Dec 1, 2008
Dec 02, 2008
Dec 2008
Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted, let alone really thought about this surgery. Let's see, when I last updated, I was getting ready to start the ball rolling, probably with the Genesis program in Davenport. However, my father in law was terminally ill and my husband felt like he just couldn't handle any more "life upheaval" with his us just moving here and his dad being sick. I felt like he pretty much guilt tripped me out of the idea, and I honestly just didn't have the energy to argue with him. My father in law passed away in Dec of 2004. He was a wonderful man, and we still miss him. Since then, I've gone on a few diets, and in the summer of 07 actually lost about 35 pounds on a low carb/low fat/low calorie plan. Actually probably pretty similar to a post-op diet, to be honest! I felt so much better, but then we had some pretty serious marriage troubles in the fall and winter of last year, and I've gained it all back. Ugh...my ankles feel like they're about to break when I walk, and I'm just tired and sore ALL the time. It's just crazy. We no longer have the insurance we had when we moved here, but I'm hoping to be hired at a local company where I've been temping, and I THINK their BC/BS plan might actually cover it, AND I would have the option of choosing a 100% coverage plan! I think my old insurance was 80 or 90%, so it could be a good thing I waited! Honestly, it just occurred to me over the weekend that this might still be an option for me, so I came back here to look over the profile that I started back in 2003 when we lived in Texas and my daughter was only 5! She's 11 now--hard to believe I've been considering this for six years and keep getting sidetracked. I still don't know that my husband will be supportive, but quite honestly, I've been putting all of his needs before my own for almost 20 years now, and if I decide to pursue this, it needs to be my own choice...not someone else's. So that's the quick update of my life! I'll update when I know more!
Sept 1, 2004
Dec 02, 2008
Sept 1, 2004
I've signed up for info sessions with two groups! On Sept 10 I'll be going to check out Dr. Keating's session at Mercy in Cedar Rapids, and on Sept 13 I'll go to the meeting at Genesis in Davenport. I'm glad they're back to back...it will give me a good comparison to work from. I still need to tell my husband that I'm going! Oops! He was supportive the first time I brought it up down in Texas, but then started to feel like I was making a hasty decision. I'm not sure how he'll react now because we just moved and I know he wants to just be able to kick back and feel "settled". Also, his father, who just moved to a retirement community near us, is battling cancer and his oncologist is guessing he has 3-6 months. Obviously this complicates things a bit, because I don't want to be recovering from surgery at a time when he needs us, or worse yet, is dying. But then again, I could put this off indefinitely and he could still be here a year from now, which would be great, except I'll still be fat! :-) I think my plan will be to plow ahead, but make it clear to Hubby that if his dad should appear to be in dire straights during what would be my recovery period, I will postpone things. Both groups seem to be running 10-12 weeks until surgery, which would put us in December. I'm not sure that's a great time anyway, so we might be looking at January or so.
Aug 27, 2004
Dec 02, 2008
8/27/04
This week I found a new primary care physician since we're new in town...I was dealing with a nasty bout of chest congestion and since I had pneumonia in July, I figured I'd better get it checked out. While I was there, I brought up the subject of WLS since it turns out my insurance requires a letter from a physician who does NOT perform bariatric surgery. (Always gotta make things tricky, don't they? LOL!) Anyway, SHE AGREED TO WRITE ME A LETTER! Woo Hoo! She said to keep doing my research, and when I choose a surgeon to let her know and she'll do it for me. That was a lot easier than I though it would be. Which brings me to an interesting point.....when I consider having this surgery, there's a part of me that looks in the mirror and says, "Come on...you don't look THAT bad....you're not THAT big to need something so drastic..." Well, then I see a picture of myself and I stare and stare at it....I can't believe that's me. Why do I look bigger (to myself) in pictures than I do in the mirror? The camera must surely be broken! ha ha...So when I met with the doctor, a part of me was almost a little offended when she agreed to write the letter so quickly! (Are you saying I'm FAT?????) Isn't it funny how our eyes play tricks with us? I guess since I was thin in my "younger days", a part of me still sees that person in the mirror. Maybe that's good, I don't know. But I know for a fact that the person I see on my new drivers license picture has GOT to go!!!!!
So anyway, the ball is rolling again. I called the group at Genesis in Davenport for some info. Their "process" is about 10-12 weeks from the time you go in for an informational class. Right now they only do open, but they have a surgeon in training for Lap and hope to start doing Lap around January. That's about the time I'd be looking at anyway, so I'm considering looking seriously at them with the hope that I could still have it done Lap. I'm not sure how I feel about being a "guinea pig" and being one of their first Lap patients, but then again....these are competent surgeons. It's not like jr. high biology class and dissecting a frog, right? :-) I'll post again when I have new news to report!
Aug 17, 2004
Dec 02, 2008
8/17/04
Update....wow...time sure flies, doesn't it? So much has happened since my last post. In the spring of 2003, I had consultations scheduled with two different surgeons in the Dallas area. My company had an insurance plan that covered the surgery "if medically necessary". Things looked promising! Then, right before my first consultation, my company changed plans. Same insurance company, different plan. You guessed it....suddenly there was a written exclusion, and they wouldn't cover WLS, no way, no how. It was really discouraging after waiting all those months to get a consultation. Recently, we moved from Dallas to Iowa. Once I settled down to really look over our new insurance plan, it appears that this plan will cover it. I'm sure there are a few hoops to jump through, but it's better than a flat out NO. I'm afraid to get my hopes up again, and part of me wonders if I should just try one more time to loose the weight on my own. Sigh.....
January 2003-First Post!
Dec 02, 2008
January 2003
I am almost 37, the mother of the coolest five-year old little girl, and married for almost 14 years. Growing up, I never had a weight problem. In fact, even into college I weighed around 120 at 5'5", which I was usually happy with. Somehow, my senior year of college, I started gaining weight. I don't know if it was the stress of knowing my college years (which I dearly loved) were almost over, or the fact that I started dating my (now) husband, who kept taking me out for pizza! Probably a combination of things, but I gained 30 pounds in about three months and shocked my family when I went home for Christmas. From that time, it's just been a spiral that I cannot seem to control. I got married right after graduating college, and I've gained an average of 10 pounds a year since, and now weigh over 240. I don't know quite how to explain it, but I'm always hungry! I can stuff myself, and an hour later be peeking in the fridge to check out the leftovers. Unlike many people, I do not crave sweets. Given a choice between dessert and another helping of meatloaf, I'll take the meatloaf, hands down. I gained around 50 pounds during my pregnancy at age 31, lost 30 after delivery, and then gained them back again, so I weigh just about what I did when I was nine months pregnant only 5 years ago. My blood pressure has become problematic, my husband is getting weary of my snoring, and my knees and ankles hurt. My daughter says she loves how snuggly I am, but I really want to be able to run, jump, and play with her. She doesn't seem to understand that her mom is "obese", but I feel horrible that I'm too wiped out half the time to play with her the way she would like. We are relatively new to the Dallas area, just moving here last spring from Illinois. I have info meetings scheduled with a couple of local surgeons, and would like to make a decision shortly as to whether this is really the route I want to take, and then, with whom I will take it! Thanks for listening!
