Something to Count Down to!

Good news! Or finally SOME news, haha. Friday afternoon I heard from a friend I made while going through the Options classes. She asked if I had received a call from Kaiser to schedule appointments...which I had not. I immediately called in (they've had trouble calling my cell phone in the past, because apparently it's an issue to call a long distance number, and it's easier to call my parent's house phone even though I've asked 10k times to call my cell, but that's another story) and spoke with a woman who sounded preoccupied and not too focused. After many "uhs" and "ums" and long pauses, she finally spit out that my file had been sent to my PCP, so she could review and clear my test results, and once they received it back I would be scheduled. I was pretty let down at the time, because I knew I'd have to wait through the weekend. In a turn of events, however, less than an hour later my dad let me know Kaiser called their house (surprise, surprise) to schedule me! Back on the phone again, and was able to schedule appointments to meet with the Bariatrician, and the Therapist (for the psych evaluation).

Here's the dates I have to count down til, for now:
March 9th- Bariatrician
March 26th- Pscyh Evaluation

Still Waiting...

Since my last update not too much has happened in the way of getting a surgery date, but a few things are worth noting.

I attended a Bariatric Support Group meeting on January 18th. My mom came along with me, as well as a friend from the Options classes who needed to attend a group meeting also. I'm glad my mom came along, she said she had a couple questions answered, so that's good. It was kind of a let down for me, and not really what I was expecting. It felt like more of a requirement to attend than something that I would continue on with (that particular group anyways). There were many people at the meeting, maybe 50, so it wasn't at all personal. There was a retired doctor that came to speak, and spoke the entire time. The only time I head any sort of personal stories was before the doctor showed up (he was late), and even then it was mostly the leaders of the group talking about themselves. It was nice hearing about the few post-surgery patients, and their success, though. I still feel as though the online support forums I've been involved in provide me with more information and support.

The day after I attended the support group, I called in to let Kaiser (the education department) know I had done it so they could update my file. I spoke with Angela, who told me she'd let Melissa know (the one who updates the files), and then once she got my file together and sent it back to her, she'd give me a call... and she told me it would be "a couple of days". I also asked if there was anything I could do in the mean time, and if I had to meet with the psych first (I thought they told us in class that the psych eval was first, didn't mention being able to do it in any order). She told me I could meet with the Dr. first, as those appts are available pretty much every day, and the psych eval appointments are about a month out. So I'm thinking, wow, awesome! I'll be able to at least meet with the Dr. soon! By the 26th, I still hadn't heard from anyone, so I called and was told someone had tried to reach me. I'm thinking this is it! Yeah, no so much. Apparently Melissa tried calling me to tell me she added to my case that I had attended the support group. I was like.. okay AND?! She told me they weren't even on my class yet as far as reviewing cases, were currently about a "class and a half" away, and that it could take a week to hear something, or a couple months. It's very frustrating being told different things from people working in the same entity. I wish they would get their stuff together, and be on the same page, because it would make the experience for those going through this much smoother. After a couple weeks I hadn't heard anything, and wanted to get an idea of how quickly they were moving along. I called in, and received a return call (well, my mom took the call, since I was unavailable at the time, ha) saying they were still a class ahead of mine, and they would automatically schedule me for an appointment for when I returned from Texas (March 7th) as long as everything was cleared. How long after I return is a good question, though.

On February 17th, I went in to re-take my Vitamin D test. I had been taking Vitamin D supplements, since my original test was very low (result- 12). On Wednesday, my results were finally updated, and I am at an acceptable level now. I re-tested at 35 (>20 needed for surgery, >30 is normal range). Definitely happy about that, and relieved! One less thing to worry about.

I have spoken with my PCP (Primary Care Doctor), and given her an update of where things are. I pretty much said the quicker she can clear my file once it's sent to her, the better. I'm not anticipating any hold ups on my end, as everything has been done.

This process is taking longer that I had believed it would. I was thinking it would be about 3 months out from 'graduation' that I would be having surgery, and 3 months is quickly approaching. I was hoping to have my surgery done by the beginning of March, but it seems further and further away the longer this waiting goes on. I'm trying to stay pumped up and positive about it, but the more time that goes by, the more it feels like this will never happen for me. I just have to remember I've already done most of what needs to be done, and once I have my appointments with the surgeon and for the psych eval, it will likely move pretty quickly.

On a positive note, since my last update I have lost 4 more pounds! Slow and steady, but going in the right direction. That brings me to a total of 11lbs lost since I started my classes October 4th.

I have also finally started to incorporate physical activity into my life. It took me awhile to do, and I think a lot of it had to do with needing to realize that I can't start out where I need to be, I have to build up to that point. The other day I finally decided to get over my *insert excuse here* (apprehension, fear, laziness?) and get my butt onto the elliptical machine. First, let me say this- I HATE IT. ha. I guess part of it is me thinking I can't do it. The first time, I was on for 7 minutes, and thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest. Maybe I went too fast, too hard, too soon. I got discouraged and realized that me being discouraged and upset about having such a hard time is what has stopped me from continuing in the past. I feel like I should be able to do 30+ minutes right off the bat, and the fact is that I can't. I can't even do 15. At first I felt like crap about this.. but the more I think about it, the more I realized I need to work up to where I want to be, not just expect to start where I want to be. I've never been an active person, so I guess it's realistic for me to think I can't just start being one- I have to work at it. I have not given up, and have been using my resistance bands as well. I feel better about it, but still have that thought in the back of my mind that I should be able to do more. I need to try and be realistic, and start out slowly so that I don't push myself hard enough that I just quit. If I start out small, and slowly build up, it should get easier with time and commitment. I need to keep reminding myself of this, be realistic, and not lose motivation.

So, that's what is going on in the world of Stephanie's Weight Loss Surgery Journey. Not too much, yet positive changes at the same time.