answering questions

Since starting my journey to surgery, I have been asked several questions - I thought I would try to answer a few...

1 - why are you doing this -why not work out? Well, I have. I have had a trainer, I did 5am workouts for MONTHS, tried diets, weight watchers, and many more... however, I have several health issues which compound my problem. This is the solution that my doctors and I reached together.

2 - why the hurry? I have not been in a hurry. I have thought and prayed over this for about 4 years now. I just recently (june 28) found out that due to my pre-existing conditions, BCBS would pay for it. Once I learned that I would not have to strap my family financially in order to get healthy, I jumped on it. It may seem as though I am in a hurry now - well, I am. I start back teaching on August 27th and I do not want to miss a single day due to surgery. I LOVE my job, and I am not willing to compromise!

3 - why raleigh instead of Duke? Duke is slow. I also chose the Bariatric Specialist of NC in Cary because this is ALL they do... no appendix surgeries, no gallbladders - JUST bariatric surgery. I have had several friends/acquaintances go here, and three people I know have had the same surgeon. It feels like a very comfortable office. I am treated well, and I feel comfortable here.

4 - what are you having exactly and why not gastric bypass? I went to this process expecting to have gastric bypass. I do not fully meet the requirements. My surgeon suggested the GASTRIC SLEEVE because I could still lose 75 pounds, but I would do it over a longer period of time. Hopefully, I will be able to stay ahead of loose skin with weight training.

5 - is this the same as lap band? No it is nothing close to lap band. I will have no foreign objects put inside and left. A surgeon has (for lack of a better word) a 6 row stapler. He will start at the top of my stomach and staple diagonally. While the stapler seals my remaining stomach, it is also sealing the discarded piece and separating the two (a blade is between rows 3 and 4). I will lose about 75% of my stomach. This will mean that I will have about 2-3 ounce capacity initially. After it heals and is ready for real food, I will have about a 5-6 ounce capacity. However, this is not really what will help me - I do not really have portion control issues... I have a food absorption problem. This will help my body to change the way it absorbs food.

I am happy to talk about any of my surgery with anyone... please keep the questions coming. I am not embarrassed or ashamed... you do not have to send them through private messages. I have weighed around 217 for over fifteen years now. I have tried more ways to lose weight than I could count. I am just finally thrilled at the possibility and probability of losing weight... I will be smaller than the day I married my husband 19 years ago...

big day

today was a big monday

on Friday, I received word that I failed my sleeping test. I was told that I would need a cpap machine... it would take over a week to order... I was very discouraged.

but today is monday - a big monday

I got a call this morning from the sleep study facility... they will allow me to have a "loaner" cpap machine while waiting so that I am not delayed.

Then I got a call saying I was short some forms... I made one call. It was fixed. So, at 11am all of my forms were sent to blue cross blue shields for approval. It normally takes 24-48 hours for approval to come through.

but today is my big monday

at 5:30 pm, I received word that Blue Cross had approval to pay 100% of my procedure...

On Wednesday I will go in for my pre-op work and will schedule my surgery...

it is all starting...

next week could very well be the beginning of me becoming a normal-sized person...

next week could be the beginning of me feeling better about my size..

I may not sleep between now and then

sleeping... under wire

So, the sleep study was last night... kind of crazy! Thankfully, the study was located in the same building of my surgeon so I did not have to try to find a new building in the pouring rain!

When I arrived, I met the cool Techie... His name was Preston... covered in tattoos, shaved bald, funny as heck, and had a knack for making you feel relaxed in a weird environment...

He led me to a nice room with a queen sized bed... looked comfy... and I guess it would have been had I not been wired up.... but more in a minute! I had to watch a 25 minute video on Obstructed Sleep Apnea. Boring video, but was filled with a lot of info that I was not aware of beforehand.

Then I had to fill out a questionnaire and get my vitals taken. About 9:30pm, Preston came into my room and started the wiring... two on my left calf, one on each collar bone, a couple on the back of my head, one on top, several around my eyes or mouth... weird. I also had an elastic strap across my chest and another across my belly.

When the testing started, I had to lay still on my back while the machines calibrated... it was nuts. He could tell when I looked left/right or up/down... he could tell if I clenched my teeth. it was nuts.

I watched TV for another 30 minutes or so while texting my family and surfing the web... I was convinced that I would never sleep... never mind that my room was a cool 68 degrees and I had the entire bed to myself along with ownership of the remote...

But I slept... not sure if I snored or how I did... I woke up around 4:15am and dozed on and off until 5 when Preston came in to remove all of the sensors... I did ask about my snoring, and he swears that I am not a loud, problem snoring lady... we will see

So, the final step of testing has been done. I now wait... I am not very good at waiting. All of the results from all of the tests over the last week have to be sent to my surgeon's office. Then they will be sent to Blue Cross Blue Shields... After about 48 hours from that, I will be approved and will schedule my "pre-op" appointment.... Surgery will follow 2-3 weeks from that meeting.

I can see a normal size in my future... I am so excited that I could scream... I feel like I have prayed this through and He is opening every door I come to even before I try to open it... I just pray that it continues!

...stay tuned....