Update on my consults

Thank you everyone for the well wishes... and to those of you who met at Starbucks, gosh darn it... I mighta been able to make it!! I thought it was going to be at 2pm.. Kema emailed me the next morning to say it was later - but I was already in hyperdrive, an hour from leaving the house! Soooo... went and saw the dietician at Straub.. I loved her! And her receptionist is a kick! What a sweet team they are. I was surprised by a few of the things she showed me.. they gave me a grocery list for okay supplements, vitamins, protein bars (when appropriate) etc.. I'm supposed to go straight to pureed for weeks 1-6! The plan is baby food. 1oz protein, 1oz other.. fruit or veggie, at first, and then supplementing for the protien with shakes. Then... went over to the psych office and they were closed!! I had a bit of a panic, and the co-ordinator at Dr. Huang/Balfour's office was closed, but the sign said they'd be open at 1:30, so I just decided to go work on my questions for the surgeon and go back at 1:30 and see if I couldn't try to squeeze it in, before my 2:30 appt. Hurrah!! They said I could go ahead and start the test, and if I didn't fini**** I could come back after the surgeons appt. So, I started in on those 567 questions!! They were kinda fun to answer... alot about my temperament, and how I handle social situations, how I handle stress, etc.. etc.. So the surgeons appt... Well... she's different. I believe she's quite competent, not worried about that at all. She's just kind of quiet and reserved, which I'm not used to. She said I have the perfect abdomen for the lap procedure!! Woohoo! She was mostly concerned that I understanded the procedure and had the support that I was going to need. She didn't know the answer to some of my questions, which threw me for a loop at first.. I asked her if she did Distal or proximal RNY, and she didn't know what that meant. I explained, and she said she bypasses 80cm. Is that good? Enough? Not enough? Is that closer to prox, or distal? Anyone know? I gotta get over to google and do a bit of research. Anyhoo- I asked if I was a candidate for her and she said yes! The dietician said yes And the surgeons office will have my MMPI results in a few days and I'm very confident I did just fine... since I'm not hearing voices, nor do I believe I can read peoples minds!! lol... (some of the questions they asked!) So Friday I tried to get ahold of the office to find out what now - I was hoping I could get everything scheduled on my end so that the process is going but I couldn't get ahold of anyone. Dr. Huang said a couple months... HOWEVER... I don't want to wait quite that long... I'd like to shoot for the second week in June! My kids will be out of school and that's an extra week/two that I don't have to worry about care for them. Also!!!!! She said I could return to work as early as two weeks out as long as I wasn't lifting patients in bed! I'm thrilled about that. As far as pre-dieting, I'm not 100% positive if HMSA requires it, but Dr. Huang ASKS me to attempt a 10% weight reduction, BUT does not demand it. She says if I show up and have only lost two pounds, she'll still do the procedure. She said the only things that would make her cancel, would be if I was sick, if I had an infection on my abdomen or if I GAIN any weight. So there's the scoop! I'm thrilled. The Dieticians office called me and asked if I could come in early for my appt, and they'd get me done earlier - I thought that would be good so I could get in the MMPI... lol... she told all the other appts that too!! So I still waited a little over an hour, but that's cool because I met a girl that lives 10 minutes from my house who was having her surgery the next day (yesterday now) She was such a wealth of information as to how things were going to work for me being on Kauai instead of Oahu. I learned that she only came to Oahu once to meet the surgeon and dietician and then the day before surgery for her pre-op stuff. Not bad! I'm so excited now!! I'm going to see my PCP tomorrow and I'm going to get her to refer me for all the other tests CXray, gallbladder U/S, etc..etc.. That's what's up with me, and I'm thrilled you guys! I can't believe I'm on my way! Now to get the approval from insurance.

Wow...you have definitely gotten a lot done!!! I hope you are able to get your surgery done for when you want to...did they say anything about it? I think if the surgeon says you are a candidate for surgery, you'll have no problem being approved by your ins...they look at what your surgeon submits. Good Luck to you...time is going to start to really fly by now as you finish up the testing and all

I hope it fly's by Jessica! I am hoping for mid June, but the doc said "a couple months" not sure if that's June or July?? She thought I needed some time to let it all sink in and start eating healthier. Also - since I haven't been able to speak with the co-ordinator in the office, I'm not sure when or how the insurance letter will be written? I've heard they handle it all, BUT I want to make sure, and I don't have a clue what to expect. I see my PCP on Tues, and I'm going to ask her to write me refferals for all the extra stuff - EKG, Ultra sound etc.. and if she will, I'll just go get them all done ASAP and keep on top of the Surgeons office. I still don't know if June is reasonable... Linda - the office assistant ought to know.