I'm on the other side...dreaming about food....

Yeah - I tend to be long winded when I'm excited about the topic of convo. Sorry bout that!!! I have Wellmark BCBS Alliance Select. Everything I think is the same. Call your PCP and schedule the sleep study ASAP. that took the longest. Next thing would be the psych eval. Pick a psych if you don't have one or use on of Covenent's choices and make the appt ASAP. That I don't think you need a referral for. I didn't have one but I had been seen at that office years previously. Those 2 actually take the longest and if you have those steps done going to the seminar you're ahead of the game. It takes 3-4 weeks for the sleep doctor to read the results and let your PCP know. It takes about a month for the shrink (no offense, just shorter term) to get the eval to your PCP and/or surgeon's office. I'd start with those two. For Dr Keating, well let's just say something's not right there. They told me in November/Dec that they were having those problems with malpractice insurance. Then they told me to call back after Jan 1. I did right before I went to the seminar in CF in Feb and same ol same ol story. My PCP was disappointed because I couldn't have it done here locally so she could really follow my progress but she said Dr. G. was excellent as well and I went with him. I have heard a couple of "different" things about Dr Keating's practice so I thought in my own opinion I better just walk away. That's just my opinion though! A friend of mine at work had his surgery done last July with Dr. Keating and he absolutely loves him. Don't worry about your packet just fill it out as soon as you get it. I got to the seminar late and started filling mine out during the seminar!!! But had it in the mail the next day! The packet is long and tedious but they are so very thourough...it's worth it. Hugs! jen

Jen, hope you are feeling better each day. I just called and made an appointment with my PCP for a physical (yea yea, I put it off this year) to make sure that everything else is good before starting all of this. I haven't had a mammogram in a few years and I've been pre-menopausal for a few years so I'm going to have him test my hormone levels too. That way there won't be any surprises. I will see him on Monday so I will have him schedule the sleep study and maybe refer me to a psychiatrist then. I just need to feel like I am doing something to keep the process moving along. I think if I keep busy, trying to have the surgery at the end of June shouldn't be too unrealistic. One can hope...... Stay strong and hope to join you on the other side soon.... Hugs, Leslie

Colleen, Congrats and welcome to this side of a wonderful and sometimes bumpy journey. I'm so sorry that your surgeon didn't see you and Jen. I'm glad that you are planning on making them aware of your feelings. My surgeon was there daily if not more often - but then again, I was patient number 12 in a new program. About the dreaming about food - been there, done that! It actually started for me before surgery. I just dreamed in multi-colored commercials, it seemed - and all about all fattening, junky, fast foods and stuff like that. It will go away with time. I think that the first foods I ate were puddings and cottage cheese. You can add some protein powder to the puddings for an added boost of protein. I also relied on, and still do, the liquids in sugar free popsicles - yummy s/f bomb pops are the best! Be careful of the eggs, some people don't tolerate them well. They still sit "really heavy" in my little tummy. I know that probably sounds weird to you, but you will get to figure out that some foods are more dense and are more filling, thus "heavier" than others. Anyway - congrats! Enjoy your resting time and be sure to rest! The minute you start doing things like normal again, everyone thinks you are 100% and wants you to continue! Take the opportunity to rest and heal! God bless, Andrea

Thanks Andrea...had my follow up today and got the drain tube removed...hooray! They said everything looked good..I've lost 12 lbs since the surgery so I'm very excited. Thanks again! Colleen

Hi all, I hope Im not double posting... but I am 2 weeks out and I was told not to take a bath for 3 weeks. hope that helps, Nancy