theantichick

Wow. I didn't realize she smokes either. I got caught up in it, and adore her mother and some of the other characters. It galls me to no end for her to be that large and say she's healthy. That's not a "little overweight". Just because her labs and blood pressure is OK, does not mean she's healthy. Argh.

This came across my newsfeed today. I searched and didn't see anything already posted, if it's a duplicate I apologize.

Anyway, this is a VSG surgery being videoed by a camera, and you can pan the playback all around to see what's on the surgery monitor or around to see the patient's abdomen. It's totally cool.

Not for the squeamish, but as a nurse I was fascinated by the procedure.

Great article, thanks!

I have a PCP, but I was hoping to leave her out of the process since she's always been weird about my weight issues. My rheumatologist is the one who actually gave me a medical reason for the surgery that bumped me off the fence about it. She flat out said it would be a direct benefit to my auto-immune arthritis. So I thought she'd be able to write the letter, but her office emailed me back and said she won't because the surgery has nothing to do with the condition she's treating me for, so I have to get it from my PCP. I'm going to try, but two things will happen if the PCP refuses... #1 I'm firing the PCP, and #2 I'm going to get testy with my rheumy's staff.

I'm damned tired of taking off work for all of these pre-requirement appointments.

I have had Mirena for over 9 years (I'm on my 2nd one). I love it. 2-3 periods total in those 9 years (and those were just light spotting), and decreased Migraines. Not everyone has a good experience with it, and I can't say the insertion and removal/insertion were any fun. But I have found it to be WELL worth it.

Have an appointment for the 27th. I'm trying not to stress about this. I have a tendency to get worked up over things that never become an issue the way I expect them to. My doc might be thrilled that I'm finally doing something about my weight that she's been hammering on me about for years. She may not have any biases against bariatric surgery.

I will say, though, that if she refuses to send the letter, I'm finding a new doc. I fired her once before for shoving anti-depressants at me because my symptoms were not backed up by labwork. After I ended up being diagnosed with sleep apnea and needing a heart procedure, I ended up going back to her after problems with the office staff at the doc I'd started seeing. I like the family practice clinic, they always have PA's or NP's I can get in to see if my doc isn't available and it's urgent. It's very convenient, between my home and office. I like my doc quite a bit. But I will not hesitate to go elsewhere if I need to.

I'll be so glad once all the hoops have been jumped through and the insurance approval is given. Then I'll be able to relax. Well, except for stressing about the pre-surgery diet and the post-surgery diet... the surgery itself does not scare or stress me at all... it's the fear that I can't do the diet changes that stresses me.

ARGH.

So my rheumatologist told me when I asked her about VSG that it would absolutely benefit me, in more ways than just losing weight for my joints. She said the changes in hormones would directly impact my arthritis in a positive way.

So when insurance said they needed a referral from someone other than the surgeon, I thought my rheumy would be perfect. And her office actually responds to emails through the patient portal. So I emailed what I needed.

Her staff emailed me back today that she can't do that, because she's treating me for psoriatic arthritis and that has nothing to do with gastric surgery. That I have to get that from my primary doc.

So add one more freakin' appointment to the list of things to freakin' do, one more freakin' copay, and more time off work, since my primary isn't close to my office. And, I don't know if my primary will agree with the surgery. She's been on me about diet for years, but gets caught up in fads... her latest one was telling me with the auto-immune I needed to go gluten-free. Before that it was paleo and low-no-carb.

Oh, well... will tomorrow and see what I can set up. Fingers crossed. I don't know what I'll do if she won't write the note.

Last appointments for meeting insurance requirements are set. Psych on 6/28 and last supervised diet visit on 7/1. Hopefully this will allow everything to get sent to insurance and approval early enough to schedule for mid-August between my school semesters. It's starting to feel real.

I read about this several months ago, and as a nurse am horrified. Yes, we have lots of patients who have tubes into their stomachs for long periods of time without infection and such, so that part is fine But maintaining those tubes is a royal PITA. They hang on clothes and get pulled out, clog, and have no ends of problems. And that's just with liquids going IN. While I can see that this is slightly better than becoming bulimic because you don't have stomach acid in your throat and mouth, it just feels like medically induced bulimia without the erosion. Ugh.

At the risk of continuing to assault the deceased equine...

I'll offer up my spare change, FWIW.

I'm still a newbie for the surgery (hoping for August), and relatively new to the boards (signed up in Jan but really got more active around April/May). But as I've said several times, I've been around the interwebs since the AOL days and everything in between.

I gotta say, there's nothing new going on here. I have witnessed the newbs described here who get all butthurt when someone says they really shouldn't have done the 128oz steak platter 3 days postop. I've seen those newbs pout and carry on saying that this site is too negative, and they're going elsewhere to play. Presumably where they'll be coddled and patted and told everything they want to do is OK. Frankly, in my experience and opinion, don't let the door hit you in the a** on the way out. You can't please all the people all the time, it's a short road to insanity. Then I've seen veterans start snipping and sniping at each other in passive-aggressive and aggressive-aggressive ways. A lot of these seem to be "my way is the only way" arguments (straws and soda, anyone?), and a lot of them seem to be personality conflicts. The veterans will then use the whining of the newbs and use that as a club to beat the other vets they don't agree with. Again, nothing new here.

As someone who has participated in more online boards than I could possibly count (and administered my fair share as well) over the 20-some-odd years I've been on the 'net, I can tell you there is no solution to this. It would be lovely if people would just pass over posts from people who make their blood boil, and liberally use the block feature if they can't manage it. It would be lovely if newbs would get the chip off their shoulder before posting. It'd be great if people would abandon the "my way is the only right way" mentality. However, this is reality, and there are humans involved. From a board management perspective, if you over-moderate you lose people because they don't like being censored. Under-moderate and it becomes a regular blood bath. You have to find the middle road, and just keep reminding people to play nicely in the sandbox. This is one of the better moderated boards I've seen... not too heavy-handed but managing to keep the nastiness from escalating past a point.

As a newb to the surgery, I deeply appreciate the veterans who are sharing their experience and opinion. I don't agree with all of it, but I'm not in a position to argue as I haven't been there yet. So I just absorb it all, ask questions to clarify, and try to play nice. I really hope that the vets won't abandon the boards for a private forum or off-board community. I have already learned so much from more people than I could list here and be reasonably sure I got their handles right.

Anyway, I think the board is awesome, Alex and the other mods are doing a bang-up job, and everyone needs to follow the Bill and Ted philosophy: Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!

I'm praying I get less hot, cold even, as I lose weight. I am the one who's always sweating my butt off, even with virtually no activity. And I live in hell aka Texas. I grew up in Alaska. I always say I can put on more clothes or otherwise add heat, but no one seems to like it when I start stripping off clothes in public.

Depending on your insurance requirements, it might not be so bad. Mine requires a visit with a nutritionist, recommendation by a second doctor, a psych eval, and a three month supervised diet. The one I resent is the supervised diet, but with all the other things insurance required plus what my surgeon wanted... EGD, cardiac clearance, it's going by faster than I thought it would. I could be approved shortly after my last diet appointment in early July but I have a break between semesters (I'm in grad school) in early August all I'm hoping to be able to schedule it for then. You have to find what is your best option, but you may find the insurance requirements aren't that bad. Good luck!

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What's with all the dang mangos lately?

Bunch a' former fatty, reality tv watching, mango eating meanies around here. 'Cept me.

I'm allergic to mangos.

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Wow. Catching up on posts, and I found the original. My goodness, y'all can get into it, can't you? Though I still say y'all are pikers compared to parenting boards. LOL.

I've been on the internet since the dial-up AOL days (yes, I'm that old). This is a never-ending complaint... and no one is ever happy with the results. Over-moderate and people complain that discussion and debate is being stifled. Under-moderate and people get nasty. This site has nothing on parenting sites, BTW. LOL.

In the AOL days, a bunch of us used to hang around chat rooms "trolling for SNERTS" (snot-nosed egotistical rude twerps) and our entertainment would be messing with them. I don't have the time or energy for that anymore, so I just employ the rule "take what helps you, ignore the rest, and move along".

Edited to add: Seriously, if you want to see how vile and nasty people can get toward each other, venture onto a parenting board and make a statement advocating formula feeding and putting infants in daycare. Then carefully step back and watch the bloodbath commence.

I'm pre-op, and am trying to get back in the habit of journalling my meals... so don't expect much. But if anyone wants to friend me, I'm theantichick there.

Well, here goes, in no particular order, and I'm sure I've left things out:

(and of course the fact I'm posting means I got my homework for the hated class done--- yay!!)

• I am an outgoing introvert.
• I am the youngest of 5 children. My oldest sibling is 19 years older than me.
• I was born in Texas, but grew up in Alaska. Spent 18 months in Hawaii before moving back to Texas at age 10.
• I have a really dark and dry/sarcastic sense of humor. I'd blame it on being a paramedic when I was a young adult, but to be honest I think I was born with it.
• Mom to a 19yo daughter in college - she plans to be a physician's assistant and work ER. Incidentally, I have her to thank for my boobs... I was an almost-B before I got preggers, and have been a very full D since. (Hoping they don't deflate too far with the WLS). She also inherited my snark, which is very likely the mother's curse in action.
• Step-mom to 4 kids ranging from 12 to 24, only the 12 year old lives close the rest are on the east coast.
• Married a year and a half to my 3rd hubby (3rd time's the charm) we've been together 3 years, and we met on OK Cupid but then found out we had overlapping circles of friends - but not in a way we'd have ever met. Weird, huh?
• Love cats, like dogs too. Have 2 cats and 2 dogs (all rescues, cats are tabbies, dogs are a pit bull mix and a blue heeler).
• Have an opinion on the Oxford comma, and am not afraid to share it.
• Have been called a grammar nazi.
• Was a cheerleader in Jr. High.
• Was a thespian in High School, couldn't stand cheerleaders.
• I hate cleaning. My house usually looks like frat boys live there.
• I don't really cook, but love baking. I typically put on 10 lbs during Christmas season. (That'll have to change...)
• Hobbies: knitting, spinning (Fiber, not bicycles), beading, reading (fantasy, romance, sci-fi), music (lovelovelove 80's hair bands and like anything else except opera and rap), TV and movies (sci-fi mainly but love binge watching Netflix and will put the History channel on in the background when studying or doing housework), and hanging out on the internet.
• Used to love Krav Maga, but had to quit when my knee had to be reconstructed. Don't know if any martial arts will be an option for me with my joint issues, maybe Tai Chi when I start getting more energy.
• Used to go to renaissance faires and made my own costuming, another thing that's fallen by the wayside as my health has gotten worse.
• Currently work in healthcare IT using my technical skills and my nursing experience.
• Jobs/careers I have had: data entry clerk, 7-11 clerk, database designer, medical technician, executive secretary, legal secretary, paramedic, 911 dispatcher, computer report writer, data warehouse analyst, nurse in ICU and ER.
• Majors I have declared: foreign language (though I don't speak any fluently beyond English), computer engineer, nursing (when I was 19 and again at 40), paralegal, business administration. (I finally finished an Assciate's in Nursing at age 42, then my Bachelor's in Nursing at 44, and am now in a graduate program for a Master's in Healthcare Informatics. Better late than never.)
• Loved emergency nursing, but had to leave bedside care when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
• What I wanted to be when I grew up: doctor, air force fighter pilot.
• Musical instruments I have played: piano, ukulele, trumpet, french horn, guitar. Am trying to pick up the uke again.

I keep missing the kerfluffles. ::pout::

I think this kind of post is made of awesome. I'll try to post my own after I get home tonight, that is if I manage to get my school posts done quickly enough for the condescending jerk who is my prof.

EGD done today. Amazing that it takes an hour and a half to register and get prepped for a 10 min procedure. And another hour to get released. But looks good, they're checking for H. pylori infection, and one more item checked off the list.

I live in Arlington and work in Irving. I'd love to see a local group.

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Well, now that we've all cleared that up and nobody has changed their minds, what are we going to argue about next?

Well, I could start a post about carbs...

It doesn't help for your surgery date, if you need to be completely off the nicotine beforehand, but I have many friends who have quit smoking with vaping. The ones who haven't quite quit yet have drastically reduced their nicotine doses, and are seeing huge improvements in their breathing and cardio function. I wouldn't recommend non-smokers take up vaping, but for people trying to make better choices, I believe all of the research is showing it's definitely safer than smoking, and anecdotally lots of people are quitting entirely with vaping as their taper off plan.

Argh.

So today I went for my 1st appointment with the doc that does my surgeon's supervised diet stuff. (Counts as the 2nd visit for the supervised diet for insurance, which is good.)

First off, I was supposed to see him last week. They called several hours before the appointment to re-schedule for 2 weeks out. I told them that's not acceptable because I am trying to get the insurance stuff done as quickly as possible to get my surgery in August if possible. I work across the street from the doctors' building so I'm available literally any time. They "worked me in" for today.

I got there 15 minutes early for my 2pm appointment, and spent 10 filling out paperwork. All of my docs are on the same electronic records system, so I get a little bent about having to fill out the same history crap every time I see someone else even if they're associated providers. Then I wait. And Wait. 2:20 I finally go back to the room, and 2:35 the doc comes in.

Now I completely understand that I'm not the average patient. I'm a nurse, and have been a medical geek since I was a teenager. I have also done every diet under the sun, and studied nutrition as an elective in my nursing program. He didn't come right out and say I shouldn't have the surgery, but he was trying to get me to agree to go on one of his programs with shakes and powders and such. Ok, whatever. And he talks over me through the entire 30 min visit. He wasn't unpleasant, or judgemental, I just have known everything he's trying to tell me for years. Including all the recent research on set point. So it was a complete waste of my time. He did tell me that if I'm really doing a 2,000 cal diet, that I should be losing weight because my metabolic rate from testing was a little over 3,000. However, that's the active rate, my resting metabolism is 2152. I don't do any exercise between the fatigue and joint pain from my auto-immune disease. I'm trying, but the 5 minutes on the treadmill yesterday for my stress test knocked me out, I slept 12 hours last night and am still beat. And while I'm trying to keep it to 2,000, I know realistically I am probably off on my counts from portion estimation. So it doesn't surprise me that I'm not losing weight, and it doesn't mean I'm not watching what I eat. Grrrr.

I went straight upstairs to talk to someone in my surgeon's office to find out what the actual insurance requirement is. It's only one more visit, supposedly. So I'll buck up and see this guy again just to get the sign-off. My EGD is scheduled for next week. Then I have to do the psych visit and get my rheumy to write a recommendation for surgery. Then the last visit with the doc I saw today, and we'll be golden for insurance review.

This is beyond frustrating.

And my rant for today is doctor's offices who call to re-schedule (and mind you this is trying to meet the insurance requirements for surgery, so there's a time pressure) the morning of the appointment, but charge you if you cancel without 24 hours notice - and THEN keep you waiting 45 minutes before you're seen. I won't even go into the fact the doctor today had nothing to offer.

My goodness, @@LipstickLady - you have so many rants!

Thank you for saying what the rest of us want to.

I'm just getting warmed up.

If you can't say something nice about someone, come sit by me!