vickyn_p

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So this has been very interesting but everything is getting better each day.   I am having real problems with diarrhea right now.  It pretty much started before during the pre-op liquid diet and has continued.  Last night it got really bad to the point where I feel like I had eaten gluten (I have celiac disease).  It kept me up a good portion of the night.  So I'm switching to soy protein to see if that will slow it down.  It seemed like the more protein powder I got down the worse it got.  Hopefully my next post will be a much cheerier topic. 

Otherwise, I feel pretty good.  I really miss sleeping on my stomach!!  I'm able to sleep on my sides a little.  Hoping that will continue to improve too.

So my journey actually started many years ago when I watched a TV show about weight loss surgery doctors.  I started thinking then about doing something.  At first it was the lap band.  I kept it in my thoughts for years.  Looking up doctors in the area, checking my insurance for coverage just to see if it is covered.  Then about 7 years ago, after my daughter (3rd child) was born that I realized I needed to do something.  I started having lots of problems with the foods I ate.  Then my blood pressure started to climb and my triglycerides became very high.  My PCP prescribe meds to keep these under control.  Every year my OB/GYN would talk to me about losing weight yet I still couldn't get it under control. Three years ago I contacted Dr. Zare about his seminars.  His assistant told me when they were but they were during a time that conflicted with my daughters schedule.

The next year both my PCP and my OB/GYN referred me to Dr. Zare.  It was interesting that it was the same one that I had contacted the year before.  It still took me 6 months to sign up for a seminar.

After the seminar, which was almost a year ago today, I signed up.  Still not quite sure but I said I would do it.  Dr. Zare wanted me to lose about 20 lbs before my surgery. And he felt I would be a good candidate for the VSG.  So i decided to go with the sleeve.

Then there was my insurance, Blue Shield of CA, who wanted me to have a 6 month consectutive diet program documentation.  I talked to my PCP and signed up for Weight Watchers. 

I did my 6 months, lost the 20 lbs and found it was really really hard to stay on the diet because I was SO hungry all the time.  By the end of the 6 months I was ready to commit to having the surgery.  Another few months went by while I did the psychological evaluation and saw the nutritionist. 

My insurance was put on hold because I didn't have enough documentation.  While trying to get this together my mother had a stroke and passed away.

So now a year after my first appt with Dr. Zare I'm finally having the surgery, tomorrow.  I still don't believe it's happening.

Well if I make it through this pre-surgery liquid diet it should be all down hill.  (Just kidding).  But doing this liquid diet has been an incredibly difficult thing for me to do.  I've been on it for 7 days now and have 3 more days left before going on clear liquids.  Hopefully it will be easier today.  One of my biggest fears through this entire process was going through the liquid diet.  It's very hard for me to resist food when I'm really hungry.

So my surgery is scheduled for next week.  I'm nervous about it.  Everyone asks if I'm excited but I'm nervous.  I'm afraid of how hard it will be to eat those first few days.  As a mother to school age 3 children my life is pretty busy and I can't be held back from my daily routine.  I'm hoping I'll be up and around quickly but I'm afraid that it will take me a while to get going. Lots of fears to conquer!  But I got my date!  So here we go.