I'm am much too impatient and really do not know of any cure for that. I am resisiting the urge to call Dr Amsons office and ask if I have a surgery date set.
I have began a walking program again. Walking, as an obese person had never been a problem for me. I am on my feet constantly at work. I do look forward to riding my bike again without launching the seat into my great big ass. I began to take a vitamin suppliment pre-op so that my iron levels will be high enough when the time comes ( sometimes I can be borderline enemic).
As far as eating...and this truly amazes me! Part of gastric bypass is chewing your food to a literal pulp. This takes a very long time to do . Try it. Chew , chew ,chew. During this progress and after a small ingestion of food, a hormone is released that tells your brain that you are full. How can that be? I've only eaten half of my meal. Wait! I don't feel overfull, just right. Oh yes. And no drink with or within 2 hours of dinner. This will just "push" your ground dinner through with the fluid and I'll be hungry again within the hour. You become very conscience of everything in your mouth and you really taste. What a difference from gobbling.
As a precurser to surgery I have gone over my will and I am writing letters to the kids, my folks and Don. You really have to be prepared to be one of that 1%. Besides its a pretty cathartic process.
Damn, I really want to phone!
April 4,2003
I called Dr Amsons office before I went to bi-monthly appointment with my PCP Dr. Brailey. I was not sure what I should be having done at these appointments. Val (the receptionist) told me to make sure to be weighed and to review diet and exercise. I am glad that I have been keeping all that journaled in my binder on my own accord. Well my weight was down 7 pounds over the last two weeks. Work in the garden center has been very physical on top of walking as much as I can between the unexpected thunder showers. Dr B noted that I was in very good spirits. Blood pressure was borderline high (Thank you Don's ex-wife-Ruth!), which for me is a little alarming. I may be fat...but I have always maintained a good blood pressure and no diabetes. My cholesterol test came back pretty positive. My bad C's are below average. My good Cholestorol is a litttle low and could use a boost.
Val did hint that her office MAY be checking to see if I am keeping my appointments with my PCP. I'll also head down to the Nanaimo support group next week and meet everyone there. Playing by the rules...just waiting to be picked by the team now!
These two images are my pre and post surgury virtual models from www.virtualmodel.com
As Don peers over my shoulder he snickers that these could only be the boobs of my dreams..the program doesn't make them any smaller!!
April 16, 2003
I decided that I wanted to attend my first Nanaimo support meeting solo as Mom really wanted to be at the May meeting when Dr Amson attends and Don was working. Well I found the room at Nanaimo General Hospital and was told that Dr A should be there momentarily. I guess there was a change of plans There were 17 women an 3 men and if my count is correct 7 of them had had the procedure done. Five of them said they were tenatively scheduled for the surgery in the fall.
The night turned out to be an informal question period. A lot of people were stressing . their urgent need to have the Roux-En-Y done. . My question to to Dr Amson was how many times do we see him before we are before we are referred to the specialists. He turned to me surprised and said "You havn't heard anything , yet?" I told him no.He told me it usually is only two months He claimed to be way behind on his dictation and he would try to remedy that. I believe he has great intentions to help as many as possible but he is only aloted so much time for surgery and I have heard that front office ,Val, is instrumental when it comes to choosing from the waiting list. Dr. Amson mentioned that Dr Rusnak is now going to be doing the Roux-En-Y (4 years to retirement though) and that there is a new surgical associate that is interested in this procedure. He has hopes that Nanaimo General will put together a bariatric team that he could go down and teach the procedure . There are going to be some presentations on WLS to the Canadian Surgeon Assocaition this fall. Hopefully the sucessful statistics will stand on there own and more surgeons will consider this as a viable tool for obesity.
Dr Amson stressed several times at the meeting the importance of being active. In fact, he said that he will no longer operate on those who are not willing to get with the program.
In closing an interesting little tidbit someone brought up in discussion: nocturnal hunger and eating is a direct symptom of sleep apnea. That set off a little lightbulb in my head. Ten years of very poor sleep=ten years of nocturnal eating. The connection wasn't explained but I suppose I'll find the answer on the WWW..
Sorry to ramble on. It is gloriously sunny right now so I should get out there and walk. Thank You Theresa for making me step up my pace and "hoofing" it with me. Had my second PCP visit (one month since consult) and I am down 15 pounds. Letter to Brailey said I should have another appointmant w/Amson in about 3 months.
April 22
Called Dr Amsons office to "see" if anthing else was set up. I talked to a different receptionist who told me my file was in Val's pile of patients to arrange appointments for. She told me I have "tons of time". That is enough to tell me to lay off the pressure. I think pushing it could find my file closer to the bottom of the pile. I have come to terms that this is going to be a very long wait.
"Patience is the companion of wisdom"
-Augustine
April 25, 2003
I had a paticularily bad day yesterday. One of those -don't look at me the wrong way days!
I woke up this morning expecting it to be a continuation of the drudgery. Well, twenty minutes ago I answered a call from Dr. Amsons receptionist, Val. She told me that they had "short listed" me for surgery. I'm not all together sure what this means. Probably that I'll feel terribly guilty of passing others who have waited patiently for their own date. I'm not certain why I was chosen, but I will not dwell on that. I'm still shaking and crying like a preschooler. In fact, my five year old is staring at me Who is that lunatic who has taken possesion of her half sane mother
Val had given me notice that it will be a November surgery. She told me that cancer patients have surgical priority so it could be December at the latest. Val said to call her in August to set up the final pre-surgery date for endoscopy with Dr. Dailey. I feel like a balloon full of adreneline ready to burst.
Just when I resigned myself to a year or two wait, I am given a light at the end of the tunnel. Seven/Eight months from consultation to surgery. Nothing is ever absolute I know, but at least now I have hope. How ironic that this happen days after I found the above quote.
If I had any advise for others waiting I would tell them this
1. Go to the consult knowing exactly what you want.Be educated and determined. Ask questions
2. Follow the instructions to journal food intake and exercise. Your determination shows with pounds lost.
3. Keep up your appt's with primary care physicians
4. Let it all go and try to live normally. It's hard not to obsess when you really what something.
Well I need to get going. This adreniline could use a positive outlet. I feel like I could run my route today!
We grow great by dreams. All men are big dreamers.
They see things in a soft haze of a spring day
or in the fire of a long winter's evening.
Some of us let these great dreams die,but others nourish and protect them;
nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light
which always comes to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.
-Woodrow Wilson
May 2, 2003
Down one pound. I have ordered Barbara Thompsons book.
May 9, 2003
Today is my daughters 5th birthday. Yet I received a gift too. Val from Dr Amsons office called with dates for my pre-op testing. I see the endocrinologist, Dr Marshall on Fri June 27 and see Dr A again on July 17th. The office also arranged some prelim testing up here with Alliiance Oximetry so I will have some results to take to the respirologist (date to be announced). The sun is shining, the sky is blue and nothing can take away from this day:not even a bevy of screaming 5 year old girls!
May 16, 2003
Went to my PCP appointment and I am now down twenty pounds in 2 months. While that would normally be a feat worthy of celebration I am instead filled with fear. ..Hypothetically I could keep shedding the pounds knowing that inevitably I will regain them plus a few of their companions or I have to balance eating and excercise to maintain my weight with a 40 BMI. It would be so much easier if I could afford to go to the States and have the procedure done now. Those $25,000 scratch and wins are looking good.
I called Dr Amsons office with the intentions of talking about a falling BMI, but first asked for the fax # to send in my leave of absence form for Nov or Dec. I was abrubptly told that there was no way that she would fill that out as nothing is concrete. She told me that she hadn't even scheduled the April surgeries yet. This being the middle of May! My first instinct was to dive into a woe is me, depression driven downward spiral. Why let anyone or anything make me feel that way. It'll happen when it happens!
June 27,2003
A certain journeymate has told me get to get to work and update this journal!
Today Don and I, sans children, hopped into the Cadillac, put down the top and headed towards Victoria and my appointement with Dr Marshall, the endocrinologist.
Glorious, hot clear day. Victoria was abuzz with its temporary population of tourists plus two. We meandered through quaint little specialty shops at our leisure without having to bribe the kids for a change. Had lunch at an outdoor bistro as opposed to a drivethru.
We arrived at Dr Marshalls office early ("bad" habit of mine). He was running about 30 min late.
The Dr escorted us in.He took down a brief medical history mine of which for the most part is uneventful. He noted my athletic history,my physical job, my ability to lose weight but inabilty of weight maintentence, and my young family. He stressed that it is not imperative to lose weight before surgery, but instead to establish a healthy and regular exercise habit. And to not deny myelf the pleasures of the foods I enjoy but to limit the amounts.
He did pick up right away that my arthritis that I choose not to take medication for is Psoriatric Arthritis. He assured me that there are a couple of new meds on the market that are more of a biologic and have proven effective albeit they cost about $1000.00 a year at this time. It was a nice surprise that he offered this info (my PCP seems to overlook these little things). I was unprepared at this stage as no one had mentioned that there would be a physical, half-naked exam, and me in my "holey- feeling really fat today-fruit of the looms" and not smelling exactly fresh after hours of travel and walking about.
The exam entailed blood pressure (115/75), heart rate, height and weight and a water swallowing test.
He dictated into his personal recording device, a letter to Amson, as we sat there. He would stop and pause and ask questions. I listened intently as he referred to me as "well informed, a good candidate for the roux-en-y with possibly a shorter bypass bacause of a seemingly ease to lose weight." Panic here. Take out that extra intestine.!!! I, like Kris has said, need that dumping syndrome to keep me away from the sweets and fatty foods!
I went to the Marshall appointment knowing how others from the support site found him. I too found him as very serious and to the point. But I also found him easy to question and liked that he listened and answered my husbands inqueries. He is old school medical and respect goes a long way.
That out of the way, we headed to the beckoning coolness of Hillside Mall (Don's idea, not mine...I love a man who likes to shop!). We wandered for an hour until the time came to meet up with Kris and her husband Jason. Kris and I met at our first consult with Amson and have kept in touch via emails.
At Kris' personal recommondation we met up at Pagliacci's on Broad street downtown. Amazing pasta, mouth watering bread and excellent company. What a wicked sense of humour on both of them. I like that, I like that a lot. I am glad to be sharing this ride with Kris and I forsee a long friendship/kinship. Wish that we had had more time. I think perhaps my "last supper" may be at Paggliaci's.
We had a great day and I now find myself one hurdle closer to my goal. Damn I can ramble on! I'm going to need to create another page. Here are pics taken outside the Pag's. Thanks Don for the look of stupor on my face!
June 30, 2003
Talked to a rep from Alliance Sleep. They are the ones Val informed me who would be doing the overnight oximetry study to detect sleep apnea. The rep told me that I should be getting my equipment within the next 2 weeks. I am anxious for this exam because I have reason to believe I may have sleep apnea. Anyone interested in oximetry studies can follow this link to Alliance. Update after my next Amson appointment on the 17nth of July.
