April 5, 2006

• The Waiting Game…

  Well…the letter of recommendation from my doctor was mailed today to my insurance.  So now I wait…wait to be approved…wait for denial…wait for someone else to make a decision that will affect the rest of my life.  I hate depending upon other people to decide my fate…but what choice do I have?

  
  

  I called the surgeon’s office to schedule my consultation this morning but instead of speaking to a person I got voicemail.  I left a message with my information on it and why I was calling but the voicemail stated that it could be 48 hrs or more until they call me back.  OY!

  
  

  Can you tell I’m not a very patient woman? Not when it comes to me anyway.  I’m much more patient with my children and others than I am with myself.

  
  

  It was mentioned in my last post’s comments that I need to make sure that I’m well informed about the wls and how it will effect the rest of my life before making this decision.  I must let you all know that I’ve been researching this for the past 2 yrs now and that I’ve attended a seminar on it and have talked to several people who’ve had the surgery before I even decided that this is what I wanted to do.  I’m well aware of the drastic changes that this surgery will have on every aspect of my life and have met with doctors and dieticians regarding it all as well.

  
  

  After my consultation with the surgeon (whenever that will be ) I will have to attend a nutritional class put on by an office appointed dietician informing me of exactly what the diet limitations will be after surgery and for the rest of my life.  I’m already aware of most of the limitations after being given the information from the surgeon’s office when I attended the seminar put on by him back in Sept. of 2005.  However, this is a required item by the surgeon’s office and also by the insurance company and I’m sure it will be helpful and very informative. 

  
  

  I will also have to undergo a psych evaluation to make sure that I’m mentally stable enough to handle this life changing surgery.  I’m sure that this will be no problem.  I think that I’m quite stable mentally, it’s my emotions that I need to work on!  My doctor even wrote in his letter of recommendation that I’m an “intelligent and motivated” person.   Thanks doc!  (he gets paid to say this stuff…j/k)

  
  

  I just want you all to know that this decision is definitely something that I have not taken lightly at ALL.  I’ve researched, ask questions, attended seminars, spoken with doctors, dieticians and insurance, and have talked to many people who’ve had the surgery themselves before coming to the decision that this is the best thing for me.  My doctor feels that it is and to be honest…I don’t feel as if I have any other options at this point.  I’ve done everything else that I could possibly do in order to lose the weight and live a healthy life.  However, my metabolism is not normal and my body chemistry is warped.   My body does not react the way it should to reduction in calories and exercise or the weight loss drugs the way that it should…in fact it reacts the opposite of how it should.  When put into ketosis my body goes into starvation mode instead of cleansing like it should.  Ketosis should force your body to expel toxins and drop weight more easily considering it’s a very low calorie diet and consists of very low carb intake. 

  
  

  I have a severe metabolic disorder and it is genetic.  It’s not because of anything that I’ve done in my life or how I’ve lived my life or my diet.  I’ve been obese since I was 5 yrs old and am a pretty active person even today considering that I’m over 300 lbs.  People who reach the weight that I’m at and above are considered to be “Super Morbidly Obese” which means that the BMI is over 50 and mine is currently 54.6. 

  
  

  Here is the BMI breakdown:

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Range	Meaning
  less than 18.5	Underweight
  18.5 – 24.9	Normal
  25.0 – 29.9	Overweight
  30.0 – 39.9	Obese
  40.0 – 50	Morbidly Obese
  over 50	Super Morbidly Obese

  
  

  Basically this is saying that if something isn’t done soon that I will die.  I have not been able to maintain or lose weight (significantly) in the last year and my weight has been consistently increasing for last 10 yrs.  Being that I’m only 30 yrs old and that at the age of 19 I was told by my cardiologist that I wouldn’t live to see 30 because of the strain that my weight has put on my heart and that I’m high risk for a coronary…isn’t exactly good odds if you ask me.

  
  

  I’ve made the decision to have this surgery so that I can live.  I do feel this is my last resort and without this surgery I do not think that I will live many more years.  I know my body and my medical history and my family’s medical history and all of this states that I will not survive long without a drastic change.

  
  

  So now…we wait and see.

  • 12:05 pm
  • 6 Comments