Boadicea

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I was banded yesterday in southern Ohio.

It went well enough, I suppose, but there's no way to feel fabulous coming out of surgery.  I also had very swollen lymph nodes in my neck so that complicated things a tad.

I'm learning to take it very slow and gave up on getting a protein shake down for a few days.  I'm just having broth and clear fluids.  I'm hungry, but I hurt when I drink too fast or something cold or take in too much.

I'm down 10 lbs due to the pre-op diet through now.

After my insurance company lost my paperwork, then found it, I sweetalked the nurse into looking over things right then -- she did and approved me a few hours later.  (yesterday, 2/26).  I'd had a feeling I would know something on Tuesday.

Today, my doc's office set the surgery date:  3/12.  Tomorrow I go in for surgery clearance, to discuss meds, deal with a sinus infection and get labwork done.  Next Friday, I meet w/ my doc and nutritionist again.  Then, the following Wednesday, I have surgery.

2 weeks from today.

I'm a little shell shocked.

I had my main consultation on 2/8.  It took roughly 4 hours.  Met with a group, then individually with the doc.  Met with a nutritionist, a counselor, a program specialist and a nurse.  Remarkably, they got my stuff submitted to insurance that day.  I called today, though, to check on it and my insurance phone person said it'd take 2-3 weeks to review because of the backlog.  I hope that's not accurate and that she is encouraged to give a longer timeline.  I'll call back on Friday to see if it is even in the system yet.  It wasn't in the system today (2 business days after submission).  I've read about other folks getting approval in 2-3 days and my doc's office said 1-2 weeks.  So, we'll see.

Otherwise, I'm starting to have this fear that if I do this...it won't work.  Just like anything/everything else.  I might post to the boards about that.

Well, here's my first blog entry.

I have a coworker who has had this done and it seemed like an epiphany when she told me about it.  I know others who've had the lap band, but only know them distantly and I never considered it before.  I went for approval on the RNY but backed out -- not wanting my insides scrambled.

So, here I am.  On my way, unofficially, I suppose.  I won't consider it officially real until I get a surgery date.  I've done the psych eval (cleared) and I've put together a medical history spanning 3 decades of weight issues.  I meet with my doc this Friday for the first time.

So...here I sit.  It's already been a crappy morning.  I'm a midwife and one of my mothers is on the verge of delivery and yet I spent the night up and until now (ongoing) dealing with a child who is puking.  I can't expose the mom/family/new baby to that, so I'm in the middle of calls to arrange backup.  It's disheartening and frustrating, but on the whole, I've had a hard time visualizing this mom's birth.  The way it's playing out really bothers me.

I've been reading a lot of folks' profiles and blogs and finding that there is a very real mental block that must be addressed with regards to eating.  I'm currently in counseling and working on the mental health baggage that came from a damaged childhood and that I carry around in physical weight, finally accepting that no, by myself, I will not overcome it.

anyway -- first post.  Here I am.