Today I spent hours going through the binder of information given to me by the bariatric team. I am one of those super organized, Type A personalities, so it was necessary for my peace of mind to have dividers and tabs and plastic sheaths for the important papers. Kinda crazy, I suppose, but that's me! Next I went through all my diabetic magazines and clipped the yummiest sounding recipes. :-)

So far on this journey toward surgery--

1. I established the insurance requirements (a complicated story I may share at another time) and got the preliminary clearance. That was a relief!

2. I discussed my desire with my personal physician, a fabulous doctor and man I respect greatly who has been my GP since moving to KY 3 years ago. His approval and support was not a deal breaker, necessarily, as I was 80-90% sure surgery was my best course, but it was important to me for him to be on board. It was a relief when he not only didn't disagree but also confirmed the positive reports I had read about the local surgeon and bariatric program.

3. I (and my husband) attended the informational seminar offered by the Bariatric Weight Loss Program here in my home town. The surgeon was at the meeting, as well as others on the team, and the info was very thorough. So far nothing to give me pause! I filled out the request form, then waited....

4. The wait wasn't too long. Gayle, the program coordinator, called me about a week later to set up my first appointment with the surgeon Dr. Farrell.

5. August 4 was my appointment with Dr. Farrell. Before meeting him I also had brief meetings with the dietician and again with Gayle. A binder containing detailed information about the pre-approval process and appointments, the surgery itself and surgery prep, diet pre- and post-op, possible complications, exercise, recipes, and much more. VERY thorough! I even got a few samples of protein powder and shakes.

6. August 11 was my appointment with a cardiologist for "surgical clearance." I had seen this doctor just over a year ago, before my diagnosis of sleep apnea, to rule out any cardiac issues. Nothing had shown up at that time, and as a prior patient I was able to get in to see him quickly. Unfortunately, I have been very sick with bronchiolitis and possible pneumonia, on strong cough medicine and steroids. The latter (I'm convinced) is why my heart rate was high, and of course my chest wasn't as clear as it should have been. For this reason the doctor recommended a follow up ECHO and treadmill test to be sure all was well before surgery. As an RN, I could not argue the logic even if it adds more to the process. Better safe than sorry!

7. Gayle called the next day to give me dates for all the various appointments: Psych Eval, Support Group meetings, endoscopy, Nutritional Eval, Exercise Eval, and a Healthy Lifestyle Class. These, along with the cardio followup, are scheduled over the next month, beginning tomorrow.

No set surgery date as yet. The initial estimate was early November, but it seems to me mid to late October makes more sense. My birthday is on October 26, and while it doesn't sound like too much fun to spend one's birthday in the hospital, in pain, and unable to eat at least a small piece of cake, I am willing to make the sacrifice if it means getting the rest of my better-health-and-skinnier-life started!

I'm ready!