov. I did NOT want to be seeking medical treatment in a 3rd world country w/o any specialists around!! Dr. Tarnoff said that if I were scheduled for early Oct., I should be fine to go and that I would be in a long-term phase, not an acute phase. He said that anything that would go wrong would be as likely to go wrong in 10 years as during our vacation. That made me feel a bunch better. Dr. Tarnoff ended things by saying that my weight was relatively low (I'm juuuuuuuust over a 40 BMI) which is excellent and will reduce my risk of complications. He said I'd be discussed the following Monday at the dept. committee meeting when all the doctors (internists/psych/surgeons/nut) discuss when a patient is ready for surgery.
8/20/06
Well, today I got a little 'gift' in the mail from my internist at NEMC -a vit. D RX. She's told me that many obese people suffer from a vit. D deficiency (something about the fat secreting something that interferes with the absorption of vit. D). At least it's only 1 pill/week...even if the pharmacy charged me a full co-pay ($7) for 4 little pills. I could have worse problems!
8/14/06
Well, DH has agreed to be "supportive", but I'm not 100% sure he understands what that means (especially when I've addressed trying to eliminate ice cream, a trigger food of mine, from the house). Anyway...so far, I've had the following appointments at Tufts NEMC:
7-26 - Initial meeting - met with behavioral psych
8-11 - Met with exercise physiologist (Dr. Pino) & an internist (Dr. Rollinson)
7/26/06 - Intake appt. with behavioral psychologist & was told I have a moderate binge eating issue (no surprise to me). I need to start losing ~23lbs. before surgery...their guideline is 10% of body weight, but the surgeon may say more or less.
8/11/06 - Met with dietitician & exercise physiologist - I need to change my diet & get on board with an exercise program. I'm actually EXCITED! (Weird...)
Tomorrow is my first meeting with the nutritionist. I need to get better with keeping food logs!!!
6/22/2006
DH & I talked about the possibility of WLS for me the other night. He was really against it and took the "you need to try another diet" line. I was upset and he was upset. I thought he was more upset about our relationship together with food changing (it's something we both enjoy a lot). Tonight, he brought up some statistics of WLS complications and he had obviously been doing some research. It turns out he is most worried about something awful happening to me during or after surgery and he also thought that he was somehow to blame for me wanting WLS (he's not). I explained that I would be doing it for ME...not him. I haven't even been able to get the referral paperwork from my PCP so I explained there's a long road ahead and I may not even qualify for WLS. I told him that he would definitely be involved in the decision making if we got to that point. He made it clear he wanted to be supportive, but has deep concerns for surgery complications.
6/18/2006
I'm so thankful to have found this board. I currently weigh approximately 240 lbs. and am 5'4". I've been overweight since 3rd grade when my love affair with and addiction to food began. I'm currently trying to find out more information about WLS. I am leaning toward a lap band procedure, but b/c of my sweet tooth (which is my downfall), I may opt for an RNY. Right now, my biggest priority is educating myself on the post-surgery diet(s).
I've only talked to 1 friend about me considering WLS so far and she has been really supportive/non-judgmental...I haven't even talked to my DH (married almost 2 years) about it. He is practically a professional athlete so his metabolism is insane & he can eat pretty much whatever he wants. We've been together for over 10 years and he's seen me thinn-ER and seen me gain over the years...and never once made a comment about my weight. I'm nervous to talk to him about it b/c I don't know if he'll be supportive of WLS as a tool to help control my weight.
