Facing50

I haven't even *started* the journey really. I just (two days ago) officially found out that I have diabetes so am trying to figure out what to do. My BMI is right at 35% and my understanding is that my insurance provider (Kaiser SoCal) covers VSG, even at that BMI, with two co-morbidity factors. I also have severe obstructive sleep apnea and high cholesterol as well as the diabetes (yay, me!) so I am thinking of VSG as an option moving forward. I know that the doc will want me to lose weight no matter what, so I am thinking that I will ask for a referral for VSG at the same time. I think Kaiser expects you to go to pre-surgery classes and lose a certain amount of weight before VSG. So if I am able to lose the weight and get my sugar levels under control by myself after a few months, great. If not, I will that much further along in the process towards VSG. Genetically I seem to be exactly like my dad, who was diagnosed with diabetes at exactly my age (49). He was not overweight, so it makes me nervous that it might be difficult to control the disease even if I do get to a reasonable weight. That is one of the reasons I want to have VSG as an option, it seems like recent studies pretty much conclusively show that bariatric surgery is a really good option in that event. And those studies are credible - two of them were published in the NEJM, you have probably read them - see http://abcnews.go.com/Health/DiabetesTreatment/weight-loss-surgery-cuts-type-diabetes/story?id=16002552#.T5rRaNXUWSo It is a hard enough process for me, a single 49 year-old without a family, a regular job (ie, no school), no other obligations. So I think you are really admirable for doing this with all your other stuff. I found your information super helpful, I am a smoker and knew I would have to quit because it creates post-operative healing issues, but didn't consider the possibilities of embolisms or CVSTs which are pretty darn scary and pretty much a conclusive argument that I HAVE to quit before considering surgery if the serious threat of cancer/COPD, etc, did not lie directly ahead anyway. Anyway, sorry for babbling on, part of it is me thinking things through. I also take meds (Paxil) for anxiety and occasional depression, so it helps to do that before the doubts set in. So please keep posting!

Just watched your "blot-clot" video, again, excellent. Especially the recommendations for travel care and the thumbs up/down on heparin and aspirin, respectively. I didn't realize that aspirin could be an issue that way, especially since they recommend it for heart patients. I think you are probably going to be a great resource for folks here, but to protect yourself, it might be good to put a disclaimer at the beginning and end of the videos; ie: "I am not a doctor; please discuss this and any other medical information with your own doctor before engaging in any conduct on reliance on it." Something like that, I have never provided language to someone in this case. Probably I am paranoid b/c I am a lawyer, but just don't want you to get screwed because you are doing a good thing.

Just saw your video, and I thought it was great! I totally get why you would be nervous, we probably wouldn't be posting on this board (at least in the "before" phase of surgery) if we were natural born camera subjects:) I just wanted to say that you seem like a really amazing, strong person. To get to PA school - I know that is a very competitive process - after/while having a child at 17 and dealing with ADD and depression, that is just amazing. If you are tough enough to do all that stuff, you can get through anything. Best wishes and luck with everything. Please update on how your journey goes.