Pre-Op Testing, Dieting, and the Waiting Game

So, yesterday I had my pre-op testing... well, more of it. I guess I'll still have to get an EKG and some more labs when I meet with the physician who will officially clear me for surgery. Yesterday though, I had a chest X-Ray, and an Upper GI. Btw, fasting for 8 hours in the middle of the day f-ing sucks! Just saying. But, I digress. So, the chest X-Ray was pretty standard; just stood in front of the target (I don't have any other way to describe that), and take some pretty pictures. The Upper GI was a little stranger.

So, they had me undress from the waist up (can't see my chest or esophagus very well with an underwire bra on), and put on a hospital gown. Then they had me come into the imaging room, where the imaging table was literally standing on one end... Yup. I didn't know they could do that either. They had me toss back what I can best describe as lemon-lime pop rocks, and chase it with a few tblsps. water. They forewarned me that it would make me feel like I wanted to burp, but that I wasn't allowed to. They needed my stomach to be inflated to see if I have any ulcers. Then, they made me drink about 8 oz. barium. Now, people told me that barium tastes nasty. Honestly, to me, it didn't taste like anything. It was just a thick, chalky liquid. As I was swallowing, they were taking images, watching my esophagus, and making sure everything was working ok. This makes sense, since I'm going to have a tube shoved down my throat during surgery.

After they got enough pictures of my esophagus, they tilted the table back... while I was still on it! Weirdest thing. Once they had me in a reclining position, they had me do a whole bunch of rolling around, changing position, ect. to make sure they got my stomach from every angle possible. At one point they had me drink what they called "Thin." I assume it's to thin out the coating of barium so that they could get some different angles. A few more pictures/positions, and I was done. Easy peasy.

So... now what? Well, now we wait. I called the surgery scheduler as I was walking out of the hospital yesterday, and left her a voice mail telling her that I was done with my radiology testing. According to her voice mail message, it can take up to 10 days now for them to call me back with a surgery date. Honestly, I don't really care if it takes the full 10 days. They're scheduling right now for the middle of October. I'm looking the week of Thanksgiving (if my surgeon even does surgery that week), and if not then, the first week of December. So, I'll probably get my pick of dates. LOL. Good news is that within the next two weeks, I'll have my surgery date. When I get the call for my surgery date, I'll also get my date of my four hour class. Yes, there's a four hour class. This is the class where they'll go over everything with surgery, and what to expect when I get home, and they'll give me the "bariatric bible" which is a binder my program hands out with lots and lots of useful information about my new life. Apparently, they go over it page by page.

Then the planning really starts. What do I mean by that? Well, the husband and I have started talking about things a bit- who will drive me to the hospital, will he be there with me, will he stay the night with me, what's the plan for when I get home, ect. We know that he's taking the first week off with me, and I'm only planning on taking a week off work. But while we're at home, our daughter will still be going to the babysitter, just because if she's home, she'll want to have me pick her up, hold her, she'll want to crawl all over me like normal, and with me just having had abdominal surgery, that's not the best idea. :( Honestly, it's going to break my heart. She'll stand there, with her arms out stretched, scrunching her fingers in her sign for up, and I won't be able to pick her up. But, I'm doing this for the long run. So, two weeks of me not being able to pick her up is going to be nothing compared to what we'll gain. :)

So, as I said. Now I wait. I'll update you when I can.

On another topic, I get lots of people asking about the diet that I'm on. They see my progress, and want to know what I'm doing to get to where I am. 67# is no small feat. So, I tell them what I'm doing. But before I do that, I warn them to talk to their doctor. Major changes to one's body are a big no-no without medical help. This diet can royally screw with your body. So, I beg of anyone who is starting a major diet, or lifestyle change to please, please, please talk to your doctor. My weight loss has been dramatic, yes, but it's medically supervised, and I'm doing it in a healthy way. Please do the same for yourself. :)

~♥~
Lady D

I miss it!!!!

One thing I never thought to hear come out of my mouth... I. Miss. Salad. Yes, that's right, salad. I was kind of told to steer away from salad, or to at least eat my protein first, that way I'm getting in the protein that I need to keep going through my day. Plus, do you know how hard it is to find a salad dressing that meets the requirements my diet allows? I'll give you a hint... GOOD LUCK!

But I'm not going to lie, I love salad. I really do. And today, we had a vendor lunch. And they brought in Domino's after their caterer bailed on them. I felt so bad for them... but anyways, Domino's brought in some salads in addition to pizza. And one of the dressings they brought was a Ken's light balsamic. And it met the requirements. It was a little high in fat content for my taste, but, still within acceptable limits. So I had a salad with my lunch today. And it was GLORIOUS.

I've only eaten salad one other time since I started this journey, and that was at Logan's Roadhouse. Their light or fat free or whatever vinaigrette meets my diet's standards too, and it is tasty! So, salads are back on my menu... as long as I have some protein with it first. :)

~♥~
Lady D

Pre-op Testing and the NFL

So, even though I got my letter a week and a half ago, since my surgeon was at a bariatric surgery conference, my orders for my testing didn't get put in until Friday. No biggie, since I'm not planning on surgery until after we get back from the cruise. But, I called on Friday, and I did indeed get my testing scheduled for this Wednesday.

So, if you remember when I talked about getting my letter, that I had to have an upper GI test, and a chest X-Ray. Well, the chest X-Ray is just a walk-in thing, so, let's hope the hospital's X-Ray dept isn't super busy on Weds... As for the upper GI, I have no idea what to expect. All I know is that it's done in the fluoroscopy department. What is fluoroscopy? Well, if you watch Grey's, it's the thing they use a lot in surgery to make sure they know where they're going inside your body. Honestly, that's all that I really know about it too. Heh. But, I will, of course, let you all know what it's like on Thursday, once I've had it done.

So, you probably saw that my post has NFL in the title. No. I'm not going to talk about politics here. I am going to talk about food. So, my husband and I are HUGE Cleveland Browns fans, but, we live here in Indianapolis. So, needless to say, we don't get to see a lot of football. But, because the Colts suck this year (sorry Indy, but you do), tickets to Sunday's game were like $20. So, we bought tickets, got a sitter (Thank you amazing Mother-in-law of mine!!!!), and went to the game. Sadly, my Browns lost (see? Indy isn't the only team that sucks. But, I still love my boys. I'm just a realistic Browns fan), but, I'd never been to an NFL game, so, we had a lot of fun. We had planned my meal out pretty well for the day. I was going to grab a protein shake on the way out the door, and then just not eat at the stadium. I even ate a fairly large breakfast (well, large for me) to help compensate. But, guess who forgot her shake? *facepalm*

So, we were trying to think of what to do. But we figured worst case scenario, I'd get a bun-less burger. However! Surprise, surprise, in the stadium they had a STIR-FRY Station! :D I got to eat, and stay healthy! They served it in a to-go Chinese-style container that at the very bottom had some gluten-free noodles, which I of course didn't eat. But, it was chicken, and soy sauce, and lots of yummy veggies. It was awesome. And healthy. So, yeah. Once again proving that if you really want it, you can find healthy food options. There is no excuse to "Cheat." :) Did you all have a good weekend?

~♥~
Lady D

Positive Impact

I can honestly say that my life choices are having a positive impact on not only myself, but I'm starting to see it in my family... well, my daughter. The other day, we had a party at work, and I brought her home a cupcake and a cookie. She ate the cookie in the car, but when we got home, I grabbed myself an apple, and I started feeding her the cupcake. After a few bites, she didn't want the cupcake anymore, and was totally into eating my apple. And then on Saturday, I plated some chicken nuggets, green beans, and some Cooler Ranch Doritos. She wanted nothing to do with the chips, but was ALL ABOUT those green beans. She's going to grow up knowing healthy(er) eating, which in all honesty is going to have a positive impact on her life too. Woohoo!

~♥~
Lady D

Surgery Approval

Holy shit! Excuse the language, but I'm sitting here in shock. I got my surgery approval! I literally finished my class last night at 4:30pm, and my surgery approval came in like, almost an hour ago. My insurance apparently thinks I need the surgery. LOL. Well, that part of the waiting is over. Now I've got to schedule my Upper GI test, my Chest X-Ray, and my EKG. I called and left a message with the surgery scheduler today, since I won't be able to have surgery until Nov. 20 at the earliest, to see if she wants me to do the testing now, or wait. I'm not going to do it until I hear back from her. One of the nurses I talked to said to do it now, but one of the girls at the desk said they'd want me to wait until after my cruise. So, I'm all confused. LOL. I figure the surgery scheduler is going to be the best person to tell me. Well, my day has been made. :)

~♥~
Lady D

"Hash Browns" and My Last Weight Loss Class

So, last night was my last supervised weight loss class. It's been a long six months... not really. Honestly, it feels like it flew by. I've lost a total of 64# since I started the classes. I still have a good ways to go. So... what happens next?

Well, my surgeon's office will now take all my paperwork: my referral from my OB/GYN, my classes, my psychologist's visit, my appointment with my surgeon, my blood tests/urine test, and submit it to my insurance. My insurance will go over everything, submit it to a nurse case manager, who may end up having to submit it to a physician case manager, and then they'll come back with a response as to whether or not they'll cover the surgery.

Now, this process will not be a quick one. On my surgeon's support group facebook page, there's a lady who has been waiting for over two months to hear from her insurance. Honestly, I'm not in a super hurry, since the earliest I could do surgery would be Nov. 20 (the cruise, and then my husband wants a week back at work to straighten things out again before he takes off another week). But, I'd like to hear whether or not I'm approved for the surgery. I'm not going to lie, if they deny me the surgery, I'm going to be crushed. I don't think they will, my dietitian doesn't think they will, but, we'll see I guess.

So, driving home last night, I was starving. And the husband and I decided to do burgers last night, since I had pub burgers thawed in the fridge. Well, I drove past a McDonald's last night, and was almost drooling. I wanted a burger and fries SOOO BAD! So, I got all excited for the burger at home, and then I started thinking about having green beans with it. I was honestly disappointed. So, I remembered that I had a bag of riced cauliflower in my freezer, and my dietitian had just posted a video link with a cauliflower "tater tot" recipe in it... heh. I couldn't make those, because they called for panko bread crumbs. BUT WAIT! There's more! The video also had a link for cauliflower "hash browns." So, I looked over the recipe, and I had everything to make it. I even added a little cheddar cheese to the mix to boost the flavor. They were awesome! I'd patty them a little thinner next time so that they get nice and crispy, but MAN! These were great! I dipped them in a little reduced sugar Heinz ketchup, and was in heaven. :)

Cheesy Cauliflower "Hash Browns"

-1 bag riced cauliflower, or a large head of fresh cauliflower, grated
-salt
-pepper
-Garlic powder or diced garlic (optional)
-chives (optional)
-parsley (optional)
-About a 1/4 c. parmesan cheese
-1/4-1/2 c. low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
-About 1-2 tbsp. EVOO

-If you're using the riced cauliflower like I did, go ahead and dump your frozen bag of riced cauliflower in a strainer in the sink, and let it thaw.
-Move the thawed cauliflower into a paper towel, or a cheesecloth, and squeeze out all the moisture remaining.
-Preheat oven to 400*.
-Put the cauliflower and all the ingredients in a bowl. (I don't do amounts on spices, because for me they're all to taste. I did roughly 1/4 tsp. on all the spices)
-Mix well.
-Form into hash brown shaped "logs", and place on a non-stick sprayed baking sheet topped with aluminum foil
-Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
-Pull out of the oven and carefully flip the hash browns over.
-Bake for about another 5-10 minutes.
-Sprinkle with salt
-Serve with your choice of garnish and dipping sauce. Enjoy! :)

These really were awesome. My husband didn't try them, but that was ok, more for me! :)

~♥~
Lady D

Weight loss update

So, over the weekend, I hit another weight loss milestone!!!

That's right! I'm below 300 lbs. The last time the number on the scale started with a 2 was at least in my Junior Year... in HIGH SCHOOL. The only reason I remember that is that the summer between my Junior and Senior year in High School, we went to the Smoky Mountains to see family, and we went Horseback riding. You had to be under 300 lbs. to go horseback riding, and I was like 320. So, I lied and said that I was 300. So, I am at/below my high school weight. :D

I know I mentioned this in the post before, and I've now mentioned it in a few of these posts. But let me explain why I keep saying that yes, I'm having the surgery, and why I keep reiterating that I don't want you to try and talk me out of it.

Yes, I know that the diet I'm on is strict. But it's not a diet. It's a lifestyle. I'm not going to go back to the way I used to eat. That's not how this works. I'm not going to loosen what I eat, down that path leads madness. I'm not going to stop fighting for every inch, every pound, until I'm healthy, and where I want/need to be. And yes, need is the word that works there.

Someone just this morning was complimenting me on how well I'm doing, and asked me if I still needed the surgery, and said that she thought I didn't. She also said that my goal weight (which is 150#... it's just a number I made up in my head, and it's not something that I'm sticking to, since I don't know if I'll look sick at that weight... for me, this is not a number thing, but a health thing) she thinks I'll look sick. While that's great, and I know she was going for a pep talk, that kind of talk doesn't really help me. If anything it hurts.

I know that I've chosen a hard path. I know that I've chosen something that most people wouldn't choose. I know that I've done so well so far too. But why does that kind of talk hurt? Well, as soon as I got back to my office, I texted my husband, in tears, and asked if I was doing the right thing by going with the surgery. And of course, it's not something that he could give a definitive answer on. It's not his choice. It's not his body. I explained to him that I'm worried about the money/time we'd lose if we didn't need this surgery. What was his response? The absolute perfect thing I needed to hear.

Time is what I'll lose if I don't do the surgery and I DO need it.

And he's absolutely right. I've said it before. I'm fighting for my life right now. Literally. Years of my life are going to be taken away if I don't get healthy. Years. And I don't want to lose them. What am I going to lose time-wise if I have the surgery? A week or so off work. A few days of having to leave early for doctor's appointments. That's it. What's that compared to YEARS? So, PLEASE. The next time you think about asking me if I still need the surgery? Don't. I need it. I want to live my life with my family happily and healthy.

~♥~
Lady D

The Easy Way -A Rant-

I swear to you, if I hear the words, "The Easy Way Out," or any allusion thereof to what I'm going through being "The Easy Way Out," I might just punch someone. Seriously. And no, this post is not in any way directed at anyone in particular. It's just in response to a conversation I had with someone recently about this misconception. She knew several people who have gone through the process, and was therefore, aware that it is not the easy way out.

But I am so tired of seeing, and hearing people talk about what I'm going through as if it's nothing. As if I'm just effortlessly doing this. I promise you, in no way, shape, or form is this effortless. And it's only going to get harder. I know that I make it look easy. That I'm always upbeat, that I'm looking slimmer and slimmer, but honestly, this SUCKS. Imagine all your friends eating all your favorite foods: Pizza, Chinese food, Garlic Bread, Pasta, Mashed Potatoes, Baked Potatoes, French Fries, Fried Potatoes, Biscuits and Gravy, Chips and Salsa, Rice, Fast food in general, and you not being able to partake. Or, to go a sweeter way, brownies, cookies, cake, ice cream, hot fudge, chocolate. No. Nothing. Cooking dinner for your family? You're probably making two meals. One for them, and one for you. Or, your super sweet little girl who wants to share her snack with mommy, and mommy can't have it, and I have to say no. Seeing her face fall, because she wants to help take care of mommy, like mommy takes care of her? Please, please tell me how any of that is easy.

Or, let's get more personal. How about the fact that some days, I'm lucky to poop, or, the opposite, have massive GI issues. There's no middle ground. Do you have any idea how much pain comes with these things? Especially for someone with PCOS and has cysts on her ovaries? Taking masses of supplements for the rest of my life. Making sure I'm getting enough protein and water. I can go on and on.

The other thing that I'm tired of hearing is: "You're doing so well! Are you sure you want to have the surgery?" Guys. I know my body. My weight loss is already slowing down. I Have over 150# yet to lose. I can't do this on my own. I need this tool to help me reach my goal of getting healthy. No, finding "new ways" to eat right and exercise are NOT going to help! I've tried it all before. Do you really think that if I thought I had another way to go, that I'd be putting myself through this? Not only myself, but my family?

Yes, let's talk about family for a second. Because if you go through this, your family will suffer a bit too. My husband and I had several fights over this at first, and we still do occasionally. Why? Well, at first it had to do with whether or not this is something I really needed to do, and just figuring out everything. It's a big, scary thing, for everyone. Then, later, the fights happened over the stupidest shit. Why? Well, when you lose lots and lots of weight, your body will start getting rid of the hormones that are stored in your fat. But wait, your body stores hormones in your fat? Why yes, yes it does. And it will make you psychotic. Literally. If you're a woman, you will be a total WITCH for a while.

And all of this? This is just pre-op struggles. Let's get into some of what I'll be facing post-op. How about dumping syndrome? You know, the thing that I could get that could make my body feel like it's having a heart attack, and make me have to run to the bathroom to puke or have GI Issues if I eat sugar? No? Ok, how about the fact that they're going to use a tool to cut my stomach into two pieces, and reattach my intestines. Yes, they're literally going to rearrange my guts. Still no? How about the fact that for over a month, I'll only be allowed to have liquids. No solid food. No? Still too easy for you? Well, come see me then. We'll chat.

So, unless you've personally gone through this, if I hear the words "Taking the Easy Way Out" or ANY. I MEAN IT. ANY. Allusion to that, I will no longer speak to you. You will be out of my life. Permanently. I don't need that kind of negativity in my life or my journey. Questions? See me. HBIC.

~♥~
Lady D

Pants and Travel

Good morning! I hope you all had a great labor day! So, I found some great news out on Friday last week. My 24 slacks for work were dirty, so, I decided to try on my 22's, since my 24's were getting a bit loose. Guess what? I'm in a 22 pant now! :D That means that I've dropped from a 26/28 to a 22! In almost 5 months. I'm ecstatic. :D

Did anyone travel over the weekend? Well, my mom came to town (she lives 3.5 hours away from here) via bus on Friday, and I drove her back home on Sunday. Now, the way I did it was I drove the whole trip in one afternoon, which means that I wasn't at home to make myself diet-compliant food. I even ran my mom through the Arby's drive-thru. And I came to the realization that if I had wanted to, I could have totally made excuses that it's too hard to eat right while traveling, and just grabbed a burger, or chicken nuggets or something from a drive-thru. And while, honestly, I could've ordered an Arby's sandwich and just eaten the meat, that stuff is expensive! But seriously! If you've ever watched the show My 600 lb. Life, most of those people are driving long distances to see that doctor, and they make excuses about not being able to eat right while on the road. Well GUESS WHAT?

I ate right while on the road.

It's totally doable! Before you leave, or hell, while you're driving (there are Walmarts everywhere people!), grab a protein shake! I grabbed a vanilla protein shake out of my fridge before we left, and that was my dinner. Yes, I drank it warm, since I didn't pack it in a cooler, but that's ok. The shakes I'm drinking (Premier RTD [ready to drink] shakes) aren't bad warm! This is the second time I've done this while traveling, and I know that I'll do it more in the future (honestly, I might pack a couple of shakes for when we're flying for the cruise... Obviously I won't be able to take them on the plane with me, but, I can drink them in the airport. :) ). Don't want to drink a protein shake? Pack a large bag of protein! Hard cheese, jerky, nuts (if your doctor's plan allows you to have them- mine does not). Or, worst case scenario, when you go through a drive through, order a grilled chicken breast, and just order it without the bun. In college, I worked at a McDonald's, and I promise, people do it ALL THE TIME. Just stay away from what you're not allowed to have. There are NO EXCUSES! If I can do it, YOU CAN DO IT. I promise. :)

~♥~
Lady D