StacyJo44

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Well, tomorrow's the big day! I had to take 4oz of MOM last night (Yuck!)...then nothing but clear liquids today. Burning ring of fire, that's all i'm gonna say!  It wasn't so bad, as long as I sipped all day, I never got sever hunger pangs. Soon i'll be off to bed and tomorrow I think i'll be too nervous and excited to be hungry. I took some pictures tonight and added them to my page. They aren't very flattering, but they're honest! All that's left is to pack a few things for my overnight stay in the Hospital. It's been just over 9 months since I started this journey by attending my clinics bariatric seminar. After getting my insurance requirements for approval, I remember thinking that a 6 month program with the dietitian was going to feel like forever. Now, I look back and realize how quickly it went by. It was worth it to get the extra help from the dietitian and to have extra time to research and learn about my type of surgery and the lifelong changes that will come with it. This is definitely NOT something you rush into! By this time tomorrow, i'll be out of surgery and my new life will begin. I should be nervous but so far i'm feeling pretty calm and mostly just relieved to have made it to surgery with only a few very minor bumps in the road but no major obstacles! I decided to blog because I wanted to be able to share my journey and experiences with others. When I first decided to look into WLS, a friend recommended this site and I found that reading blog posts gave some great insight into how WLS was changing lives. Some of the bloggers have provided wonderful tips and advice as well as the general information based on their individual experiences that is EXTREMELY helpful to others and especially those new to the WLS journey and the OH site. I hope that by sharing my experiences, I too might be able to help out others. I'll post an update after I return home from the hospital. Happy New Year everyone!

  Had my pre-op physical and now it's just 3 days till surgery. I'll have to be at the hospital at 8am on the 31st and surgery is scheduled for 10am. I went out yesterday and picked up some childrens tylenol, two types of protein powders, my multivitamins and a liquid form of calcium and vitamin D.  I couldn't find a chewable calcium and D supplement that had the nutritional requirements AND enough daily servings to be worth the cost in any stores and ended up ordering some online, I also found a great deal online for the B12 sublingual vitamins. Today i'll be picking up my liquid diet supplies for the first 3 weeks post op and for my liquids only requirement the day before surgery. I've lost more than the required 10% pre-op weight and so i'm not going to feel guilty for treating myself to one last steak dinner today  I got a little money for Christmas and plan on picking up a Wii tomorrow. I think some of the Dance and fitness games will be great for getting some indoor exercise post op since the weather forecast here in MN is calling for temps to drop into the teens. After I heal up a bit, the outdoor walks in the cold will be fine, but for now, I think i'd rather shake my booty to some music in a warm house than be shaking in my boots out in the cold! LOL  This has been an amazing journey so far. I've lost 20.5 lbs pre-surgery, quit smoking, done my research into the Roux en Y procedure, taken dietary classes, met with a psychologist, formed a support group of friends and family and also found a local bariatric support group that meets near by. I've made lists and notes, made marks on my calendar, cleaned my house and my cupboards. I've spent a lot of time preparing mentally and setting realistic goals. I have a wonderful bariatric staff on my side and my local physician is backing me 110%!  I'm set up financially to be out of work for 2 weeks and my supervisors at work are supportive of my post surgery needs. As far as I can tell, i'm about as prepared as I can be. I'm not nervous yet, but i'm sure by Tuesday afternoon as I finish my last day of work and pack my hospital bag, i'll be a bit of a wreak. I've started having dreams. Nothing scary though. They are mostly dreams where i'm running! I can't wait to be able to RUN again! They give me hope and make me feel that mentally, even my subconscious is ok with this decision and it's telling me i've made the right choice. I'm ready. I know that after surgery, i'll have some rough times but being aware of that probability and expecting it is half the battle. I do feel like I have a bit of an advantage in that I'm a single mom and my son is nearly 19 and pretty much doing his own thing now. I don't have to deal with the emotional issues that some have with cooking meals for family that you can't partake in immediately post op. Or even shopping for those foods. I can take my first 3 weeks and just focus on me and my needs as I adjust to the dietary changes and especially the liquid post op diet while I heal. A while back, my son made his own changes in his dietary habits and lost the little bit of excess weight he was carrying. Since then he has become pretty independent with his meals and cooking so there won't be much in the way of emotional torture from the smells of taboo foods being cooked in the house! As someone with ADHD who needs organization and structure, I LOVE that i'm having my surgery on the last day of 2014. I will be starting my new life on the first day of the New Year and there is nothing my mind loves more than exactitude's! Each new year will also be exact anniversary dates for my new life! I won't be ringing in 2015 with champagne or drinks at a bar with friends. Instead, i'll be in a hospital bed with an IV and nurses, but it's still going to be the best New Years celebration EVER! 

I got the call on Thursday, My insurance approved and will have my surgery on December 31st. I can't think of a better way to start the new year! I have my pre-op physical this Tuesday and will need to go shopping for my post surgery liquid diet, but my medical leave from work is all set up and the housework is caught up, I have all my teaching instructions, phone numbers, support group info, friends and family standing by to help in any way and most importantly, I'm mentally prepared and determined to succeed. I hope to get some pre-op photo's on here in the next couple of days and then update them as time goes by. I found that looking at others pictures helped me stay focused and on track as I worked through all my pre-op requirements as well as giving me hope that I too could be successful with this surgery if I put my mind to it!

I have such a confusing insurance policy! After submitting my request for approval TWICE, we were finally able to figure out the problem and get that resolved. I should have no problem being approved and will hear by the 19th. I also have my teaching class and meet with my surgeon on the 19th. A pre-surgery physical on the 23rd and provided there are no glitches, surgery on the 31st!!!! Back in April, I first started this journey with a seminar, after finding out my insurance required a 6 month weight loss program with a dietitian, I thought it would take forever to get here, but I have to say it went by quickly and has been to my benefit. I'm nearly ready to take the next step and find my spot on the losers bench. 

It's been a few months since I've logged on or updated my blog and I'd like to apologize to my friends on here who may have messaged me or commented on my blogs and didn't hear back from me. Over the summer I had some problems with my back which ended up being degenerative disk disease. Happily, I was able to get treatment and it's no longer troubling me. I've also been working with my dietitian to lose my pre-op weight and had my last required appointment with her on Monday. I have reached my pre-op weight goal!!! I had to repeat my blood labs and those results should be in before next friday. If all goes well with those, my Nurse will be presenting the documents to my surgeon who will submit the necessary documentation for my insurance approval and if THAT all goes well, I might just see a surgery date before the end of the year. It will take me some time to catch up with everyone's blog posts to see how you've been doing with your respective journey's, but it's good to be back and I hope everyone is doing well!

I had my first weigh-in with my dietitian yesterday. I'm down 5 lbs! My insurance requires a 6 month program but my surgery only requires a pre-op weight loss of 12.5 lbs. I know 5 lbs doesn't seem like much, but considering I couldn't do any exercise due to some debilitating back issues, I'm pretty proud. I have an MRI tomorrow to check for a bulging/herniated disk. I hope we can figure this out because i'm really tired of the pain! But at least I know that following the diet plan will still allow me to lose the pre-op weight even if I can't get any exercise in yet. 

So May first I quit smoking. May 3rd I started having low back pain out of nowhere. I didn't do anything to cause it that I can think of, but it's been consistent and some days nearly unbearable. I went to a chiropractor thinking maybe I just needed an adjustment and it help a little for a couple of day, but the last few days it's been just horrible and hampering my ability to do my job. I replaced my mattress and that helped some, but sadly, it didn't cure my symptoms. I started my 6 month diet and can't even go for walks as the pain gets so bad I can't stand up straight. So yesterday was REALLY bad and I went to the doctor to make sure I don't have a bulging disk. He did a wonderful exam and pronounced it sever back strain. After having me do a few stretches, I was able to walk out of the office with no pain and a prescription for Flexeril. WOW! What a difference today. It made me a bit drowsy, but it was worth it! I felt like I was walking on jello LOL! I have some instructions for back strengthening exercises and stretches and feel like I finally have a handle on this and maybe I can get out and do some walking now. My first weigh in with my dietitian is next monday. I'm down about 5 lbs and would like to add a couple more to that before I see her. This has been a major issue for me emotionally because I'm not one to let pain stand in my way. Usually, I take some OTC pain meds and push through it, but i've never had back pain like this where it feels like it's just going to give out. It's so totally incapacitating and that's had me so frustrated. I HATE feeling like I don't have total control of my body! I can't wait to get my butt back into the gym and rebuild my lost muscle mass and hopefully never go through this type of pain again!

...BLAH....So I'm in the first month of a 6 month supervised weight loss program. My dietitian is great, she gave me all the info I need.  3 meals a day, 1500 calories so many servings a day of proteins, starches, fruits, veggies and fats. Lists of foods and serving sizes. And a food journal. Easy right?.....I pre-plan my meals and weigh and measure it all out. So what's the problem? I'm not creative! I hate cooking when my diets NOT restricted. Now i'm trying to be creative to get in all my nutritional needs and betty crocker i'm NOT. (sigh)....The funny thing is, the thing I'm struggling with most is finding a way to eat 3 servings of fruit a day. I like fruit, but it's sweet. It's easiest at breakfast, but lunch and dinner are harder. I just don't crave the sweetness of fruit during the day. Veggies are no problem especially if they're raw. carrots, cauliflower, tomatoes, cabbage, etc. I'm good. protein choices, easy. The starches are a bit of a challenge. I love oatmeal in the mornings, and I usually take a sandwich for lunch, but dinner choices can be a hassle when trying for variety. It's getting easier each day, but some days, I come home from work tired and just want to do a bowl of raisin bran and call it a night. LOL it's funny that I need to struggle to eat MORE. Go figure.  At my next meeting with my dietitian I'm going to ask how to portion or count combination foods ie, lasagna, spaghetti, meatloaf, soups, etc. I think that's part of my problem, i'm keeping it simple to make it easy to track but it's getting bland and boring. I wonder if I can buy weight watchers entrees and how to track those? I'll have to ask her that too. Who knew failing the cooking part of home economics in high school would bite me in the ass as an adult? 

After finding out that the clinic contacted the wrong Insurance i'm happy to say that it's been corrected and the differences between the pre-op requirements are minimal and luckily, I didn't have any unauthorized tests or appointments that made me financially liable. No major setbacks and most differences have to do with pre-authorization more than the actual processes. The one other difference is in the required length of a supervised and managed weight loss program. Instead of 2 months, i'll need 6 months. Since I'd already decided that I wasn't going to rush into this process, I'm happy to take as much time as necessary to meet any requirements and to make sure I go into surgery as prepared as possible for a successful procedure, recovery and all the changes that will affect me for the rest of my life. I think that the key to success in this is knowledge. Education by a dietitian for 6 months instead of 2 can only work in my favor. I've been completely nicotine free for 19 days and every day I add to that before surgery only helps reduce my risks of clots and impaired healing as well and the obvious ones of cancer and respiratory problems for the rest of my life. Though I had hoped for a summer surgery date because it's easier to be outside and active in MN in the summer and easier financially to deal with any unexpected missed work days, I won't see a surgery date now before late October. Still, even that is not a major crisis and it allows me time to prepare. I can start putting some money aside just in case I need it. And if I do have a late fall surgery, I have some time yet to look into options for indoor activities during the really cold or snowy days here. I meet with the Dietitian today for the first time and she will be the one managing my WL program so I didn't waste or lose anytime there either.  I'll meet with my clinic nurse later this week to discuss the changes and just keep moving forward. The important thing is that the differences didn't affect my initial eligibility for surgery and so I'm back on track and moving forward.

I'm sure most of us are initially a bit confused on how the whole WLS process will work when we first start out. Isn't that part of why so many of us join this site? To ask questions or read others posts and histories to help us along? We also expect that our chosen medical team will guide us down the path as we go. Helping with appointments, educating us, encouraging us, etc. Today I found out that the initial information the WLS clinic gave me for my Medical Insurance to approve me is WRONG. Some of the criteria for qualification is incorrect, some of what my insurance covers and doesn't cover doesn't match what the clinic told me. And I'm even more annoyed that when I call the clinic, I can't get in touch with the person I NEED to speak to and instead I keep talking to someone who has NO CLUE what she's talking about but she is giving me instructions that are according to my insurance company, completely WRONG! If I hadn't called my insurance company today, I'd be footing a huge bill because the clinic sent out a referral  without contacting my insurance company first with the required medical data needed for PRIOR authorization. If I had gone to an appointment made from that referral, I'd be paying for the whole process out of pocket!  Not only do the various employees at the clinic have differing answers to my questions, but none of the answers match what my insurance is telling me. Yet the clinic sheet given to me is supposedly from my insurance company. GAAAA!  Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get in touch with the person who was in touch with my insurance company and get to the bottom of this, but SERIOUSLY, these people should have their ducks in a row BEFORE they start giving me instructions!