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Well it's been a little while since I blogged.... Holidays are such a hectic time.  So far I have lost over 60lbs.  Not positive about the exact amount lost right now. I refuse to own a scale so I weigh in at my mom's house when I visit her. At Christmas time my weight was 297 so that's 60lbs down in a little over 2 months....  Which I'm so excited about.  I bought a pair of jeans on the 18th and they fit snug and looked really nice, but already they are baggy on me.  I'm amazed at how fast my body seems to be changing.  I went through my closet this weekend and got out my clothes that didn't used to fit and now have lots of new things to wear thank goodness.  I'm also donating 3 huge bags of clothes to the Goodwill, they never seem to have plus size clothes but now I'll furnish their whole section of plus size! Hopefully they all find good homes. So weird how attached you can get to a shirt. LOL!  I still haven't had any major issues or problems.  I tend to get nauseous when I eat too many nuts or peanut butter, I think it's the fat content, but nothing too bad.  I ate some sugar free apple pie at Christmas time but I think I ate some of the crust because I got a little nauseous from that.  I feel like I'm eating normal portions and don't feel deprived in the least.  It's so amazing the changes I've seen in myself.  My mom said it's really something special to watch me change the way I have and so quickly.  The energy I have is amazing and I feel so great and I'm not even any where close to being near goal.  I still can't picture myself in "one"derland. =o)  But hopefully I'll make it there....  So here's to an awesome year to come and leaving an awesome year behind!

 Yup, I'm on finally on the losers bench!  Surgery was last Monday, 10/19. I was in the hospital until Wednesday.  It was a long 3 days.  I was told to be at the hospital at noon and they didn't even take be back to prep until 4:30 and I had to wait another hour and a half before they wheeled me back to the OR.  Then I wake up in the recovery unit and I'm told there is no rooms available so me and 6 other patients had to sleep over in the recovery unit.  All I can say is thank goodness for the pain pump so I could sleep thru all the other patients yelling and moaning and screaming.  I spent all of Tuesday in the recovery unit as well and didn't get into a room until 10pm that night and the room had no AC.  Finally Wednesday I was released and got to leave at 3pm.  BUT, I made it.  I made it thru all of that and I'm doing good.  I had my follow up this week and lost 13.5lbs from the day of surgery and a total of 17.5 from my highest weight on 10/7/09.  I'm well into my protein shake stage and I have to be honest it's getting really old, but I just keep telling myself that this stage doesn't last forever and I keep pushing through.  I'm getting in all my fluids and I've been getting over the 60g of protein recommended, now it's time to start walking.  My abdominal area feels great, I'm actually surprised at how fast that area is healing. I can bend twist and almost sleep on my stomach again.  My engagement ring is already starting to feel a bit looser. LOL!  I still can't believe I'm on this side now!  So many years I've read about everyone else and it's actually ME now!  Someone pinch me!

Finally, after 8 years and 3 insurance companies I have been approved for surgery and will be having surgery Monday Oct 19th.  I'm full of excitement and have a little bit of nervousness.  It's been a long time coming and it's still a little surrel that it's happening.  I've seen so many people come and go and have their surgery and now it's finally my turn.  I can't even imagine my life this time next week, next month or next year, it'll be all so brand new!  I can not wait to hike and ride a bike.  I can't wait to jog!  I have NEVER liked to run but I want to be able to jog if I want to.  Two of my long term goals that I have set are:  1. To swim the Cheseapeake Bay Bridge swim
         2. To run/jog a 5K. 
The swim has always been a dream of mine but the 5K is a new goal for me.  I don't know why, but I want to do that.  I don't care if I have to crawl over the finish line I'm gonna do it and I can't wait.

I'm ready.  I'm set.  Here I go!

So I have everything done right except my psych eval tomorrow and then I see Dr. Gandsas on Wednesday for rib check and I'm hopeing to schedule my surgery. I assume at that point the office will submit to UHC to get approval.  That's where I get nervous.  Not having any of the pre-op tests done, my nervousness comes from waiting to hear back from UHC.  Having had gone thru this twice before only to be turned down by the insurance companies, this is where I get nervous and anxious.  I work with insurance and I KNOW how often they mis-quote benefits.  I was told and someone at the surgeons office was told that I did NOT need 3-6 month diet documentation, but why do I have this sneaking suspision that's all gonna change once they submit for approval?    But, all I can do is try to be patient.  Considering I've gotten everything done in a month is pretty impressive I think.  BTW, if anyone is reading this that hasn't had their EGD done yet, I HIGHLY recommend Sinai GI Associates.  That team was AWESOME!  Didn't feel a thing and didn't even have a sore throat. Dr. Jani was so cool too. 

So, just to recap I have had my labs done, chest xray and abdominal ultrasound done, cardiologist clearance, EGD, my pre surgery nutritionist class and my pre-op nutristionist class and my psych eval is tomorrow.  Hopefully I'll be updating my surgery date w/in the next few days and please pray that I'm posting that I'm approved soon as well. 

Had my consult w/Dr. Gandsas on Tuesday, went well. He asked me when I was looking to have surgery and I told him I was ready to rock and roll, I actually got a little laugh outta him and he said if I can get everything done by the third week of September to give his office a call and he would try to squeeze me in the end of September, but I'm not sure that will happen, but damned if I'm not trying!  I'm a little worried about the insurance though.  I was told when I called that I didn't need 3-6 months diet history, the girl at the surgeons office said i didn't need the 6 month diet history, but my coworker who had the band done DID need it.  So I don't know.  I work w/health insurance everyday and I know you can mis quoted all the time so I'm a little concerned about that because our benefits may change 2010.  So keep prayers coming my way that everything is good and works out. 

I have my cardiologist appt next Thursday to get my EKG and cardio clearance.  I'm getting my blood work next week and then I can set up my EDG.  I'm waiting to hear back from the psych office for that appt as well.  So everything is moving along...  It's so hard to NOT get excited at this point.    I just keep thinking "oh my God, this could really, FINALLY be happening!"  It's just so awesome. 

 Super excited today, got the call from Sarah at Dr. Gandsas office that they can get me in 9/1/09, only 1 week from today!  I was so expecting to wait 2-3 months before I could get in.  Wow, this may actually happen this time.  After trying twice already to have surgery and having insurance deny I'm a wee bit excited that this may actually happen.  For the past few years I've just stopped thinking about it after the last time I didn't get approved and now I'm thinking about all the possibilites again and I can't explain how happy I feel.  I always say that God will lead me to it when he knows I'm ready so I must be ready!  I'm hoping for a surgery date before the end of the year because our insurance may be changing.  So I have a busy year ahead of me.  I have a wedding to plan and surgery.  But both are super exciting!!!!