goingforit

OK, woke up late this morning.. but still on time for my EGD. Things went well. I was able to gargle the nasty gel-like stuff to numb my gag reflex. I'd swished it around for about 25 seconds and the guy said something like "I want you to be able to swallow that." So... I did.. Right then! I kept trying to signal with my hand like 'right now?' and I guess they didn't get it.. but they sure did once I gulped it down and smiled. LOL oops!

It was ok, the stuff did it's job. I went into the OR with the attending surgeon, Dr Kirk. What a NICE guy! Felt like I was with my Dad, really! hehee He's got a great manner! The nurses were awesome, they did my IV without any problem, even in my left hand! I believe her name was Natalie.

They wheeled me into the recovery room... drunk. yes! LOL I think I was acting a bit silly. My mouth was SUPER dry. Like my tongue had been botoxed or something! LOL It was a sight to see, I'm sure! My eyes were dry.. everything that was supposed to produce some kind of fluid WASN'T. They'd given me something, not really sure why, but it dries up the mucous producing membranes. Bleh! Don't care to do that again, although I'm sure they will during surgery.

Dr Kirk took a biopsy of my stomach. Not a big deal, he says he can count on two hands, the times it comes back positive... and they've done this A LOT! So I knew I'd be ok. So now, we're waiting on that to come back.

He also told me I have acid reflux?!? News to me! So now, I'm on Prevacid. I went and picked up that and my B-12 shots and Metanex, my oral B-12, later today. Just glad I have insurance, that's all I can say about that!

I took off all day, but probably could have gone back to work about noon. Kind of stinks I missed out on 12 hour today! Oh well, it was nice weather.

Next step is actually a consultation with Dr Kirk. I think I was supposed to do that before the EGD, since I had never met him face to face, but at least I'm getting this stuff done! After that, SURGERY!!!!

Ok, so the Cardio appointments are over. Passed with flying colors... plus a murmur that's not a big deal, they said. Think I'm more worried about it than they were.

My next appointment is an EGD. This is where they'll stick a camera down my throat and look into my stomach. I'm going to be put out during it. Wonder if they'll video tape it for me.. video tape? Ugh... put it on DVD. Whatever. LOL I'd really like to see what's in there, or not in there! I have pics of my knee surgery, VERY interesting!

I was thinking there was a 2 week liquid diet, but I found my paperwork this afternoon that said it's just a week!! YEAH!

Leesa threw a party for me this past weekend, TOTAL surprise! Can't remember if I put that in this journal or not. It was nice to see everyone. I can't believe she kept it from me for 2 WEEKS!! LOL

My friend, James, was at the party. He's really into tattoos. I asked him to start looking for a nice phoenix for me. Still don't know where I'd put it.. probably on my arm, but I want one just to mark a time in my life, ya know?

Really, the EGD is the last test, I believe. I still have a pre-surgical meeting with the assisting surgeon. I have to take a written test at some point, too. I guess I'll do that next Monday or Tuesday. Those are the only days they're given. I've been pretty lucky with all my appointments, they've been on my days off mostly. Friday's EGD is going to be cutting into my time off. I hope I can go back to work after sleeping it off a little at home.

Well, enough for now! Must go mail off the PS3. It bit the dust a couple of months ago and they've just now sent us our box to send it back. Have a good one!

(x-posted over yonder, too, wls

Lisa just called me from Dr G's office about scheduling my surgery! YEAH!!! I called back and got her voice mail, so now it's phone tag from here..

GAWD! I don't know when I want to do this!!! I guess I'll see when they can do it and go about 2 weeks after that.. LOL!

I still have yet to receive the short term disability and FMLA papers for work. Wonder how long that will take....

(X Posted to wls)

I'm SO excited, nervous at the same time....

I was on the back porch cleaning it off when I felt a vibration in my pocket... damnit! Wet hands, noise... got into the kitchen and got the voice mail. Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I got a call about 11am today....

I'M APPROVED FOR RNY!!!!!

I immediately texted all my friends and ran out into the hall to call my dad! Everyone's really excited about it. I have to call one friend back, her brother in law had band done... sure she's got a horror story or two. But I'm happy, anxious and a little nervous all at the same time!

Nope, just called her, she's WAY supportive, too! WHEW! You never know what you're going to hear from people. SO many friends have offered to come up and help me recover. I hope I can get back to work ASAP, but FMLA is there if I need it and Short Term Disability, too!

HERE WE GO!!!!

MUSIC!!!

I haven't updated here in a while because I'm just waiting to hear from Dr G's office on what my next step is going to be.

I'm resting very well with my CPAP! I love the thing!! Took it on vacation and slept like a baby... even though my lil sis made fun of my mask.

We're camping this weekend, so I'm not going to have it for 2 nights... don't really want to mess with it in the tent, so it will stay here at home.

Had a great vacation in LA with my sisters, brother in law and one nephew. (Pics are in a link on my other journal <lj user=justbreathe247>.

Don't really know what the next step will be..  Probably the pulimanologist? (sp?) I hope so!

Just taking it day by day, watching what I eat, taking my multivitamin and drinking a lot of water. I didn't drink as much yesterday and I could really tell!

Anyway, that's what's going on. Work tonight and tomorrow, then camping/floating on the Illinois for Friday afternoon!

OK! So I finally got to Weight Watchers when they're OPEN! Lost another 3.8 pounds this week. I'm down from 313lbs to 306.2lbs! It's a start!

This past week, I really thought I was going to loose any this week. I haven't really been watching what I eat or anything. I had to go back on ww.com last night and fill in about 3 days worth of meals... not so easy!

Haircut looks good, the highlights are almost gone... again. I don't think I'll do that again.. ever. Too hard to keep up and WAY too expensive for me.

Bruises are forming on my forehead from the CPAP machine. Maybe I should have gone with the thing that just goes around my nose. They said I have 30 days to make up my mind about the mask. They'll of course charge me a $15 restocking fee... wish I could just try it out one night.

Going outside to trim some bushy things... :)

Well, I made it through night 1!

It wasn't so bad. My back kind of hurts, I think I was trying to flip over without getting choked out by the tube, but I'm sure I'll be fine.

I woke up once last night wondering if I still had the mask on. I think I could use more pressure, but maybe it's just me. I couldn't tell I had it on at all!

The machine was nice and quiet, just the right amount of humidity. My puppy, Roxie, thinks I've been taken over by aliens though. This morning she put her feet on the side of the bed for me to pull her up and she was so far down at the foot of the bed I couldn't reach her. LOL I guess she saw I was hooked up to it. She finally just jumped up on the bed... she gets a running start out in the hall.

Getting my hair cut again today at the college (Clary Sage). Much better for us to pay $12 for my haircuts than $86! GAH! Still urks me!

I have noticed I'm not yawning this morning (unless you count right now). LOL *Suggestive yawn*

Gotta get this party started today!! Hope everyone has a splendid day! :)

Ok, so 3pm today I got my CPAP machine.
This is the type I got

They have their own website for information and all things CPAP, didn't expect that.

I also got my results from both sleep tests. The first one looks better, but I didn't sleep as much.
The second one, said I stopped breathing 67.2 times/hour... I wanna know how they get the .2 LOL!

So now I have a whole packet of information telling me how I slept and what to do now so I'll sleep better.

Can't wait to go to bed tonight!!!

I've been looking for a website that I can look things up for when I'm post-op for protein value... found one!

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/117/2

This is just an example, the site is really at nutritiondata.com

I'm sure some of you already know about it. I didn't have to log in to find what I needed, but I'm signing up anyway.

I was having a couple of boiled eggs for breakfast and wondered just how much protein each had, 17g! Along with my 10g in my cottage cheese.

Think I'll bookmard that for SURE!

I've also been using Sea Salt instead of NaCl (table salt) for a while now. (every little bit helps, I'm guessing)

Ok, so I need a CPAP machine. Really can't see getting one just to have surgery this fall.. wonder if it's possible to get one used... is that gross? I could get a new mask.

The chick called from the Sleep Center of Tulsa and told me I needed one, but only to setting 6. She said normal for patients was 8-10. Don't really know what the numbers correspond to, but I'd love to try it for a week and see if it really makes a difference!

I totally cheated last night. Sid called from work and wanted to go eat at Senor Tequilla. So, we went. I had a burrito with fajita steak inside... not the WORST thing I could have had, but I did partake in guacamole and (as usual) too many chips!

There's a lady doing lunges across her back yard behind our house. Skinny bitch! lol

OK! So last night was yet another sleep study!

I did sleep better, although I had some extra equipment. I was going to take a phone pic of me with my CPAP on, but I had turned off my phone when I got there and I was POOPED!

I did sleep better, but rolling over was a bit hard. I thought I woke up about 4-5 times. I felt like it was slipping or something. My ear on my right side was all folded over and hurt the first time...

The mask I wore was like the one the dentist uses for gas. It covers your nose only and has like a T thing to rest against your forehead. Not too bad.

Like this one:


This guy looks WAY more comfy than I was! It took a bit of getting used to, not to open my mouth. Talking was NOT an option! LOL I sounded like darth vader when I did... hahaaa I think I did sleep a little better after I got situated. A LOT better than I slept that first night!

Now, I have all this gunk in my hair in about 8 places:


Looks like some guy shot a wad! SHEW! SHEW!!! I must go wash my hair with Dawn now!

OH! And look at this! I have NAILS NOW! Not for long, I don't think, though... as cool as it is to scratch myself with them, they're eventually going to kill me in my sleep. LOL I guess it's because I've been eating right and taking better care of myself. Multivitamins probably help a bit, too. hahahaaa

Ok! SO! For some odd reason, I set my alarm for 9:45am when I had a 10:30am appointment. Good thing I woke up early, I don't think I was all that awake when I set it.

Got to my first appointment (the dietician/nutritionalist chick). She was super nice! I really thought I was going to learn something new, but really didn't. She talked about upping my protein after surgery and showed me how big my stomach is going to be... eek! 1/4 cup if you have any measuring cups around. This is TINY!

At least I know food will stretch a LONG time! I'm kind of looking forward to that. She told me I probably wouldn't be hungry for a few weeks after, but I needed to get used to chewing my food about 30 times... to the consistency of apple sauce... eek ekk! That's MUSH! I think I can do it though.

There's this creepy guy at work that's always stopping me in the hall. He knows I've been dieting and is on Atkins himself. He told me about chewing food about 20 times. We called him Duncan for the longest time, but his name isn't Duncan... don't know where we got that. I haven't noticed he's lost all that much, but every time I see him, he's lost more... he says.

I have all kinds of friends who've had this surgery done in some way, shape or form, too. She said that was a good sampling of friends for support. Some of them have not been so successful, others have been WILDLY successful. I think I'll be the latter! :) At least I hope so. She said I had the mentality for it.

The psychologist appointment was a little rushed. I didn't get out of my first appointment until 12:15! The second was starting AT 12:15 also! I called and left her a message, told her I was on my way. She actually called me when I was at the light by her office. I asked her if we needed to reschedule, but she said to come on in. I took a version of the MMPI test. About 90something questions. Just hope I didn't fail. LOL!

Every once in a while, there was a "I'm making myself sound better than I really am on this test" question. Thought that was funny. I just zoomed through it, going with my first gut reaction. (that's how I take tests... sometimes it works, others..well never mind!) LOL

My third appointment was with my DO, Dr Ting. She said I looked like I felt better and was in better spirits. I told her I really was. I feel better, even though by her chart, I've only lost 3 pounds. Sounds better than my Weight Watchers weigh ins! OH, which I went to today, but they were CLOSED in the middle of the day...??? Looks like if they were open more, they'd get more business... just a thought.

We might drive by later and see.

Anyway.. all 3 appointments went well. I have 2 more appointments with Dr Ting, a sleep study and 2 more psychologist appointments to go.
I have a folder from Dr Gorospe's office that I carry to all my appointments, so I don't forget anything.

Ended up not getting to an ATM to get that $50 for the psych exam. She said just to bring it next time. That was good... that was a HUGE chunk to pay today!

I think I'll email my journal to my parents and sisters, just so they can read everything and I won't have to send separate emails out.

I sent this to my family to read. I don't usually forward email, so I think they all read it and agree that this isn't just me looking for a way out. My sisters both sent me supportive emails back and Dad's on board now, so my support team is in place in my family as well as my friends.

I don't remember where I got this, but I'm going to put it behind a cut...

Ok, so when I hit my 100 pounds lost stage, I've already made up my mind I'm getting new tattoos... these!



I'll have a little more hair than this guy, though.. hahaa (probably not much, but more)

Tomorrow is going to be a BUSY day!

FIRST! I have my nutritionist to see at 10:30am in midtown. This will probably come close to the 2 hour limit I've given it. Found that out Saturday. I did tell her I have another appointment to get to by 12:15p. I have my "what do you like to eat" thing all filled out. Wish I could have just typed it on line somewhere, I HATE my handwriting! Now I'm all cramped up... hate that!

SECOND! I have my psychologist appointment at 12:15pm in south Tulsa. Should be fun. I've never done anything like this. I'm sure I'll take the MMPI test while I'm there. I'm just trying to figure out what the $50 in materials fees there is. Do they make new ink blots with every client?!? DANG!

THEN LAST, I have a 3pm appointment with my family doctor, Dr Ting. Ugh! Just the normal weight check. I'm going to bring my strings for her to see. I really can see a difference on them! Can't really tell that much from my clothes anymore, but they are fitting a little looser.

OH! And then I have to go weigh in at WeightWatchers when I get all this running around done.

Just hope I have enough gas in the tank! Luckily, they're both off Lewis Ave, so there will be no snaking around or getting on the highways. I'll just hop on Riverside "Raceway" and get there quick.

COST FOR THE DAY:
            $20 copays x 3 appointments = $60
            $50 for the "materials fee" for the psych doc
            $160 for the nutritionist/dietician (think I'll get this back through my insurance, but it's up front)
Grand total of $270!!

And that's without gas. Maybe I should get that first! Don't know how my car payment's going to be made this month... hmm

Just told Leesa how much tomorrow was going to cost. I don't think she's really that happy about it. I hope I get that $160 back for seeing a dietician... I'm pretty sure I will.

Ok, so I came home after work, 7pm. I'm hungry... don't know what to eat really.

Nothing sounds good.. and what MIGHT sound good is REALLY bad for me.

I need to get something that's good, good for me and that I can fix. (so no fancy stuff!)

I've had my fill of grilled chicken, ugh! I think I'm just bored, but I really am hungry tonight. Now it's almost midnight. I just got back from going to Maverick because my friend, Eric, was in town. Told all my guy friends about my surgery possibly happening this fall.. some of them are supportive, one in particular wants me to do LapBand so bad he can taste it.

I just don't think the band is where it's at for me. The doctor I'm using does them, but I really think RNY will be best for me. He admitted to not being very educated about it and listened to my 2 cents about the whole thing. I just think RNY will be best for me because it comes with the whole behavior modification thing. On Lap, you can pretty much eat what you want as long as you chew it like crazy. I've heard a lot of people cheat by drinking a lot of shakes. That's not eating and it's certainly not good JUST to have liquids the rest of your life, I don't think.

I have friends who've had the band and wish they'd just gone ahead and done RNY. I've never heard the reverse.

Man, I'm hungry! Think I'll just go to bed...

Ok, so I just got off work and I'm STARVING!!! I really want to get something good to eat, but I don't want it to be 500 points on WW. There's nothing here to eat. It would be SO easy just to go out to Subway and get a sub that's at least halfway good for me, but I just want to sit here at home now that I'm here.

Who wants to come over and cook for me?... bring me dinner?... anything? Anyone??

Leesa forwarded me this pic today from Cozumel.. bet they're having a good dinner there!



And my lil sis ate dinner last night in San Francisco here...



Guess I'll go get me something somewhere.

Got a call tonight at work. The sleep center chick said my numbers were borderline, so they want me to come back in for another night to wear the CPAP machine while I sleep.

Now I've heard about them. Two of my friends at work sleep with them. They are the whole mask type and both of them say they actually can't sleep WITHOUT them now! hmm... ok

So they're going to call me probably tomorrow and set up another night I'll sleep over. Probably Tuesday night again... I hope. That wasn't that bad. I just had to come home and recover with another 4 hours of sleep, then go to work at 3pm. I can do that again.

Leesa's in Cozumel this week... just me and the dogs here to keep me company.

I did something REALLY bad tonight at work. They'd had a meeting earlier today and had a tray of damn cookies for it... 2/3 of which was still there tonight.. well, now it's more like 1/2 there. UGH! I had 4 throughout the 8 hour shift... I feel like a fat ass!