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Today I had the final consults with the ancillary team at KMC Bariatrics. First, I meet with a nutritionist. She had in front of her, the two week dietary intake form I had completed at my initial appointment with Dr. Shumacher. On the form, was a bunch of red ink marks...and I thought I was doing well when I made that all up! haha. My biggest problem was my protein intake and skipping breakfast. I work night shift, 12 hour shifts, and many days I only have one meal and a few snacks. I was instructed to try protein supplements, and eat breakfast 3 days per week when I am not working. I think that is do-able. Next, I meet with the psychologist where we discussed my everyday struggles with being obese. I told him that my mind and my body do not work well together, that I wanted to run with the kids, and be more active but being winded after sprinting just a few feet is a scary thing. We also discussed my marriage, which is great most of the time. We have our ups and downs, but who doesn't? He asked me if my husband would be supportive during my recovery with my new lifestyle and I said Defiantly, without a doubt. Next, I meet with the exercise physiologist. This consult was the consult that I was dreading. It started by calculating my BMI which is at a 49 and measuring body fat with a hand held machine, which was also at 49%. Then we sat down and discussed my activity. He assured me that once I began to lose weight, the pain from exercising would decrease and I would be able to do more. I told him that I love to walk (when given time and energy with my work schedule) and I normally walk 2-4 miles a few times per week. He said that I should continue to do that, and to also add in strength and muscle building activities with 5+ pound weights. I was expecting a full work out/body assessment Biggest Loser style.....I am glad that part is over!

I woke up this morning feeling nervous about my appointment. I didn't sleep well last night, tossing and turning. I made it to my appointment 40 minutes early for paperwork and there were three other patients in the waiting room. One of them was a girl my age, who had undergone RNY 6 months ago and was having her 6 month check up with Dr. Brown. She started out over 400 pounds, and is now under 300. I was amazed! She told me about her struggles with food addiction, and how she has always been obese. I asked her what the scariest part of having surgery was and she replied "there is more to be known about complications with morbid obesity alone than there are complications with RNY". I thought about what she said, and realized that is so true. I waited an extra 10 minutes to be called back by the medical assistant. I had my first weigh in at 315lbs, and then was asked a long list of questions regarding why I am looking into weight loss surgery. By the time Dr. Shumacher came in, I wasn't nervous at all. He asked me some general questions and then did his examination. I was told that I was a "classic pear shape" and that I would be a great candidate for VGS. We also discussed RNY a little bit, and to be honest the details of RNY scare me a little. We discussed it because some insurance companies view VGS as experimental and the surgery is not covered, but RNY almost always is. I decided at that point that I would research and put in a lot of consideration to RNY before giving up if VGS wasn't covered. Either way, the end result is a healthier me. After the consult, I was given a packet to fill out for the other consults that are required by KMC Bariatrics. I am now awaiting a call to schedule my ancillary consults

Today was a pretty amazing day. I attended a weight loss surgery seminar hosted by the surgeons of KMC Bariatrics group. I went into the seminar, (which is a requirement before scheduling an initial consult with the surgeon) with a negative mindset, thinking that there would be nothing further for me to learn about the surgical options. I was kind of impressed by the questions that were asked by the audience, and some of them I never would have thought to ask. I was expecting to be off work for 4 weeks minimum, however the answer to that question was 1-2 weeks. I am a registered nurse and my job can be kind of strenuous at times so that was great information. I also wasn't expecting to stay in the hospital for 2-3 days, I just assumed it would be overnight. The other thing that I was surprised about is there is no pre-op diet. My next step is finding out what is required by my insurance company for approval!