Bariatric Surgery Journey - Hoop Jumping Pro

 

Want to see an actual photo of me jumping through all the hoops for this surgery! HA! 

 

I wish it was that green outside right now. We are in the midst of a deep deep freeze up here. School was cancelled for one kid and delayed for two others due to the butter cold. The other kiddo is already an online student, so she wasn't affected. Mom was super thrilled to head out the door this morning... nose hairs freezing together and all!

But really, I had my 6th and final nutritionist appointment this morning, followed by my 2nd and final appt with the therapist who did my pysch eval. Both said they were greenlighting me so, now I'm at the hurry up and wait stage.

I asked my nutritionist what to expect from here and this is where we are at:

• Psych evaluation in mid-January.
  
• Sixth nutritionist appointment in early February.
• Follow-Up with Psych same day as Nutritionist.
• Schedule with therapist for post-op.
  
• Meet with the surgeon AGAIN!
• Submit to insurance and wait for approval.
  
• Get my surgery date!!!
  
• Do pre-op physical with my general doc.
• Meet with another dietician regarding the 2-week liquid diet.
  
• Complete 2-week liquid diet leading up to the actual surgery date. 

Why do I feel like this list never shrinks???

I've met all of the requirements on my letter, except getting established with a therapist for post-op. I have two calls in to clinics here who are taking on new patients, so I'm just waiting for someone to call me back and schedule an appointment. The hoops just keep on coming and I keep on jumping!

I'm starting to understand how some people choose to skip it all and go down to Mexico for the surgery, and pay out of pocket! But, I also understand going through all of these steps. First, it weeds out the people who aren't truly committed, because if you can't follow through with the appointments you won't follow through with what needs to be done to lose weight and keep the weight off.

More than that, though, is that I have done a lot of soul searching and thinking during this six month journey and I believe it truly has prepared me for a lot of what is to come. I know this isn't a quick fix, or the easy way out. I know that this will be extremely life changing and will still require a lot of hard work. It is the perfect push that I need to finally focus on me and my mental health when it comes to my body and food, and for that I am grateful. But mostly, it has given me time to think this all over thoroughly and know that this is the next step for me. Life is going to change, and I am okay with that. I need it to change!

I'm not going to lie, the 2-week liquid diet is pretty intimidating. Reality is, that liquid diet is going to be much more that just two weeks. I will be on a liquid diet for the two weeks leading up to surgery, and then for at least two weeks after surgery. Since I am someone with major texture issues, I can see my blended phase being more liquid than blended foods as well. So, I'm looking at a solid 8 weeks or more before I graduate to soft foods. That is a mind f*#$ if there ever was one!

So, having to go through this process slowly is probably a good thing. I'm able to truly prepare myself for some of the hard work that lies ahead, and the tools they've given me so far will help me do that. For now I celebrate that I'm one step closer!