So today has been kind of a crazy day! I scheduled my pulmonary clearance appointment (August 20th), my pre-op blood tests with PCP (August 13th), and got on the waiting list for the psychologist. They should be calling me in the next week-week and a half to schedule the actual appointment which shouldn't be much more of a wait beyond that. The only problem that I am thinking about right now is how I am going to schedule this around my work schedule. I work Monday - Thursday 6:30-3:00 and Friday 6-2:30. I guess I can just either take the time that I am gone as unpaid or maybe not have the day after Thanksgiving off and have 8 hours of vacation time to use for all the appointments. I dunno, I will have to think about it. Either way, I have a little under a month to think about it. It seems so far away, especially since I have already waited since the beginning of July for the WLS seminar. I am wondering if I should call the Doctor's office and set up my consultation now. Hmmm...I will try and see if they are still open and schedule it for after all of my other appointments...They aren't open now, oh well! I will just call tomorrow. I just want to get everything taken care of, be cleared for surgery, and see Dr. Snyder already!
I really want the surgery before my birthday in September. I was thinking that I was probably going to be having surgery in late August, but I don't know about that anymore since I couldn't get any earlier appointments than the middle of the month. What a rollercoaster of emotion!Speaking of emotion, my Grandparents are giving me $1000 for my surgery!! Isn't that awesome?! I was so overwhelmed with happiness I almost started to cry and was literally speechless.
Well, I’ll write more when I know more!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
I've Made a Decision...
So after talking it out with my family and doing some real soul searching, I have decided which doctor I want to go to for the Lap Band surgery. I've chosen Dr. Michael A. Snyder in Denver, CO. I know what you are thinking, why on Earth did I already make a decision before I even met Dr. K. Well, because of research I have found on him and just vibes and feelings I have been having since the beginning of the month. Plus, a couple of years ago I wanted to have the gastric bypass done and started rolling the ball with Dr. Snyder. The ball stopped because my employer made it an exclusion when I was in the middle of doing the 6 month doctor supervised diet. So I pretty much gave up on the whole idea of any type of bariatric surgery and thought I would just have to lose weight the old fashioned way... So now here I am 297 lbs and weighing even more now then I did back when I wanted to go to Dr. Snyder to begin with. Here were the other deciding factors:
~The fact that I would be kept in the hospital for 2 days after the surgery (this just sounds safer to me then having it as an outpatient surgery)
~That if I had $15,000 laying around in cash, I would go to Dr. Snyder hands down with no second thought.
~His post-op care and support. He makes you take many classes after surgery so you know how to make the bad work to the best of your abilities.
~He completely 100% cares about you as a person without judgement of any kind.
~His bed side manner cannot be beat.
~He wants to find the "sweet spot" for your band within 3 months after the surgery to limit the amount of time and money sent on adjustments after that time.
~He has a lot more advanced technology that he uses in the OR and is always taking more training classes to learn better ways to operate.
I could go on and on for days, but I just wanted you to understand why I made this decision before actually meeting Dr. K. So that is that. I am hoping to use some of the money we have saved (about $2100), plus I have about $2600 that my parents and Grandma set up for me years ago to use for whatever I wanted to use it for. All in all that pretty much makes up the price difference between the 2 doctors as well. I guess that was what was holding me back from going to Dr. Snyder, money. I am hoping that a magical fairy drops another $5000 onto us. I have a feeling it will happen, not to say that it would be from one source, but I just have a feeling that we will get some help from my and Josh's family. Send your good thoughts my way!! :)
Well, I will type more later on. See ya!
~The fact that I would be kept in the hospital for 2 days after the surgery (this just sounds safer to me then having it as an outpatient surgery)
~That if I had $15,000 laying around in cash, I would go to Dr. Snyder hands down with no second thought.
~His post-op care and support. He makes you take many classes after surgery so you know how to make the bad work to the best of your abilities.
~He completely 100% cares about you as a person without judgement of any kind.
~His bed side manner cannot be beat.
~He wants to find the "sweet spot" for your band within 3 months after the surgery to limit the amount of time and money sent on adjustments after that time.
~He has a lot more advanced technology that he uses in the OR and is always taking more training classes to learn better ways to operate.
I could go on and on for days, but I just wanted you to understand why I made this decision before actually meeting Dr. K. So that is that. I am hoping to use some of the money we have saved (about $2100), plus I have about $2600 that my parents and Grandma set up for me years ago to use for whatever I wanted to use it for. All in all that pretty much makes up the price difference between the 2 doctors as well. I guess that was what was holding me back from going to Dr. Snyder, money. I am hoping that a magical fairy drops another $5000 onto us. I have a feeling it will happen, not to say that it would be from one source, but I just have a feeling that we will get some help from my and Josh's family. Send your good thoughts my way!! :)
Well, I will type more later on. See ya!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
The Ups and Downs of Life...
As my WLS seminar with Dr. Snyder and one on one consultation with Dr. Kirshenbaum draw nearer, I am getting more and more nervous. I can't believe that this is actually going to happen! When I think of myself in the future I get so excited because the image I have held in my head was fat and unhealthy. This "futuristic" image is slowly fading away and a new one is coming to light.
The weirdest part of it all is that it has already been a roller coaster of feelings. There are days I am so excited I want to talk about it as much as possible and other days that I get scared of the "unknown" and swear that I am going to die on the OR table. This is what is going on in my head everyday as I think about WLS:
Will it work for me? Will I handle it responsibly and use it for the good? Am I picking the right WLS type? Will I lose the majority of my excess weight? How will it affect me long term (pre-pregnancy, post-pregnancy, and as a grandma)? Will it change who I am personality wise? Will it affect my marriage and if so for the good or the bad? Will I be strong enough to fight "head hunger"? By taking out a loan, how will it affect us long term? Which doctor should I go to to have the actual surgery? Will I finally be able to get off of my blood pressure and anti-depressant medications?
I guess only time will tell...I just want everything to work out for the good and to be happy with everything.
Well, that's it for now. Today is Josh's birthday (he is 26) so I am going to try to not think about it all for a day. Easier said than done!! :) Talk to you later!!
The weirdest part of it all is that it has already been a roller coaster of feelings. There are days I am so excited I want to talk about it as much as possible and other days that I get scared of the "unknown" and swear that I am going to die on the OR table. This is what is going on in my head everyday as I think about WLS:
Will it work for me? Will I handle it responsibly and use it for the good? Am I picking the right WLS type? Will I lose the majority of my excess weight? How will it affect me long term (pre-pregnancy, post-pregnancy, and as a grandma)? Will it change who I am personality wise? Will it affect my marriage and if so for the good or the bad? Will I be strong enough to fight "head hunger"? By taking out a loan, how will it affect us long term? Which doctor should I go to to have the actual surgery? Will I finally be able to get off of my blood pressure and anti-depressant medications?
I guess only time will tell...I just want everything to work out for the good and to be happy with everything.
Well, that's it for now. Today is Josh's birthday (he is 26) so I am going to try to not think about it all for a day. Easier said than done!! :) Talk to you later!!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Introductions
Well, everyone I know has a blog of some sort so I thought it would be cool to make one for my "weight loss journey". It is something I will have that I can look back on and see how much I have changed and grown. I have decided to have lap band surgery done. I am sick of being unhealthy, taking medicine that my grandparents take, feeling like crap physically and emotionally, and worrying about my kids (I don't have any yet, but want to eventually)and if I will die before they even get to graduate high school. Frankly I am sick of living my life like I am already dead. I feel that way on the inside and as the days pass I gain more and more weight and feel more and more hopeless.
Now I know that this isn't a "magical pill", but it is something that will be "on my side" so to speak. My whole life I have battled the bulge (when I was a child it was more of a bulge in my head since I was of normal weight) and thought of food as the enemy. I just want to to live my life and be a happy person, whatever that is.
I have a WLS seminar I am attending next Thursday night with a doctor that I am most likely NOT going to go to (I figure it will be informational and there isn't anything wrong with really knowing what you are getting into). If I had $15,000 laying around I would go to him in a heartbeat! That is just a lot of money to have to cough up, especially with the price of gas and groceries rising. I have a one on one consultation on Tuesday July 29th with another doctor that I most likely WILL be going to. He is very experienced and specializes in both laparoscopic surgery and the lap band in general. I made the appointment with him the very beginning of July and it feels like this has been the LONGEST month of my life! I just want it to be here already so I can get the surgery and move on with my life. I guess I have waited this long to get any help for myself and waiting a few more weeks won't kill me. I have a feeling that I will be getting it in August. I just hope it is more toward the end of the month, maybe even early September. Nice early birthday present to myself. :)
Well, I'll write more later on.
Now I know that this isn't a "magical pill", but it is something that will be "on my side" so to speak. My whole life I have battled the bulge (when I was a child it was more of a bulge in my head since I was of normal weight) and thought of food as the enemy. I just want to to live my life and be a happy person, whatever that is.
I have a WLS seminar I am attending next Thursday night with a doctor that I am most likely NOT going to go to (I figure it will be informational and there isn't anything wrong with really knowing what you are getting into). If I had $15,000 laying around I would go to him in a heartbeat! That is just a lot of money to have to cough up, especially with the price of gas and groceries rising. I have a one on one consultation on Tuesday July 29th with another doctor that I most likely WILL be going to. He is very experienced and specializes in both laparoscopic surgery and the lap band in general. I made the appointment with him the very beginning of July and it feels like this has been the LONGEST month of my life! I just want it to be here already so I can get the surgery and move on with my life. I guess I have waited this long to get any help for myself and waiting a few more weeks won't kill me. I have a feeling that I will be getting it in August. I just hope it is more toward the end of the month, maybe even early September. Nice early birthday present to myself. :)
Well, I'll write more later on.
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