I Am So Happy To Be A Loser

It’s been about a month since my last entry and I’m down 8 more pounds! I’ve never been so happy to be a loser!!

I think I want to write this entry in list format since I have a lot to talk about..

-Thanksgiving was great!  I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to eat *real* Thanksgiving food, but I did.  I just had 4 ounces of it

-Since I’m not eating a lot of food, my cravings for desserts have gone down (they are still there but not as much).  Most times I’d just rather eat a meal then waste time on a dessert which wouldn’t be so filling.

-Like I said before, I still like dessert.  But rather then trying to squeeze it in after every meal like I sometimes did pre-surgery, instead I just have something small at night which satisfies me.  Last week I made a peanut butter pie recipe that I got from the Lapband website. AMAZING!  Hubby even had a slice and thought it was super sweet and rich.  He almost didn’t believe me when I told him the main ingredient was sugar free jello pudding!

-Going out to eat has decreased to maybe once a week if I’m lucky.  This has saved us soo much money!!

-I found a bunch of support groups (both online and offline) that I am taking advantage of now.  My surgeon also has a support group that runs once a month that I will be trying out.  I even signed up for a Weight Loss Surgery cooking class at Celebration Hospital!  Soo awesome to have people that really understand what I’m going thru.

-I’m up to walking 1.5-3 miles at least 3 times a week.  Doing a 5K in January with hubby!  You should join us!

-My clothing is falling off of me.  I have lots of clothing starting at size 24 (starting size, but now it’s falling off of me) all the way down to 18, so I’ll be covered for the most part till then.  Except right now my smaller clothing is still a little too snug, but my larger clothing is too large.. Oh lord.. me and my Skinny Bitch Problems..

-Recipes:  I’ve been in search for yummy simple recipes..  I was thinking about creating a FB group for recipe swapping.. Let me know if you would participate!

-Oh yeah!  Christmas is coming up soon and I’ll be traveling to NJ to see the family.  It will be nice to get on a plane and be a little smaller, a little more comfortable in my seat.

I can’t think of anything else…..sooooo.. until next time!

A Better Afternoon

On a good note! After my last post I got some suggestions from one of my support groups, perhaps it is time for a fill.  So I bit the bullet and went this afternoon for a fill. Now I have to be on liquids for the rest of the day and tomorrow mushies (which is awesome because I love the mushy stage foods.. ).  I’m a little more optimistic about this now.  Let’s hope the fill helps.

So what exactly happens during a fill?  I basically lay on my back with a pillow under my back, this helps my port (that is located under the skin right above my belly button) protrude out a little so that doctor can find it easier.  He then gave me a local anesthetic at the port site, which felt like a little pinch and then a slight burn.  Once that took effect he injected my port with 1cc of saline. (Painless)  He then made me drink some water to make sure I wasn’t too tight and could keep down fluids.  I was ok so he sent me on my way and told me to call if I have trouble keeping food down.

OH! I almost forgot!  I had my first (and hopefully last) “stuck” episode this past weekend.  Not something to be excited about really, but I kinda am because now I know what it feels like.  And it does NOT feel nice at all, so I don’t ever want to experience that again.  Thank goodness my food didn’t come back up.  I ate too fast and didn’t chew my food enough.  Then I started feeling my food go down.  And I really mean I FELT it..  it was soo painful.  This sharp pain..burning sensation in your chest.  You almost feel like you can’t breathe.. but you can because your airway isn’t being blocked..  But it’s still not fun!  I had to take a sip of water while eating (which is usually a no no) to help the food go down.  The last thing I want is to throw up, too much of that can cause band slippage.

So now, hopefully I haven’t grossed you out too much.  I just felt like I needed to post again.
As always, thanks for listening.

Good Days & Bad Days: Today Is a Bad One

Yesterday was my 4 week ‘bandiversary’.

Yay.

I’m not feeling that excited right now if you couldn’t tell. I didn’t lose any weight last week.  I’ve been exercising.. Not 5 days a week like I over zealously committed to.  But at least I’m doing something.  I’ve been doing Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.  Thirty minutes each day.  And then on the weekend I usually get some walking in.

But I still didn’t lose any weight.

I know that this can happen.  I know it’s normal.  I know people plateau.

Then why do I feel like a failure?

3 Weeks Banded - No Job

Today I am officially 3 weeks banded!  HOORAY!!!  I’m so glad I did this for myself.. Things are going great!  Eating differently is becoming second nature.. I’m not hungry in between meals like I originally feared I would be.. I’m probably thinking about food just as much as I used to, but in a totally different way.  Instead of thinking ‘Whats the most decadent delicious over the top thing I can eat right now”, Now the focus is more “How can I make sure to get enough protein in” and just planning ahead for the next meal in a HEALTHY way

I’m not going to lie.  I have had cravings for chocolate and sweets..  but I know my stomach will only allow so many ounces of food a day and I dunno if Im willing to sacrifice a few of those ounces for something that will probably not be very filling…  Not yet at least..

So while things on the lap band front are going great… on Friday I got laid off at work :(  It’s okay tho.  I’m okay.  We are in the best position financially for this to have happened.  I have a really good feeling about this too.  Like there is another special job out there with my name on it..  For now I’m filing for unemployment. (Which let me tell you is going to be more work then actually having a job.  They now require you to take 3 different types of tests before you claim your weeks AND submit at least 5 contacts for each week that you’ve been in touch with about a job opportunity.. But I digress…)

I figure now that I don’t have a job, I have NO EXCUSE NOT TO EXERCISE!  Today I did some fast paced walking with several jogging bursts for 30 minutes.  So proud of myself!  I’m committing to myself to do this at least 5 days a week.  Let’s hope I can keep this up.

Photo Update

Ok.. it’s time I faced my fears and posted my starting weight.  I started off at 315, and am now at 285.  Here’s a comparison..  Small changes… But I feel so much better already

Officially Banded For One Week, But The Journey Is Far From Over

It’s been one week since my surgery.  Yesterday was the first time I’ve felt well enough to even pull out my lap top.  It has been a HELL of a week..

Other then having a panic attack in the OR, surgery went well.  They wanted to keep me overnight because of the panic attack.  My mom stayed with me which was really nice.  I slept alot, which is typical after surgery.

Once home, recovery started off as well as can be expected.  The biggest pain and discomfort I had was gas pains in my side.  My pillow was my best friend, holding it close to my belly helped minimize the pain.  Mylaanta was another good friend of mine.  Had some trouble sleeping, but I felt like I was getting a little better every day.

Mom left on Friday morning and I was really sad, but I was getting better so I knew I’d be ok.  At least I thought I would.  Unfortunately, Friday I took a turn for the worst.  I had a pounding headache all day and my blood pressure shot up to 152/102.  I called the doctor to let him know what was going on.  He said that it could very well be the pain medication I was on which had codeine in it, so he ordered me to stop taking it and instead take over the counter extra strength liquid tylenol.  Once I was able to switch to that and with the help of my hubby heating up some gelpacks for my head, my headache went away and then my blood pressure was back to normal.

The next two days I felt weak and in pain and not at all as great as I was feeling in the beginning of the week, which sucked.  I spent all weekend mostly in bed sleeping or trying to sleep.  I didn’t even turn the television on much.  My aunt drove from Fort Myers and stayed for the weekend to take care of me.  I knew I wasn’t ready to go back to work yet, so I called my boss and let him know I needed a few more days.  By last night, I was feeling a little better.  Even antsy, so hubby took me out to the store for a little bit.  It was tiring, and I was a little dizzy, but I needed to get out and it was nice.
Yesterday morning I woke up feeling pretty good and half normal.  I slept pretty much all thru the night and woke up and was able to make coffee for hubby and feed the cats. I hung out in the living room all day with my lap top, which is a good sign.

Today my mother in law drove me to my one week follow up appointment with my surgeon.  He says I’m doing great!  After my appointment we went to a few stores and I was able to walk a bit.  I’m exhausted, but I’m not lightheaded, so things are progressing nicely.  I think I’ll be able to go to work tomorrow.

I just realize that I haven’t told you) what my diet has consisted of.  Week one was chicken broth, jello (which got old real fast), and sugar free italian ice.  It is now week 2 and I have added oatmeal, sugar free pudding, and cream soups to the mix.  Cream soups and oatmeal have never tasted this good.  I can’t wait till I can have meat again, I have been missing and craving that.
So, total weight loss so far?  Well, before surgery, I was able to lose about 15 pounds.  Since surgery, I’ve lost 10 pounds.  I’d say I’m doing pretty damn good

Another Scare and Two Days of an All Liquid Diet

This past week has been super crazy and went by a lot faster then I thought it would.
I was just getting used to receiving random calls from my surgeons office and not automatically expecting the worst.  Wednesday they called me with some bad news.  My insurance company had withdrawn their approval for the surgery.

WHAT?

Ughh, I couldn’t believe this was happening and happening 4 days before surgery is scheduled!!!  I am really proud of myself.  Instead of crying and feeling like I couldn’t do anything, I immediately picked up the phone and called my insurance company.  I didn’t know what that would do, if anything, but I just HAD to do SOMETHING.

For the next hour or two I did not know what the hell was going on.  I spent it on hold for the most part.  First the insurance company tried to get in touch with their approval department.  Their approval department didn’t know anything about a withdrawal of approval.  Okkkaayyy….  After tons more on hold music, I recommended to the insurance company that we call the surgeons office and get them on the phone so we could figure this out.

Finally, they figured things out.  I’m glad they did but I still don’t completely understand what happened.  What they told me was that the hospital had made an error when they submitted to the insurance company for approval on my hospital stay.  Not the approval for the actual surgery (there’s a difference?) so that’s why the approval department didn’t know about this.  Anyways, in the end, they approved it and we are still on for Monday.  But at this point.. I guess anything could happen.
In the meantime, mom arrived safely on Friday morning from Jersey.  We drove to Fort Myers that same morning and have been here ever since.  Friday night I had my “last supper”.  The family indulged me and we went to Sonny’s BBQ.  Everyone took my lead and ordered All You Can Eat BBQ Ribs.  Mmmm

Yesterday I did my first day of an all liquid diet.  Mommy really helped me with this.  All I had to do was tell her I was hungry and she got me my next “meal”.  Protein shakes, chicken broth, jello, italian ice, apple juice, water..that’s it!  Meanwhile the family was enjoying some nice smelling pork.. and cuban bread.. and all kinds of yummy looking stuff.  It was hard, but I did it.  I got anxious about not eating real food and my cousin distracted me with some old pictures of us when we were growing up.  It worked because I stopped thinking about food and started posting old pictures on Facebook.
Today is day two.  If I got through yesterday, then I can definitely get through today.  We are leaving today to get back into Orlando and prepare for my week of recovery.  I’ve got to be at the hospital tomorrow at 6 am.  Fun stuff.

So.. today I say goodbye to plus size clothing, squeezing into a booth at a restaurant, praying the bar clicks on rides at the theme parks, uncomfortable flights on airplanes… I could go on and on but you get the point.

Being overweight sucks.  Not only is it generally unhealthy, but it’s damaging to my self esteem and soul.  I know I’m beautiful the way I am, it’s not about that.  It’s about feeling great in my own skin, feeling comfortable in my own skin, feeling healthy in my own skin.  Not just BEING beautiful, but FEELING beautiful.

Just a quick thank you to everyone that has supported me through this journey.  It’s not done yet, and it will be awhile before it’s done, but getting to this point has been hard, and I could NOT have done it without you all.  So thank you. <3

Less Than Two Weeks Away

I saw my surgeon today for the last time before I see him again on surgery day.  He was very happy with my weight loss for these past couple of weeks.  Told me to keep on doing what I’m doing because I’ve already gotten passed the hard part.  I hope he’s right!

Not looking forward to the two days before surgery, tho.  Those two days I will be on a completely liquid diet.  No solid food at all.  Ugh.  Gotta keep my focus tho.. Keep my goals in mind.  It will pay off in the end.

I’ve been experiencing a lot of anxiety these past couple of days.  Am I doing the right thing? Will I be successful?  What happens if I don’t wake up from surgery?  All kinds of scary thoughts creeping into my mind.  Both rational and irrational.  I just keep giving myself pep talks.. So far it’s working

I’m sure my anxiety is only going to get worse tho.. I know myself.  I like to work myself up for things all the time.  I can’t help it.  Wish I could.

Sooo.. a week from this Thursday I go to the hospital for pre-admission testing.  Then Friday mom arrives from Jersey to take care of me.  We’ve decided to take a little road trip that weekend before my surgery.  We’re going to visit family over in Fort Myers.  I’m excited to see everyone again!  But- I will be on my all liquid diet this weekend so it’s going to be hard..

But I will do it.

Pretending To Like Fruit

So I’m in the middle of my third week on this high protein diet.  The headaches have subsided. (Thank God!) I’m getting into the swing of things.  It’s almost become habit already.  What is it? Do anything for 21 days and it becomes a habit?  Let’s hope so!

Had some temptations this weekend when hubby and I were at Dave & Busters.  Their potato skins looked soo yummy… But he was so great and supportive.  He was ok with leaving and not eating anything there.  That helped me greatly.  I felt weak and he was there to help me be strong.  I’m sure I’ll need that again in the future.

What do I not need?  I don’t need you telling me that I can have ‘just one bite’.  I don’t need you telling me that ‘one time won’t mess up my diet’.  I don’t need you eating dessert in front of me because you know that’s my weakness.

And yes, I experienced all three of those things in the past couple of weeks.

What is helping me the most?

I pretend to like fruit.  I mean I guess I don’t hate fruit.  But it’s definitely not my first.. second.. or third choice.  But every day, I eat fruit.. usually two or three times a day.  And I eat it with a smile.  And I pretend to look forward to it.  My daddy always says, “You gotta fake it till you make it”.  I guess that’s what I’m doing.

I do have to say.. this time is going awfully slow.  My days in general feel SOOO much slower then before this diet.  What do I make of that?  That I was focused on food all the time and it kept me busy?  Probably.

Now when I step outside I take a deep breath and inhale the greasy smelling wondrous food I used to eat.  It’s just the smells from the restaurants in the area.. but damn, they sure smell good right now.  Gross, right?

Official Before Photo

Here are my official before pictures.  I did not photoshop myself at all.  So you’re seeing it all.. all the curves.. and the imperfections.. the cottage cheese on my thighs.. BAM! It’s all there for everyone to see.  I must be crazy for posting this…

Week One Under My Belt

Well, I made it thru one whole week of this high protein diet.  Even stuck to my diet on the weekend!!  I planned ahead for every meal… Used a cooler on the weekend to make sure I had fruits and protein shakes with me while hubby and I were out and about.  It was hard.  But I did it.
And I’m so proud of myself

I’ve been getting a lot of headaches from this diet.  Hopefully that will go away soon.  Until then, I just try and have Advil Liquid Gel Caps with me at all times.

I’m cranky like hell from this diet.. And my poor husband is having to deal with my crap… Let’s hope that gets better, too.

I’m determined.

I’m motivated.

And nothing can stop me.  Onto the next week…

Day One and Two of the High Protein Diet

So yesterday I started the high protein diet.  This consists of an Atkins protein shake for breakfast, and Atkins protein shake for lunch, and a high protein dinner consisting of low fat meats (yesterday I had Turkey Meatballs).  I can work in some low carb veggies and fruits.. except I’m not a huge fan of veggies- I’ll stick with the fruits.  Doctor also said I can do sugar free popsicles and sugar free pudding and such..  I’m doing sugar free italian ice at night before I go to bed.  During the day I snacked on a banana.  I’m not really sure if I’m supposed to be drinking coffee… but I’m still drinking it.

Yesterday around 2:30pm I had the craziest headache.  I was hungry and my body was mad at me.  That’s when I had a banana.  That didn’t really help, but oh well, I’m determined to do this, and if that means suffering a little.. then I guess I’m gunna have to suffer.

I’m anxious a lot lately.  I wake up at 5 or 6 am every day and my heart feels like it’s racing.. my thoughts are a parade in my head going in circles… I know it’s because I’m stressed with all the trouble I’ve had so far.  I can’t help but be ‘on alert’ for the next thing that will cause me trouble.  I’m exhausted.  So tired of being let down.. I feel like if I stay ‘on alert’ I won’t be let down because I will already have been expecting it.  My therapist says I’m putting myself through torture.  I agree with her.  But I feel like I can’t control my thoughts.  It’s almost like a ‘fight or flight’ response.
I’m just glad my depression is not too bad this week.  They had to switch my anti-depressant and my anti-anxiety medication from extended release to regular release last week.  This is in preparation for surgery, since I will have to be able to crush my pills and you can’t crush extended release pills.  I was worried about the switch in medication coinciding with a major depression meltdown.  So far I’ve been good.  Let’s hope I stay that way!

My Best Friend

This protein shake will be my best friend for the next 2-3 months.

More Ups and Downs

The last time I posted was to let you know that I was approved and scheduled for surgery on October 17th. A few days later the surgeons office called me to let me know that they would not be performing the surgery after all…

I’ve been in the middle of what seems like a terrible nightmare since then, and have not had the energy to post about any of it.  It all started with the phone call I received from the surgeons office telling me that he will no longer be performing that surgery for me.  Why not? I wanted answers.. immediate answers.. In tears, I raced to the dr’s office just a few blocks away.  “This has to be a mistake” I kept telling myself.. but it wasn’t.  When I saw Dr. Wier, he was cold, rude, and flat out told me that I would not be successful.  I stormed out of the office, still hysterical, and quickly went into action.

I was going to get another doctor.

I don’t know how I sprung into action so quickly, but I did.  Through tears, still parked in Dr. Wier’s parking lot, I called two other bariatric surgeons that I had previously considered before making my selection.  Voicemails.  For now, that would have to be enough.  At that time, I couldn’t do anymore.
I went to work and had a miserable day.  My depression started to sink in.. This wasn’t going to happen anymore.. I felt like a failure.

By the end of my work day, I was feeling slightly more positive and in control.  I got a call back from one of the offices I’d called earlier that day and made an appointment.  The soonest they could see me was 2 weeks out.

Let me interject here that because surgery had already been scheduled on October 17th, my mother who lives in N.J. had already purchased a plane ticket to come stay with me for a week to help me during recovery.  I was on a time crunch.  I NEEDED surgery to happen on October 17th.
Two weeks out was the earliest they could see me for an initial visit.  It would have to do.. I would just wait and see if another office called me back and had an earlier opening.

Thank God I didn’t have to.

An angel walked into my office at work that afternoon- that’s right, an ANGEL.  That’s the only way I could describe her because she HAD to have been sent by God.  This client sat in my office and told me about her journey through bariatric surgery. She’d lost a lot of weight and heard from my boss that I was going through some struggles with my journey.  Before she left, she gave me the name of her doctor that performed the surgery here in Central Florida, who came highly recommended.
I barely waited a minute after she left the office before I picked up the phone and called their offices.  This was not one of the other doctors I had considered, but I remembered his name having come up in my research in the past.  I was about to get in to see the doctor in 1 week and when I explained my situation, they were very sympathetic and willing to do whatever they could to work with me.   This was a clear message to me that Dr. Beltre was supposed to be my doctor if this surgery was still going to happen.  After I got off the phone I immediately called the office that wasn’t going to be able to see me for 2 weeks and canceled my appointment.

For a week, my depression was very intense.  I still had doubts in my mind that surgery would ever happen.  What if this doctor agreed with Dr. Wier’s opinion? What if I couldn’t have the surgery on October 17th? My mind did not stop with the ‘what if’s’.

Then, came the day of my first appointment with Dr. Beltre.  I was so anxious all day.. even had a panic attack.

As soon as I walked into Dr. Beltre’s office I had a good feeling.  I proceeded to fill out the mountain of paperwork that doctors always have you fill out. They took my weight, blood pressure (it was a little high) and asked me about my situation.  More sympathy! I couldn’t believe it, the staff had been sooo nice so far!  The nurse left the room and I waited for the doctor.  Dr. Beltre came into the exam room with a smile on his face.  He was very friendly and even joked around with me.  Not at all like Dr. Wier (who, by the way, I really want to start referring to by some terrible name but I’d rather have him and other potential patients of his be able to google his name and find this)

After a long talk with Dr. Beltre, he said to me that he *knew* I could be successful.  It’s going to be a lot of work, but he knew if I put the effort and really wanted it as bad as I appeared to want it, that I could actually do this and lose a significant amount of weight.  I cried, tears of joy this time.  Not only was he going to do the surgery, but he didn’t think that October 17th would be a problem.
I found my surgeon. 

He wants me to get on a high protein/low carb diet as soon as I can (which will be on Monday) and he wants to see me again in 3 weeks where we will fill out any necessary paperwork in order to proceed with surgery.

I found my surgeon.

But I’m still scared.  I still have doubts. And I still expect trouble around the corner.  It’s only human to have these feelings.  Especially when you’ve been through what I’ve been through with this.
But for now..  surgery is still a go   Thank you Dr. Beltre. Thank you to my angel.  And thank you especially to God.

Approval

Finally.

I don’t have much time to post.  But let me just say I am so extremely happy that surgery was approved.  Surgery has been scheduled for October 17th.  This Friday I have to go to the surgeons office to pick up some prescriptions for labwork, ultrasound, etc.  Fun- more doctors.. Whatever.. I’m just glad the stress is behind me.  I hope.

A Setback

Very shortly after I finished posting yesterday, I received a call from the surgeons office.  I had been denied by the insurance company for surgery.  Except, they didn’t submit for the surgery I wanted (Lap-Band), they instead submitted for the Gastric Sleeve.

I can’t even describe how angry I was/am.  It’s subsided slightly, but yesterday I was fantasizing about how I could torture this doctor.  Rip off his fingernails and cut off his toes and make him eat them.  Call me sick, called me fucked up.. I don’t care- I was PISSED.

How dare he try and make a decision about my treatment without my consent!?  How is that even ethical?! It’s NOT.

So whatever… I was told that they would try and submit it again for the surgery that I actually wanted.  I guess we will just wait and see what happens.  I should follow my own advice that I give to people all the time and ‘Give it up to God’.

I’m trying my best to do that.. But I can’t help but have doubts about this surgeon’s capabilities.  How can I trust him to perform this surgery on me when he’s making decisions about my treatment without my consent?!  I do not trust him anymore and that’s unfortunate because I have no choice but to go to him for the surgery.  It’s too late in the year to find another surgeon.

See, the thing about insurance is that they have deductible’s and maximum out of pocket amounts… all of which I’ve been meeting and adding to the count for this year.  If I wait any longer, it will soon be next year and then all those amounts will reset for the year and I’ll be back to square one.

The Beginning

Preparing for Lap-Band surgery is in itself it’s own journey.  For the passed 6 months I’ve been visiting doctor after doctor just to be able to submit to my insurance company a request that I want to have the surgery.  I have completed all the requirements and am now in that waiting process, which I was told can take anywhere from a couple days, to a couple weeks.  I initially planned to start blogging right before surgery, but the anxiety I have from waiting for approval from the insurance company is what’s caused me to start blogging now.

First, what is Lap-Band?

In a nutshell….Without any stomach cutting or stapling, the LAP-BAND^® System reduces your stomach’s capacity, restricting the amount of food you are able to eat at one time. Plus, you feel full faster and stay full longer, so you wind up eating less.  They do this by placing an inflatable silicone device around the top portion of the stomach, via laparoscopic surgery.  They control the “tightness” of the band around your stomach by doing ‘adjustments’.  These adjustments are done at quick office visits where they access a port just under your skin and inject saline into that port which in turn makes the band tighter. (or removing saline, which makes the band looser)





Next, let’s go over the requirements I had to do before the insurance will even consider it…

1. Six Month physician supervised weight loss program:  This part was cake. (No pun intended)  I didn’t really have to lose weight, I just had to visit my primary care doctor once a month for 6 consecutive months and she would document what my eating habits had been and what my exercise routine was. (Which in the beginning I really did try to stick to the 1500 calorie diet she recommended but I just didn’t lose any weight..But I didn’t gain either! I digress…)

2. Nutritional Consultation:  This was very enlightening and crucial to my success once I have surgery.  I met with the nutritionist who went over the different stages starting two weeks before the surgery and going thru the 8 week mark after surgery.  The different stages have different foods that I am allowed to eat.. The food requirements I feel should be in their own post..But let’s just say it starts with a 2 week protein shake diet before you even have the surgery.. *sigh*

3. Psychological Evaluation:  I was a little nervous about this.  Knowing that I have major emotional food issues, made me hesitant to say the ‘wrong’ thing that would make her say that she doesn’t recommend I have surgery.  But all went well and she wished me luck on my journey!

4. EMMI: EMMI is an online video program that the doctors office has set up for you to watch and answer questions.. I was just kinda going thru the motions here.. Informational stuff, but by this time I knew all of it and it was boring- but quick.

5. Attend Seminar:  This was the first thing I did.  All Bariatric doctors have seminars they hold for people interested in Bariatric Surgery- whether it be the Gastric Bypass, the Lap-Band, or the Gastric Sleeve.  I went to Celebration Health first and was turned off from them because for the psychiatric evaluation they REQUIRE you to visit this specific Doctor that, by the way, doesn’t take insurance and his fee is $500.  SHADY! So then, I did some more research and found ORMC’s bariatric division.  I got a much better feeling from them so I decided to go for it.

6. Attend Support Group Meeting:  I did not look forward to this simply because I’m not much of a “group” person… But I ended up hearing lots of useful information and deciding that it might be beneficial for me to continue to attend these meetings, especially once I have my surgery.

7. Upper GI:  Let me tell you, when I went for this quick procedure, all I knew was that I was going to have to drink some gross stuff while they x-ray my digestive system.  That’s exactly what it was.  The stuff you drink is pretty damn gross and I gagged a couple of times while trying to drink it, but the process of them taking x-rays while you’re drinking it is actually kinda cool.  Watching the fluids going thru my digestive system was really fascinating.  It was like watching my own documentary.
After meeting all these lovely requirements, the surgeons office has submitted all the paperwork to the insurance company and now…..we wait.

Here I Am..

So here I am..  July of 2011 at my heaviest weight.  I’m not yet comfortable posting what that weight is, but I’m sure one day when I’m half this size, I will post it.