Yesterday morning I had my consultation appointment with the Director of the Bariatric Surgery office in my neighborhood. I arrived 20 minutes early, with my folder of information in hand, my nervousness firmly under control, and my determination steadfastly held in place.
I ended up in the waiting room for about 50 minutes but the time went by fairly quickly. As people came and went I said hi and they were all very friendly. I got to chat with 3 folks who were at various stages of the process and they all answered questions and shared a little about their surgery and how things were go so far.
Before long it was my turn and the nurse called me through the door, I was weighed (304 lbs) and then taken to a small office. After a short wait the director, John, came in with a smile and a handshake. We spent over a half hour going over everything. In the end I didn’t really have too many questions because he covered everything (including their surgical record, etc.). He was very easy to talk to and he even got my jokes and we shared a few laughs as we reviewd my 40 years of diet trials and tribulations. (For example, as we were discussing which psychiatrist to go to for my evaluation I made him promise that should I get committed he had to promise me he would come bail me out – he said he would. What a guy! hehehe)
I had been leaning towards having the gastric lapband rather then the gastric bypass surgery, however, John says they do not recommend the lapband (unless a patient insists on it or there are circumstances where the surgery could not be done). After we had a detailed discussion about it, I definitely agree that the gastric bypass is the better option for me. Every person is different, and any one who is considering weight loss surgery needs to go over their options with their doctors, so I won’t get into specifics here of pros and cons or comparisons.
Another concern I had was my insurance. He said I definitely qualify and that they have worked with my insurance a lot and no one has ever been turned down.
We reviewed my medical and diet history, and then discussed my long term goals. I had filled in on the form my goal is losing approximately 75 to 100 lbs, which would put my weight at about 200 lbs. He said this was most definitely doable.
He said that we would work together to find a form of easy exercise for me so that it would not cause my arthritis to flare and knees to swell to size of pumpkins, but that was much further down the road. He then said that if I were able to exercise, I may even reach a goal weight of 120 lbs. I told him to never ever utter that number again (or at least not for several years and only if some far off year in the future I was down to 140ish already).
I don’t even want that kind of number in my head. 120 lbs was my goal over 40 years ago when I was 12, when I first started dieting to lose 10 to 15 lbs. Then I gave up on it in my late 30s and set a more realistic goal of about 140 to 150 lbs. But after decades of trying, I have finally made peace with a goal weight of just under 200 – for decades I have had to starve to get there and can’t maintain it – but I am very hopeful that after the gastric bypass surgery I will get there and be able to hold on to it. If I can’t get below that – I don’t want to be “disappointed” because there is this looming 120 lbs mythical number hanging out there. He was very understanding, and agreed we’ll work on one step at a time.
We went over my regular food intake (3 small meals and 1 snack) and he was pleasantly surprised to see that I eat fairly healthy - though I definitely to add more veggies on a daily basis.
Next we reviewed the diet plan I usually follow when I’m trying to lose weight and he was happy to see that I follow 800 to 1000 calories a day when I’m dieting – since this is the recommended amount for my age, height, etc. (and is also what they recommend for after gastric bypass surgery). I was happy to have it confirmed (again!) by a medical professional (he is a nutritionist as well as other training and certifications), so that everyone can finally once and for all stop telling me to eat more.
Next we went over all the requirements for the next six months to prepare for the surgery.
I need to attend at least 3 support group meetings (these are held once a month in the evening). I need to meet with him three more times (once a month). I need to have bloodwork done (12 different tests) and 4 different evaluations – heart, lungs, psychiatrist, and gastroenterology. Also, I need to lose 5 to 10 lbs. (I need to check on the time frame for the weight loss because I’m not sure if that is each month prior to surgery or if that was overall in six months – he wrote it down but it must have been in his folder because I can’t find the notation in any of the information handouts he gave me.)
If all goes as planned in about six months the gastric bypass surgery will be scheduled and I will meet with the doctor who does the surgery. A few weeks before the surgery I will be put on a liquid diet (to shrink the liver).
So starting on Monday, I will following my diet plan in order to lose the required weight pre-surgery, contacting my primary doctor to get the referrals I need and scheduling all the apointments for evaluations. The first support group meeting I can attend isn’t until near the end of Feb.
In the meantime I will continue reading up gastric bypass surgery, making plans for my recovery and getting in supplies – such as vitamins, protein powders, etc. so I’ll be ready and fully stocked up. If I started buying a little each month, it won’t be such a shock to the budget. I am also going to look into getting a very good juicer or vitamix – I need to ask John about it first, and do more research before I decide to with juicing or smoothies or neither.
If any one is interested, here are two online support group forums that I visit often. Both have a lot of very helpful information:
Weight Loss Surgery support forums and
Lapband Surgery support forums
The journey has begun and I’m feeling mildly optimistic. I refuse to get my hopes up too much, but I admit that I am picturing myself being able to bend over and tie my shoes without huffing and puffing. However, for now I most definitely avoiding any day dreaming of being able to fit into a pair of actual jeans or other flights of fancy that seem to far out of reach.
Currently Diet Pulpit is rarely updated. Lady Rose is now blogging at Blissful Moon, where she is staying healthy and continuing to have adventures, please stop by and visit.
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