6/7/11 - Sleep Apnea; Medical Clearance by PCP
Jun 07, 2011
Today I got the phone call from the Sleep Center with my sleep study results. I do have mild sleep apnea but not enough to warrant any treatment. I do have to meet with the sleep doctor on June 20th to discuss my results and get clearance for the surgery. I am very excited about that. Also, I met with my primary care doctor today to get medical clearance for the surgery and I got it :) He faxed the letter right there on the spot. My surgeon's office probably received it before I even left the building. One more thing to check off my list. I was pretty confident that my doctor would give me the clearance because we discussed the surgery a few years ago. It just was a good feeling to have one more thing completed and to be another step closer to my new life. I have my nutrition class and pre-op appointment with my surgeon on Friday. Afterwards, we're leaving for vacation until the 19th so that will make one week go by quickly. Vacation always goes quickly. I will have to start the pre-op liquid diet while on vacation, but I don't care. I am so ready to do this. I will have my MRI and sleep doctor appointment on the 20th and pre-admission testing later in the week and then surgery on the 27th (hopefully - my surgery is still tentative at this point). Moving right along...
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6/3/11 - Second Consult w/ Dr. Murayama
Jun 03, 2011
Today was my second appointment with Dr. Murayama. He is such a good guy. I really like him a lot. I was really shocked and surprised to get a tentative surgery date of June 27th!!!!! I was so excited that I wanted to shout it out right then and there. I do have to have an MRI done on June 20th. The ultrasound showed an 8mm mass in or at the bile duct that goes to or from my gallbladder. Dr. Murayama said that the ultrasounds are usually not accurate because it is hard to see this area. He told me not to be concerned. They just want to get a true and accurate picture before surgery. I also may have to have another sleep study depending on the results of my first one. Today I made the decision to have RNY because my insurance company will most definitely decline me for the Sleeve so in the interest of saving time, I am just going for the RNY. I need to get this surgery in before getting a new job. So, I have my nutrition class on June 10th at 9am and then my pre-op appointment with Dr. Murayama at 10:30am. Then we leave for vacation...YAY!!!!!
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6/2/11 - Abdominal U/S; Chest X-ray; Upper GI; Psych Eval
Jun 03, 2011
Today I had my abdominal ultrasound, chest x-ray, upper GI and psych evaluation...what a day! I was excited to get home. The abdominal ultrasound and chest x-ray were simple...the upper GI was another story. That barium you have to drink is disgusting!! I almost got sick on it three times and then they have you rolling around from your back to your stomach to this side or that side. It was starting to make me sick. I kept telling myself not to get sick or we would have to start over. I did not want to have to do that. I was so glad to be done drinking that nasty stuff. And now even a day later my stomach still feels bloated and yucky. The psych evaluation was pretty painless. I had to have a pamphlet and booklet completed ahead of time. When I met with the doctor, I was just myself and at the conclusion of the appointment, he told me that he felt that I was a good candidate for weight loss surgery :)
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5/26/11 - Sleep Study
Jun 03, 2011
Tonight I had my sleep study. I took two Tylenol PM because I was worried that I wouldn't sleep. I still had trouble sleeping, but apparently I did sleep. It was a little difficult to sleep with all those wires and belts on, but I was glad to hear that I could sleep on my stomach, as I ALWAYS sleep on my stomach. Knowing there was a camera above the bed was a little weird, but I didn't let it bother me. The sleep study specialist that helped me is named Melanie and she was very nice. She came in and woke me at 6am and I was on my way. If I am diagnosed with sleep apnea, I have to go back and spend the night again the night of June 8th. Then, I will have to meet with the sleep doctor on June 20th. If I am not diagnosed with sleep apnea, I do not have to go back. I am still waiting to hear my results. Fingers crossed I don't have to go back!
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5/21/11 - Bariatric Support Group
Jun 03, 2011
Today I attended my first Bariatric Support Group at Penn Presbyterian Hospital. It is mandatory to attend at least one support group meeting. Although I plan to attend many more. I really enjoyed it. I only know of one person personally that has had gastric bypass and we are not that close, so it was nice to sit in a room with other people that are going through the same thing as me or have already. I look forward to going again, but I am going to miss next month because we'll be on vacation.
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5/20/11 - Labs; EKG; Pulmonary Function Test
May 20, 2011
So today I got three of my required tests out of the way...the labs, EKG, and the Pulmonary Function Test. They all went very well. I feel like I am getting closer. I did get a call from the nurse at my surgeon's office letting me know that my thyroid is a bit elevated. She is faxing the lab results to my PCP to keep him in the loop. I guess I will be hearing from him if he wants to put me on thyroid medication. I also had the opportunity to discuss with the nurse that I would like to get this surgery done sooner rather than later since I am actively seeking a job. It would be nice to have to not take time off from a new job to recover. My surgeon's assistant is sending the first letter to the insurance company on Monday to start the process of getting approved for the sleeve, which is viewed as 'investigational' by my insurance company. While ideally they don't like you to have to use ibuprofen with the sleeve, it can be done to manage pain if needed so my surgeon would rather me have the sleeve than the gastric bypass. So, first the denial would be to the nurse, then my surgeon, and then a third party if needed. My surgeon's office said this process should not take long...just a few days. They did say it is their first time appealing because of the need of ibuprofen. I hope it goes through. I really do not want to get the gastric bypass.
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4/29/11 - First Consult w/ Dr. Murayama
Apr 29, 2011
Wow! What a big day! My appointment was at 11am and I didn't get out until 2:30pm. Today was an overwhelming day to say the least. I had so much information given to me verbally and by paperwork that I am just exhausted lol. Dr. Murayama thinks I am a great candidate for the sleeve. We are going to try to get the insurance company to approve it on the basis that I need to take ibuprofen to manage my painful periods due to my endometriosis. I go back and see him again on June 3rd and luckily all of my tests and appointments are scheduled prior to that so that is huge when it comes to the timeline of things. I have a slew of tests to be taken and of course the lovely sleep study and psych evaluation. They were impressed that I haven't smoked since 4/19 and that I gave up my beloved diet soda...I miss my diet wild cherry pepsi :( Oh well, it's for a good cause. I also met with the NUT today. Her name is Cara and she is very nice. I don't have to keep a food journal or anything, but she gave me some tips and papers to help me to eat better. I did find out today that I will have to go on a two week liquid pre-op diet...I was hoping for maybe a week or ten days but no such luck. It'll be worth it in the end. Realistically, if the insurance cooperates and doesn't take forever in approving and we don't have to appeal, my surgery will most likely be in June or July. I will be so busy during the month of May taking all of my tests and going to appointments. Some of the tests are walk-in tests so I could go one day and just bang them all out instead of having to go back several times so that'll be good. I can't believe this is really happening!
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4/19/11 - Information Session w/ Dr. Murayama
Apr 28, 2011
I attended the mandatory information session for the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program on April 19th that was conducted by Dr. Kenric Murayama. The sessions are held at various places, but I attended the session at Penn Medicine at Radnor (closer to home). I was very impressed with Dr. Murayama. I felt he was a very nice and genuine man. I know I often times feel rushed and like a doctor doesn't have time for me, but when I approached him after the session with a question, he was very accommodating. I watched him prior to the session as people entered the conference room and he was smiling and very welcoming. I really enjoyed seeing that from a doctor. Prior to arriving at the seminar, I had no idea who was going to conduct it and/or which surgeon was going to speak, so I had no idea which surgeon I wanted to proceed with. I was so impressed with Dr. Murayama that I scheduled my first consult with him on April 29th. Also, I found out at this session that the program likes the patients to be smoke free for two months prior to surgery. So, I smoked my last cigarette today. I've been praying for the strength to not pick up another cigarette. I really want to do this.
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