First I’d like to wish every a slightly belated Happy New Year!

New Year’s eve I fell asleep by 10 p.m.  I think any holiday that requires you to miss out on what little sleep you can get is cruel and unusual punishment.  I have no new year resolutions for this year. Looking back over the past 40 years or so that I’ve made them I have never once kept any.  So this year I am not going to set myself up for failure, instead I’m just going to focus on taking each day one at a time and enjoying time with my family and friends.

I am starting off the new year at 302 lbs.  Healthwise I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.  I’ve gained all the weight back and more (over 100 lbs) that I lost during 2007 to early 2008 when I stopped losing; by mid 2008 I was gaining again almost every week even though I was barely eating.  My starting weight back in May 2007 was 293.5, I had managed to get down to 195.5 (for a day) in the summer of 2008 before the weight gain started gain. 

Now I am weighing in at 302 lbs (and some days even more).  I can barely walk from the parking lot to my office desk at work.  I’m in constant pain with every joint in my body.  I am out of breath doing the most simple things and a lot of other physical complaints to boring to discuss.

I asked the new cardiologist I went to in Nov. 2008 for help and he was very nice.  He suggested gastric bypass surgery and promised to do whatever he could to help me get approved.  It takes months and months to get approval, so it will be a long journey.  I managed to get the referral from my primary doctor without too much trouble and made my consultation appointment, January 27.  The good thing is the place I can go for the surgery is only about 10 minutes from my house (3 years ago when I looked into the surgery my insurance would only pay for a hospital all the way in another state so that was not an option for me).

I’m looking forward to the appointment and getting started, but also have concerns.  For one thing it takes a very, very long time (several months) and lots of hoops have to be jumped through to get approved by the doctors and insurance company.  The first step is to lose some weight – then sometimes what happens is the insurance denies your request for the surgery because you lost a few pounds.  Second you have to have other ailments besides being obese.  My BMI is over 50 so problem meeting the qualification of being over 40 BMI, but the only other official ailment I have is congestive heart failure and that may not be enough to get insurance approval.  Third, some insurance companies require medical proof that you have been obese over 5 years and tried dieting for several years also.  I don’t think I have that kind of documentation.  Even though I’ve asked my doctors for years for help, all they ever say is “eat less” (even when I was only eating 800 calories a day), and I don’t think they made a note of that in my record.

However, I’m going to stay moderately optimistic and not worry.  I’ll know a lot more once I have had my first consultation meeting.  I realize that even with the surgery that I may never lose much weight, but just being able to never ever had to eat much again will be a relief and hopefully I will lose a few pounds and be a bit more comfortable walking around the house and at least be able to stand long enough to do the dishes.

I am keeping busy with a few craft projects.  This past weekend I started a baby blanket for my nephew-in-laws baby (due May 15) and finished it last night (will try to get a photo up eventually if I ever find my daughter’s digital camera).  I am also going to try and teach myself how to knit, but so far it’s not going very well.   Decades ago when I tried to learn to knit I never did take to it, but I figure what the heck give it one more try.  I picked up a $10 starter kit (2 sets of needles, pattern book, and few other accessories) and one skein of yarn for a scarf.  I’ve been practicing a little the past few nights with some left of yarn but can’t really get the hang of it yet.

I will be visiting Mama Kelly the first weekend in February for our usual overnight visit.  Maybe I can get her to take a photo of the three scarves I made – one for her and her 2 daughers.  The crochet pattern was based one for a Luna Lovegood type scarf (from the Harry Potter movies). 

I’m looking forward to Jan. 20 and welcoming in our new President, Barack Obama.  I’m planning a little luncheon with the folks at work at a nearby restaurant that has tvs so hopefully we can watch the inauguration speech..  The rest will have to be taped and watched later that evening. 

That is just about everything that is happening these days.  I hope to get a bit more energy and inspiration and to get back to blogging on a regular basis.

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