ih8fat

I’ve been married for 10 years, and have only been trying to get sleeved for a few months, but I’ve come to a conclusion… … getting sleeved is like getting married. Here’s how I see it: THE PROPOSAL: “Will you sleeve me?” This is the question I asked the insurance company. “Let me think about it” was the answer. So I wait in anticipation. I knew I proved myself worthy to the insurance company (i.e., high BMI, >5yrs obesity, etc.) Now I just had to wait for them to accept me. Luckily my wait was only 2 weeks and the answer was “yes.” Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! I’m the happiest girl on earth! I love my insurance company. I’m glad we’re in this thing together. PRE-WEDDING PLANS: I’m “engaged” to have surgery. I’ve picked the date. I’m so excited, but do I want to share this news with the world? Not sure. Will my friends/family be supportive? I’m sure they will, but I still like having it be “my little secret.” I also need to take the pre-wedding classes (i.e., nutrition classes, blood tests, ekg, etc.) to make sure that I’m ready for this. They want to make sure that this will be a successful marriage. THE BIG DAY (SURGERY DAY): Just like a wedding, everything seems to be revolving around the BIG DAY. The planning, the preparation, the excitement, all leading up to the one day that will certainly change my life for the better! I realize, though, this day is only one day out of the rest of my life – it’s really only the beginning of the process. Like a wedding day, most of the prep, money, and attention goes into this day. But in reality, it’s the honeymoon and marriage I look forward to the most. THE HONEYMOON: The honeymoon is that time (within the first year) when all of the exciting changes take place, when the most weight is lost and a new person/lifestyle emerges. THE MARRIAGE: Once the honeymoon is over, I expect to settle into a lifetime of healthier eating, ups & downs, new adventures, and unexpected successes (and failures) – just like a real marriage.

Just checking in to see how your weigh-in went? Hope it went well!

I can't believe my first post on this site is not a good one... I was approved by BCBSNE for gastric sleeve surgery on 10/18/13 (after only 2 weeks review) and my surgery was scheduled for Monday, 11/11/13. Sounds great, right? Too good to be true, it turns out! I went in last Thursday for the pre-op EKG and bloodwork and they found an abnormality on my EKG. The anesthesiologist said he wouldn't do the surgery before I got pre-op clearance from a cardiologist. Seriously? 2 days before surgery and you're telling me I need to see a cardiologist?? Fine -- nothing like waiting 'til the last minute! So I call around town and there's only one place my insurance covers that has time to see me -- at 2pm Friday afternoon (remember, my surgery was SUPPOSED to be Monday). They run an EKG and then the cardiologist says that she really can't clear me for surgery. She said that the EKG may be normal for my heart, but if compared to others it may not be. What?? She said they needed to run a couple more tests - an Echocardiogram AND a Nuclear Stress Test (which they have to split into two days, due to my weight...) Obviously my surgery on Monday is now canceled. Soooo deflated and disappointed. The cardiologist's office will call me Monday to see if they can fit me for tests within the next week or so -- meaning that surgery on the 18th is out, too (my surgeon only does surgery on Mondays...). Which means it will put my surgery out to the week of Thanksgiving -- that's IF I pass the tests and get cleared. Here's the kicker--- I'm on my husband's insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield Nebraska) and his company is changing insurance, effective Dec 1st!So I HAVE to have surgery before then, or I have to start the whole insurance approval process all over again. Insurance at my employer's doesn't kick in until Jan 1, 2014 with Cigna (which has a 3-month monitored diet requirement), so this means, at a minimum, MARCH of next year, if approved (not to mention jumping thru more hoops and more out-of-pocket money) Now I sit here with a cabinet full of Protein shakes, Protein powder, bariatric Vitamins, mini spoons/forks, etc (hundreds of dollars worth of stuff), wondering if I will even be able to get this surgery done. The stress of all of this alone, is enough to give me a heart attack. Hopefully my second post will be a happier one...

I have my nuclear stress test tomorrow and Monday (along with the echocardiogram). I just opened a fortune cookie from our dinner last night and said to myself "okay, whatever the fortune is in this cookie is a sign of how these tests will go..." My fortune said "A light heart carries you through all the hard times." I'm taking this as a GOOD SIGN. (But I'm still gonna cross my fingers and toes, too. Not taking any chances!)

My surgeon's office just had me step on the scale (I didn't have to remove shoes or any clothing for it). If you're worried, just wear heavy jeans and a sweater (if you're in a cooler climate). You could also drink a lot of Water beforehand -- that might help boost the weight (although you may need to go to the bathroom immediately after your appt!) Is your appointment in the afternoon? A lot of times we weigh more later in the day. Good luck! I'm sure you'll be fine!

Thanks for the advice! I called this morning and they are waiting on BCBSNE approval to get the tests done. They've approved the nuclear stress test, but need a peer-to-peer-call to approve the echocardiogram. You'd think it would be the other way around, considering the nuclear test is more intense (I mean, even the name "nuclear" sounds worse than "echo"). I assume that because they've approved the more in-depth test, that the other will be approveed tomorrow. Then it's just a matter of scheduling and passing the tests this coming week, so that I can schedule (or should I say 'reschedule') the surgery before the end of the month... I keep wondering if all of this hoop-jumping isn't the REAL stress test? Sure feels like it...