things are getting real ...

[unavidanueva]

I am pre-op, my plan is to have the DS with Dr. Prachand at the University of Chicago. I have been in the seemingly endless period of appointments to get all the necessary parts of me checked out so that the surgery request can be submitted to my insurance.

The first part (labs, mammo, pap, cpap records, etc.) was easy, just took time. Next week will not be fun. I have atrial fib, controlled by meds, but that means I need an echocardiogram and medical stress test in order for my cardiologist to clear me for surgery. That medical stress test is something I had hoped that I would never have to repeat again in my life. I don't mind my heart rate being elevated when it makes logical sense to my mind, like in the middle of a good workout. But to lie still and feel my heart racing scares the crap out of me.

So that will be Monday's blessing. Then Tuesday night I get to prep for Wednesday morning's colonoscopy.

Trying to gear up for a challenging week. Please keep posting your stories of the blessings that await on the other side of this surgery. They are my lifeline.

 

[DianaCox]

Bacon. Mayonnaise. Butter. Steak. Shrimp. Lobster drenched in butter. Sour cream. Cheeses. Salad dressing. A few bites of pretty much any dessert without puking.

Hiking. Biking. Swimming. Walking. Shopping.

Guilt free eating. Not being stared at while walking, buying food, ordering in a restaurant.

 

[Larra]

living a normal life.

 

[Kate]

Fitting into an airplane seat with room to spare. Steak. Butter. Cholesterol levels that are lower than my parents for the first time in my adult life. Being able to walk everywhere and not having to stop every thirty seconds to catch my breath. The knowledge that I have done what I can medically speaking to be here to see the children in my life graduate from college and start lives on their own. That was not going to happen if I had stayed in the rut I was in before surgery five years ago. Oh and cheese glorious cheese!

 

[unavidanueva]

living a normal life.

That will be a new experience for me. I have never had one of those.

 

[hilary1617]

My DS was performed at U of C. You will be in great hands!!! The loops they have you jumping through are frustrating and seem endless, but are definitely worth it. Have you "mindfully" eaten dried cranberries at the preop group session yet?

Hang in there!

 

[unavidanueva]

Well, it has certainly been a doozy of a week, and it is only Wednesday. Monday's cardiac stress test and echo went better than I was expecting, thanks in great part to the ultrasound tech, who has discovered that if she distracts the patients by engaging them in conversation, they don't get as anxious. Bless her heart, it worked on me. And my atrial fib behaved itself, yay!

Today was the colonoscopy, and it was much easier than the last time I had one -- better drugs, I think. Things looked ok, a couple of small polyps, but they found something I hadn't heard of before, a redundant colon. That was not a finding at my last colonoscopy seven years ago, so the doc said it is likely the result of my c-section scars doing interesting things to my innards. We will see what Dr. Prachand has to say; because of the looped colon, they were not able to visualize the last five centimeters, and if they need to see that, apparently the University of Chicago is the only place around here that has the right equipment and trained doc. But in theory, these were the last of the hoops I have to jump through before they can submit to insurance.

 

[unavidanueva]

My DS was performed at U of C. You will be in great hands!!! The loops they have you jumping through are frustrating and seem endless, but are definitely worth it. Have you "mindfully" eaten dried cranberries at the preop group session yet?

Hang in there!

Hilary, I haven't had the pleasure of mindfully eating cranberries yet. That must be at the session people attend after they have a surgery date scheduled?

A good friend served as my driver/babysitter for today's colonoscopy. I had planned to tell her that I am headed toward the DS, and before I even got a chance, she said she was considering getting sleeved. We had a lot to talk about. I've sent her lots of links, so maybe we will see her on these boards soon, and maybe I will end up with a local DS sister.

 

[Larra]

@unavidanueva not even post-op yet and already paying it forward. Good job!