the wait begins....

Hey,
You had to see your psychologist twice?  I didn't count on that since my instructions say to contact the surgeon's office after completing the appointments on my sheet.  Maybe with your info I'll be able to sneak around a second visit. 

My nutritionist is Jenny Biggs.  I'll have to find out about that book from you.  My psychologist is Jennifer Williams.  Sound like the same one?  Wonderful!  Oh, well, I'll get through it. 

Anything else you can tell me that will be helpful would be great.

Thanks,
Ginny

Wow, I wonder why you've been referred to a different nutritionist.  Maybe there are several that Dr. Chapman uses.  Yes, go into Jennifer Williams office with a food diary, a weight history, and at least a few of the exercises you've been doing.  Also, be prepared to tell her the lifestyle changes you've already made, like eating slowly, cutting down on carbs, chewing a lot, cutting out carbonated beverages, cutting out ALL sugary beverages, cutting down on alchohol if you like to drink (I'm not a big drinker anyway), participating on this online forum, cutting out sweets and pizza, looking for a support group, not drinking liquids during meals, etc.  I hadn't done any of that stuff and didn't even know about some of that stuff until I went to see her.  I had no idea when my surgery might be so I hadn't started on anything.  That's why she asked me to come back and prove to her I was ready.  I thought she was just going to evaluate my mental and emotional stability.  If I had known I'd have "homework" before my visit she probably would have okayed me.  Good luck!  Oh, that book is called Life After Gastic By-Pass by Katrina Segrave.

Dr. Chapman's office uses two nuts, Katrina and Jenny.  I saw Katrina for my official nut visit, and Jenny for some of my 6 month supervised diet visits.  Both are good and know their stuff.  Katrina's book is great, I recommend it as well.

As far as Jennifer Williams goes, you will almost definitely have to see her twice before she'll approve you.  I would expect the first visit to leave you feeling deflated and unsure if she'll ever "let youi have the surgery".  I haven't met a person yet that saw her that didn't come away feeling that way.  That being said, just go in there with an open mind.  I also haven't met a person yet that she's refused to put through after the second visit.  She asked me to do all of the above plus lose 10 pounds, maybe 15, when I'd come back.  I can't remember, it's been a while.  In any event, when I returned she didn't even check my diary and didn't weigh me either.  It was like Mr. Hyde the first visit, Dr. Jekyll the second.  She might check your diary, so make sure you do it.

Don't let all of that scare you.  These are just hoops you have to jump through to get approved.  Jennifer is just one cog in the wheel.  Dr Chapman is a fantastic surgeon, you are in excellent hands.  PCMH is a great hospital for the most part.  As some have mentioned, there are a few issues, but there are issues no matter where you go.

Take care and feel free to email me if you have any questions.
Ellen

I'm a state employee too...  took only 2 days!  You may hear something this week!!!!!!