It's been awhile

   I knew it had been awhile since my last posting but didn't realize the last one was Oct. 3. I guess I've been busy. Actually there hasn't been anything to report. Last Thursday I had my last appointment with the nutritionist and she cleared me for surgery. Now my information has been submitted to the Cleveland Clinic bariatric nurse to make sure everything is in order. That should take about a week. The information is then sent to my insurance company for final approval. So the waiting begins.    I hate waiting for things.Waiting makes me crazy but what am I gonna do? I better hope that time flies by. I may not post again until I hear from my insurance company.
   Wish me luck.

Bills bills bills

Last week I was talking with my mother. I told her that I wondered why my insurance company hadn't given me a statement from the Cleveland Clinic. You know, one of those "this is not a bill" notices we receive after a doctor's visit. Maybe my mouth shouldn't have been running. Yesterday I received it in the mail. Not a bill from the Cleveland Clinic but Aultcare's statement. I owe the Cleveland Clinic $523. At first I was upset but then I realized that it's all in the journey for the greater good. Today, as I thought about it I realized that a mere $523 is nothing in the grand scheme of things. My life is gonna change and change big time. I guess the bill will be worth it.

WOW

   Yes, I am one of those people who look up any and all information on a subject, almost to an irrational level. I have always been that way, it must be in my makeup. So I was curious to see what other bloggers are writing about their gastric bypass experience. What did I learn? That I'll never do that again!!!
   I found blogs about people who backslid from the program, gained weight back and then had amazing illness from the yo-yoing. I found a website completely devoted to problems from the surgery. Needless to say I am mortified. I will only look up the information given to me by the Cleveland Clinic doctors and staff. I have been very blessed to have dealt with great staff at the Cleveland Clinic. The only exception is the nurse I had before my meeting with the doctor. She was cranky and acted like she wanted to be anywhere but there. Everyone else has been beyond wonderful.
   The only issue I'm having now is if my insurance company will give the final ok for the surgery. During the informational session the nurse said that if we were in the room our insurance said yes. My mom also went to a session only to find out later that it wasn't covered for her because she is a retiree. I'm too afraid to call Aultcare to double check. Sad isn't it?

Emotions

I consider myself a very level-headed person. I don't get excited or psyched up for something until I know for sure it's gonna happen. This week as I started taking my liquid and chewables vitamins and supplements, I felt as though I am ready for this. I actually let myself be excited about it. Now I am going back to my normal self but the anticipation keeps creeping in and I'm having a more and more hard containing myself. Maybe I should just go with the flow and release some of my anal tendencies. We'll see.

New ideas

Today I started implementing the things the dietitian told me to. I have to check my sugar twice daily, take chewable multi-vitamins, liquid vitamins and calcium citrate. I realized some very important things. Chewable vitamins are pretty gross. When counting to 30 (what I have to do before swallowing the liquid B12) it seems like its 30 minutes.
The most important thing I learned was that being accountable to someone other than me really sucks. I also have to keep a food journal so everything is in writing. I have really watched what I eat (most days) so that isn't a big deal it's just remembering to do it. Although it has made me think more about what time I eat and not to have 6 hour gaps in my eating. Oh well, guess it's all for the greater good.

You're so pretty but. . .

Ok, so I know this blog won't be about gastic bypass surgery, just an observation. Why do people think it's absolutely alright to say things like, "you're so pretty if. . ." or "you'll be pretty if. . ."? Why does pretty have a size attached to it? I consider myself very pretty, with or without the weight. People should understand that these statements only can cause the receiver of such comment to feel worse about themselves? I've learned to ignore these statements but others have not. That's like saying someone would be pretty is their skin was lighter/darker or if they'd get a nose job. We need to watch what we say and how it affects others.
Alright, I'm off my soap box. Talk to you later.

Sleep Study Part 2

Well it's the day after my sleep study. I was kinda scared because I wasn't sure how things would go and how it would be. The Aultman North Sleep Center was wonderful. I felt like it was home even though I couldn't sleep because of apprehension. The good news is that I don't have sleep apnea and don't even snore. Next step is my last meeting with the dietitian and then they submit my paperwork to insurance. I'm exhausted from the sleep study but I went to work anyway. So here I sit on a Friday night and am about to go to sleep. Blog again tomorrow.

Sleep Study Part 1

It is 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 15. This time tomorrow I will be beginning my sleep study. This is another step in the bariatric surgery pre-op. They want to make sure I don't have sleep apnea or any other type of sleep problem. I guess it makes sense, it's just a pain in the rear. You have to check in at 9 p.m., and get released at 6 a.m. or a little later. The study goes from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. My ex boyfriend says that you get a lot of the adhesive liquid in your hair. So I will be wearing a hat to work on Friday. Maybe I'll get a matching top to go with my hat. Always gotta be cute.

Welcome to my new blog

Hello all,
  Welcome to my new blog site. Let me tell you a little about myself. I am a 38 year old single mother of one who lives in Ohio. I have been overweight for as long as I can remember. I have been on so many diets and exercise programs that I can't name them all. Nothing has worked for me so I decided to have gastric bypass surgery.
  Since no one in Canton performs this surgery I have been going through the Cleveland Clinic Bariatric program. This process started for me on July 21 with the informational session. On Oct. 14 I will have my last pre-op session with the dietitian and then they will send my information to Aultcare for final approval.
  I hope that this blog will be informative, insightful, humourous and honest. I'll log on whenever I can. I hope you enjoy my blog through gastric land.
Ciao