Luvinmyself04

[color=#333333][font=Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4][b] Hello Everyone! My name is Ebony and I am...[/b]

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[*]10 Sep 2013
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[size=4]Hello Everyone! My name is Ebony and I am embarking on a long but well worth it journey. After much research (years) I have decided to get the gastric sleeve. I am 28 years old and I weigh 382 lbs.[/size]

[size=4]Honestly up until recently I really didn't think of myself as being that big until I actually saw a few pictures of myself and I was like Damn! [/size]
[size=4]What happened? How could you let yourself get to this point? Then I answered those questions, I know exactly what happened laziness, eating all the wrong foods, and just not caring about myself enough to make a change.[/size]

[size=4]So in 2011 I gave birth to my first child, his name is Riley and I never knew that I could love someone as much as I love him. Let's fast forward well Riley is a very active 2 year old and I can barely keep up with, sometimes it brings tears to my eyes knowing that I can't be as active as I'd like with my son. This past February I had my gallbladder removed, and then I just found out that my hemoglobin A1C is elevated and I have an increased chance of getting diabetes, my knees hurt and I'm easily out of breath. I know having surgery isn't a quick fix and that it's only meant to assist you in your weight loss/healthy goal. That's why I am dedicated t o do what it takes to get healthy and get my weight back under control. I would love to walk into any store and be able to shop and not be limited on my selections, I would love to go on a run and possibly a marathon, I would love to be able to fit in a seat on the airplane and not have to ask for an extender or have the person in the next seat side eye me because my body fat is spilling over into their space, I would love to climb a flight of stairs and not feel like I'm about to die because I can barely breath, and most importantly I would love to run and play with my side without any restrictions and be able to keep up with him.[/size]

[size=4]The time is now and I AM READY! With hard work and dedication I know I have this, I just have to strong even when I feel defeated.
So my consultation appoint is this upcoming Thursday with Peachtree Surgical Associates and I'm excited, this is the first step and the beginning of a journey and new outlook on life.[/size]

[size=4]I will be uploading pictures and post of my progress and journey and I am excited to share my experience with the world.[/size]
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[size=4]Hello Everyone! My name is Ebony and I am embarking on a long but well worth it journey. After much research (years) I have decided to get the gastric sleeve. I am 28 years old and I weigh 382 lbs.[/size]
[size=4]Honestly up until recently I really didn't think of myself as being that big until I actually saw a few pictures of myself and I was like Damn! What happened? How could you let yourself get to this point? Then I answered those questions, I know exactly what happened laziness, eating all the wrong foods, and just not caring about myself enough to make a change.[/size]

[size=4]So in 2011 I gave birth to my first child, his name is Riley and I never knew that I could love someone as much as I love him. Let's fast forward well Riley is a very active 2 year old and I can barely keep up with, sometimes it brings tears to my eyes knowing that I can't be as active as I'd like with my son. This past February I had my gallbladder removed, and then I just found out that my hemoglobin A1C is elevated and I have an increased chance of getting diabetes, my knees hurt and I'm easily out of breath. I know having surgery isn't a quick fix and that it's only meant to assist you in your weight loss/healthy goal. That's why I am dedicated t o do what it takes to get healthy and get my weight back under control. I would love to walk into any store and be able to shop and not be limited on my selections, I would love to go on a run and possibly a marathon, I would love to be able to fit in a seat on the airplane and not have to ask for an extender or have the person in the next seat side eye me because my body fat is spilling over into their space, I would love to climb a flight of stairs and not feel like I'm about to die because I can barely breath, and most importantly I would love to run and play with my side without any restrictions and be able to keep up with him.[/size]
[size=4]The time is now and I AM READY! With hard work and dedication I know I have this, I just have to strong even when I feel defeated.[/size]
[size=4]So my consultation appoint is this upcoming Thursday with Peachtree Surgical Associates and I'm excited, this is the first step and the beginning of a journey and new outlook on life.[/size]

[size=4]I will be uploading pictures and post of my progress and journey and I am excited to share my experience with the world.[/size]
[size=4]I don't know how much this procedure is yet and will find out Thursday when I go for my consultation. Also I know my insurance pays 80% and I also have a secondary insurance which should pick up the additional cost so we'll see.[/size]




[b] Gastric Sleeve Consultation[/b]

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[*]16 Sep 2013
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[size=4]So this past Thursday September 12, 2013 I had my Gastric Sleeve consultation. It was pretty quick all they did was weighed me in and took my measurements and then I spoke with the Nurse Practioner and she explained the procedure and gave me the information packet as well as a check off list of everything I needed to have done. I do not have to have a supervised weight loss per my insurance. I[/size]
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[size=4]Hello Everyone! My name is Ebony and I am embarking on a long but well worth it journey. After much research (years) I have decided to get the gastric sleeve. I am 28 years old and I weigh 382 lbs.
Honestly up until recently I really didn't think of myself as being that big until I actually saw a few pictures of myself and I was like Damn! What happened? How could you let yourself get to this point? Then I answered those questions, I know exactly what happened laziness, eating all the wrong foods, and just not caring about myself enough to make a change.
So in 2011 I gave birth to my first child, his name is Riley and I never knew that I could love someone as much as I love him. Let's fast forward well Riley is a very active 2 year old and I can barely keep up with, sometimes it brings tears to my eyes knowing that I can't be as active as I'd like with my son. This past February I had my gallbladder removed, and then I just found out that my hemoglobin A1C is elevated and I have an increased chance of getting diabetes, my knees hurt and I'm easily out of breath. I know having surgery isn't a quick fix and that it's only meant to assist you in your weight loss/healthy goal. That's why I am dedicated t o do what it takes to get healthy and get my weight back under control. I would love to walk into any store and be able to shop and not be limited on my selections, I would love to go on a run and possibly a marathon, I would love to be able to fit in a seat on the airplane and not have to ask for an extender or have the person in the next seat side eye me because my body fat is spilling over into their space, I would love to climb a flight of stairs and not feel like I'm about to die because I can barely breath, and most importantly I would love to run and play with my side without any restrictions and be able to keep up with him.
The time is now and I AM READY! With hard work and dedication I know I have this, I just have to strong even when I feel defeated.
So my consultation appoint is this upcoming Thursday with Peachtree Surgical Associates and I'm excited, this is the first step and the beginning of a journey and new outlook on life.
I will be uploading pictures and post of my progress and journey and I am excited to share my experience with the world.[/size]

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[b] Psych Eval[/b]
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[*]21 Sep 2013
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So I went for my psych eval on Friday and it was cool nothing like I expected. Just a few questions and she wants to see me again. However after this second visit I'm not going back because I don't think it's necessary so I'm going to call my surgeons office and talk to them about it.



[color=#333333][font=Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4][b] Update on requirement process![/b][/size][/font][/color][list]
[*][color=#333333][font=Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4]24 Sep 2013[/size][/font][/color]
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[color=#333333][font=Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4]So I called my Patient Care Coordinator and asked did I have to see the psychologist for a second visit and she said no, to have her give her a call and she'd send her some paper work to fill out, my insurance company also verified it as well they said all I need was a claim on file stating that I went.

So here's a run-down of everything I have coming up.

Labs-Done
Psychology Clearance-Done
Nutritional Consult-9/27/2013
EKG-9/27/2013
Pulmonary Function Test (PFT)-10/4/2013
Stress Test-10/4/2013
Sleep Study Consult-10/4/2013

Things I have to do after that: My actual sleep study in which I won't know when it's scheduled until after the sleep consult. Personal Essay in which I'll be writing today or sometime this week before Friday, and lastly EGD in which they informed me that would be done prior to surgery so don't worry about it.

I definitely feel as though I am progressing which is awesome! Hopefully I can get this surgery done before the end of the year especially since I have met my deductible. So my fingers are crossed.

Another thing, this blogging is awesome! Hopefully, by me doing this it can help others no what to expect and look forward to although all situations are different they are still similar in many ways. I will definitely continue to update my profile because when I do finally have the surgery I can look back at this and say WOW that was me then and this is me now.[/size][/font][/color]


[b] EKG and Nutrition Consult -DONE!!![/b]
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[*]30 Sep 2013[color=#333333]So this past Friday I had my appointment for my EKG and Nutrition Consult and those are done and good to go. This upcoming Friday, October 4th I will have my PFT (Pulmonary Function Test and Stress Done at the surgeons office and then after that I will be zooming over to the sleep study practice to have my consult for that, so this should be very interesting and BUSY! My EKG looked good and the [/color][color=#333333]nutrition consult gave me some great advice and tips as well as heads-up on things so I will keep you guys posted.[/color]
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[color=#333333][font=Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4][b] Annoyed![/b][/size][/font][/color][list]
[*][color=#333333][font=Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4]3 Oct 2013[/size][/font][/color]
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[color=#333333][font=Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4]So I get a call from my bariatriac coordinator and she tells me that I need to schedule my stress test somewhere else because she forgot to tell me that the machine they use has a weight limit REALLY!!! I have been waiting on this appointment for over a month if you'd told me, I would have gone somewhere a long time ago. Now I have to see a cardiologist before I get my stress test done. I can't stand when people don't do their job. That was critical information that she shouldn't have forgotten. So now I go and see the cardiologist on October 11. Just when I thought things were going smoothly here comes a bump in the road! Then the psychologist that I'd seen for my psych eval acts like she's dumb as a box of rocks because I told her she needed to send her evaluation to my surgeons office and she's like I don't know what to put in it, can you see if they can give me an outline of what they want WTH! You said you had done this dozens of times and now you don't know what to do. She's already creepy as hell and she's getting on my last nerve. UGH! Dummy! stand when people don't do their job. That was critical information that she shouldn't have forgotten. So now I go and see the cardiologist on October 11. Just when I thought things were going smoothly here comes a bump in the road! Then the psychologist that I'd seen for my psych eval acts like she's dumb as a box of rocks because I told her she needed to send her evaluation to my surgeons office and she's like I don't know what to put in it, can you see if they can give me an outline of what they want WTH! You said you had done this dozens of times and now you don't know what to do. She's already creepy as hell and she's getting on my last nerve. UGH! Dummy![/size][/font][/color]



[color=#333333][font=Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4][b] Unexpected...[/b][/size][/font][/color]
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[*][color=#333333][font=Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4]3 Oct 2013[/size][/font][/color]
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[color=#333333][font=Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4]So I called my PCP and she sent a referral to the cardiologist so I would now have to have a consult and I would just have to have the stress test done only on October 11, 2013 super excited![/size][/font][/color]



[color=#333333][font=Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4][b] Officially Done...So I Hope :-![/b][/size][/font][/color]
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[*][color=#333333][font=Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4]6 Oct 2013[/size][/font][/color]
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[color=#333333][font=Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4]So this past Friday October 4, I went for my PFT and come to find out I could do my stress test as well. I was happy and annoyed because I had my scrubs on and I couldn't move like I wanted to but I got through it and it only took 6 minutes and all I did was pedal on a bike, with the EKG leads hooked up to me and a pulse ox on my finger. Depending on your age and weight that's how they determine your stress test where I'll be having my surgery. So after those test were done I zoomed wayyy across Atlanta to my sleep study consult and ended up getting my take home equipment that day because my insurance doesn't pay for me to do it at the onsite facility which is great because I didn't want to do it there anyway. So they explained to me what to do and I took it home. Later that night I got prepared, took a nice relaxing bath, fresh sheets, and got super comfy, oh and I stopped drinking fluids early. So I got all hooked up and went to bed, it wasn't bad the equipment wasn't uncomfortable at all and I slept great. I did get up once to use the bathroom but went right back to sleep. So Monday I have to bring it back so they can look at it. Hopefully everything is good with the tests and the psychologist get her evaluation submitted so my coordinator can get the packet together and submit it to insurance. My hopes and prayers is that I can have it done before the end of the year. Fingers Crossed!!![/size][/font][/color]