tinynedl

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Today is September 2nd, two months and 2 days since surgery.  During the pre-op diet I lost 23 pounds in 21 days, on clear liquids and protein shakes.  Since surgery, I have lost only 15 pounds.  I never felt fullness, unlike most post-ops.  After about 4 weeks, I started tracking my foods and discovered I was eating way too many calories.  I cut back to 1000 calories and have been losing 1.5 - 2 pounds per week.  My efforts at exercise have been poor, at best.  But the other day, I decided I really do want to become a hiker, so I need to start hiking.

After making the decision to try to pursue weight loss surgery and praying about it for days, I tentatively brought up the subject to my husband, assuming it would go no farther, due to the cost, which was way out of our reach.  To my jaw-dropping surprise, he said, "Go for it! Our insurance covers it."  In my brief search for bariatric surgeons in St Louis, Missouri, I came across St Alexius' New Start program and Dr Norbert Richardson.  I made a phone call, and they got me started on the process of qualifying for the insurance coverage and Dr Richardson's acceptance of me as a patient.

One by one, I did each thing, starting with an appointment with the cardiologist to clear me for the gb surgery (I had a heart attack and 2 stents in 2005) until my visit with Dr Richardson yesterday, and included several appointments, labs and clearances from other doctors, plus a 6-month doctor-supervised diet.  It took one year to do all this and get a surgery date, almost to the day.  The whole time I knew things could crop up that could disqualify me, but finally, all has been accomplished and my surgery is scheduled for 12 days from now. 

My highest weight ever, was 291.  I lost 25 pounds during the 6-month supervised diet (by omitting all foods with MSG and its relatives and aspartame from my kitchen), and to date I've lost 9.5 pounds on the pre-op liquid diet.  I feel studied-up, psyched-up, prayed-up and ready for phase 2: surgery and recovery.