Paperwork

Friday June 22, 2018

I called Deo’s office first thing on Wednesday (20th) and she had a cancellation that afternoon so I went to see her. I told her what the Bariatric Clinic said about the paperwork. She said that she did forget to put the recommendation for surgery in the letter she sent, but didn’t know what they were talking about with the other paperwork. She said she would call them and see what she was supposed to do. Now it looks like it will be August before I will get my surgery since July is only 8 days away and it takes Medicare 3-4 weeks to approve or disapprove the surgery.

When I went into ‘pain group’ today, Deo hadn’t even talked to the clinic yet and so nothing has been done yet. I’m a little disappointed that nothing has been done, but when you leave a message with the Bariatric Clinic it does say they will get back to you within 2 days. So it isn’t all Deo’s fault. However I have resolved myself into knowing it will be August before I get my surgery,

Then, while I was there I got weighed and I was up 2 pounds from Wednesday (20th). Now I weigh 296 lbs, but that is still under 300 pounds. I drank a lot of water yesterday (and of course went potty a lot too). Deo said that I should be drinking about 100 ounces a day for my size. Some days I’m lucky if I drink 4 or 5 cups (8 oz cups) of water more less 100 oz. 4-5 cups is 32-40 oz. which is a far cry from 100 oz. Yesterday I drank 10 cups of water which is 80 oz and a lot better. Today I drank 11 cups (88 oz.), but won’t drink that much tomorrow since I’ll be in bed all day. Also while I was at the appointment, I had my once-a-month Invega shot and it really hurt this time. The last few time I’ve had it, it hasn’t hurt. I get this shot because I hear voices and they tell me to hurt myself. When I’m on this medication I can control them pretty good.

I didn’t get any exercising done today, I was at ‘pain group’ in the morning and forgot after lunch and had my Avonex Injection after dinner. This injection is for Multiple Sclerosis which I was diagnosed with back in 2013. I get the injection every Friday night and spend Saturday in bed resting. Sometimes it makes me feel like I have the flu. Anyways, I will have to make sure I do my exercises on Monday for sure. It has been an OK day.

UGH

Tuesday June 19, 2018

OMGosh, I forgot to do my exercise video AGAIN today before my doctor’s appt.

I saw Rachel and I told her everything that was going on and she was surprised at how calm I am about this whole mess up on my surgery paperwork. Yes, I’m upset, but I’m not letting it get my ANGRY or DEPRESSED, I’m just kinda going with the flow. I talked to the lady at the front desk and she said that Deo sent in the letter on the 12th and that I didn’t start going to the ‘weight loss groups’ until March, so I need to go to one in June. I did go on June 11th but those notes weren’t included in the paperwork Deo sent on the 12th.

When I got home from my appt with Rachel (she is my counselor that I talk to about my Bariatric stuff that is required my Medicare) I got a call from the Bariatric Clinic and they said they needed a more detailed report about my weight loss and weight gain for the month of June, plus some other things my mind isn’t remembering right now. Also that the letter that Deo sent on the 12th was a PHYC Evaluation and didn’t include a recommendation or clearance for surgery. I had them send me another copy of the letters that Deo got back in February as to what she needed to send. I have to call Deo’s office and try and get an appt with Deo as soon as possible. I will call first thing in the morning.

Disappointed

Monday June 18, 2018

Today started out great and went to disappointed. This morning I went to breadfast and had my usual, oatmeal and brown sugar, plus a scone. I shouldn’t of had the scone, but it was at lease a small one. Boy, that’s the way to rationalize it…

Then I went to exercise class and I traded my pink stretch band for the green one I use at class. Desi gave me a ball, stretch band, and hand weight to use in my room on the days we don’t have class (Tuesdays and Thursdays). She then let me use a green one in class. The pink one was fine when I only did the class exercises in my room but, I have started a new exercise video using the band and the pink one is not long enough. So I asked Desi if I could switch the pink band for the green band which is longer. So, now I use the pink one in class and the green one for the video. But I forgot to do the video after lunch today, so I will have to do them tomorrow after lunch.

When I got home from ‘pain group’ there was a message on my voice mail from the Bariatric Clinic and for just a second I thought they might be calling to say Medicare had approved my surgery. Then I realized that it was to early, and then heard the message from hell… Instead of being good news, it was bad news, really bad news. Dr. Valentine’s office was counting the 4 months of classes from February to May, but I didn’t start going to classes for Bariatric surgery til March so, I had to go til June instead of May. Then the message said that Deo didn’t send in the clearance letter for surgery. So I need to send this info to them before I can get approved from Medicare. I was so disappointed to say the least, but didn’t get all MAD and DEPRESSED. I have an appointment tomorrow with Rachel and I will talk to the office and see what happened.

I guess I did go see Deo in February but maybe that one doesn’t count, I don’t know. And Deo said she sent in the letter on the 12th of June, so maybe they didn’t get that either. I hope I can get this all cleared up in a couple of days so I can still get my surgery in July, but it might be August now!

Good, worse to good

Tuesday June 12, 2018

Today started out good, went to worse, and then back to good.

I got up and got dressed and went on the ‘greenbelt’ walk. We actually walked to the ‘greenbelt’ this time instead of walking around the block. First, we had to walk a ways to get to the enterance of the ‘greenbelt’. Then we walked a ways on the ‘greenbelt’ till we came to the big hill. Then we turned around and walked back to the enterance to the ‘greenbelt’ and then walked back to the facility. While we were on the ‘greenbelt’ we saw the baby ducks and mama duck that used to be in the courtyard outside my door. We get 3-4 mama ducks throughout the 4 courtyards at the facility every spring. They fly in and stay there with their eggs til they hatch and then raise them until the activity director takes them to the ‘greenbelt’ which follows the creek. The only way the ducklings can get out of the courtyards is to have us take them out. Anyways we saw the mama duck and her 12 ducklings in the creek. On the way back to the enterance we also saw two squirrels running up and down some trees. The walk was nice, but hard today, my ankles were bothering me and I was having a hard time walking. We took 3 breaks along the way.

After lunch I came back to my room and waited for my call about my ride to the doctor’s office. After not hearing from them, I called them and they said the ride was cancelled. They didn’t think they could find me a ride in time for my appointment. I told them that they cancel my rides all the time and send a ‘LYFT’ driver instead. So I guess the guy assigned me a ‘LYFT’ driver because someone called me back in a few minutes and set me up with a ”LYFT’ driver. I was still late, but only 5 minutes.

I still had to wait 15 minutes to see Deo. We went over my medication list and she told me what all my medications were for and I wrote them all down. I can’t pronounce most of them, but when I go in for my bariatric surgery they will want to know what meds I take and what they are for. After that Deo said that the paperwork was sent over to Dr Valentine’s office on the 5th of June and she didn’t know that. She sent over the letter yesterday or today. That helped make sence of the phone call I got from the surgeon’s office saying they received the papwework last week and were reviewing it now. I was able to get a ride home within about 40 minutes and got home before dinner.

I also talked to Liz, the supervisor over the food here at the facility, about what I was going to need after surgery. She said that I had to go through the nurses here before it goes to her. So I gave a copy of the nutrition list to the nurses this afternoon. I guess I will wait and see what they say. If I don’t hear from them in a couple of days, I will talk to them if they don’t talk to me first.

Other than that, my day went OK. I’m just getting tired of having to get rides all the time. I’ve been doing this since 2009 when I moved to Florida to live with my daughter Brenda. I had a car for a while when I moved in with my sister, Mary, but lost my license when the doctor said I have ‘foot drop’ and I can’t control my foot enough to use the peddles. What a BUMMER.

Eating bad lately…

June 8, 2018

I have been eating totally bad lately. Ever since I went to the Bariatric Clinic and found out that I couldn’t eat all the stuff I was going to eat, I have been eating pretty much what the kitchen has been cooking and that is how I gained 50 pounds. I thought I would put on a bunch of weight doing that, but I went up to 294 lbs. and have been staying there for the last few weeks. It would be nice to start around that weight instead of over 300 lbs. like when I went in the first time to see Dr. Valentine. It is only 6-8 pounds less, but every little bit counts. I hope Dr. Valentine’s office calls some time this month. It is already the 8th of June and I’d like to have surgery at least some time in July. Feeling good 🙂

First Time on ‘Greenbelt walk’?

Tuesday June 5, 2018

Note: This post doesn’t have to do with my weight loss but more with my ability to walk.

This morning I went on the ‘Greenbelt walk’ for the first time. The facility does these walks during this time of year, but this was my first time going on it, so today I decided that this year I was going to walk it. However, we didn’t go on the ‘Greenbelt’, we walked around the whole block instead. I didn’t know if I could make it or not, but I went anyway. There was 8 of us that went and some of us were ‘first timers’ and we didn’t walk very fast. We stopped 3 times to rest and that really helped. I was quite tired by the time we got back, but it felt good to be able to complete the walk.

Not happy with doctor…

Monday June 11, 2018

This day started out great. I went to exercise class and even did the 20-minute ‘all over workout with bands’ for the first time. This is a video I found on YOUTUBE to help supplement my ‘exercise class’. This is an exercise session while sitting down. With my ‘foot drop’ I have a hard time doing leg exercises. Then I went to ‘weight management group’ and found out that Deo never sent in my paperwork for my surgery. I was very upset, but didn’t say much about it. She said she had done the letter and would send it in today. Today is the 11th of June and so I’m 11 days later than I thought in getting the paperwork done and turned in. Now for sure I won’t get my surgery til July or later. I’m really not very happy right now. I go back tomorrow for a ‘medication review’ and I’ll see what Deo says about sending in the paperwork.

Kellie is coming! :(

Thursday May 31, 2018

Today is a good day in some ways and not so good in other ways. My legs are heavy today and it is hard to walk. 😦 It is also the last day of May and Kellie is coming on Saturday! 🙂 I haven’t seen her in over a year and I want to see her really bad, but I’m so fat 😦 and heavier since the last time I saw her. I know she doesn’t say anything but, I was hoping I would have already had my surgery and lost some weight, but that’s not how it worked out. So maybe around Christmas time when we SKYPE I’ll be smaller than I am now. My kids have never really seen me lighter because I have been heavy for 38 years, except for a few times and they didn’t last.

I got good news at the doctor today. Deo is sending in the letter so that I can hopefully get my surgery by the end of June or first part of July. Yeah!

Weight-294 lbs. 🙂

I found this picture of me (Laura) in the spring 2017 about 295 lbs.

Almost there???

Friday May 25, 2018

Today has been a good day. I went to my pain group and I weighed in at 293 lbs, so that is down from the 298 and 296 that I was running a few weeks ago and I have been eating a lot more so I was happy to see that weight. When I was in Group and it was my turn to talk I didn’t know what to say my ‘helps’ were to help with my depression. Deo said something about my having my surgery and then I said that it was almost time to have my last review before she turned in her paperwork for my surgery. She said all she had to do is to complete my packet and turn it in. I was happy to hear that. I thought I had another month to go. Maybe I will get my surgery in late July or early August instead of August maybe even September. The sooner the better as far as I’m concerned.

I went to BINGO this afternoon and won 2 regular games, and 2 big games and won BLACKOUT twice. I let someone else get the BLACKOUT. I still came home with $2.25. (each regular game is 25 cents, each big game is 50 cents and blackout is 1 dollar, we don’t play for big money and it doesn’t cost money to play, it is just for fun).

Today is Friday, so I get my regular MS injection and I’ll be in bed all day tomorrow. Next weekend Kellie and the kids will be here. I won’t be able to rest on Saturday, so I hope I have enough energy.

Side note for Friday May 25, 2018: I was figuring out what I would be needing after my surgery and realized that I would need 2 shakes a day, not just one. And also need a Bariatric Fusion vitamin (take 4 a day) for the rest of my life (just the vitamin). So I came home and figured out just how much that is going to cost over the 6 weeks after surgery. It is between $75 and $100 per month just for the shakes and another $25 a month for the vitamins. That is almost all the extra money I have and I still have to get cat litter and air freshener and bags for the dirty litter and I need it every month. So I will have to stock up on the $75/mo times so I don’t have to do it on the $100/mo times. Good thing it is only for 6 weeks, then I think I can get away with 1 to 1 1/2 shakes a day and that will be a lot better. I have to keep taking the vitamins though at $25/mo. I might also have to help get the food I need for my new diet because I don’t think they (the facility) can get it. Especially since I’m the only one eating it. I only have to eat a bite or 2, so the food should last longer than usual.

Bariatric Clinic

Monday May 21, 2018

Today was my Bariatric Clinic and the last thing I have to do before turning in my paperwork so I can hopefully get my surgery. I have my last appt. with Deo next week to make sure everything is completed and ready to go. Then I just have to wait to see if my surgeon, Dr. Jim Valentine, and Medicare approve it.

The Bariatric Clinic was very interesting. Most of the stuff they talked about I already knew. They went over what we could and couldn’t eat and drink like, no soda, I don’t drink that anyway, and only 1-2 cups of coffee a day, I don’t drink that either. We can have Crystal Light and at least 64 oz. of water a day. The first 3 days (while you’re in the hospital) you will be drinking as much as you can, eating jello and/or popsicles, Crystal Light, and broth, no solid foods.

After you go home you are on a liquid diet for 3 weeks. Nothing but protein shakes and broth, Crystal Light, popsicles, and water. I will be drinking Premier Protein Shakes and have already started stocking up on them. They are expensive, $25.00 for a case of 18 at Costco. That is the cheapest place to get them. I have to have 2 shakes a day for 3 weeks and then not so much since I can then go on a soft food diet for the next 3 weeks. I will talk more about that later.

Some of the other things they showed us was the amounts we were aloud to eat and drink. They showed us how to measure our food and showed us how much 4 oz. of liquid is and said that we had to sip the liquid, not to gulp or guzzle it. We were to take 1/2 hour to drink 4 oz. That just blew my mind. I gulp and guzzle my liquid and can down 8-10 oz. at a time. This will be a rough one for me. They also said that we were to take small bites, when we do start eating, and showed us how much, or little, we will be eating. We are to chew each bite 30-40 times and that it should be the consistency of applesauce before swallowing it. It is also supposed to take 30 minutes to eat the few ounces we will be eating. That is another one that will be hard for me. I take a large bite, chew it 4-6 time and gulp it down and shove another bite in as fast as I can. It takes me maybe 10 minutes to eat my meal. Another thing they told us was that we couldn’t drink while eating…what? no way can I do that! I wash my food down with a large class of cold milk, sometimes two glasses of milk. Then, not only can’t we drink while eating, we also have to wait 30 minutes after you finish eating to have a drink…ok, they are just killing me here!!!! These are some of the things I will be having problems with.