A Mile In My Shoes
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Last test scheduled
Woohoo! I scheduled my stress test today. THey couldn't get me in until Feb. 19th, but at least its scheduled! Now I just have to work on my list of questions for Dr. Carter.
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Support group/scheduling tests
I went to my support group meeting last night. It ended up being a really short meeting, but one of the surgeons showed up to answer questions (Dr. Flaherty). Most of the discussion was about the differences in open RNY and laproscopic RNY, recovery time, the length of the waiting list and things of that sort.
I called tricare today to see if my consults were approved yet so I could make my appointments. I have scheduled my pulmonary function test for next week, and my sleep study for Feb. 1st. I could not make my stress test appointment because they don't have the new schedule out until tomorrow. So, I guess that means I'll call back then. And if I can find some time this week, I still have to go have my blood drawn. I know, I'm still procrastinating.
Sunday, January 11, 2004
Getting my consults put into the system
I saw my PCM (Dr. Kim) on Friday. He put in the consults for my pulmonary function test, stress test, and sleep study. He also ordered a thyroid test and blood series to be done, but the lab was closed on Friday, so I have to make my way back up there this week.
Tomorrow I call tricare and make my appointments. It will be really nice to have all the testing done before I go see Dr. Carter, but if not, as long as they're scheduled, I'll be happy :)
My husband and I had a long discussion about the surgery this weekend. He expressed alot of fear about the surgery and said he didn't want me to go through with it. He also thinks I'm going to be miserable afterwards. After explaining how I feel, he's been trying to be more supportive. I'm hoping to drag him to the doctor or support group meeting one of these days so he can better understand it all. Oprah is dedicating a show to gastric bypass patients tomorrow. My tv is all set to record. I can at least get him to watch that!
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
Getting all of my ducks in a row
I've been visiting the obesityhelp.com site lately and was able to find other gastric bypass patients that have undergone (or are waiting to undergo) surgery with Dr. Carter. I found out there are still a lot of tests I need to have done. This website has been a Godsend! Had it not been for this site, I would not have even known to schedule these tests until after my appointment with Dr. Carter at the end of the month.
I called to make an appointment with my PCM today. I was lucky enough that they were able to fit me in this Friday. I will have my thyroid test done then, and he will put in consults for the pulmonary function test, the stress test, and the sleep study. I will also have to get a paper from Dr. Greenfield, the psychologist, saying that he has given me the "ok" for surgery, and I'll have to stop by the wellness center to pick up a form stating I have taken the nutrition class. I'm hoping by having all of this done, and appointments scheduled by the time I see Dr. Carter, it will help speed up the process a little bit.
I also have to start writing out my medical history, family medical history, and diet history for insurance purposes. I'm really nervous about being denied. I have no health problems. Nobody in my family has any medical problems. I can attempt to write out a diet history, but only one diet is documented in my medical records. I can't not remember the exact date for every yo-yo diet I've been on for the past 6 years. I really hope this doesn't cause me to get denied for the surgery. I'm hoping that the fact my BMI is a 46 is enough!
I also want to start an excercise routine before my consult. I've been procrastinating and I'm proud to say I did my research today. I started by calling the gyms on post and found out about the classes they offer. I've decided to start taking a water aerobics class on Monday and Wednesday evenings. I also called the Youth Center to find out their "open swim" hours. It looks like I'll be doing some laps Wednesday and Friday mornings while the kids are all in school. And what am I most excited about? YOGA! I've always wanted to try Yoga, and I finally made a few phone calls today. I'll be taking a Yoga class once a week on Saturday mornings! Heck, if I can keep up with all of this, I just may venture into the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays just to use the equipment. If I can just stay as motivated as I am right now for the long haul, I'll be doing great!
Monday, January 05, 2004
Introduction
My name is Jill and I'm 26 years old. I'm an Army spouse of 7 years and mom to our 6 year old twin daughters and 3 year old son. We also have a 6 month old Walker Coonhound named Daisy. We are currently stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC which is our 4th duty station together so far. "Home" is Long Island, NY for me, and NJ for my husband, Paul. I work part time for the county court system as a dispute resolution mediator and I am also a juvenile house arrest counselor.
I first started gaining weight after the birth of my daughters. I had lost some, but steadily gained over the years. After my son was born in 2000, I knew I needed to lose weight. I was 220lbs and the heaviest I had ever been. I realized it wasn't so easy. I tried every diet under the sun with little/no success. I got frustrated, and gave up.
A year later I noticed simple things were getting difficult to do--- chasing after my kids, long walks I had always enjoyed, even just crossing my legs. I would get tired easily, my back hurt, my knees hurt. I had trouble getting comfortable in bed at night. My parents came to visit one week and we took the kids to an amusement park-- I couldn't fit on most of the rides. I laughed it off, but went home and cried. That is when I knew I had to do SOMETHING.
I saw my doctor at Madigan Army Medical Center at Ft. Lewis, WA. I was up to 265lbs. She referred me to the nutrition clinic where I took some nutrition classes. I started going to the gym working with a personal trainer. I had made some progress, but very little. That is when we started talking about bariatric surgery. Unfortunately, the waiting list was about 2 years long and we didn't have enough time left at the base. I researched this surgery extensively. I read everything I could get my hands on and talked to people who have had the surgery done. I decided this is something I really wanted to do.
We arrived at Ft. Bragg at the end of January 2003, I immediately made an appointment with my primary care manager to talk about the surgery and to get a referral. My doctor referred me to the general surgery clinic and I was excited to get started. Somehow I kept falling through the cracks and I didn't get in for my initial consultation until Sept., after 6 depressing months with my husband at war ,and weighing in at a whopping 285lbs. But I was finally on my way!
In October I had my psych evaluation. In November I took my nutrition class and had my follow up with psych. I've started attending a support group at Womack Army Medical Center here on Ft. Bragg. I recently found out that it would be at least another 13 months before I could have my surgery done here, which was both disappointing and frustrating.
Fortunately, I was deffered out to the network in hopes of having this surgery done sooner. I have an initial consultation with Dr. Carter in Fayetteville at the end of this month. I can't wait!
