Knew I should have shaved

I FINALLY got my physical done and over with.

Basically told the doctor I had a MGB surgery set up, and my surgeon needed a letter saying he would do my follow up check ups and just make sure that I'm doing alright.

He said he's write the letter after he got my lab work done. We go next week to geet that done.

Silly work story

I'll try not to talk about work too often, since that's A) not very professional and B) not what you're here to read about.

But this was just too cute not to share:

We had someone go to the hospital yesterday (she's had a bad rash for WEEKS), and they were trying to lighten the lady's mood (she's a mean one if she doesn't like you). She snapped at them not to drop her, and the lady EMT responded with "We only drop people on Firday." She was not amused, "IT IS FRIDAY!" The poor EMT gave her a huge smile "Then you're lucky!" Shirley whined that she's been very unlucky. So mom went over and stage whispered into Shirley's ear "Oh I dunno Shirley, this fella is pretty cute!" And Shirley was quiet as they got her out of her room and halfway down the hallway, that's when I heard her say "He is!"

Oh the characters I work with.

Not much else to say about the surgery, mom and I got all 10 contacts yesterday (something she's very relieved about) so now we have to write a paragraph for each contact.

No steps forward and one week wait

So I was scheduled for that physical.

I was going to have it yesterday.

I drove out to the doctors, signed waited in the waiting room, filled out the paper work, waited some more, made a bad N1H1 joke, waited some more, reassured the people around me I didn't have N1H1, waited some more, and was finally got called up by a nurse.

She pulled me into the first room on the left. Put my chart on a table and said:

"We don't have people see doctors who are not their primary physicians."
"I have a primary physician?"
"Yes, it says on your chart Dr. Enriquez is your primary physician."
"Oh... I haven't had a physical in like 7 years, I didn't remember."
"It says you had one in 2005.."
"Really? Seemed like it was longer."
"I know what you mean. Dr. Enriquez is going away to a convention tomorrow, so you'll have to come back next friday."
"..I can't see Dr. Louis?"
"No, he isn't your primary physician."
"I saw in in June though, for my ear..."
"I know. You'll have to come back friday, that's the soonest Dr. Enriquez can see you."
"Oh. I'm just worried about time. I have a surgery scheduled and I need this done two weeks before the surgery."
"It'll get done in time, don't worry"

Then she rambled about dictating and weeks and days and 24 hour shipping.

"And don't worry, we won't bill you for today."
"....thank you?"


So I go out to the front desk with the nurse, she hands the appointment lady a paper saying that I won't be charged for waiting in their waiting room and she says to schedule me for Dr. Enriquez at the first opportunity. So the lady jotted me down for the 29'th of Sept.
Which is next tuesday.

What happened to friday?

...yeah I dunno. So I waited for mom to finish with her physical, she's got to go back anyway. I told her what was going on and she brought up a valid point.

"It took them this long to realize Dr. Louis isn't your primary care physician?"
We scheduled these bad boys quite some time ago, and I DID wait in the waiting room for a long ass time.. why did it take two seconds before my physical to realize that I was seeing the wrong guy?

SO YEAH.

I get to go back to get my physical, and then I get to go with mom to some other facility for the blood work.

We're also scrambling to get 10 contacts. I think we're almost there.
We also need to get dad's support letters.
I need to write MY letter.
And do the dreaded "before" pictures.

I think I shall post them.
Maybe.





...in a year.

Eat it while you can

Last Friday while therapy was out in the hallway working with a small group of our "Morning People" the topic of "last meals" came up. What will our last meal before the surgery be? Are we going to eat high dollar foods? Super greasy chow? Good old fashioned comfort food? Fry our brains out with sugar? Or will we take it easy and go with a light meal?



I've had quite a few people who have done the MGB come up and tell me to pick out all my favourite restaurants and go there before the surgery. Mom and I have started a small list of places we need to go before we can no longer pig out like we used to.

At the top is Culvers followed by the Corner Cafe and BD's (love me some Mongolian BBQ).
Ever since I've adopted the mindset of "Eat it while I can" I've noticed my jeans feel smaller than usual.

----


Alright, so this is a BIG EDIT. I had started this post at work but had to skimp off to go do my job and the post remained unfisnished for the weekend.

Saturday we did the Support Group meeting. Met four lovely ladies who'd had the surgery anywhere from 3 months to 6 years ago. It was fascinating to see how each one ate after the various time gaps. It was also encouraging to see that even though the surgery will change the way I eat, I'll still be able to go out to restaurants and eat socially.

We discussed things like how to eat (chew chew chew, don't follow a bite with water if you're feeling a little choked or full-just wait it out), what to keep on hand (small salt packets are handy and bottles of gatorade are good to keep around should you ever feel nauseous), what to do in restaurants (it's ok to let them take good away, or to even take in your own beverages), and I finally got some answers to my questions about alochol.

Because I'm blocking off 90% of my stomach more alochol will be hitting my liver. It is important to avoid alochol for AT LEAST a year or two before taking cautious sips. Alochol will have a stronger effect that lasts longer too, hence why it is easy for people who have had the procedure to become alocholic. I asked what would they suggest I do should I ever be in a situation where I am pressured to drink. They suggested to talk to the bartender and ask him to pretend like he's mixing me a drink when in reality all he's doing is shaking juice around or to make sure at least one person knows I've had the surgery and swap out for their empties.

Apparently after the surgery you're nothing but a gas house... and that my gas will smell even worse than usual.

...


maybe I don't want to split a room with mom after all.

And how does that make you feel

Did the psych evaluation today.

Apparently I'm not crazy. In fact, quite opposite. I seem to be a mentally healthy individual.

Sucka.


But no, seriously, she was a nice lady. She was kind enough to squeeze mom and me in with just a few days notice, and was also cool enough to call me to let me know she was having car issues and would be late. Most docs would have just let us sit in the waiting room.

She showed us a before/after picture of herself with the surgery, and I gotta say it's impressive.

But yeah, I think she was pleased with my take on the whole thing. The surgery is a tool, not a get out of jail free card.

However, there was one thing she said that has stuck with me.
As I change and lose weight, my relationships with people will change too. Some people will be become jealous and lash out, others will be more accepting and willing to include you in things, and you'll never really feel like you fit in with either the "fat" or "skinny" category.

The idea of not being part of the "Fat Chick Club" is hard for me to digest.

Note to self: Invest in tums.

ELECTROLYTES! IT'S WHAT PLANTS CRAVE

Just got off the phone with Carla a little bit ago.

I asked her about water and how much of it I'll be drinking.

I like water, it is my preferred liquid. I carry around a 64 oz water bottle and try my damnedest to finish it off. Hydration is important, especially for people losing weight or those who had recently had surgery. Her answer surprised me.

"You won't be drinking water for awhile after the surgery, you'll be replacing it with gatorade. You see after the surgery the electrolytes from the gatorade will be especially important."

Wow.

Been bad, no jogging last few days.

aand up to 238, more than before curves. :/

All aboard the fail boat

So I didn't manage to do the treadmill last night. One of our little residents had knee surgery last tuesday so mom and I drove out to Blue Springs to visit. We stopped at Culvers on the way and I had a chicken sandwich... heedless to say after all the grease running didn't sound like a good idea.

So mom was asking how some of my friends were doing, and I told her I hadn't heard from any of them in awhile, and she quipped back with "Have *you* caaaaalled them?" which irked me for some reason, and I snapped back with "*No* I haven't caaaaalled them."

I don't know, I just don't like going out and actually being around people right now.


I'm not going to blame that on my weight, because my dad's a bit of a home-body too so maybe I get that from him... but at the same time when I get dressed in the morning and have to add more clothes to the "Does Not Fit" pile.. I can't help but think that maybe my size *does* have something to do with my lack of desire to keep in contact with people.

I don't want them to see how badly I've failed? How greatly I've slipped? How much I let myself go?


PITY PARTY AT MY HOUSE BRING CHOCOLATE!

Another at work post

We're on lunch break right now, and what with things being slower than usual the past few weeks I was able to sneak onto the computer to make a little post.

So last night I did the treadmill for another 30 mins for 172 calories, which was exciting. I was still heaving but not as badly as the day before and the break I had to take wasn't as long either. I also figured out why it's so much harder this time around, the program I've been jogging has an incline! Where as previously I'd always run without an incline. I feel a little more empowered now.


Mom and I are anticipating on doing the surgery on October 28'th. That's a few days after my birthday, so I'll be able to have cake

PSYCH- I know you know that I'm not telling the truth

My cat is laying on my wrists as I type this so please ignore my typos.

So I scheduled the psych evaluation for this upcoming Tuesday the 15'th at 2:30 pm.

I forgot that the doctors physical and the psych eval were going to cost money too. Duh, Beth.
Her fee is $250, and I don't know about the physical.

After that we need to get the contact information for 10 other people who have had the MGB procedure, write a letter, get dad to write some letters, take some pictures, and mail it all together in a packet.

I also gained over five pounds this past week, it's getting harder to breathe, even when sitting. :/
---

I stepped away from the computer for a bit, I randomly decided that 10:30 was a good time to go on the treadmill.

I am ashamed and alarmed at how sweaty I am and how hard it is to breathe right now. I mean I used to do the exact same jogging system without a stitch just a few weeks ago, and now my chest feel compressed and I can't breathe.

They suggest you start up an exercise routine before surgery, and I think I'll do 30 mins on the treadmill for my routine. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

Today was 30 mins and 166 cals on a range of 2-4 mph.
with a short pee break after the 4mph 'cause all that heaving made me really have to go.

I probably should have jogged earlier, but hopefully after my nice warm shower I'll be ready to crash.

P&P Eval

So I just got off the phone with the doctors office.

Mom and I go in for our physicals on September 23'rd.

I didn't really get a chance to list all the steps we have to go through before we can have the surgery, so I suppose this is a good time to cover that.

First off, you need to do your research. I've checked out various personal blogs, some websites, a webinar, and I've drilled some people about the procedure. Once you're certain that this is the procedure for you, you need to contact a MGB surgeon.

Dr. Hargroder (http://mgb-surgery.net/) was suggested to me by a coworker.
After requesting information about the procedure and such I recieved a phonecall from the wonderful Carla. She also sent me an email with a handbook and a calendar with a list of online seminars or various support group meetings. I got into one of the "webinars" and actually had the opportunity to talk to Dr. H himself. He did a slideshow presentation about the procedure, who he is, why he does what he does, some comparisons of the different procedures, and finally what to expect. He answered all our questions ("What if I smoke?" "What will my diet be after the surgery?" "How much weight can one expect to lose in the first few months?") and encouraged us to call at any time.

After you are 100% certain that this is for you, call the fabulous Carla and decide on a date.

This is where mom and I are having some issues.

She didn't think I'd get physicals planned in time.
But anyway, after the physicals you'll need to set up a psych evaluation. They'll provide you with a list of names in your area, because Carla is fantastic like that.

You also need to write a letter covering why you want the procedure and you need to talk with 10 other people who have had the surgery.

This is no easy walk in walk out kind of decision. They take this seriously.

A function for this journal

So I've finally found a function for this blog.


I'm going to have a Mini Gastric Bypass (MGB) surgery sometime this year (a date hasn't been decided on just yet, I'm hoping as early as October, but in all reality it probably won't be until December at the earliest).

If you don't know, a MGB is a form of Weight Loss Surgery (WLS).
The surgeon creates five 1in. incisions on your tummy and cuts around the lesser curve of your stomach, where the organ is the least elastic, and staples it closed. This is your new stomach.

The surgeon then travels six feet down your small intestines and finds a good spot to attach them to your new stomach pouch. This basically blocks off the part of your intestines that absorb and store most of the calories that build up into fat storage.

The entire procedure takes about 1 hour and I will be in the hospital for 24 hours for observation. Afterwards I can go back to work (because I do a job where I'm not physically lifting heavy things a lot).

That's all for now, I'm going to be late for work if I keep typing.