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My journey is begining and a little rant



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Tomorrow I will have my first appointment with my surgeon. To say that I am excited is an understatement. I made my decision 9 years ago to have the surgery done. I have been over weight my whole life except once when I was going through a very messy divorce. During the 9 years a lot has happened. I became a first time mom at the young age of 53 to not one but 2. No I did not give birth we are adopting. I had a complete hysterectomy at the age of 25 so being a mom was never on my list but I did pray for a child of my own. I know that my age may play a factor, but I want a better quality of life and I want to see my children graduate. My husband is very supportive and wants what is best for my health. I have dealt with fibromyalgia for the last 20 years plus I am watching my fasting blood sugar go up. Diabetes is huge in my family history and it scares me to see it go up.

I had an appointment with another clinic and was informed that I would only qualify for their medical weight loss and not the surgical. I informed them of my choice (my BMI was 39.9) I went back 6 weeks later, I had quit smoking (I smoked for 45 years) and I gained 12 pounds in 5 weeks. The nurse practitioner Add to dictionary informed my that there was people that gained weight just to have surgery. My BMI was now 41.2 and again I stated I was wanting the surgery and she informed me that the surgeon would not do the surgery and I would have to wait another six months to even be considered. I was very upset when I left so I called my insurance company (my benefits had already been confirmed that this was a covered procedure). Did I ever get a surprise, not only did I have someone that would listen, they called the clinic asked if they had a problem explained what had happened and recommended that I look for another clinic and found one for me. Tomorrow is that appointment along with appointments with the physiologist and dietician. By the way the other clinic called this week to inform me of the different surgeries that are now available to me.

Yes I feel like this is a long post but there is a lot on my mind today.

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Stay strong... 👊

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Good for you for sticking to your guns, CharlyScott! You knew what you wanted and didn't allow the nurse practitioner to steer you in another direction. You were smart to call your insurance company and get that matter straightened out. I am just starting out in this process and have also been given information that doesn't sound correct and will be calling my insurance company. May God bless you in your journey to good health.

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So happy for you!

My kids are a huge motivator for me. Not only do I want to be here, but I want to set a good example and be active in their lives as they grow.

Also, good for you quitting smoking. You probably added years to your life with that big decision.

I hope your appointment goes well and that you are in the path to a healthy weight real soon :)

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It's nice to hear a good story about an insurance company! Glad you stuck to your guns and will get this done.

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A little update. My appt went wonderfully I am excited about the clinic. Everyone was very friendly, professional, and answered my questions and concerns. All I am waiting on is final insurance approval. I am super excited


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9 hours ago, CharlyScott said:

Another update from me. My date is June 5. Really excited.

That is great!!! You have to be your own advocate my sister taught me that.

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I really like seeing someone switch doctors and take control of their healthcare.

Medicine in America is a for profit business. If they can drag you through 6 months of visits and then do surgery when medical weight loss fails and they know it will fail. They get to double dio and milk your insurance.

It is more cost effective for your insurance to get you to surgery as soon as possible.

Congrats on the adoption. My grandparents adopted my mom in their 50s and I am so grateful they did. They had so much love to share. Older parents make wonderful parents. Thank you for adopting.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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