Heather's WLS Journal
September 1999:
Started researching WLS.
October 1999:
Talked to my OB/GYN about the procedure and she told me it was a good idea. She had a few patients who had gone through the procedure and were doing just fine. I needed to get the referral from my PCP and she suggested I go to Gainesville for the operation.
January 2000:
Had an appointment with Dr. Nicolas my new PCP. He did not know much about the procedure and was very negative. His lack of information upset me and his attitude was even worse. He told me that even if I had the surgery I was going to fail. It was funny that he could make this analysis when he did not even know what RNY was.
April 20th 2000:
Found Dr. Timmel’s name from a new OSSG friend that also had Prudential HMO. He was her PCP and he referred her to Dr. Rout at Shand’s Hospital. Also, I had a coworker who had Dr. Timmel as her PCP and she was about to refer me to him. To me this was a good sign and needless to say I was excited. Unfortunately, it took 6 weeks to get in for a consultation because he was so busy. The visit with him was amazing. He was the nicest person I have ever met in my Prudential HMO, it figures he left. He was very encouraging and supportive. I got my referral filled out and to it to the referral office. It took about an hour to get the referral number and pre-approval. During this time the referral lady told me that I was not that big and I should not have this surgery. People blow my mind, as if I was soliciting her advice.
April 2000:
Sadly, April 21st was Dr. Timmel’s last day in the Prudential system so I had to choose a new PCP. Since I wanted someone closer to my house I chose Dr. Schaus. I called Prudential to update my PCP information.
May 2000:
For some reason I wanted to make sure that I did not need anything else for my referral so I called Prudential. They told me that any outstanding referrals would be returned and I would have to pay for the visit. This did not make me happy. The prospect of having to get Dr. Schaus to refer me again to see Dr. Rout was not a pleasant one. So I made my appointment and went in for my consultation. Dr. Schaus told me he knew nothing about WLS so I would be his first patient to have this done. He signed a new referral to me without being nasty. Once I got in to his referral office the girl told me I never needed to come. Prudential was wrong, the referral already had approval. She put Dr. Schaus’ name on the existing document and sent me on my way. She was so upset that Prudential told me to come back in and she gave me my money back for that visit.
June 20th 2000:
Had my first appointment with Dr. Rout. It was at 10:30am and I did not see him until 3pm. I had my psychiatrist appointment with Dr. Perri at 2pm so I was a little upset that I was going to miss it. Everything worked out fine and I got to see both doctors. It was a long day. Judy is Dr. Rout’s assistant and she is a wonderful lady. She really helped us out that day. Dr. Rout is a no nonsense kind of guy. My mother really liked him. As she said, “we aren’t looking for personality, just a good doctor”. He seems to have a great surgical record. I have met a few people on OSSG who have gone to him and are very happy.
July 2000:
At this time my husband, mother, father, mother-in-law, father-in-law, best friend and a few co-workers know about this surgery. Everyone has been very supportive. Unfortunately I made the mistake of talk to the ex-wife of my husbands uncle. She has a weight problem and her doctor wanted her to look into the surgery, so my mother-in-law thought it would be a good idea if she talked to me. Well I provided her with some information and when she finally wrote me back it was a disaster. She was very negative and attacking, like I need that. This was information she solicited from me, which I thought would spark some WLS questions. Sadly if you are not in the right place then WLS is just too out there to discuss. After this experience I am not too thrilled about unleashing this information on anyone else in the family.
July 14th 2000:
I am trying very hard to be patient. I haven’t heard anything and I want to call Judy. I am normally a very patient person but this is killing me. In the back of my mind I keep thinking that I will be declined. They have received my information from Dr. Perri and will submit it to my insurance company next week. She said I would probably hear from them in 3 weeks. That’s the beginning of August if it is approved. I just feel the pressure to find out this information ASAP and sadly ASAP is a while away. My boss wants to know if I am going to have this surgery, I want to know if I’m going to have his surgery.
August 7th 2000:
I HAVE MY APPROVAL!! My official surgery date is October 4th. Everyone keep your fingers crossed.
August 17th 2000:
My date has moved!! My NEW official surgery date is September 28th. WOO-HOO!!!
September 14th 2000:
Well my surgery day is drawing near. I went out yesterday to purchase some Post-Op foods and today I need to get the rest of my vitamins. Thank goodness Shannon, my best good friend, has come to visit. It will be a nice break to go shopping and get the house in order. Strangely enough I am not very nervous, maybe because this all seems like a dream. It seems so far away still. *grins*
September 29th 2000:
Well, yesterday I was supposed to have my surgery. It was moved from 7am to noon. My husband and I drove 2 hours to Gainesville and sat in the waiting room waiting another 2 hours to be called back. Then they came down and told me they had to cancel my surgery for that day and reschedule me for 10/11. Dr. Rout was the on call surgeon and 2 trauma's came in who were dying. He is at a convention next week so that is the soonest I can get in. So needless to say yesterday suck and today is worse. I now have to go back to work for another 6 days and then restart my 6 weeks of LOA (Leave of Absence). FEH!!
November 2nd 2000:
Everything went just splendid with my surgery and I was in the hospital about 3 days. The only time I felt real pain was when I woke up in the recovery room. I have never felt anything that awful in my entire life but on the plus side it only lasted about 15-20 minutes. When choosing how my pain medication would be administered I opted for the PCA machine over an epidural. The second day they got me up to walk around. On the third day they removed my NG tube and catheter. In the evening I got my first taste of food, red Jell-O. It was amazing how many times I had to get up and go to the bathroom. They supplied you with binders in the hospital, which you take home. You have this feeling that if you don't have this binder on you're just going to come apart. I wore my binder for about 10 days because I started getting this horrible prickly heat rash. Unfortunately I discovered I was allergic to the steri strips that covered my incision. It really takes a lot of control to not itch something. It was hard getting my pain medication and zantac prescription filled. Make sure you have someone to do all of that stuff for you!! I took my pain medication for about 8 days and decided I could manage without it, which was about 1 1/2 weeks ago. My 3 week check-up was October 31st and went just fine. They removed the tape and checked out where my incision opened a little and was draining. I did not have an infection, which we knew because I didn't have a fever and it wasn't hurting. It was the size of the diameter of a q-tip. They cauterized the wound and everything is just dandy. My official weight loss is 25 lbs.!! My next appointment will be in January and hopefully it won't take as long as these last few have been.
December 13th 2000:
Everything seems to be going just fine. I have lost 50 lbs. which is right on track to how I wanted to progress. I am staying away from sugars, getting in as much water as I can, taking my vitamins, centering meals around protein, not to eat too much and trying not to wait too long to eat. It has been hard getting in 3 meals and 3 snacks, I know that's bizarre to say. I couldn't believe I would ever say that I couldn't eat all the food I had to!! What a wonderful tool WLS is and how amazing you can feel. I haven't really seen a change in my appearance but my clothes feel different. I am much more comfortable driving my car and just walking!! Keep trying to get your approval for this surgery, it is life changing. In January my insurance company changes so I will need to get ANOTHER referral to go see my doctor. Hopefully I can pull all of this off before my 3 month appointment on January 11th.
January 3rd 2001:
I am feeling so much better. The holiday season, from Thanksgiving through New Year's, has gone just fine. I really haven't missed food. A few times I REALLY wanted to taste something so I just chewed it up and spit it out. That must sound insane but it really gets you over the craving of eating something. When you can taste it it takes the mystery away. Everything about this surgery has been wonderful. My results so far have been amazing. I do still worry sometimes that I have eaten too much and I know that is impossible. This surgery has been a miracle.
January 11th 2001:
My 3 month check-up was today and everything went perfect. They have 2 new assistants in the office who are wonderful. I just love that place AND the office manager Judy just rocks ass. When I was leaving today she told me I was looking great and gave me a big hug. The most pleasant part was that we were only there for 30 minutes. Everyone has been so wonderful lately. All of my friends are being so supportive and they all really make me feel great. Thanks to everyone who I've told and who is supporting me. It is so important to have your friends and family behind you and I love you all.
February 1st 2001:
In a mere 11 days it will be my 25th birthday!! I am so excited about this year and what is to come. Everything has been going well lately. It seems that my stomach has actually become more sensitive about some foods. I've been trying to eat the most protein I can because I just don't feel as perky. Drink as much water as I can. I bought an X-treme gulp cup from 7-11 a few months ago and I drink one of those a day. It holds 52 oz. and it really keeps things cold!! Every morning I am taking my vitamins and it is really amazing how they can affect you. I've started to work out and I'm trying to get into a rhythm with that. It has been a lot easier doing it at home but it's been a little challenging with me working a 10 hour day. I am not going to use that as an excuse!! Hope everyone is doing well and good luck on your journey!
February 21st 2001:
Well everything went splendid on my birthday. It was so nice to celebrate my rebirth in a way. This surgery has been such a life changing experience. Lately it seems that everything has been so much easier. I am going to start playing racquetball once a week and go biking every Saturday. It is such a great help when you have someone to do physical activities with, so I have wrangled my husband to get busy with me.
March 7th 2001:
Just wanted to update you on my new exercise progress. We're playing racquetball, which I just love, and ridding our bikes. We have been going about 5 miles but we will be checking out a new bike trail soon. The compliments have been pretty regular lately and I am adjusting to the attention. Yesterday a friend of mine asked me where the rest of me went. *laughs* I am just so amazed that it has only been 5 months and I feel completely different.
April 8th 2001:
I HAVE LOST 100 LBS!! What an amazing feeling!! Everything has been going so well. It has been so nice to start working out and being more active. This surgery is such an wonderful and life changing tool. I would just like to sing from the hill tops.
April 26th 2001:
The past week I have had the cold from hell. I look forward to being able to breathe again and not cough every few minutes. *laughs* Since I've felt so under the weather my exercise routine has been put on hold. Starting on Tuesday I put my nose back to the grindstone and am feeling excellent. It seems that I will soon be able to wear my size 16 jeans, I only have 1 pair of 16's though. When I make it to a size 14 I will have a whole new wardrobe. It's so nice to be in a "normal" size 18. I think the "big girl" store puts a little extra room in the bum area.
May 30th 2001:
Today is my 3-year Anniversary and we are off to a tropical local for a few days. It helps to live in Florida and be so close to the beaches. It will be so great to spend a few days doing all of those normal vacation things. The resort we are staying at has all kinds of wonderful things to do and we are going to do them all. *laughs* It's nice not to be afraid of other people seeing you in a swimsuit or doing activities. Life has been so amazing the last 8 months!
July 12th 2001:
My 9 month appointment with Dr. Rout was today. He has some incredible people working in his office! I really love Judy, she is just the sweetest woman. They were just telling me how amazing I looked and what a great job I've been doing. Everything checked out fine and I come back in a year. Even after all of the hassle with getting surgery approved, insurance is still something you must stay on top of! My love to you all and my continued gratitude. It's so wonderful to have people in your corner.
July 25th 2001:
Today I did some calculating and I have lost 75% of my excess body weight!! Everyone gather together and do the happy dance with me!!
August 22nd 2001:
I haven't worked out much lately due to being out of town and sickness. From what you can see on my stats page I haven't lost much lately. So I am dealing with momentary stall in my engine and trying to kick start it again. Keep your fingers crossed that my little fat burning motor hasn't stopped only stalled. *LAUGHS*
September 25th 2001:
I am so excited I have only 30 pounds left to goal! That's not bad work for 11 months. I just can't stress how this surgery has changed my life. It's so funny because sometimes I'll stop and think about how much I weigh now. Honestly I can't remember weighing 165 and I don't know when I would have weighed this much. Good luck to everyone on their journey. I try to stop and remember how life used to be to help me appreciate how it is now. Lately it has helped to remember my body has slowed with the weight loss but it hasn't stopped. Everything needs to rest and my body deserves that too.
October 11th 2001:
Today is the 1 year anniversary of my WLS. What an amazing year this has been! My life has changed in ways I never could have imagined and daily I am reminded of this wonderful gift I have been given. Just a year ago I could not walk into work without being out of breath and in pain. I would dread walking up the stairs with my friends. The bigger I was the more invisible I felt and made myself. You would never find me doing something by myself for fear of being ridiculed. When I think back on my life, I see I really wasn't living. This surgery has changed my life in big and little ways. I am a better friend, family member, spouse and human being. My surgeon saved my life by giving it back to me. There are no words to express the gratitude I have for Dr. Rout. I also could not have made it without the support of friends and family. This is my thank you to all of you. Your praise, concern and love has been extremely encouraging and motivational. Only 20 pounds to my personal goal!
April 25th 2002:
Well, it's been a year and a half now and life is STILL fabulous! Not too much to say since this is now my normal life.
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