Sue40

I didn't even TELL my PCP! My PCP is at Mass General and my LB is being done at Tufts. I totally bypassed (no pun intended) her. She is perfectly nice, and I know no idea how she feels about WLS, and I don't really care. I know my allergist support LB, though. At my last appointment with him he mentioned to me that I might want to consider it (I already was). I wish he was a PCP. Nicest guy, we talk about all kinds of stuff (he also thinks I should get a breast reduction). Mamanmidwife, your PCP is a jerk, and doesn't know the medical facts about obesity. You are better off without her. Maybe one of the weight loss docs can recommend a more WLS friendly PCP?

I can't imagine anyone being there. I may even take the bus into Boston and have DH pick me up later. If I could get away with driving myself there and home I would. It's only a 45 minute surgery. I haven't told many people, partially because I don't like drama. Only DH, father and sister know. It may not be right, but I would tell them surgery is Thursday when it is really Wedneday, and then tell them after the fact that there was a cancellation so you got moved up.

Thanks everyone. I met with the psychologist today and he made me feel better. In the 7 weeks I've been doing the program I have checked off everything on their HUGE to do list. I still have more weight to lose according to their "guidelines", but he said that they will probably present me to be scheduled for surgery at the next weekly meeting. I meet with the surgeon Thursday and need to plead my case with her. I am crossing my fingers that they don't make me redo the sleep study. The technician said it was good that I eventually "settled down", so I hope that means they got what they need!

I currently take a multivitamin, a B12, a folic acid, a weekly vitamin D and an iron. I met with the nutritionist today and she told me post-surgery I will take no vitamins for 2 weeks. After that I will replace the multivitamin with a chewable but will continue to take all the others. She said as long as the pill is smaller than a dime in all directions it can be taken without breaking it or crushing it.

The program I am going through requires everyone to have a sleep study done.

There is definitely a min and max on there. At my height 260 looks exactly the same as 350. I thought my current weight (282) looked too small, so I plugged in a bunch of extremes. I think 260 is the max at 5'6".

Maybe I didn't put this in my original post. After they scheduled my study I learned from others in the program that they have EVERYONE do a sleep study. So her thinking I had apnea was BS, they order it on everyone. Which she should have just told me, I don't appreciate being misled. My quality of sleep is fine. I'm not tired during the day. I do sometimes have trouble falling asleep, but that is a stress thing (lost my 6 figure job and can't look for another one until I no longer have 2-3 doctor's appointments every week, huge mortgage, etc.). The technician was a nice guy, I don't blame him. I just don't like my skin and hair being messed with. And the room was horrible, as I wrote (I felt like I was in a $30 hotel). I now have red skin rashes (and a few bruises) where the electrodes were. No matter how much I schrub with alcohol I can't get the glue off my skin. I know I'm being a little bit of a princess about this, but I've really had it with the hoops they are making me jump through. I have had fifteen appointments already (plus the sleep study) and have yet to meet with the surgeon. This is costing me a damn fortune between copays, parking and gasoline.

One of the doctors that is part of the LB program I am going through asked me if I ever snore. Ah, yes? I have allergies (and a cat who sleeps on my head), a partially deviated septum and adnoids, of course I snore a little! I always have, when I was a kid, when I was thin, etc. She immediately said I need to be evaluated for sleep apnea. There is a HUGE stretch between a little snoring (which doesn't even disturb DH) and sleep apnea. But this woman is a bull dog and there is no convincing her, so I play along. They schedule the sleep study (wonder how much this is costing my insurance, and what it will cost me?) and they send me a letter beforehand telling me most people sleep fine and many "sleep better than they do at home". Riigghhtt. So I get there and the room STINKS like perfumy laundry detergent. Have they ever heard of ALLERGIES? I had a burning throat and headache within 5 minutes. They turn off the stink machine on the wall for me. The room is roasting hot (I sleep with the room at 57 usually). And then they proceed to glue these things all over my legs, back, upper chest, head (glue in my hair), neck and face. I'm supposed to sleep with this on? It gets better. They want to stick 2 things up my nose. I can't stop sniffling and scratching at my nose. I finally fell asleep at 1:00 am, but they had to keep coming in the room because I kept taking the thing out of my nose. It was like sleeping with plastic straws shoved up there. I woke up (enough to remember) at least 4 times. At 6:00 they woke me up to go home. My face was so puffy I could barely see from my right eye (allergies, likely) and my face was puffy and bright red. I also had a raging headache from sleeping on a rubber wrapped mattress with rubber wrapped pillows. Then I couldn't find my car in the parking garage. I am so POed I could scream. It's now 18 hours later and my face still feels weird (puffy and dry). The tech said if they saw any evidence of apnea they would wake me and give me a mask, which they never did, so I assume no signs of apnea. Aside from a little snoring, I have no apnea symptoms. Thanks for letting me vent. I am getting really aggravated with this program. I've been jumping through hoops with them and I've had it up to "here"! Oh, so what did I do today? I didn't stick to my diet, that's for sure! I was too cranky and upset to deal with just cottage cheese and grapes.

I don't expect it to go away. When I was thin I would sweat really bad from my head, just as my father does. When I would workout I would be soaked. I am the same now, 140 pounds heavier. I don't expect it to go away when I lose the weight.

According to the guidelines I was given, I will have to wait 3-4 weeks for mushies. HOWEVER, they classify cottage cheese, yogurt, pudding and scrambled eggs under full liquids - allowed after 1 day of clear liquids. Good thing I love cottage cheese!

I asked this question at the doctor's and was told I could do cardo within a few days, basicallt as soon as I wanted to. Weights would have to wait a few weeks, abs in 4 or 6 weeks (can't remember which). Can you actually do cardio that quickly?

Goddess makes a sports bras up to G. I'm out of luck, I wear a J (yes, a J!) and from the research I've done there are no sports bras bigger than H. I wear a Goddess bra that is not specifically a sports bra, but is similar. There are few sports bras bigger than D or DD.

How does this prove anything to the nutritionist? Unless she follows you around day and night how does she know what you are eating? The hospital I am going through requires a 10% weight drop and they suggest what is basically a low-glycemic index diet.