Hamb0ne82

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So I went back to Dr. Rosen's office on Monday to finish up everything.  My appointment was for 12:00PM and I got there at 11:50AM and was greeted with, "Dr. Rosen is running behind and he won't be here until 1:00PM."  God!!!  But I am understanding and want him to take the time with me if he needs to instead of rush off to see his other patients.  Well Linda the nurse said we could do my bloodwork and pregnancy test while I waited.  So a half hour later after they got me in the system and fixed the label portion of the machine I was ready to go.  She goes to draw blood from my left arm and no blood is coming into the vial.  So she starts to move the needle (while it's in my arm) and now I begin to start sweating.  She notices this and stops and says that we are going to try the other arm.  She "stabs" me in the other arm and like a rocket, the blood takes off.  I was relieved when I was done.  Now with only 30 minutes left to wait, I decided that I would just stay there instead of going shopping like I had originally planned to waste my time.  Dr. Rosen arrived at 1:10PM and he had a butt load of patients to see.  Since I had been there almost the longest I assumed I was going to see him before many of the others.  WRONG!  He saw the others who were a quick in and out with him.  I actually did not see Dr. Rosen until 2:05PM.  We went over the procedure, the order of things, risk and complications, and he was ecstatic over my 88 POUND weight loss!  I was gone by 2:45PM.  What a day!

Now I am on day 8 of my liquid diet diet and wish to god I could eat some real food.  However, I know I cannot and it is actually not that I am deathly hungry, I just wish I could eat it one last time.  Mmmm...PIZZA!!!  I wish!  Only 7 days to go until the big day, and I am so nervous and excited.  I can't believe it!

(BTW) The liquid diet started off easy, the first day I was busy so I didn't really notice.  Then the next few days after that I struggled with my hunger, got dizzy once, but found that if I enjoyed chicken broth and sugar free jello, I had none of these problems.  So here we are now.  And let me tell you...I now know how it feels to be constipated.  That was one issue that I suffered from (TMI I know).  It was some of the worst pain I have ever felt.  I was crying and up all night and tried so many things with no success.  Finally I had  relief.  Needless to say, I am all better now!

Today at 10:30AM, the hospital called me to do an "interview."  The lady asked me everything under the sun about my health history and what not.  Then she gave me my directions for the day before and the day of and where to go and everything.  I am so freaking nervous. 

Until next time...

So I took my mom to my pre-op today and was kind of sad because Dr. Rosen was not even there.  An emergency came up so I did everything that I could without him.  I really wanted my mom to meet him and give me her impression of him.  I guess that will happen another time.  Unfortunately I have to go back on Monday for bloodwork, a pregnancy test (like that's possible, but I know it's mandatory!), and to meet with Dr. Rosen.  I got my little spirometer and all of my directions, met with Dana, my dietician, and Joey, the exercise guru and got all of their orders as well.  I was told all the prescriptions that I have to get filled before surgery, and what to do with them.  I also got the "low down" on how to prep for surgery.  I can't believe that I am under the 2 week mark until surgery.  ALSO SOME AWESOME NEWS!!!! I GOT ON THE SCALE, kind of dreading seeing as I haven't really been doing my walking but instead doing lots of laborious yard work, and  I LOST ANOTHER 15 POUNDS!!!  THAT BRINGS ME DOWN TO A TOTAL OF 88 POUNDS LOST IN 5 MONTHS!!!  OMG!!! 

I am also working on day 3 of this liquid diet and not doing too bad.  Little hungry earlier, but that has since subsided.  Dana said the hunger should subside after about 4 days.  I am still hopeful.  Also on a great note, I have now informed my entire immediate family about my WLS.  The last person to tell was my older brother.  I was scared to do it because of his views toward it.  When I told him about it years ago, he had some hurtful things to say.  I had to tell him though so I called him last night.  What a shocker I got!  He was very supportive and had nothing but the best to say to me.  He told me how proud he was of me for doing so good so far and that showed him how much this meant to me.  And that he had those previous feelings because he did not know that much about it.  I assured him that I have researched this so much that I could teach others about it. LOL!  Anywho, he asked me to keep him informed and that he is very proud of me.  I am so relieved!!

Until next time, Best of Luck and Wishes to All!!!

Alright, the day has come.  Well, actually it came yesterday.  I had to start my 2 week liquid diet.  That was something I was not looking forward to.  Well yesterday went great!  I was super busy so it went really fast.  I am to drink 3 Atkins Advantage Shakes and 2 Slimfast High Protein Shakes.  I was surprisingly satisfied with that.  Today, I have finished my 2nd shake and now I am hungry...I am going to see if I my mom (that's where I am at) has any chicken soup, so I can have the broth.  I do not want to suffer from head aches or anything, but I fear I may be getting one.  Of course I could just be tired.  My mom, sister, and I went to the Casino Boats last night and had an awesome time.  We didn't win anything, but we went to have fun and that is exactly what we did.  So here we are back on day 2 of my liquid diet, and still 12 more to go.  Tomorrow is my very long Pre-Op appointment where my whole "team" will go over everything in detail.  My mom will be with me (she is my support person) so I think we will be good.  Then on June 17th, I have my Pre-Op "interview" with Good Samaritan Hospital.  This is to go over everything before surgery, which will be exactly 1 week after that.  OH MY GOD!!!!  So soon, I can't believe it!  I have been trying to get a few things done already.  Thank God school is out and now I have all the time to prepare.  Until next time!  Wish me luck for these next 12 days!  HUGS to all!!!

I HAVE A DATE!!! 
So I went to the doctor yesterday and I have to say I was nervous.  I got on the scale and was down another 11 pounds.  Unfortunately, I was hoping to be below the 400 mark.  I was 401.  So very close.  No worries though.  I have lost a total of 73.4 pounds since January 19, 2009.  HOLY CRAP!!! I have my surgery date!  It is Wednesday June 24, 2009!I have my pre-op on Friday June 12, 2009, and I have to start my 2 week Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) on June 10, 2009.  My dietician, Dana, and I are working togther to come up with a meal plan system for those 2 weeks.  I am so nervous and excited! I never thought this day would come.  As soon as I was approved, I started to question whether or not this is the right decision for me.  Then I stopped and thought what I am thinking?  I have been waiting for this for 10 years and I KNOW this is for me.  So much to do, get ready, and prepare for.  Looking forward to a future post.  SO EXCITED!!!

I WAS APPROVED TODAY!!!!!! 
After 6 weeks of waiting...well, 10 years I should say.  Barbi from Dr. Rosen's office called me today at work.  When I answered the phone, I was not expecting what was on the other end.  I had a student right in front of me and I was almost screaming, when I could find something to say.  As a matter of fact, I did not know what to say.  I actually just kept repeating that.  She wanted to set up my pre-op appointment and select my surgery date, but as excited as I was I could not do it.  Not that I don't want to, but it will be summer vacation soon, and it needs to be timed just right.  Plus, I am going to need the help of my family driving to and from and taking care of my boys (dogs) and such.  I need to think it over and pick the right date.  In all the commotion, I forgot to ask if I still need to come to my appointment on Monday.  I would like to go just to see how I did this month.  Things are still looking good, and I am trekking right along.  So I will call tomorrow.  I can't believe it.  I have waited this long and now it will finally be coming true.  OH MY GOD!!!!!

All right, so it really hasn't been another month, but 3 weeks.  I was worried about going today, not that I didn't follow my diet and program, but for the last week, I was sick with the flu and have not exercised.  I have also been unable to wear my CPAP mask (I know boo hoo! LOL)  But anywho, I got on the scale and was down another 14 pounds.  That makes a total of 62 pounds since January 19, 2009.  Without the surgery, and following my pre-op diet plan.  My surgeon has me eating no more than 1200 calories a day, and I am lucky if I hit that.  I usually end up somewhere around 1100.  I am so proud of myself as is everyone around me including family, friends, and Dr. Rosen's staff.  My paperwork, all 18 pages were submitted to the insurance company on March 23, 2009, and still no word.  I am ok with that, because of my work schedule summer is best for me anyhow.  So I am just looking to the future and going to continue what I am doing until I am told otherwise.  On a WOW moment or moments, I can now wear a size 10 ring on my ring finger, my clothes are getting nice and loose, I have to keep pulling up my pants, and my shirts are looking awfully big, my shoes are loose, my stomach does not hit the stearing wheel when I drive, and I can now put on seatbelts in my mom and dad's car with ease.  All that and only after 62 pounds.  Well 62 pounds is a lot really.  I am super excited!  My next appointment is scheduled for May 11, 2009.  That very well may be my pre-op appointment.  All we are waiting on is insurance approval, and then we go from there.  I can't wait until my day comes.  For everyone else, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND/OR GOOD LUCK!!!

 I went in today for my 2 month follow up with Dr. Rosen.  I have been exercising 5 times a week, eating 6 meals/snacks a day, no more than 1200 calories, and drinking my 8(minimum) glasses of water a day.  So I was anticipating another good loss.  After all, I noticed that I have to keep pulling my pants up, my tops are loose, my rings are loose, and my belly does not hit the steering wheel anymore when I drive.  So I got on the scale and lost another 20 lbs.  That is a total of 48 lbs in 2 months.  Wow!!!  Dr. Rosen, Dana, the dietician and Joey, the exercise physiologist are so proud of me and all of the hard work I have been doing.  They can see how much this means to me.  The only downsize of today's appointment was that my psych eval had not come back yet.  I was hoping it did so that my paperwork could be sent off to the insurance and my next appointment would be my pre-op, then surgery 2 weeks later.  Oh well, no disappointments here, just another step closer.  So my next appointment is scheduled for April 13th.  If my eval comes back, and my paperwork is sent in and gets approved then that appointment might turn into my pre-op.  My fingers are crossed.

Well, I just completed my psyc eval today.  It was the last thing I needed to get done before my doctor sends my whole "packet" off to the insurance.  It took me a while to find someone that I liked to do the eval though.  I was given a list of recommended psychologists patients have used before, but they were far from where I lived.  So I asked around at work and got the name of a woman that sounded pretty good.  However she needed to see me for a minimum of 4 sessions at $90.00 a session.  I decided not to go to her because I was told I just needed to be seen the one time for the eval.  So I went back to the list, called the nearest psychologist, and asked if it was a one time thing.  It was, so I said sign me up.  Anyway, my insurance covered the costs, and I was "interviewed" and given a 160 question true or false test.  It is computer scored so I will not get my actual results for about 8-10 days.  Hopefully they will be back by my next follow up on March 20th.  The psychologist gave me the impression that I had nothing to worry about.  I believe him.  Hope to post soon with news!

Wow!  Since my first appointment I have completed so much.  Dr. Rosen scheduled me for a sleep study, which I didn't mind doing.  Boy that was the worst night ever.  All those wires and to make matters worse, I couldn't sleep.  I kept asking the tech what time it was every hour.  I was so glad when that night was over.  The next day I got a phone call from the sleep clinic telling me that I had a terrible case of sleep apnea.  My throat closed 129 times in an hour.  I really don't buy it but whatever.  The lady said that I slept the night on my back, which I don't do and that I needed to come back in that night to be fitted with the CPAP machine.  I was pissed because I sleep just fine.  I go to bed on my side and wake up in the same position.  I wake up refreshed and well rested.  Now with this STUPID CPAP machine I toss and turn, wake up with headaches, am tired and cranky in the morning, and now get tired during the day.  This machine is giving all the symptoms of sleep apnea that I never had before.  I hate it!  I tried telling the sleep expert and she tried to blame me and then showed me my test results for proof.  Human error can occur, test results can get mixed up.  I really want a second opinion or second sleep study for proof.  Moving on, I got my chest x-ray and my liver/gall bladder ultrasound done on the same day.  My chest x-ray came back clear, and my ultrasound showed I have a fatty liver (big surprise!), an enlarged spleen, and gallstones.  My gall bladder will be removed during surgery, and over time the other two issues should reside.  So, I go to the office for my follow-up and the first thing they did was weight me.  I almost fell over.  I lost 28 pounds!!!!  Everyone was so happy and impressed by how well I did.  They bumped my exercises up to 5 times a week for 25-30 minutes and cut my calories down to 1200 from 1400.  All I have left to do is find a psychologist for my evaluation.  I did choose a psychologist quickly thereafter, and have an appointment with him on March 10th.  Can't wait to see how that goes.  My next follow-up appointment with Dr. Rosen is March 20th.

I went to the LifeWeigh Bariatrics Office and I met with Dr. Rosen and the whole weight loss team, had a bunch of tests run, and was of course weighed.  I was not expecting the number that I got when I stepped on the scale.  474 pounds!!!  I knew I weighed a lot, but I would not have put it that high, I would have guessed 400 at the most.  I wanted to cry.  That is almost 500 pounds!  My weight has hindered a lot of things that I can do, but I am still an active person.  I run around with my dogs, I play with my younger sisters, nieces, and nephews.  I play sports and swim, and I can tackle a flight of stairs.  I run out of breath, but I am not one of those people who go on about how they can't even walk 20 feet with out being exhausted.  I try to do the most that I can.  I am glad I have always done so too.  Anyway, Dr. Rosen and his team gave me a list of goals that I must accomplish before they will give me a surgery date.  Here we go.  First, I had to cut out all pop.  I love pop so I though that was going to be really hard.  Stopped drinking it the next day and haven't had any since.  Check.  The I needed to start eating 6 small meal/snacks a day with a protein in each meal.  Check.  Here's the biggie.  Exercise 2-3 times a week for 15-20 minutes to start.  I hate exercise but told myself I can and need to do this.  Check.  I am upto 5 times a week already and for 25- 30 minutes.  Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day, slowly sipping them.  I have that one pretty much down.  I also need to stop drinking 30 minutes before, during, and after eating.  That one was hard.  I usually would drink 2 can of pop with dinner alone.  I have that one down too.  Then of course the chewing 20+ times and making your meal last 25-30 minutes.  depending on what I eat I have got that one down too.  The only other major things that I needed to do were:  get a chest x-ray, gallbladder ultrasound, sleep study, and psyc evaluation. My next appointment is February 20th.