Jasmin C.

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Hey Guys ,

Why does it seem the closer you get to your surgery the more hell breaks loose in your life ? I went to bed at 12:00 AM this morning.. I was knocked the hell out and slobbing on my pillow when I received a phone call. it was my mom. ( who is a foreman at a steel mill) she got hurt on her job. She was trying to run lab tests on some chemicals and the darn pipe exploded saturating her with all these chemicals. God is a good God. My mom is fine, she has burns on her hands, face and breasts.. but the burns look like a chemical peel gone a bit crazy ..... the doctors said that she is gonna have no permanent scarring just discomfort (sigh of release) then to top it off..while trying to follow her companies van to their place where they could run additional tests...A Tire on my car blew . I am just so tired right now

God is Able,
Jazz
Talk with you guys on 10-23

Greetings Beautiful People ,

October 23rd is going to be sooo very hectic but definitely in a good way. Silly ole me forgot that I have to go to see my PCP later on that evening at 7:15P to close out month five of my diet and transition into month 6...YAY!! .. My spirits have picked up a bit as you guys can tell and I am starting to feel happy again, still indecisive but definitely happy and excited. The day is going to be something else. I made arrangements with my supervisor and will work from 6-2, the seminar is 4-6, my PCP appointment is at 7:15 ... I will take it in stride and try not to feel overwhelmed. I am going to talk to my PCP also about my concerns and then since I see her after the seminar I will be well prepared. I will update still on 10/23 and tell you guys everything and then on to 11-7 to meet with the surgeon, psych eval and dietician...Yay... keep me in your prayers guys.

Talk With You Soon,
Jazz

Greetings All,

Okay so here we go. .. I know what the previous post was and I was seriously pondering deleting it. I chose not to because from what I hear being undecided and iffy about things is normal during this part of the journey towards WLS. I was at work today... minding my business and I get a phone call yall.. guess from who. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO!!  I was speechless. I was so set on going down the road with Day1 Health that I gave up. I was soooo happy to hear the persons voice on the other line. I will tell you guys this. I am so in between the Lap band and the RNY right now. I just decided to keep praying on it and then present it to the surgeon which will be Dr. Vivek Prachand.  I am going to ask him which one he thinks will be best for me and tell him my pros and cons on each one. I am iffy now because I actually don't know what suits me. Moving along. Day 1 health only offered one type of surgery and University of Chicago currently offers three which include Lapband, RNY and the DS.  My insurance covers only the two I am thinking about. I was supposed to attend a seminar with Day1 health tomorrow after work but when I got the call from University of Chicago I did a quick change of plans .  I am scheduled to attend their seminar on 10.23.07 at 4:00 in the afternoon and then guys gues what..... I am scheduled with a three part appointment on 11/7. I meet with my surgeon, I get a psych eval and I meet with the dietician there. They told me to anticipate to be at this appointment for up to three hours. They will review my case and then decide if I am a good fit for their program and then by that time I will have my last PCP's Dr appountment and will be ready to submit to my insurance company ... newbies if u are reading this.. please hang in there and don't give up. I used to think that me getting to this point would be so far away and now look at me.. it is extremely close and I am verrrrrry emotional  and unsure of damn near everything. ... I have been thinking alot of the possibilites of not waking up from the anesthia, I have one sibling that is about to make 13,  I think about her and how she would feel if I died.( if I don't wake up), also the effect on my mom, dad (I am his only child) and friends.. never thought about this too much before. I am thinking about writing letters to them just in case.. okay off of that. I remember vaguely reading a ladies profile when I was fairly new and at this point  in her WLS journey she was looking on the memorials on here. God brought me to this so he shall bring me through it.. thats what I am going to have to keep telling myself. Oh.. I have a boyfriend you guys ..LOL  fine time to mention him when everything else is falling apart.. but truly u guys, he is my calm in the storm.. the relationship is verrry long distance and I promise details will be shared at a later date. Ok.. I will update on 10/23 when I get in from the seminar. I am getting sleepy now.
Good Night,
Jazz

Greetings All ,

Alrighty here we go.. I know I am so passed due for an update.. I promise no more gaps.. it's just been alot going on (I hate when i see this on others profiles)  But.. I am back peoples!! LOL... with alot of news.. okay so here we go. I submitted my information to University of Chicago to be accepted in their Obesity Program. I submitted this info close to three weeks ago and guess what ?! No freaking call back, email or anything. I was being sent to a generic mailbox where I left mesages for people to  contact me and never got a response. The panic set in .. I am like "Oh sh*t".. I am damn near done and don't have a surgeon or anything. I pulled myself together and started searching for programs that I have heard of. I called Cigna and had to verify that they cover the list of surgeons I provided. I called Day One Health here in Chicago and talked with a rep, she told me to re-verify with my insurance that they covered the facility and surgeon . I did this and called back wanting to speak to the initial rep and forgot her name so I spoke with Becky.  can you guys say god-send ??!! She was sooo very helpful.. she asked me a few questions, asked about my insurance, I told her Cigna and she was like oh.. well they usually require a 6 months pre-op diet. I was like yeah I know.. she was like well u can call when u are half way done. I said .. I am more than that, I am in month 5.. it got real quiet.... u could as my granny would say "hear a mouse pissing on cotton" ..LOL. She was like u need to get in a program I told her the whole story of University of Chicago and she was like wow.. she then asked what surgeon I was looking for and told her my insurance covers 2 that are in her location. She was like well first things first. Come to a seminar and bring your insurance card.  I was like okay.. so where is the surgery performed and she told me right downtown in the heart of the Gold Coast. I was like oh, thats cool. What hospital will I be transferred to.. she was like we only do the Lapband surgery here. I was about to tell her ahi nos vemos (that was spanish for holler back)  The it came.. a moment of reflection, divine intervention or whatever you may wanna call it  but it came yall. When I first started researching  WLS the Lapband was my initial choice. I started doing more research and RNY really appealled to me. I am gonna be very honest with u guys. I know both of them have pros and cons but for the RNY I disregarded all cons because I wanted the quick results it offers, which shouldn't have been my main deciding point. I had to weigh my main motivation and to be honest with you guys. It didn't taked me 10 months to put this weight on, so why rush to lose it so quickly. Do I wanna lose hair, teeth or when I am ready to start having kids have preemies, or any other of the common side effects of RNY. No, I didn't. There are cons to the band as well. I had to ask myself did i want a foreign object in my body, did I want to get fills or face the horror of a slippage and XYZ. But u guys... I just really thought about alot and  I came to the conclusion that my choice is my choice and I have to feel comfy with it. Not friends, family, or foes. U feel me ? I am chosing the Lapband. Final answer..LOL. Anyways, Becky who I was telling you about told me she got the band and her story and that she will be conducting the seminar with her before and afters... no she didn't sell me on this decision, my heart did. I will update in 4 days after the seminar. Oh, I just wanted to say thank you to a special friend on here that gave me the inside #'s to University of Chicago from the lap band boards.. girll u are the bomb!! -
Toodles,
Jazz

Greetings Beautiful People ,

I missed you guys so much. I am feeling o-so much better !!! The new dose of Paxil is exactly what I needed. The blueness is at a minimal. I also noticed that the Femcon (birth control to regulate periods and help with my PCOS) actually for the first time allows me to expierience PMS...LOL... since I normally hardly ever received periods I never really got hormonal around my time of the month. Lately I notice that about a week before i get sooooo very tired , my joints hurt, I want chocolate (which is horrible) and my skin breaks out then magicaly as soon as I start my cycle all of these syptoms magically disappear.  This is something amazing to me... sorry if this was T.M.I for the fellas (LOL)

The doctors visit went well. Given that I was on new meds and I wasn't my usual happy go lucky self my weight stayed the same... Thank God! I was so happy I did not gain. I didn't lose but hey.. I did not gain (stayed the same) and that is a big thing to me, especially given my personal struggles this week.  My doctor put a big smile   on my face when she told me that my time is approaching .  I think at the beggining of the journey it seemed so far away that I never let the anticipation sink in. I am nearing the tail in...wow... this is surreal.  The next step is contacting University of Chicago Hospitals bariatric team. I will be doing this is 2 weeks. I have to pay $125.00 to them and then they will set me up with a seminar, meeting my surgeon, all of the medical tests and my psych val. I will update along the way. My next doctors appointment is Tuesday 10/23... talk to you guys soon!
Jazz

Greetings All,

Yesterday was my fourth check in with my wonderful physician. I am down to 331 on her scale!! 15 LBS gone !!! YAY  I am  pretty excited that time is moving along.. hopefully I will be on the losers bench before you know it.  I am starting to get excited now.  I had an honest moment with my doc and told her that my Paxil is doing half a job being that it totally takes away my anxiety.. I haven't had an attack since she prescribed it back in May, however my depression is getting worse.. I am starting to feel so blue.. to the point that I have had crying episodes at work. (in the bathroom of course) but still I know that this is not normal. I am going through my normal dysfunctional stresses.. family,finances, friends... but also I know I am to blame because I have never practiced the speak your mind method , letting people know when I am getting tired of ther sh*t (sigh)  I can't wait to get rid of this PDS (personal  dormat syndrome) LOL....  Anyways she upped the dosage of Paxil from 20 to 30. So lets see how this works. Oh, I totally forgot to tell you guys about my Chantix experience( the quit smoking meds)Well it was working pretty well.. I went from5  packs per week  to 2.  I stopped the meds because of stress and wanting to puff away .. (okay.. I know this isn't good) I plan on starting it again really soon. My next PCP appointment is 09/22 so I guess I will be talking to you guys around then. Oh a few more things. Next month is when I get things started with University of Chicago's Obesity program. I will keep you guys updated ! Hopefully I will feel alot more together in my next post.
Until Next Time,
Jazzi 

Greetings All,

I rushed to my Doctors office from work yesterday and guess what  I totally forgot that someone called to reschedule my appointment today for this upcoming Saturday (8/18) I was slightly mad at myself but I shrugged it off. I have lost weight. I checked my scale this morning and it read 335. I was able to fit into some get-em girl blue jeans that I never could before.. I bought them close to 2 years ago on sale at Lane Bryant and thought I could wear them.. size 26  (true to fit no stretch)  Earlier in the week I could tell my stomache went down so I reached up top of my armoire and put them on.. and guess what.. they freaking fit ( YAY) I wore them damn near the whole weekend (LOL) I am now starting to get excited about this surgery. Don't get me wrong I was happy before but now it is becoming more of a reality. I have purchased 3 books so far about the surgery and I have still been praying but I promise you guys that I can't believe it is so close. I can smell my skinniness...LOL.... I am still struggling with my own self worth demons . Long story.. I will talk about that Saturday when I blog about my doctors appointment. I am getting to the point where I am sick of not speaking up for myself. I have read various profiles and alot of people gain more confidence and end the PDS  (personal door mat syndrome) after the surgery. I truly hope this will be my testimony. Okay enough already... I love you all. My wish is that my journaling on here will help someone along their journey just as many others journals helped me along the way. I will speak with you guys in a few days!
Jazzi 

Greetings Beautiful People ,

Yesterday (7/10/2007) was my visit with my PCP.  Before I even go into my visit let me first tell some of you something... When all hell is breakin'  loose it's because heaven is ready to burst open for you. This week (keeping in mind that today is only Wednesday) has been hellish! I have been having issues with my homelife, love life, financial life and then to my overweight life   I got into a bad tiff with a close friend, my ex called me out the blue, I haven't heard from him since January, he's the one who told me that I am his dream woman but he can't get past my weight , I don't understand how we could kick it, laugh, share, make love and all that stuff but three years later you realize it's my size... and for those of you with wandering minds, no this surgery isn't for a man.... this beautiful gift is all for me and mines... LOL.. Him and everyone else that were half-assed in my corner can kick rocks.... (yes I said it)... moving right along..... I was on the boards and saw a post about surgery and smoking. I knew in the door from my earlier research on WLS that smoking has to go atleast 2 months before surgery because of the potential risks it has. I found out from the boards about a prescription drug called Chantix. It's supposed to be one of the most successful medicines to help you kick the habit. The only down-side is that because it is new, most insurance companies don't cover it. The cost of the medicine is supposed to be anywhere from $115-130. Alrighty from here we can go to the PCP visit and I will get more in depth about Chanitx later..... I gained 6 pounds  Its my fault. I let depression get to me. This is not an excuse, I am not going to harbor, I am going to move forward. I am not going to lie.. I was a tad upset but I can't blame anyone but me.  I have to buckle down and start making it happen while I can in this time window from this diet. My doctor never really gave me a goal weight to get down to during these 6 monthsbut to be honest with you guys I would like to get down to 315 or 310. I am currently at 344.6 . 30LBS... it may get ruff, but I know that the weight loss can help minimize stress on my body around surgery time  Moving forward, the insurance carrier that I have (Cigna PPO) provides a huge discount with Chantix, my doctor gave me a $10.00 off coupon so the cost for me with my insurance is $25.00 minus $10.00 is bringing me to a grand non-smoking total of $15.00 , you can't beat that with a bat. My doctor said she will provide clearance for me in October, so University of Chicago here I come!!! (thats where my surgeon is)  I will probably start the initial process with them in September, my supervised diet will be over in October. Praise God My next appointment to see my wonderful PCP is 08/14.. so I guess I will holler then... if anything interesting happens maybe before

Holla at You Guys Later,
Jazzi

(6/23/2007)
Greetings,

I just wanted to drop in and say hello to you all. My next PCP visit is 07/10/2007.  Work is going well. I am going to speak to the Director of my department at work this Monday in reference to a new position. I had the oppurtunity to train some new hires and I think that being a trainer may be my calling.
My love life sucks. I know this sounds horrible but I am being honest with you guys when I say I am giving up on love. I have been single for 3 years. I have dated in between but nothing serious. I am getting a tad lonely and I try to block it out of my mind but sometimes it gets so hard . I keep telling myself that when God is ready the right man will come. I am excited about this surgery because I know I will feel more comfortable with my body image and maybe can go out into the dating field full throttle . Moving right along, I just wanted to say hello and update before my next visit. Holler at you guys in July. Happy fourth in advance!!
Jazzi 

(6/09/2007)
Greetings Beautiful People,

This was my second visit to my PCP for the physicians monitored diet. Good news!! I lost 8 lbs Yay!!!!!!  How the hell did I do it ? Don't ask me. I actually did dibble and dabble with eating a bit more healthy so I guess it paid off but I know I can do much better. My blood pressure went down 2 points and my lab results came back. I am not borderline diabteic (big smile) My kidneys are fine, I am HIV negative (didn't even know they were going to do that test but of course I am happy none-the-less) and my thyroid is normal. Good news to me. The bad news is that I have an upper respiratory infection. I knew somethng was wrong when my throat was hurting a few days ago and just today it hurts to swallow my spit (gross I know) My doctor gave me a presciption for anti-biotics and told me I am doing well. She also gave me a referral to a nutritionist but I am not going to go until I start the steps with my surgeon a little later in the game. oh check this out, when I got on the scale of course I couldn't believe it , so the nurse aid said with the rate your going you may not need the surgery. I just looked at her like she got off the wrong space-ship. LOL I just smiled at her and in my head was like if you only knew. Afterwards I went to the mall and picked up a shirt for later on tonight. One of my closest girlfriends is celebrating her 25th b-day. I will holla at you guys later.
Peace,
Jazzi