Life Update

Hello everyone!! Wow…it’s definitely been awhile since I’ve been here.  Sorry that I haven’t visited many of you the way that I used to.  Life has been BEYOND hectic for me the past few months.  Here…I’ll give you some examples of what I’m talking about.

Jason is still in school and is currently in his internship (unpaid) at a middle school close to Columbine High School.  He’s been extremely busy considering the volume of students that he is teaching.  However, he is enjoying it immensely.  His internship is now at about the half-way point and he is taking over the classes.  He still gets a bit nervous about it all at times, but I feel that he’s doing a great job and will continue to get better as time goes by and he begins feeling more comfortable with being the ONE to provide the students with the appropriate information to succeed in their studies.

Let’s see…then there’s me. 

As some of you know, well…at least those who’ve been reading my site since I’ve been here, I’ve been obese my entire life and have had many health related issues because of it.  I’ve struggled with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression, hypothyroidism, numbness in hand and feet, back pain and weight gain my whole life.  I’ve been on so many different “diets” that I can’t even count all of them…and that’s not including the ones that my mother, who’s a dietician, put me on over the years.  The most recent diet plan was the South Beach diet that my OBGYN put me on last year.  I followed it to a “T” but to no avail…in fact, I still gained weight. 

I’m sure that some of you are thinking, “how could she gain weight if she followed it correctly?”…well, that’s because I have a metabolic disorder and my body doesn’t respond to nutrients the way that it should.  In June of this year I went into my OBGYN for my annual, and because she was the one that put me on the South Beach diet, I expressed my concerns about the weight gain…I weighed in at my highest weight ever, 325 lbs.  They ran a series of blood tests and contacted me a few days later and told me that I was Type II Diabetic and that my thyroid medication needed to be increased.  So they put me on insulin and increased my thyroid medication by 25mg a day.

They also told me that I needed to make sure that I walked every day and continue to eat healthy.  Well, I’ve never been one to eat crap…(i.e. chips, cakes, cookies, and other junk foods) on a regular basis.  Every once in a while I might have a cookie…but not often.  Anyway, after several months of being on the new medication and following my doctors instructions…I was still not feeling well.  My food was not digesting properly and I was tired ALL the time.

So I made a decision…I decided to attend a class on gastric bypass surgery.  I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time now (as some of you may recall my mentioning it before)…but this was the first step to making it a reality. I’ve done a great deal of research on this surgery in the past…but I wanted to know exactly what I would be in for if I indeed decided that this was the best option for me. 

The class was put on at the hospital by the surgeon that would be performing the surgery.  He was very thorough in his presentation explaining not only the risks, but the advantages of the surgery for those who are a candidate.  He did not sugar coat anything for people…he stated the facts and requirements straight away.  It was refreshing to know that he is so dedicated to what he does that he felt the importance of giving the class himself.

The part that got to me the most is when he explained the categories of obesity.  We’ve all heard of morbidly obese…but have you ever heard someone referred to as super morbidly obese?  Me either…until that night.  The worst part…I’m in that category.  Talk about a reality check.

I decided right then and there that I needed to contact my insurance and find out if this procedure would be covered and what the requirements were to meet coverage.  I was pleased to find out that my insurance does cover the procedure and that their only requirements are:

1.  It must be deemed medically necessary (i.e. referenced by the primary care physician showing 6 mos. or more of documented supervised medical loss treatment and obese related conditions)

2.  The patient must have a BMI (body mass index) of 40 or more…OR be 100 lbs or more overweight (I’m 5’3″ and 319lbs w/ a BMI of 57.2)

Well, the only part that I didn’t have was the 6 mos. documented supervised weight loss because my OBGYN refused to assist with that even though they are the ones that had been overseeing my weight throughout the past year. 

I was frustrated, so I called my primary care physician and made an appointment to visit with him regarding this.  He was beyond supportive and actually brought up the surgery as an option before I had a chance to even mention it!  He was also extremely angry that my OBGYN decided to take it upon herself to be the one to run the blood tests on me for diabetes etc.  He said, “that is not her field of expertise and she had NO right even going there”.  So he ran more tests on me and put me on blood pressure medication immediately because my blood pressure was 140/90 at the office visit.

The test results showed that I am NOT diabetic…but my thyroid is still too low.  So he increased my thyroid medication by 50mg more and put me on an appetite suppressant.  I am to see him again the last week of October and once a month from here on out until I’ve reached the 6 mos. requirement and/or am stable enough to have the surgery.  I weighed in at 319lbs. on my last visit on September 26th and my blood pressure was still high…but better 136/82.

I’ve talked to many people who have had this surgery, including one of Jason’s childhood friends who’s been very supportive (he’s lost 200lbs since last December) and a woman who is a patient of the surgeon who put on the class I attended…she was at the class and has lost 135lbs in the past year since her surgery. It amazes me the dramatic change that a person goes through after having this surgery.  I’m not doing this to look better…not first and foremost anyway.  I’m scared…plain and simple.  I may not be diabetic now…but I’m dangerously close to it and I’m in the “high risk” category for coronaries.  With a family history of heart problems and most of my dad’s side of the family dying from massive coronaries…I’m not willing to take that chance.

I’m young…I’m only 30 years old, but I can’t ever remember feeling “normal” weight wise.  I’ve been obese since I was a very young child and morbidly obese since I was a teenager.  I want to be around for my kids and my husband for a long time.  There is so much more I would like to experience in life…things that I’ve never been able to before because of my size and limitations.  I want to be able to take my kids to amusement parks and actually ride the rides with them…to go horseback riding again, which I haven’t done since I was a child…to go to sporting events and be comfortable sitting in a chair…to fly on a plane and not take up more than my seat.  To live a healthy active life for the FIRST time in my life.

Anyway…I will keep you posted on this.  I’m sure that I won’t update every month or anything like that…but I will let you know when I’m able to meet with the surgeon and schedule surgery. 

On a different note…

Jason officially adopted my oldest daughter, Dora on September 27th.  He is now the proud daddy of a beautiful 13 yr old girl!! Dora immediately started practicing writing her new name as soon as she got home that day from the courthouse.  She has also proudly informed all of her teachers that she is an O’Quinn now and would like to be addressed as such from here on out.  Isn’t that wonderful?

Oh…and I’m sure you are wondering how my Caleb is doing…he’s doing wonderfully! He wears his tracking devise (which resembles a wrist watch) all of the time with no hassle and even enjoys checking the battery on it every day.  It’s become a game of sorts.  The other kiddos are doing great and enjoying school this year.

Well…if any of you actually make it this far on this post…God bless you!  I’ll post again sometime…hopefully soon.  Take care of yourselves.