Rochelle S.
4-23-03
Well here i am. Finally doing my profile that i have said i want to do now for a few months. Yes im a procrastinator. But i have made my decision to have the WLS and im finally ready for my first step of having a consoltation. I now only have to wait for the ins to kick in and ill do just that. Im going to be going to the bariatric center here in Az. Im really excited about this new tool I will have in helping me loose the weight. The pic I have posted here is of me and my husband in 2001 when we got married. Im aprox 340 pounds and am now about 20 pounds bigger.
I do have two kids from a previous marriage as well. My son says he will miss his big pillow LOL. But i tell him how nice it will be when i can actually play with him or do the fun things in life with him. I have a wonderful husband who is standing behind my decision to have the WLS. I have been truely blessed to have such a wondeful family and an awsome God who is leading me to this decision. Ill be back and update this regularly im sure.
Take care and God bless....
4-24-03
I cant wait for more energy!!!!!!!!!!
I dont like feeling like getting up in the morning is a chore.
Im figuring about 50 pounds off and ill start feeling more energetic. I hope and pray anyways. My bigest fear in this is that the ins will say no way. I have no major health reasons and i have never been on any diets that were under a Doc supervision.
So all I can do is pray that God will open a door and let it happen. I must remember God's timing is perfect!.....
4-27-03
Hello all,
Today hasnt been such a wonderful day for me. Just recently i have been having a problem with my own personal hygiene. Its embaracing to say but in order for me to help others i feel i must put this in here. No one but me will prob ever read it anyways. It seems that my big ol belly gets in the way when i try to clean myself after the restroom. So now i must rely on my dear wonderful husband to help keep that area clean. It has made me very upset. A grown woman not being able to take care of her daily needs is a shame. Praise God for Grant. I am truely a blessed woman. Tomorrow will be a better day!
Much love to all!!!
4-28-03
I feel much better today. Not so down in the dumps about a situation that cant change overnight. Anyways.... Today is a wonderful day even tho my car failed emissions again and even if my legs and feet are swollen badly... Atleast im alive...God is good and im very happy for the life He has given me.
Take care and ill post in a few days.
5-2-03
Greetings!!!
Man is it hot here in Arizona... I wish it would snow LOL. Things are good for me today. The car finally passed the emissions and my legs are not so swollen. Im just tired. The heat really gets to me and drains all the umph out of me. Im in a good place today. Im very happy to say that the few words i have put here so far have helped someone already. Me to actually. Because its good to know im not alone. It will be nice when I finally have my consult and i can feel like im actually getting someplace with my journey. The good thing about the bariatric center is that i should be able to get right in when my ins finally kicked in. They even told me to make sure to get the PPO plan because the HMO wont cover the wls. I pray that all goes well with everyone.
Till next time...
God bless
5-6-03
I just signed an ok to let the website use my experience and or pic as they feel neccessary. I can imagine one day driving down the road and seeing my pic larger than life on a billboard advertizing WLS. LOL.... It would all still be worth it. I hope everyone is having a great day as im off to work... Take care and remember Gods timing is perfect .....
5-11-03
Happy Mothers day everyone!!!
I thought I would update here with some of my goals for when i reach my goal.
*Better health
*to actually interact with my kids lives and not just watch
from a distance
*To live life, not just be part of it.
*Have better sex
*leed a non-seditary life
*go back to school and find a carreer goal
*possibly a new baby with my new hubby
*climb a mountain
*buy clothes off any store rack
*go roller skating
Ive also made a list of the health issues i can think of.
*Back pain
*leg(knee,ankle,hip)pain
*bad swelling
*trouble breathing (shortness of breath)
*Tail bone pain all the time
*irritable bowels
*feet hurt very bad when standing to long
*bad snoring
*vary bad circulation in arms(hands go numb all the time)
*bad yeast infections
*no energy
*headaches
*heart burn
and some of the questions i have for my first consultaion will be....
*can my children come to a dr visit with me so they can better understand what will be happening?
*How long will i be out of work?
*will i be able to drink wine again?
*will the bariatric center cover or help to cover the tt after the weight loss?
*If for some reason insurance coverage stops after being approved and before we are finished-are there any programs thru the clinic that would help us finish.
well thats just some of my thoughts for the day.
My family treated me to breakfast in bed this morning and since im sick with a head cold im not going to go to my family get together today.I wish ytou all a happy and healthy day full of love. God bless you all....
much love
5-14-03
I finally got my ins paperwork from work today and boy was i in for a shock when they told me that they didnt offer aetna ppo only hmo. i think i was in a state of shock because i was so pumped, so ready for this. I was really looking forward to the bariatric center to do the procedure. Ill call them this fri and see what they say. If not then i guess ill have to go with just a reg doc in the reg hospital which will be fine i guess. Im thinking if i have a choice of surgeons i want to have dr juarez. i have heardalot of good things from his people. so we will see. Im pretty bummed to say the least.
ill update when i have more.
7-20-03
Its been just over 2 months since i have been here. I still havent done much of anything on my wls journey. Ive been so sick. I had a bad cold for a few weaks at first then the severe coughing i was doing caused me to break a rib. The broken rib put me out of commission for another 4 weeks. i think out of the 6 weeks ive been down i have only worked for about 5 days of them. So i have been hurting physically and financially. But im not in distress about the situation anymore because as always God will provide a way for everything. I will start doing my steps towards approval this Fri. Im not sure exactly how to do it but I will call my ins and ask what my first step is. It is prob to ask my ins company if the wls is approvable or not (i think it is if it is med neccessary). then im sure the next step is to get the doc to say it is med neccessary. With my new med condition and gaining about 40 more pounds i can honestly say i will be adding severe back pain to my list of ailments. I can only pray that i have enough physical conditions to have the doc ok it. I cant believe i am actually looking for unhealthy things about me. Im usually boasting about how im pretty much a healthy fat person. What a shame it is for someone who has no med probs to be denied a chance to live a healthy and active lifestyle.
WLS is a wonderful tool and i cant wait till i have a chance to use mine. Well i will try to update more often.
Take care and God bless.
7-25-03
Well i did it. I have called my doctor and made an apt to get a referal to a surgeon. This is my first step. I hope all goes well. It should anyways, this is just to get the referal.... My worry will come when i have to see the surgeon.... Im worried because i know one of the requirments will be that i have a detailed history of my diet attempts and how long i was on them and how much weight i lost and how long i kept it off. Unfortunatly I have been on so many i cant remember, none of them worked and none were doc supervised...I dont have many health issues going against me so all i can do is pray i have enough (that sounds so strange...). If anyone can help me out with a sample of there diet list id love to get an idea of what is needed for aetna to approve it. Please email it to me at [email protected] Thanks, Ill update again really soom...
Much love to all and God bless
6-14-04
wow i cant believe it has been almost a years since i last updated my journal. And i was one who said i wouldnt do that. I guess i am just one of those who get frusturated at times and dont come back. well i came back and i guess thats the good thing... im not having to bad of a time with the red tape i need to go thru to get my wls. Right now im just waiting to hear back from the ins. If all works out right i might be having my wls in a few months. Ive done so much this past year. I have been diagnosed with sleep apnia and i wear a mask to bed, i have seen a doc for 6 months on a diet regimin and needed meds to loose any kind of weight. I have seen a dietician and a psycologist. The ins also wants me to have 5 years documented weight by a doctor and the only year im lacking is 2000, i never went to the doc in 2000 so there are no papers to show my weight then, but i figure if i was fat in nov of 1999 and fat in feb of 2001 then the ins can certainly figure out that i didnt loose all my weight in that 1 year and gain it all back...but i know ins work on paper only. most of them dont care about logic...well if i dont get approved over that i will just reapply is all... i also switched from dr juarez to dr fang...same office just about 3 months less of a wait. Dr fang is just as good, my moms neighbor had him and had no complaints. well i guess that is all for now...i will try to update really soon... take care and God bless..........
July 8, 2004
All i can say is wow...the dr office submitted my papers and less than a week later i was notified that i was aproved...Beth at Dr Famgs office said that i might be able to have the surgery the beginning of August... thats a heck of a lot sooner than i even imagined. But she has to give my file to the schedualer and she will send me a packet of info and dates for preop and such...so all is pending right now... im so thrilled. I could be half my size by the first of the year... How cool is that.
Well i just wanted to let you all know what was going on...The girls at work are taking me out tonight for a celebration dinner...
i will update again soon...take care and God bless
july 29th....
well guys i have been aproved after just the first try...wow was i suprised... i think it is because i made sure i had all my ducks in a row and nothing was missing...i have 6 months of doc weight managment visits and i was diagnosed with sleap apnia (i think its a good thing or i would have had no co-morbidities), i saw a psychiatrist and a dietician, and whatwever hoops the ins comp set up... and i was aproved whoooooooooooo hoooooooooooo :)
im so excited expecially because my date is the 4th of august...
Im haveing it at St Lukes with dr Fang (my husband laughs whenever i saw his name LOL)...im nervous alot but excited and happy also...im scared i might die and leave my children behind...what if there is complications and what if i come home the die due to a nicked bowel or something...so you see why im alittle nervous LOL... im pretty prepared tho i have asked all the questions and let people know my concerns...well i guess the next time i post will be on the other side and i can claim to be a bif fat looser LOL...Much love to all...God bless
Aug. 8 2004
Well im a big loser now!!!!!
i am out of the hosp and had absolutly not probs at all... the doc says i was right on schedual with everything...Im one of those text book examples ...thanks for the good thoughts and prayers, they do help... I must say that the pain in the recivery room is tremendous... ill never ever forget that pain....thats a good thing because when i can and i have the choice to eat wrong then i will just remember the pain and what i have gone thru to get to this point i will chose differently... Dr Fang is a great doc. ive only ever seen him 3 times and i love him alot. He has saved my life... I lost 4 pounds the day after surgery and cant wait till 2 weeks to see how much i will actually have lost....Well im off to rest now...
Ill try to update as i can...Take care everyone and please feel free to email me anytime, [email protected]
Much Love from the losing side....
Aug. 5 2007
I forgot one of the most important days in my life. Yesterday was the anniversary of my re-birthday. That would be the day I had my WLS (weight loss surgery) A day i said i would never forget and what did i do. I forgot it LOL.... well It was 3 years ago yesterday and I call it me re-birthday. I went into surgery weighing 402 pounds and went home 2 days later weighing 398. The weight started dropping off so quickly because i couldnt eat anything. my new tummy was only the size of a thumb now so i was limited to two ounces of semi liquid food... Now i can eat pretty normally just very small amounts or ill be in throwing up all the time. I do this more than i like to admit. But i have lost 150 pounds and i can actually live life now. I am planning in the future to check into this new procedure to have a revision done on my pouch(stomach). Its a procedure that goes thru the mouth into the stomach and pleats the stomach lining making it smaller. Its for those of us like me who have come to a point where the weight loss has stopped or starting to regain. Basically it fixes a streached out pouch. Im just going to wait a while untill more people have done it. Its to new of a procedure for me to jump right into yet.
I got this email this morning saying happy anniversary and it floored me. I cant believe I forgot. But anyways im here updating my profile 3 years later to tell you what i have accomplished since my re-birth...
Im still at the same job, but i am always looking for the opportunity of change. I have gone back to Australia for a vaccation and it was awsome. (we will be moving there in less than 4 years). I have had some major surgeries done. I had to have my uterus out. My bladder needed to be slung. and I had whats called Rectocel and that needed to be fixed. All three were done at the same time so i didnt have to have 3 different surgery sessions.
Thats me in a nutshell for now.
I have a myspace if anyone wants to add me.
myspace.com/romamith
