On Wednesday, May 4th, I sent an email that changed the future course of my life...at least for right now. I emailed Michelle at the Poudre Valley Bariatric clinic. Two days later we connected by phone. She told me my insurance would cover any three of the procedures they do there. She asked if I wanted to come to an informational seminar and start the six months of pre-op diet and exercise that were required. Without talking to my husband or thinking about all the specifics, I said "yes."
On Sunday, May 8th - Mother's Day - my husband Dave and I had a fight. It was one of those fights where one person does something innocently but the other person takes it the wrong way and blows up. Well, this fight was unintentionally started by me when I ripped some bumper stickers that were pelling off the back of my Saturn. My husband saw it and just went ballistic! To be honest, I just saw stickers that were pelling. For some reason, my husband thought that I was pelling them off to spite him. Huh? Really? Seriously? But, marriage being what it is some times, that's what Dave felt even though I didn't mean to make him angry. It lead to a several hour session where we talked through some communication issues and we both told each other that we loved each other. Our fights tend to be very good therapy. Anyway, it was during this discussion that I told Dave that I was looking into weight loss surgery and that I really wanted to move forward with it. Surprisingly, he didn't immediately say no. To be honest, I think he was shocked. We talked a lot. I was honest for the first time in several years about how horrible I feel about my weight, how I feel that he treats me sometimes because of the weight, and the fact that I needed to do something because we have to think of Daniel now. Although he wants to learn more, I think Dave will be at least 80% on board by the time I have the surgery! :-)
On the Monday after Mother's Day, I confirmed appointments with the bariatric clinic to go to a seminar this Thursday (May 12th) and start my six-month diet and exercise class starting May 26th. I also needed to get my primary care physician in on it. Since I didn't have one, I looked up a female family doctor who practices just a mile away from my home. I met with Dr. Julie Hoffman yesterday and it was FABULOUS! She was very knowledgable and supportive of this step that I'm taking and agreed to be my primary care physician and walk me through the next six month of pre-op requirements. So now I will see her monthly to do a physical, lab work, and thorough documentation on the progress of my diet plan through Poudre Valley. She did a six-month rotation with the surgical team there at Poudre Valley so she understands the requirements and knows exactly what I need to do as well. WOW! I was very glad and blessed that she was the doctor I chose through the Blue-Cross/Blue-Shield website.
Over the past few days, I've been gearing up for the bariatric surgery seminar tomorrow. They will go over the three procedures they do...Lap Band, Vertical Sleeve, and Gastric Bypass. I've ruled out Lap Band now because I don't want to go through so much hassle with getting a foreign object placed in my body and having frequent office visits for adjustments. I decided that if I'm going to do this...surgery...it was going to be permanent. I want a tool that will help me get to my goal weight and stay there. So vertical sleeve and gastric bypass are at the top of the list right now. Currently, I'm favoring gastric bypass but considering vertical sleeve too. So we'll see what I finally decide later.
I ordered "Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies." It arrives today. I read some great reviews saying that it was a great resource for those considering surgery and go through it. I've also been watching tons of YouTube videos. I might vlog later in addition to blogging, but for now I'm going to stick with writing.
My current stats are: 293.8 lbs, 5' 5 1/2" tall, large frame. My BMI is 49. My body fat according to my scale is 44%. My bone mass is 7.3% (which is high - normally the bone mass of a 20 year old male). My lean body mass is around 131 pounds. Figuring a 20% body fat, my ideal weight would be 157 pounds. That's 136.8 pounds that I need to lose. My guess is that I can probably get down to 280 pounds pre-op. According to the BMI calculator, I need to be at 150 pounds to be considered "normal" and not "overweight." I'm sure that I will lose some muscle during this journey so I figure that if I land anywhere between 150 and 160, I'm golden!
So, these are my initial thoughts as I start this journey toward weight loss surgery. I am going to drop the weight forever. I hope that you'll enjoy the journey with me. I need all the support I can get.
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