I feel like my life is on hold while waiting for surgery

It just feels like everything is on hold for me until I know if I get to have surgery. I know life goes on and all  but I feel like I cannot plan for anything cuz I might have surgery. I am glad Tuesday is the doctor consult and the nutritionist consult and I am pretty confident since I am self pay that I will get to move forward. Has anyone else felt this way before their surgery?

Oh, I felt this way!  And ended up pretty anxious at times too.  The office that does all the pre-op work process just would not call me back sometimes and I felt like I waited forever for a date.   I think I just needed to KNOW when this was all going to occur.  I also had to make plans for work, vacations, and had to pass up my first date due to work coverage (very disappointing!!) which prolonged it another 2 months (and I had to wait OVER 2 months to get another call from the surgeons office with another date!).  I used to get so surprised by reading how some people went from initial seminar to surgery in less than 2 months.  BUT, it works out the way it works out.  Use this time to read as much as you can, research, get protein samples, vitamins, etc.  I encourage you to exercise now if you are able.  KNOW that it will work out the way it should.  You are not alone......I remember just wanting to be on the other side of surgery.....YOU will be there soon!!!

Hang on!!!!

~~~Jennifer

p.s. my time from initial seminar to surgery was 11 months....I survived the wait!

It's been 4 years since my surgery but I still remember that feeling.  Hang in there...don't stop living life but just keep planning and be ready when it gets here.

Bekah

Are you more worried about when it might happen because since you are self pay I can't imagine them turning you away.  Keep us updated after your appointment on Tuesday!!

I had a committment in October that I was going to keep no matter what but it did mean that I was going to either get a date before or after and that was driving me crazy.  I ended up with a date 6 weeks before my committment, which wasn't ideal, but worked.  I would have loved the week before because it would have made travel so much easier but oh well.  Any later and I would have had to wait until after Oct and that would have really pissed me off.  But it all worked out.  I had surgery in Sept and kept my committment in Oct. 
Whatever is meant to be is meant to be.  Just keep going, eat right, exercise, read, stop caffine and sodas, and you will be ready whenever they are ready for you.

Thanks guys for the encouragement! I just keep worrying that they will say since I am a 31 bmi that even though I would be self pay they will not be able to do the surgery. I know it is silly cuz the office has reassured me that I should qualify. Plus I want to get it done before as quickly since the kids are out of school and they could help me with recovery. They are 15 & 13. And mostly cuz I am not a patient person once my mind is made up about something! I think after Tuesday just knowing that it is really going to happen will help settle me down.

Good luck on your journey! I'm not self pay, and will have my surgery in July. I did want to mention, that some doctors require 3 months supervised diet before whether someone has insurance or not. At least, that was the impression I received from my surgeons office. Everyone has to go thru the supervised diets, psych testing, pre-op classes and everything. I'm just mentioning so you an be prepared if that is what they do.

Like I said good luck andkeep us posted!

Lynn

Yes most offices have the 3month of doc supervised diets etc. This particular office in KC has  a program that if you are self pay you do the seminar,consult with doctor & nut, then psych, and not sure what else. Will find out on Tuesday. However, they try to have it all done quickly so you can have surgery in a month instead of 90 days. I will keep ya posted. Wish me luck!

 I had surgery three weeks after my initial consult...it still felt like forever...I could not stand the anticipation and the anxiety...I can't imagine having to wait months ....but if you are self pay they should get it going pretty fast. My surgeon just put me in his rotation as soon as I paid..I think he worked late that night because my surgery was at 7pm ...LOL....in any case best of luck and yes it is a stressful time but worth it...SEAVIEW

I remember when we (my daughter and I) started planning our surgery and it seemed like it was so far away, not it has come and gone and is 3 months out and I wonder where the time went.  I am enjoying my life so much more, it is just so hard to beleive it has come an gone.

Don't get me wrong, during certian times, time seemed to drag, like when I wanted something besides mushy food but that too shall pass.

Good Luck and hang in there.  I had to self-pay because of low BMI but to me it was well worth the cost.  I feel so much better.  Mary K.