Rebekah Longley

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OK, so I know I haven't posted since before surgery, but I've been busy living my newly ever-improving life since then.  I could go on and on about the surgery journey and maybe I will one day in the future, but today I want to remember as the day I got on the scale and saw that...

I'VE LOST OVER 100 LBS!!!!!!  HOLY CRAP!!!!      
102, to be exact!  I can't even believe it!  It's only been 4 months, and two weeks since my surgery!  I feel amazing - I am so grateful to Dr. Fedorak and my insurance company and to this surgery for changing my life.  I am so proud of myself.  I'll have to post new pictures soon.  Does anyone know where I can get one of those "Century Cards" that I see on here with bragging rights to reaching the 100 lbs. loss mark?

I have an angel!  Nancy has offered to be my angel and I'm very glad for her support.  From what I understand of what an angel does, she'll be updating the message boards with my progress while I'm in surgery.

Only two more days to go! I'm starting to get scared, but I know that I've made the right decision.  I have anxiety about silly things like dying while in surgery or waking up while the surgery is still going on and the doctor not noticing.  I know these are unfounded fears and that people have this surgery everyday and come out of it fine.  I guess I'm worried because I've never had surgery before, and I always blow things out of proportion and imagine the worst possible scenario happening to me. 

What I really need to do is to focus on the positive things that will come from this surgery.  Like the fact that I really will lose weight.  It still seems hard to believe after being overweight for so many years that I will finally have a tool that will help me free myself from the body that's held me prisoner and prevented me from having the quality of life that a 27 year old should.  I'm thrilled when I think about things like being healthy enough to get pregnant in two years. 
On a another note, today is our one year wedding anniversary!  Hooray!  Tomorrow night we are going to have our celebration dinner and do my "last meal" at a fondue restaurant we love called the Mona Lisa.  I'm looking forward to it. 

I know that this probably doesn't count, but a number's a number and when 295 showed up on my scale I just couldn't believe it.  Admittedly, I did weigh naked in the morning versus the other times that I weighed fully clothed at the end of the day, but it just felt so good to be at 295 and not over 300 like the past few times I weighed.  I hope that I'll stay close to this number for this week and up until my surgery.  It would be great to show Dr. Fedorak that I've actually made some progress and lost 15 pounds before surgery!  I'm only 10 days away from it and I know that it will change my life forever for the best! Wahoo!! I can't wait!

So... I weighed in on Monday.  I am sad to report that I was back up to 305.  I feel so frustrated -- here I am watching what I eat and working out at the gym twice a week with my personal trainer, but I was back up seven whole pounds!  I'm really discouraged by that.  I was working so hard and had lost ten -- how did that happen?!  ARRGGHH!  My trainer, Robyne, was so encouraging though.  She tried to get me to remember that if I hadn't lost the original 10 to begin with then I would be that much heavier.  Still, it's hard to focus on that when my goal is to be under 300 for the surgery.  :( 

I thought that perhaps the problem was because I wasn't doing a liquid diet like so many people on this site seem to be in the two weeks prior to surgery.  However, I checked with the nurse in Dr. Fedorak's office on Tuesday and she assured me that I do not have to be on a liquid diet before I go for surgery.  That seems weird to me but I'm doing whatever they say. 

I weighed again today after working really hard to watch the kinds of food and portions that I have been eating yesterday and today.  I am down a little (302.5) but I'm scared that it's just due to my daily fluctuation and not an actual loss.  I'm scared that I'll go in for surgery in 13 days and they'll say "Oh, too bad - you gained so we won't do the surgery."  Did/does anyone else feel this way?  I could use some encouraging words...

I went to Dr. Fedorak's office yesterday and set the date for my surgery - June 27, 2007!  Now it's just a waiting game...

After a battle with my weight that began in my teens - over 10 years ago - I finally made a decision to really do something about it in 2005 and began my journey towards having a gastric bypass.

I originally applied through Kaiser without having much knowledge about how the process worked or what I would need to provide to get approved.  This resulted in a denial letter. 

The next year I switched to Lumenos PHCS in hopes of a better chance at getting approved for the surgery.  After learning more from ObesityHelp.com about how to write the initial request letter for approval, I finally was able to get an appointment with my surgeon in late October, 2006.  He immediately approved me for the surgery and sent me for my nutrition and psych consult.  The consults went smoothly and by the beginning of November I had full approval from everyone and sent all my paperwork in to Lumenos.  I was eagerly awaiting their decision when on December 29, 2006 I received my denial letter.  They claimed they had never received paperwork that I had faxed to them several times.

In January 2007 I began the appeals process.  What followed were some very frustrating months of  poor communication with the insurance company.  I would call and ask for the status of my appeal, and they would tell me one thing and ask me to call back later.  I would call back and they would refuse to give me any information.  They would promise that they would have a supervisor call me to explain the status of my claim and then I wouldn't hear anything.

Finally, today I called again, intent on getting an answer of some sort.  I fully expected to get the run around again.  A girl answers the phone, and I give her my information.  "So I need to know what the status of my appeal is for my predetermination for surgery."  She says "Let me see... it looks like an approval letter was sent out yesterday."  But I didn't hear her, I so expected something else. "Well, what does that mean - what's the answer?" "Well," the woman on the phone paused, "it's an approval letter...." I was so shocked and excited I didn't know what to say. "Thank you so much!" was about all I managed.

So.... all I have to do now is set up another appointment with my surgeon to get my FMLA in place and schedule the date!  Then I can apply for my short-term disability at work.  Oh my goodness... this is really happening!  I'm scared, but I'm so excited for the changes this will bring to my life...

I'm so uncomfortable with my body. I hate anyone seeing me naked - even my husband, but that doesn't mean I don't love being naked. So I've come to a compromise: sweat pants. As soon as I get home from work the pants are coming off and the sweats are on. Lately, though, it's gotten worse. My weight has begun to interfere with the quality of my life. Not that it hasn't before now, but now there is a physical reminder of how overweight I am: chafing. It is severely painful. By the end of the day, I feel as if I've sat on a porcupine covered in razor blades and they're digging their way into my nether regions. Today was particularly bad. I have awful red blisters. Sweat pants may be my savior now, but once I loose the weight I want to never have to wear sweat pants again.

I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am that I finally completed and submitted my paperwork for a gastric bypass.