Some excitement last week, followed by a reprieve of sorts. My surgery still scheduled for the 20th, but early in the week, they told me I had flunked a blood test and needed clearance from a nephrologist. A Kidney doc. Now I don't have the greatest relationship with my kidney doc. When I called mine for a rush appointment, they told me the earliest I could get one was in June.
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(Why do I have a poor relationship? Well, it feels like they mainly give gloomy warnings rather than useful therapies... grave warnings about how I'm killing myself with diabetes... blood pressure... etc. It sometimes feels like the kidney docs are all operating a cosmic Ghoul Pool and the one who comes closest to guessing my departure date gets to wear the coveted black cloak for a week. Or something.)
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Since my regular kidney doc couldn't see me for two months, I called around and got an appointment with a young guy I'd never heard of. To my shock, he was a good guy, told me I was doing a good job managing things, and the surgery would provide an enormous step forward in my health and lifestyle. And wrote me the needed letter, larded with wonderful phrases like "Stable over last four years" and "...no contraindications .." I could have kissed him. And that was my reprieve.
Bottom line: surgery still on track for April 20.>
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Monday, April 11, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Countdown to Surgery
April 20 is my scheduled date for Surgery. Went in yesterday for the pre-op testing. Started at 7:15 at the hospital, and finished about 2:00. Wound up with a graduating class of four guys, and we went through together. I gather this is an oddity; many of the nurses there to train us said they had never seen an all-guy group before. Here are some of the things covered:
- Housekeeping details, like insurance, ID, co-pays, and release forms. Ah, yes, the release and consent forms.
- Lung-function tests. Blow in the little machine. Blow fast. Blow slow. Over and over again. I passed, but had to promise to use a little torture machine (spirometer?) 100 times a day to keep lungs strong.
- Blood work and EKG. Detailed medical history. No surprises here.
- Met with MD for instructions on meds. What to keep taking; what to stop (like aspirin) and what to reduce (like insulin.). Good meeting, many questions answered.
- Nurse came in to review details of meds. What to crush; how to open capsules. Why not to take whole pills (they can get caught in the surgically altered pouch) and how to swallow crushed pills (sprinkle powder on applesauce.)
- Dietitians Dina and Erin brought us order forms for high-protein snacks and drinks, along with samples. I guess folks complain about taste, so they wanted to give us a preview. Yummm. Also diet log forms and day-by-day menus for post-surgical noshing.
At least one blogger gives the date of her surgery as the date she was reborn. I need to take some picturea of myself, showing my fantastic physique (ha!) to document how I looked on my rebirth date. These will become my "before" photos, and I'll post them for your amusement.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Gastric Bypass now Recommended Treatment for Diabetes
In an earlier post, I mentioned how friend Greg was cured of diabetes by having gastric bypass surgery. And how that was my main reason for having it.
Watching ABC News last night, I was surprised, but delighted, to hear that GB is now a "recommended treatment" for diabetes. They replayed that news item this morning, with Dr. Richard Besser weighing in and noting that the very act of the surgery can cure diabetes. That you man not need to lose a lot of weight (although we all plan to), but that undergoing the surgery provides an immediate cure, often before you leave the hospital.
How about that?
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/
Watching ABC News last night, I was surprised, but delighted, to hear that GB is now a "recommended treatment" for diabetes. They replayed that news item this morning, with Dr. Richard Besser weighing in and noting that the very act of the surgery can cure diabetes. That you man not need to lose a lot of weight (although we all plan to), but that undergoing the surgery provides an immediate cure, often before you leave the hospital.
How about that?
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/
Friday, March 25, 2011
Insurance and Doctors
Earlier I promised to tell you what my insurance company required before they would approve weight-reduction surgery. Four things:
First, a letter of approval from my primary-care physician, PCP.
Next, a similar letter from my cardiologist.
Then, an evaluation from a psychologist based on at least 3 interviews and 2 personality analyses.
Finally, an educational program with a dietitian three months long, with four visits, dietary instruction, logging of food consumed, teaching and training, with acceptable weight loss during this time.
We'll review all of these over the next week or so.
I had wanted this surgery several years ago, and started then to meet these requirements. But when I talked to my then-PCP about approving it, he stunned me with the vigor of his refusal. "Absolutely not!" he said. That surgery is unproven, and for you, unnecessary. There is an element of danger in any surgery, and you are not heavy enough to justify the risk. I will never approve this for you.
Though disappointed, I accepted his counsel and dropped my plans. And then was stunned again, several years later, to find he was leaving his PCP practice to join the Bariatric Center of a major hospital. He was going, I realized, to specialize in that "unproven, unnecessary" program with "an element of danger." How about that?
He and I have never spoken since that day. And I left with this intent: Dammit, I would have weight-reduction surgery, and I would not be talked out of it.
First, a letter of approval from my primary-care physician, PCP.
Next, a similar letter from my cardiologist.
Then, an evaluation from a psychologist based on at least 3 interviews and 2 personality analyses.
Finally, an educational program with a dietitian three months long, with four visits, dietary instruction, logging of food consumed, teaching and training, with acceptable weight loss during this time.
We'll review all of these over the next week or so.
I had wanted this surgery several years ago, and started then to meet these requirements. But when I talked to my then-PCP about approving it, he stunned me with the vigor of his refusal. "Absolutely not!" he said. That surgery is unproven, and for you, unnecessary. There is an element of danger in any surgery, and you are not heavy enough to justify the risk. I will never approve this for you.
Though disappointed, I accepted his counsel and dropped my plans. And then was stunned again, several years later, to find he was leaving his PCP practice to join the Bariatric Center of a major hospital. He was going, I realized, to specialize in that "unproven, unnecessary" program with "an element of danger." How about that?
He and I have never spoken since that day. And I left with this intent: Dammit, I would have weight-reduction surgery, and I would not be talked out of it.
Getting Approved for Bariatric Surgery
Latonya called yesterday with the good news. My insurance company has approved me for weight-loss surgery, and I can expect a call from the scheduler. In the next month, I'll check in at St. Vincent's for a gastric bypass, then hopefully start shrinking.
It seems everyone wants to lose weight, and lots of folks are considering a surgical approach. You too? Then stick with me, 'cause I'm going to tell you what works and what doesn't... what prep is required ... what changes in lifestyle are needed ...the good and the bad. I'll let you know, up close and personal, what this entails. Then you can decide if it's right for you.
I've been fat all my life. Went on my first diet at 4, 65 years ago. Could always lose weight, would always gain it back. Married 48 years, raised kids, loved my grandkids. So sort of a normal guy. A normal fat guy. Then became diabetic 20 years ago. On insulin, I find it very hard to lose weight now.
Friend Greg was in the same fix. Had a bypass years ago. Dropped 130 pounds. But found the surgery cured his diabetes. No more insulin, no more testing. This is what I want. If I become a skinny, sexy new me, I can handle it. But my first goal is to whip diabetes.
Another major goal is to tell you what's involved. The prep work, the education, the hoops that insurance made me jump through. So in future posts, we'll talk about monthly meetings with Dina the Dietitian, Latonya the Patient Advocate, Lisle the Shrink required by insurance, and the others who have helped me.
And you. I hope to hear your story. We want this to be a dialog, not a monolog. I'd love to hear where you are in the Journey to Skinny. Perhaps we can learn from each other.
It seems everyone wants to lose weight, and lots of folks are considering a surgical approach. You too? Then stick with me, 'cause I'm going to tell you what works and what doesn't... what prep is required ... what changes in lifestyle are needed ...the good and the bad. I'll let you know, up close and personal, what this entails. Then you can decide if it's right for you.
I've been fat all my life. Went on my first diet at 4, 65 years ago. Could always lose weight, would always gain it back. Married 48 years, raised kids, loved my grandkids. So sort of a normal guy. A normal fat guy. Then became diabetic 20 years ago. On insulin, I find it very hard to lose weight now.
Friend Greg was in the same fix. Had a bypass years ago. Dropped 130 pounds. But found the surgery cured his diabetes. No more insulin, no more testing. This is what I want. If I become a skinny, sexy new me, I can handle it. But my first goal is to whip diabetes.
Another major goal is to tell you what's involved. The prep work, the education, the hoops that insurance made me jump through. So in future posts, we'll talk about monthly meetings with Dina the Dietitian, Latonya the Patient Advocate, Lisle the Shrink required by insurance, and the others who have helped me.
And you. I hope to hear your story. We want this to be a dialog, not a monolog. I'd love to hear where you are in the Journey to Skinny. Perhaps we can learn from each other.
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