Sometime in February, Stan and I had a pretty serious conversation. It happened one evening when I least expected it and the conversation is going to lead to some incredible changes in less than a week! Stan mentioned that he had been reading an article about Bariatric Surgery and how there is now clinical proof that 85% of the recipients had their diabetes "cured" by one year after the surgery.
I have given a lot of thought to surgery. I needed to research it. For the next few weeks, I scoured over every article online and started to consider the facts. I have diabetes. It is getting worse. I am an otherwise healthy person. Everytime I dieted, my sugar would go out of wack, insulin dosage would increase, and I would gain a pound or two as a result. It is sort of like my body is allergic to food!
I went to an Bariatric informational seminar in Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. I talked to lots of people that had the surgery done themselves or knew someone who had. I made sure that I was going into this with my nerdy info armor on!
On June 14, I had my first appointment with my practice of choice in Grand Rapids. There are 4 bariatric surgeons, 3 PA's, 2 Nutritionists, 2 exercise people (physiologists?), and countless support staff. The place that I chose to investigate was a Center for Excellence which in layman's terms means that they take great care of you.
One of my qualifications was that I could get the surgery done this summer. I can't miss school! I REALLY wanted it done when my kids were at Spring Hill so that there would be minimal interruption to their routine but I wasn't holding my breath since that was less than a month away!
Bariatric Surgery is all about insurance. You first have to call your insurance provider and ask them to send you a pre approval checklist of sorts. All insurance companies ask you to take a psychological test to make sure that you aren't crazy. I prayed that none of my crazy would show through. :) A lot of insurance companies ask that you go through 6 months of medically supervised weight loss before you will qualify. Your BMI (body mass index) has to be 40 or greater and you have a greater chance of qualifying if you have a pre-existing condition such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, etc. My insurance had all of these things except one--- the 6 month waiting period. First bit of good luck!
I met my surgeon on June 17th. His name is Dr. Foote. I certainly hope he knows more about stomachs than his name suggests! I talked to him honestly and openly. I told him that I was a choir teacher and that waiting until August or September really wasn't an option with my career. I asked him if he might be able to get me in during the first week of July. He looked up from his computer and said to me, "You are really serious about this, aren't you?" Finally a doctor that listened! July 5th surgery date... my second piece of super good luck.
In preparation for the surgery, I started my "diet". The doctor wants his patients to lose some weight 2 weeks before surgery for specific reasons. Since the surgery is going to be done laproscopically (I don't know how to spell this), the surgeon needs to be able to move the liver and stomach. When a person loses weight, both of these organs shrink! So, I am on an 800-900 calorie diet that contains no store bought food. It is pretty yucky. This is day 8. I am down 7 lbs. So, I will keep you up to date here. Not on facebook and not by email. Just here. Thanks for coming back to my blog. It's been a while.
Blessings for a great end to the week,
