Took my second step towards surgery.....

18 years ago

Went to the Dr today (5 HOURS!!) Talked to a nutritionist,the DR and we were shown a movie.Now on the 26th I go talk to the psychiatrist (required by law) and on the 9th I go to a cardioligist(because of my age nd that I smoke.I have to quit smoking,quit caffiene.....no drinking...awwwwwwwwwwwwww...just shoot me!! LOL!He said I would benefit from this surgery,so we just need approval from my insurance,which I feel we'll get.It is a LONG process...I don't look to get the surgery(if I'm approved) til November or December.Anyway...that's where it stands as of right now...

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Comments (20)

monica_pa Grieves
18 years ago
Congrats...you're on your way.
Best of Luck !
dirt_yfingernails
18 years ago
Good Luck CR!
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Thanks. No, the doctor says it's just because that's the area he worked on, so the swelling and discomfort will last awhile, but should subside. I hope so too. I just can't take much more of this. It's been over a year since the original injury. The good thing is that I'm not having to take anything for pain usually, and only Aleve if it does hurt. Before, I was getting liver damage from all the meds I was taking. Good thing the liver heals itself.
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Good for you CR!! I had the bypass on 05/03/00 and you can bet your boots I'd do it again! Why I waited until I was 55 yrs old to have it-I'll never know. The best advise I can give you is to have ALL of your ducks in a row. By that I mean for your insurance company. If you have had to go to any type of Dr. for back, feet-whatever ailments that undoubtedly was due to your weight, call them & get a copy of any of your medical records of that visit. When I turned in my required info for the Ins Co-I added a great cover letter to them...explaining how I needed them to allow me to have this 'tool', to help me get my life back. AND..don't get discouraged if they deny you the surgery? There's an appeal board that will guide you & a great percentage that get approved after that! I weighed 325 lbs the day I went into sugery and lost 220 lbs by July of the following year! I had 12 lbs of tummy skin removed and literally got down to 105lbs but my surgeon made me put on 25-30lbs. Imagine that! Today, 8 years later, I weigh 134. I have enclosed a link for you..this is where I did my research, found my surgeon & a zillion other things-even you can see the big list of Insurance Co's that pay for the surgery. This site is a wealth of information as well as before & after pics..message boards, the 'library-full of everything, Q&A's, etc. If you register into the site? (it's free)..you can go to a list of states & you can find my name under Florida (Largo) and read my profile. All the best to you sweetie & I'm here if I can help you in any way. ((CR)) Here is a link that might be useful: Obesity Help
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You're not crazy??? Whew! That's good to know. I have a friend who is a nurse. She had the gastric bypass several years ago and she looks fantastic. While she was going through all the counseling, etc, her overweight daughter was giving her a hard time and calling her selfish. So Debbie took her daughter to the next counseling session and her daughter decided to have the surgery too. They had their surgery within 2 weeks of each other and both are doing wonderful and looking great! I know you are prepared and will have success! Good luck with the insurance.
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Comments (25)
"I kept my cool and said nothing. At the end of the session he did tell me that I had to be the most patient person he had ever worked on. I do not consider myself a patient person." Same here. I swear I kept waiting to hear a snap or crunch of my nose from the pressure the person on my left put on my nose. I kept thinking 'does she think my nose is a handle to move my head around?' I'm surprised I didn't end up with a headache just from that! I only got 6 pain pills I think. the 2 types together were only 10.00. I told them at my check up that I'd keep them in case I break a leg or something, ya never know. that could be a time that I couldn't get out to the pharmacy. Haven't even looked to see what they actually are! I'm very careful taking things like that. I seldom even take Tylenol anymore. I think I'm always in enough pain that I think it is normal - lol! I was on tramadol for yrs (for fibro) but stopped those last fall. that was really bad - mostly because of the restless leg syndrome that came with the withdrawal. I survived that and don't want to depend on anything like it again. I do hope you get those pain pills and antibiotics into you for this healing process. And do take some 'friendly flora ' type stuff after the antibiotics are done to get your intestine tract back in order. Antibiotics will throw it off and cause many other problems for you. I take a capsule will each meal. They did tell me to keep the incision moist, to coat it with Vaseline or some such type thing. they gave me some samples of a dermo recommended ointment. It's about 30$, so I've used Vaseline so far (after samples ran out), but think I will be buying it because it didn't have the greasy feel that Vaseline does. My surgery was very, very close to the tear duct - and that worried me. I go in next week for another check up and then in mid Aug I go in for a check up on my right eye cataract surgery (that was done at the end of January). I hope you get pain free quickly!
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FlamingO in AR
18 years ago
I think it's great that they are so thorough,CR! And I hope the time just flies by and you'll be done with surgery before you know it!

Ah, the price you pay for slenderness. Give up drinking, too? Sheesh, well- I guess it's all sugar anyway, so it stands to reason, I suppose. Good luck, sweetie!
chubby_rat
Original Author
18 years ago
They explained the alcohol today...this is AFTER surgery.My stomach will be tiny(think golfball size) so I will get drunk on 1 drink...(cheap drunk!) snd could possibly get alcohol poisoning easy.I don't drink much anyway...maybe 3 drinks on a Friday night.No carbonated drinks either....don' t know why for sure...maybe I'd blow up! LOL!
glenda_al
18 years ago
Best of luck to you!
dorothy_oahu
18 years ago
I'm praying for the best for you! I know you can make it.

Orchid has lost 60 lbs since her surgery.
nodakgal
18 years ago
Now I know why my DSisIL likes flat pop! LOLOL
I was just thinking of this the other day and wondering if you'd went any further! Yayyyy for you Deb!!
dorothy_oahu
18 years ago
I'm praying for the best for you! I know you can make it.

Orchid has lost 60 lbs since her surgery.
sharon_fl
18 years ago
Congrats girlfriend!! Things are getting in place for your new path in life. The waiting, once your request has gone in to your Insurance is the wort part of the entire procedure!
As for the smoking? Obviously, it's to make sure your lungs endure anesthesia & you'll be less likely to develop infections after surgery. Secondly-it shows your Dr that you are strong enough & willing to commit to an addiction..like overeating, smoking, etc. Lastly? I didn't quit until a week before surgery-did alot of walking, swimming, etc-to keep me busy & I started learning to do deep breathing when awake..very important to do that!
Oh and the carbonated drinks? Ahem...not a pleasant thing to talk about but you'll experience alot of flatulance after surgery & to this day I don't do carbonated drinks..your new small tummy will not tolerate all the bubbles well! I guess I was one of the lucky ones about alcohol tho..didn't touch it or try it for 3 months then I went out one evening & had 1..yep-cheap drunk! Within a year I could tolerate 3-4.
Doing the 'happy dance' on a couple more hurdles you've done to reach 'the other side'!!!!
Happy_Go_Lucky_Gayle
18 years ago
Wow! CR, way to go. You have plenty of time to quit smoking.

Gayle
LorifromUtah
18 years ago
And away you go!
I like the thoroughness of the process Deb.
Tough thing, that quitting the tobacco, but you can do it.

Go Chubbers Go!

Lori
Linda Wayman
18 years ago
That's quite a lifestyle change for you, but most of it is things you would need to do anyway for a positive outcome, even if you weren't going to have surgery. I wish you the best of luck and hope quitting smoking and all that drinking you do :) won't be too difficult.

Linda
Pieonear
18 years ago
We're rootin for you, gal!
linda_in_iowa
18 years ago
I am rooting for you.
intherain
18 years ago
I'm glad they talked to you about the alchohol, because that has been my BIL's weekness since his surgery. It's been a year, but he still throws up after many meals. However, he's learned he can handle alchohol fine. Therefore, he hasn't lost anymore weight in 5 months, even after having his band tightened. I wish they had requested follow up counseling after the surgery, but they never did.

You sound ready for it! Good luck!
SadieSadie
18 years ago
Good luck to you! We're all rooting for you and will be here for you before and after the surgery.

Afterwards, we'll have to have a contest to give you a new KT name!

Hugs,
SadieSadie
clubm
18 years ago
Good Luck!!!! My friend just had the ban surgery done.
suebdoo
18 years ago
Best of luck to you, chubby rat.
teresava
18 years ago
Best of luck! Does Skinny Rat have a nice ring to it??
chubby_rat
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks everyone! I decided to go with the Gastric Bypass instead of the band.From what I've been told(at the DR's) more people have trouble with the band...there are more restrictions with it and also it's a slower weight loss. The bypass is a longer hospital stay....maybe 2 nights where the band is one night but from what i've heard and read,the bypass is the best way.I just want to get it done and get this fat off.Maybe I can even swim in public next summer! I told our friends last night that i'm going to dance on the bar after i lose weight! LOL! they said they'll help get up on it!! LOL!

Took my second step towards surgery.....

Comments (20)

monica_pa Grieves

dirt_yfingernails

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chubby_rat
Original Author

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Took my second step towards surgery.....

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