The beginning...

So, this is the beginning. I have been approved for the Roux en Y surgery. FINALLY! I have wonderful insurance (and I do sincerely mean that), however, it has taken me a lot longer than most to get to this point. I have several friends that have had the surgery and they did their appointments and had the surgery within 3 months. I started my journey almost a year ago... Yeah, that's right, a YEAR ago! With the insurance I have through work, it is required to have six months of weigh in's with my PCP and six months of seeing a nutritionist. This is not all... You cannot skip a month, and you must go to each every month back to back. I did, without fail, do this. I do believe that you should be able to test out of the nutritionist part as even my nutritionist said I have a great grasp on it. When I finished I had gone to all of my other appointments except for the psych eval... Yeah, I didn't realize that this was an all day affair that then would take them 3 weeks to send to the surgeons office (they MUST have everything to present to the ins co. Otherwise, they deny right away. So, of course, this is another obsticle that pro-longed my aggrevation... :) Finally, I was approved on April 22, 2010 (four days after my 30th birthday). YAY! Then I thought, hey! I have to stop taking my bc pills! OMG! What if I am scheduled for surgery and haven't stopped taking them in time? They will bump me! NOOOOOO! So I stopped. Yeah, a month ago now. Now that I think of it, that was kinda stupid because I don't know when my date will be and I am sure the surgeon is on top of that. Now no sex for a while. WAAAAHHH! Sniff. I am ok. Sigh. The man, bless him, has been really supportive and understanding. I am an idiot. If I don't get booked for surgery for like 3 months, I am going back on it.

I made my second appointment with the surgeon (which is this week-Thursday!!! I am so excited!) and the wonderul woman that has been working with me from the office said that I MIGHT find out a surgery date when I see the Surgeon at that appointment. Urgh.

To top it off, now I am thinking, OMG! What if there's a waiting list???? What if I am placed on a waiting list until next year???? So this is my panic right now... How much longer do I have to wait???? GAAAAH!

Meanwhile, I do have some wonderful friends that have been helping me with some new recipes (Thanks Nan and Erica!) and I have been reading the World According to Eggface (an inspirational blogger!), trying to tweak the shakes. I have an issue with after taste, but the recipes I have been given are much better (I actually enjoy them now!). I love to take 8 oz milk (1%), 4 ice cubes, 4 large frozen stawberries, 1 scoop chocolate protein shake mix and a tsp of vanilla extract and blur in the blender! So yummy! Then of course through Eggface, I have been adding a spritz (small puff) of sf whipped cream. REALLY good. I actually passed up a muffin from my fav joint today to have a shake. So you know this is good. Try it, you'll love it. I am also down a few 6 pounds since two weeks ago, not too shabby!

Now, I am going to follow the advice of a very wise person and list the things I won't miss after surgery:

Sweating when it hits 70 degrees.
Heart burn-BAAAD heart burn
Asthma (apparently it may get better, I will keep you posted).
High cholesterol.
Being a fat auntie (he doesn't call me fat, I feel this way when I try to play with him and get tired real quick)
Not fitting on carnival or theme park rides (soooo embarrassing)
Not fitting in chairs
Chub rub
Shopping at basically one store.
Looking like I am pregnant (so not)
Being able to wear t-shirts or tanks without getting looked at (not in a good way).
Swollen Feet
Swollen Knees
Flat feet (won't heal with surgery but I will be lighter on my feet)
Chaffing (not to be confused with chub rub)
Fibroid tumors (side affect of obesity)


I will add more in the future, but this is a brief list. I am sure I will wake up in the middle of the night and think of more...
So, I will keep you in the loop when I have my appointment this week.

Lisa