I'm doing it! I'm having Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy at the end of this month! I got brave and made the phone call and made this happen. I DID IT! I called the Bariatric surgeon's office that I wanted to go through and made the appointment. I was considered a good candidate due to my high BMI (60) and lack of too many comorbidities (pre-diabetic and slightly elevated blood pressure) so they put me on the schedule for the nutrition counseling, psychiatric consult, and surgical consult. All of these I had to pay for out of pocket as my insurance doesn't cover it. I also had bloodwork and an EKG performed. I took a day off from work and did all of this in a single day...
On August 27 I drove myself to Coos Bay, OR to have all my consultations. It was early. It even rained a bit on my way there. I was so excited and nervous all at the same time! I got out there, found the office, and parked. And then waited. I had a pep-talk with myself about why I was there, and what I was hoping to accomplish. I told myself I'd be honest about anything and everything they asked, and I wouldn't make a scene and cry if they told me I wasn't a good candidate. I gathered my thoughts and headed inside to check-in. I checked in to the medical center just like any other doctor appointment and then headed to the Bariatric office.
I walked through the clear glass double doors and walked in to the fanciest doctors office I've ever seen. It was like something you'd see in Beverly Hills: marble, tile, fancy lights, and very chic. I checked in at the counter and they had me pay for my nutrition class right then. I took a seat and chatted with my neighbor for a bit. She was there for all the same stuff as me...the only difference is I had about 200 pounds on her (at least).
They called us back and there were three of us: myself, a guy who was a quite a bit larger than myself, and my friend from the lobby. The guy's elderly parents were there and probably for good reason. Sounds like they may have been enabling him and needed to really hear about how much his life is going to change. We ran through the nutrition stuff, which included talking about how our eating habits were going to change, discussing our pre-op diet requirements, what to expect before and after surgery, and how great our life is going to change with the hard work. They told us they wanted us to follow a 2 week pre-operative diet that basically consists of protein shakes, broths, sugar free jello, sugar free pudding, half a yogurt per day, and diet non-carbonated drinks. We were all given goodie bags that included plenty of samples of different types of protein drinks, protein soups, mints, lip balm, a food measurer, and a binder that had all of our surgical information in it. The binder is like my bible right now. Everything regarding this surgery is in there. Pre-op. Day of Surgery. Post-op. Lifestyle changes. Behavior modification. Shopping lists. Meal ideas. It's exactly the type of thing I was hoping we would be given.
Right after the nutrition class, I had my psych consult. I was actually quite nervous about this one with my history of OCD and Anxiety. The psychiatrist was this little old lady that was just super freaking adorable, and super incredibly kind and easygoing. I knew halfway through that she was going to approve me since I've been under ongoing care of a therapist and wasn't suicidal or anorexic or bulimic. She asked loads of questions, awkward at times, but thorough. She told me before I left that she was approving me and wished me luck on my journey. Off to the next appointment.
After the psych consult, I had a bit of time before my surgical consult so I went and had my bloodwork and EKG completed. These tests were on two separate floors but it was super easy. Blood draws have never been an issue for me and I knew that I've always had normal EKG's so I wasn't expecting a surprise. I got those done and they handed me my results in the moment and sent me back to the surgeon's office for my visit with him.
Back through the glass doors into the Beverly Hills-style lobby. I handed them my folder, and took a seat while I waited to be called back. Shortly after that, I was called back by the same person who did my nutrition class that morning. I had a brief one on one with her and asked her a few questions. I brought up the fact that since I was a cash-pay patient, I haven't had to follow a long term insurance-required plan prior to surgery and asked if she thought it would be good for me to tack on an extra week for the pre-op diet. She said, "I'd like you to start tomorrow". She told me that she wanted me to follow a modified liquid diet for the first week which meant protein shakes during the day for breakfast and lunch, and a dinner of protein and vegetables. Then the next three weeks after that leading to surgery were going to be the actual clear liquid diet. After we went over that she had the surgeon come in who did a basic exam and asked me some questions. We briefly chatted about how while the surgery is one with minor complication rates, there is still risk as it's still a surgery. But he assured me the benefits to me far outweigh the risk and said we would definitely be moving forward with surgery. He approved my requested surgery date: September 25, 2018. I sat with the schedulers and got on the books and they told me they would send me a packet with my pre- and post-op appointments as well as my SIX prescriptions, and that I was good to go.
Once I was done with that, I was starving. It was about 2:30pm and I hadn't yet eaten lunch so I left the medical center and headed straight for the golden arches. I immediately started feeling sad about how I was going to have to say goodbye to all of these terrible comfort foods I had been relying on for so many years of my life. I grabbed some lunch and hit the road back to home, thinking about my surgery all the way there. This is going to be such a huge life change for me. But it's going to be for the best. I'm so ready. I want this so bad. I want to be able to live life the way I want to. Free. Free of this excess weight.
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