UPDATE!!!

I apologize for posting the same message twice yesterday. It did not appear it had been sent the first time and the second time. I started to send it a third time but I thought it might be a snafu--turns out it was. Well, I had my first encounter with Dr. Freeman and Company Bariatric Center in Anniston. I was so impressed by the whole lot of them. By the time the visit was over, even my Mother's concern over the surgery where lessened. Prior to going to see Dr. Freeman, I have had a cardiac exam and a pulmonary exam. I had both places fax my records to Dr. Freeman's office. That, however, is not sufficient. Dr. Freeman requires a 'clearance' for surgery from each doctor. That is a simple enough matter and I will call the doctors tomorrow. At the clinic today, I had a psychological exam by Craig Boden, LPL, of Dr. Freeman's staff. So I thought I was good to go, BUT THEN, they told me I did not do well on the breathtek test, which is administered to detect Helicobacter Pylori in the human stomach. Now if that is not the correct terminology, realize I am trying to interpret medical jargon that is way over my head. To me it sounds like something having to do with a helicopter pilot. May be someone can enlighten me. I know I have to take meds for ten days, wait fourteen more days, and take the test again. Then I think I am a good to go. I have Medicare and BCBS of TN so I do not have to be pre-approved. One shocker - All these years I thought I was 5'4" or 5'4.5" tall. Come to find out I am 5'3". Good news, though, my BMI went up. Now - that is the information I put on my profile. For you, my friends, here is the rest of the story. Mom and I went to Anniston the night before so we would have plenty of time to find the doctor and relax. We had to be at the doctor's by 8:00 a.m. and we live over 3-1/2 hours away. We had a nice dinner at Ruby Tuesday's, and then went to Rite Aid to get a few items. I had the bright idea to color my hair--roots were showing. I have short hair and I usually have a little dye remaining after I apply the dye to my hair. Here I am, shut up in the bathroom, with no person of sanity nearby. So, I decided to color my eyebrows so I would look more like a natural redhead. THEN I thought, "You don't know what is involved in a pre-op exam, so maybe I should color all my hair." YEP, that is right. Well, here is what happened. First, any coloring left around your eyebrows, will color the skin around your eyebrows. You will look much like Groucho Marx. Second, if you are overweight, when you color your 'yonder regions' and then sit on the side of the tub, your thighs and stomach are exposed to the dye. Third, for some reason the bathtub and surrounding tile in a hotel are not like the tub and tile you have at home. The tile where I had 'rested' my head while I tried to scrub around my 'yonder regions', became a red blob. Fourth, where I had sat the bottle of color on the side of the tub was a huge circle of dye. Then, when I had washed the color from my head, the entire tub was left with a rust color. Lastly, every towel in which I had come in contact now had rust-colored spots all over them. By 10 p.m., Mom and I had tried 'Wash-Ups', Efferdent, hairspray, shampoo, etc., and there was nothing left for us to try. So, I called the front desk, explained what had happened, and requested bleach. The clerk had to call the manager and the manager's son brought the bleach to our room. With Mom's help, I got most all the dye up, except for the ring on the tub and the place where I had rested my head. And people wonder why I eat. Jacquie

Oh my gosh, I can just see that! When I used to dye my hair red, I had to work really hard to get all the dye off the walls and I had a specific towel I used for my hair. It would get better after a few days and wouldn't bleed everywhere. All that is another reason I stopped dying my hair...too much trouble. But dang, I loved my red hair. I discovered from my surgeon that I have shrank myself. I now am only 5'10". But like you said, it made my BMI go up, which is a good thing with this surgery. If only, as we grew older, our FAT CELLS would shrink instead of our height! The H-pylori test is a normal test for the surgery. The meds should make the bacteria go away and everything should be just fine. I was so shocked when my test was okay because it seems like, with me, everything that can possibly go wrong, will go wrong. Glad you liked Dr. Freeman and that your Mama is happier with it now. Well, I am off to try to sleep. Since I have to go get my blood pressure checked every friggin' day, I have to drag myself out of the apartment every day instead of having my "rest days." But I don't see paying for a blood pressure monitor if I am only going to use it for two weeks. If it continues, I will probably have to go to the expense of getting one, but for this two weeks, I'm not paying out that kind of money. I went to CVS today and got it checked. The chair attached to it was not built for fat people and I almost didn't get it in and then I almost didn't get out of it, but at least I got it checked. I'm going to my sister's house tomorrow to get her to take it. I can't believe she agreed to do it, but I will have to go to Sheffield and catch her on her lunch break. Since she only works two blocks from my apartment, I thought she could come by after work and take it, but that would be too much trouble for her, so I'm going to go to her house, even though I have so much trouble with the stairs going up to her house. Beggars can't be choosers. Anyway, thanks for the update! Sounds like you had an eventful trip! You know how you can get that red dye out of things? Use Visine....it gets the red out! Love you, Joni

natural redheads eyebrows are blondish, mine are anyway, poor thing what a time you have had! Sandy

OMG JACQUIE ......I hope you don't mind, but this is the best laugh I've had in a while That is SO something that would happen to me (but it would be before I had to go to the GYNO ) Glad to hear you got the ball rolling and that you and your mom like Dr. Freeman. I continue to keep you in my prayers Kim

OMG...you have cracked me up girl. I match my eyebrows with my hair, everytime I cover the gray. I don't do the downstairs cause my honey likes it smooth...so I usually just shave. I try not to let it grown out too long before hand or it's like trying to get a brillo pad to go down the drain...LOL I used Clorox soft scrub on my spots I can't get up with normal cleaning. Have a special towel and coverup I use when I do my hair. You are a nut girl. I'm sitting her smiling like a fool at 4 a.m. in the morning. Hehehehe I'm glad your mom feels better about the surgery, that is good. Helicobacter Pylori is the bacteria that can cause problems if you ever get and ulcer, a lot of people have it in there digestive system. When found it is treated by a combination of meds to clear it up, which is good. My uncle Eddie had this bacteria on top of ulcers and wouldn't go to the doctor, he just kept taking over the counter antacids. He developed stomach cancer and died. Girl, that has been the hardest thing for the family to deal with. Especially my grandmother. He could have treated it and never let it got to that point. Some men. My hubby had it and we had the bacteria treated immediately. The bacteria is gone and his Endoscopy with Colonoscopy ( the light they run in your innards) both look good with no signs of an ulcers. I didn't mean to drag on just thought you might understand the importance of testing for this bacteria. My husband had that a few years back and hasn't had any more problem with it. I'm glad you are getting it treated. I wish you all the luck in the world with all your testing and your approval. How is your arm anyway??? Beth

Oh my gosh woman!!! That was one of the funniest things that I've read in a long time! It reminded me of one of those neurotic cat stories or ninja squirrel encounters...it just gets worse and worse! As for the H. Pylori...be glad that you are taking the antibiotics and they screen for it. I don't get sick much, but the sickest I have ever been was just before Christmas two years ago. It was H. Pylori, and they treated it very aggressively with antibiotics. We're not quite sure how I got it, but apparently it can be a nasty little bugger. All I know is that I wasn't fit to shoot for almost 2 weeks. Mike was sick at the same time with something else so we both spent the holidays here either in the bed, on the couch, or in the recliner. It is the first and only time that I ever called someone and said...please help...we are too sick to move, can you go to the grocery and get us some chicken soup? lol Glad everything went so well...I've heard very good things about Dr. Freeman. I've even thought about having him do my surgery if I have it done, since my family is all in the Anniston area. Thanks for the laugh...hope you have a great day! Becky

Hi Jacquie! Too funny! Sounds like you had an eventful evening! Sorry, but I am rolling! Now, I am so glad you had a great experience at Freemans's office yesterday! You are well on your way! Gail