Over a Hurdle .....

Hello to whomever might be interested....until deciding to go through with this surgery, I was always the type to avoid doctors like the plague...I hated getting undressed...I hated the snotty stares and silent scorn and disgust I could sense radiating off toothpick RN's and a few MD's...so I went along on the asinine premise that if they can't diagnose it...then I can't have it! Hence...never go! Diabetes changed all of that with a weird episode that left me with double vision and landed me in the hospital for three days having every test known to man in 2002...the epsiode also netted me and internist who is cute as a bug and I feel as though he could be my son...and we have gotten along great...I would just pop in every three months and get a med renewal and some bloodwork..have my heart listened to and go on my merry way...no disrobing..no styrrups...nada...WELL...Enter ObesityHelp.com!!!! The rest is history....I have been poked and jabbed and palpated....dressed and undressed...ultrasounded to within an inch of my life...xrayed and injected with nuclear isotopes so that they could see my veins and arteries....I have been put on a tread mill and made to suffer huffing and puffing until my freakiin TONGUE hung out....I felt like a pregnant geriatric cow being chased by a starving tiger....of course the test was administered by a skinny blonde 'I'm too sexy for my shirt" type who appeared to be about 26 if a day..with no patience for an out of shape fat ole lady..."Don't wimp out " she says.." If you want to have surgery you gotta be tough"....This made me FURIOUS!!! Wimp my arse!!! I am SURE my pulse hit the target zone after THAT! I have lived through enough persnal tragedy and loss to fell a moose and I have to put up with THAT? I wanted to BACKHAND her! Well...she had put in an IV line and taped that sucker with enuff tape to hang a chandelier..and I have hairy arms....(another little sadistic touch)....on to the "resting" portion of the test...here comes another young and cold mannered snotty little B....I endured my time in the chamber and asked her to please take the IV line out as it was sore and no more injections were forthcoming..."I'll do it after" she goes....and puts on this HIDEOUS muzak for me to endure....so the thing is finally over and she scoots me into an exam room and leaves me saying she'll be back to take out the IV line...I get to looking at my hairy arms and all that tape...and I think..'When donkeys fly'...I was NOT gonna give her that much FUN! I peeled all the tape off...(oooch..ouchh...eeeeeeccchh)..and took that sucker out myself...cleaned it..band aided myself..threw the needle gizmo in the sharps box and left...!!! Good for ME!!!! ( I'd already been there 5 hours!) ALLLLLL of that..was to say this!!! They called this morning and left a message that my heart is fine...my veins and arteries are CLEAR and they are going to clear me for surgery!!!!! YIPPPEEE!! (Two Docs had scared me saying they heard murmers and thought I had a carotid blockage....I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop!).....so around 10 or 15k later...I am OK!!! Thank God for good insurance! The whole adventure has cost ME $20 so far! (Unless you want to count 25 years of partial insurance premiums)... Back to the Dairy Barn again....what a cash cow I have been when you think about it....A Hartford Hospital Internist...(my dear Doc)...refers me to a Hartford Hospital Bariatric man....who listens to my chest and refers me to a Hartford Hospital Cardiac Specialist...( all three of them look like George Clooney..ewww lala), Hartford Hospital Nutritionist...Psychologist....and so on...you get the picture...I am worth a FORTUNE to these folks!!!! LOL!!! I bet I have netted them close to 20k and we are not even to surgery yet!!! Well..at least I know I am healthy now...at least as healthy as a 5'7 264 pound woman with diabetes can be!!! If you've read through this entire post with all of my meanderings..here's a great big HUG for ya' and thanks for listening and being there!!! Most Sincerely! Sher'

Sher, What an amusing post. I am glad that everything is fine and you are OK'd for surgery. Carmen

Hi Carmen! Thanks much! I just needed to tell the story a bit.....I was so weak with relief...and I love to laugh!(Ham that I am!)!!! Hope you are having a great DAY! Sher'

Hi Sher-sounds like you went to you know where and back-thank G-od I have already been cleared by a cardiologist, as I had some damage from PHen fen-I have already hade my PCP send all the reports to Dr. Tischlier, and a therapist I work with send him a letter, so I hopefully won't have to have too much else done. I just spent 2 hrs on the phone with my cousin who is 2 yrs out and down 150lbs, and I am more psyched then ever for the surgery. My main concern will be that my husband will be able to handle everything here while I am in the hospital. I have a 9 and 10 yr old-so he will need to take a few days off from work to get them to school etc-he had a stroke in June of 2003, and has some short term memory loss-I will just have to write everything out for him, and we have some really great friends who will help him out. Hang in there this is all worth it! Jeanne

hey jeanne! Nice to see ya again! I look forward to meeting you at the Support Group on dec 20th .......I hope you don't have to jump through many more hoops either...lol...I was mostly relieved to find out I'm not dying or a heart attack waiting to happen 5 minutes from now! I had time to think about a lot of things while going through various tests....main conclusion..i want to live until I am about 85..or 99..etc...some nice round figure! Hope you have wonderful holidays! Sher'