lejoyrothe

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So, I called my WLS clinic to find out if my appointment was still on track (my last one was canceled) for the 9th.  While I had them on the line I asked about the next pre-op class that was scheduled and she told me there was one on the 8th.    She said they normally don't schedule someone for the class before they're submitted, but they have another class on the 24th!  SO, she signed me up for that class!!!

THEN, she said they would be submitting to my insurance company by Friday the 11th if everything goes well with my appointment!  So, I could pass out with excitement as I type this, but she also said my chosen doctor has availability for surgeries in the last week of September and the first week in October! 

OMG!  It MIGHT happen fast!  We'll see.  I know I might need further testing or things could get held up with the insurance company and it might take them longer than the 7 days they promised when I called customer service, but I'm still happy about all the good news!!!!

Well, let me clarify that statement.  I don't suck...my body does.  I've been working my ass off at the gym three to four nights a week, at home doing a 5 mile (including arm movements) DVD in an HOUR at least once or twice a week, taking walks of 1 - 6 miles, eating right and logging everything on an online tracking system and I haven't lost a pound in 4 weeks.  Sure, I lost 7 lbs in the first 4 weeks, but I haven't lost a pound since then.

So, I went to my regular doctor today to have a diabetic check-up and he said I was doing everything right.  He said he understands why I would be frustrated and that if my calculations are correct (which, they are), I should have lost 14 lbs in the same amount of time I've only lost 7!  He said he thinks I would be a great candidate for WLS and that if I need a letter he's happy to give one to me.  I'm glad and beside myself with happiness about that, but I'm just frustrated that I've done enough to lose the 10 lbs before surgery and the last 3 won't come off.  Sigh.  I'll just have to work harder so I can make it work.

My next appointment is on the 9th and that's when I'll see the surgeon for the first time and the dietitian again.  I know I can make the last three pounds come off, and the good news is that I've been able to maintain the weight loss I've achieved thus far.  After all, I was at a high of 267 last summer and today I'm 239.  I won't complain too hard; I just needed to vent a tiny bit.  Or maybe a lot.  It depends on your perspective. 

For a little over a month and a half I have been logging my food and exerciser on www.nutrimirror.com.  I realize I've mentioned this site a few times, but I love it!  For the first month and 3 weeks, I did very well and I lost 13 lbs.  However this past week has sucked and I'm not sure why.  I know I haven't eaten as well as I have previously, that's not what I mean.  I'm still (for the most part) doing what I need to do, but since my doctor told me to eat 1500 calories of well balanced food, I have had the hardest time and haven't lost any more weight.  I am totally the same weight as I was when I went to the doctor on the 10th of last month.

This is not cool and I'm so full most of the time I can't stand it!  I think I'm going to go back to what I was eating before when I was actually loosing weight, which was 1100 - 1300 calories a day.  My blood sugar was happier too.  Yes, that has gone up as well.  While I respect my nutritionist, I'm not sure she paid attention to all the success I had last month!

One funny thing about my eating this past week is this:  On Friday, I went out with a friend to a tiny concert at a really nice cafe. In anticipation of going out and not wanting to spend a billion dollars, I had eaten my entire day (of calories) in the first two meals of the day and I had planned to skip dinner this once.   When I go to her place she'd made turkey sandwiches (on wheat bread), fresh fruit and sun chips. Ordinarily this would have been fine, but I really only had 200 cals wiggle room!  I ate the delightful meal. THEN we went to the concert and she ordered two pieces of pie when I left the building to make a phone call. Could I be rude and tell her no thanks? NO! I ate the piece of pie.  I didn't want to log it, but I did. Turns out that despite the calories being WAY over (by 590!) , my Fat was only over by 2 grams (I was under on sat fat for the day!) and my Sodium was over by 15%.  Everything else was great!  Plus I did a 5 mile run that day, so I still had a 1327 calorie balance!

It goes to show me that I should be honest with my food log each day because if I skip something, the only one I'm cheating is myself.

Sure, I'll give up the idea of the surgery because your young, punk ass thinks I haven't ever tried or had the "right mix" of fitness!  No, it doesn't matter that I'm diabetic, I have sleep apnea, poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, high blood pressure, asthma and I've been overweight, obese and morbidly obese for the past 12 years!  YOU alone can make the difference and help me lose 100 pounds of weight and keep it off!  All attempts I've made in the past have been nothing and this 30 minute consult has changed my life!!!

Geez! 

I tried my hardest to sound respectful and keep my eyebrows up and normal because what I wanted to do was smack him in his hard chest with my fist.  I tried to tell the guy on the phone from the gym that I wasn't going to benefit from having my free consult now because I was having the surgery within the next 2 months and it would benefit me more after.  He encouraged me to make the appointment and come in anyway because the sessions roll over.

When I got there, it was someone else who doesn't believe in WLS and believes there's a better way.  Right.  As if he's a doctor who knows my history and my specific circumstances that make this surgery the best option.  I told him it wasn't about losing weight.  Heck, I've lost 13 lbs in 5 weeks.  I can lose weight.  It's about keeping it off and doing the yo-yo thing at a dangerously high weight.  I would rather get in the lower 100's and fluctuate there than above 200!

Anyway, I just got home about an hour ago and I couldn't stop thinking about that 20 something guy talking trash to me about his better way! 

Again, Geez! 

So, I've mentioned that I've gone exercise crazy and that I'm eating better in preparation for the surgery.  Well....I went to my 1 month, 2nd dietitian appointment today and they were extremely impressed with my progress.  I've lost 9 lbs and I've also added 5 - 6 days of exercise to my weeks.  I'm really happy and I feel great and I have no interest in sitting down at my computer working and getting no exercise again!!

She said that I need to do it again and see her in a month.  The cool thing is that I might be able to loose 20 total lbs and be that much more tone for the surgery!  I'm excited to see what I can do for another month.  I have to admit I was a bit disappointed for a literal minute at not being able to move forward right away because all the paperwork, blood work, and studies are in NOW!  But it's a good thing and will help me have an even more impressive result with WLS!

Right now, I'm waiting on a call from their office so they can schedule my appointment and the dietitian said that they will schedule me for both her and the surgeon so I won't have to come again.  Then they'll send if off to the insurance company.  The cool thing is that I will more than likely have the appointment in September as I was hoping.  It may just be a couple of weeks later than I thought.

I've felt good about things, but right now I'm feeling REALLY good about things!

UPDATE: I've scheduled my appointment and I'm going to be seeing both the dietitian and the surgeon on the 9th of September at 3:15 pm.  This means they'll send all my info to the insurance company and who claim it will only take them 7 days to approve or decline.  I might have the surgery next month, after all!  We'll see. 

I was just discussing with my darling husband that if I'm allowed to have the surgery, when all is said and done I would want to have a tummy tuck and a breast augmentation.  

He opened his mouth and uttered, "Why don't you get them bigger?"  Big smiles, too.  I nearly started laughing because he looked so happy at the prospect.  

I asked him when did a D cup suddenly sound small to him.  He had the good graces, to then say, "I mean if they get smaller, you would get them back to a D cup.  Or an E, I'm just sayin'." 

If he wasn't such a cutie, I would have actually been offended.  As is stands I had to work really hard to even pretend that I was offended instead.

I'm waiting, waiting, waiting for my appointment with the dietitian.  Since Wednesday, the 8th of July, I've lost exactly 7.4 pounds.  I'm eating a (nearly) balanced diet and logging my food intake and exercise on www.nutrimirror.com and the funny thing is that 7.4 lbs is exactly the amount the program says I should have lost.  It also claims with all my activity and sensible eating, that if I continue on the same path I'm on, I will weigh 112 lbs by May 5, 2010.  (Please, feel free to stop reading at this point to insert a rolling belly laugh...)  Aren't they cute?  That's not the way this fat girl's body works. 
 
Okay, so what have I been doing to have lost approximately 2.5 lbs a week?  I've been to the gym, walked outside, jogged with a video indoors, and eaten a sensible diet (without skipping all the fun stuff).  Because I've been logging things, I know that (excluding house work, which is also exercise and on their list), I have done a total of 1,078 minutes of exercise in 3 weeks (or nearly 18 hours). 

My intention is to loose my pre-surgery 10 lbs by my 2nd appointment on the 7th of August so the dietitian and surgeon will have no concern about my ability to follow directions post surgery.  Good idea, right?  I also figure that if I can get on the health kick, I will be that much further when the surgery comes, I'll be better off; both with recovery and with post surgery exercise.

So, it's official.  I have sleep apnea.  Well, it's the kind that means I "shallow breath" when I'm sleeping.  For me, it's over 20 times per hour.

**Sigh.**

So, I came home with a CPAP machine that I will begin to use from now on.  As nothing else (that's wrong with me) could, this has completely and totally convinced me that I need to have the surgery.

I need to leave in just a few minutes and it's odd to hope I die just a little bit each night so they will have even more reason to say yes.  I'm pre-approved by my insurance right now because I'm extra special fat, but I also have diabetes and I don't even need one co-morbidity.  The doctor still has to approve me and the dietitian before they send it to the insurance for final approval.  Finger's crossed.

I'm thinking if it's true, it's already happening, you know?  It's not like wishing I start tonight or anything!  Tee hee!

So, off I go.  I'm sure I'll know nothing in the morning, but if I do I'll post it here.

LJ

I just got a call from my doctor and he said I passed my psych evaluation with flying colors!  He said he saw no reason I wouldn't be a perfect candidate for the surgery!  Yippy!  One step closer...