So, the title of the post says it all... I am in preparation for Gastric Bypass Surgery. Now, there are numerous types of this surgery and I am set to have the Sleeve surgery done. What this consists of is a lapriscopic surgery done where they remove 70-80% of your stomach. It does NOT cause malabsorption as the regular RNY Bariatric Surgery does (where they cut and move your intestines and staple your stomach) nor does it leave a foreign object in the body for life (such as the Lap-band)... This literally removes the stomach part (including the portion of the stomach that sends the message to your brain telling you that you are hungry) and leaves a tube similar to a banana shape that is sewn up.
I first began preparation for this surgery in August of 2005 if I really think back... But back then when I looked at it I was told that I would have to follow a strict program for 6 months with shakes/food from the hospital to be eligible for the surgery... the program cost 200$ a week so that was definitely NOT for me... I came back to the surgery option in August of 2010... I discussed it with my primary care doctor, and we began the insurance requirement of having 6 months of monitored diet, exercise and weight loss to show effort. During this time I injured my knee requiring swim only, and at the end of it I had what I THOUGHT was plantar facilitis (actually turned out to be severe DVT and PE that landed me in the hospital for over a week, and included 3 surgeries) that put me on crutches. My primary care submitted the 6 months monitoring paperwork as well as recommendation to the insurance, who approved me to meet with Dr. Mueller, the bariatric Surgeon.
Now I had already gone to a lecture held by Dr. Mueller, and really enjoyed him and his personality. Meeting him in person in March for my appointment showed me that I really was making the right decision for me. He gave me my paperwork and I was on my way, ready to start getting everything in order... THEN I got some major news... I was pregnant. This surgery got postponed indefinitely, until after baby and after any nursing...
Fast forward to February 2012... I have just finished weaning my youngest son (well, he more or less weaned himself, he was not interested in me, just the bottle!), and so I called the surgeons office to see where I needed to pick up. They set me up another consultation (since it had been a year) and they gave me all the paperwork again.
Fast forward now til April 20th... I am almost there. I have done all the blood tests and they are turned in... I have done the EKG and it is submitted... I have done the chest xray and its submitted... I met with a psychologist for 3 therapy sessions to discuss everything under the sun (perhaps I will put a blog post all about those experiences in a new blog post at a later point in time if I remember) as it relates to me, my weight, my family, and outlook etc and my psychologist has cleared me ready and fit for surgery. My primary care submitted his clearance stating I am cleared for surgery. Dr. Muellers office has all my paperwork and they are now working with the insurance for my final clearance. As of right now, I was informed that I could have the surgery in less than 6 weeks. So I am looking at Surgery in June. I am REALLY excited, nervous, everything. Who wouldn't be! This is a MAJOR surgery, that will change my whole life. I am on a support group that discusses everything about the surgery and the impact it has on peoples lives so I feel ready. It will be a huge step, but one that I feel I have been waiting a long time to happen. I am not at a stand still, on hold... there is nothing left that I have to do... I am now just waiting for the 'bigwigs' at the insurance to give the final clearance that they will authorize this surgery to be completed (authorizations came in steps... first an authorization to meet with the surgeon, then an authorization for the labs/xray/ekg, and now an authorization of all the results to show that I am ready for goal)... So I am just anxiously awaiting the phone call saying that they are ready to schedule my surgery which for me I am looking at being the day that begins a new life for me... a new life style and a hope for the future with my family.
So, with that being said, I will be closing off for this evening. If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to leave it here or message me!
Ashley
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