Surgeon Consult DONE!!!

Well, I spent the early morning upset and worried that I would be turned down for the surgery. I feared that the surgeon would tell me that he didn't think I needed it, that I would just have to "do it yourself" instead of being able to get the tool. By the time I sat in his office I was in tears, watching the information video they have with the before and after photos of other patients. Amazing!! He's been doing bypass for 20+ years, and some of his patients were 700+ lbs who now are "normal BMI"!!! So after I get weighed and find that I am at the highest I have ever been , I get to sit and do the health history with the doc. As we go through it, he seems to feel that I have sleep apnea, so I have to have a sleep study done. After I get that done, and the psychiatrist does the MMPI test, I'll be ready to do preop! I expected a whole lot more, but I have no history of heart or GI problems, so I don't need to do a whole lot. I'm guessing that in the preop, I'll do EKG, EGD, and other preparatory tests before the surgery... So he does a quick physical exam on me, and then says to me: "I think you're probably going to be a good canidate for the lap. Of course that might change once we go in and see what your omentum looks like." So I get all excited... he just bypassed the idea that I wouldn't qualify!! So I ask about his experience and his statistics... he's never lost a patient in the 20+ years he's been doing this, and has done several hundred WLS. At the end of the interview he says "If your sleep study proves you have apnea, and I think you do, that will pretty much cement the insurance approval. It's already a good case with your arthritis, but the sleep apnea would lock it in." I'm just floored... it was all I could do not to just kiss him!! But since he's probably almost twice my age, I resisted the urge (winks) and just shook his hand. As he was leaving the room, I asked one more question... Me: "I know you can't be specific, but how long does the process take?" Surgeon: "oh, anywhere from 4-6 depending on insurance approval" Me: "months?" (He chuckled and shook his head) Surgeon: "weeks... that is unless you prefer another date, we usually get a 90 day window of approval from the insurance, based on a 'dummy date' we give them when I write the letter. I expect you'll be able to schedule for surgery around the first week of June or so... Memorial day weekend will delay it a bit" Me: "when will you be writing the letter?" Surgeon: "Oh I'll be doing that this week. We'll send the sleep study results on an appended letter when we get them." So now I just wait for the sleep study people to call and make my appointment!! OMG OMG JUNE!! That's AWFUL soon!! I didn't expect that... I kept telling myself it'd take 4-6 months (looking at other WLS stories) I'm just ecstatic!!

I'm happy for you, Nursie! And sometimes it does go quickly. I went from "Hmmm...let me think about this" to "It's happening today" in about two months. Really. I've been pregnant a lot and had a ton of testing (including sleep study) while researching why I couldn't carry a baby to term, so there were few surprises to uncover for me. I'm very happy that you are having a pleasant journey. Onward! Frances

Just hang in there everything is going to work out. Trust me June will be here sooner then you thing and you'll be sitting next to me on the losing side. I'm so proud of you Kat! BTW I think you know, but just incase you don't I was offer a full time position this week for Quest labs. Happy about that. It's a job at least. However tomorrow I'm going to an interview for my Dream job as a flight attendant. Ok I know I'm not a goal. But they didn't say anything about weight. And I'm going to try to get the position. But I been waiting to be a flight attendant for a very long time. From the time I was a teenager. But being over weight I never thought I would become one. Now I know I'm losing weight I'm going to make sure they know this and going to give 200% of my best in order to be hired. God bless Maria

Good luck!! I've seen a few flight attendants lately that weren't soooo thin, sooo you should be fine, especially since you're a LOSER! G'luck on the job

Thank you sweetie Just say a little prayer for me. Wouldn't it be great if I did get the job now. I could work on flight from NYC to NO I'll keep you all posted