The Beginning of My Journey

My journey began a few years ago when I started researching weight loss surgery. At the time I was at a loss, having tried to lose weight so many times and either failing or succeeding only to gain the weight back plus some. I actually started the bariatric surgery process a year and a half ago but there were some snags and my plans were put on hold.

Now, I am back in full swing. My first step was to attend another information session with the bariatric surgeon. I did this on August 18, 2010. It was very informative, much more than the previous one and I felt that I really got a lot out of it. My next step was to see my primary care physician for a referral. I knew she would be all for it because we have talked about it quite a bit. The referral was simple. She got my height, weight and figured my BMI. At the time of my referral appointment, I had the following:

Weight: 282
Height: 5' 3"
BMI: 50
Length of Morbid Obesity: > 7 Years

Comorbitites:
Hypertension

• Managed with Propranolol
• Average 125/85
  

Dyslipidemia:

• Managed with Crestor
• Cholesterol Total: 163
• Triglycerides: 169
• HDL: 36
• LDL: 93
  

Stress Incontinence

• Seriously. Who doesn't pee when they sneeze?

Anyway, back to the referral appointment. I had a Novasure procedure done this past June. It's an endometrial ablation. If you're not sure what that is, just imagine an electronic pulse burning the lining of the uterus. It was a simple procedure, it did the work it was supposed to do and I couldn't be happier with the results. While my doctor was looking at the EKG I had as part of a pre-op before the Novasure, she noticed that I had an abnormal EKG. It said anterior infarction. So she sent me for a Nuclear Treadmill Stress Test. I have to tell you that was horrible and definitely not something I want to do again.

First, they set up an IV and put in some thallium to do a pet scan. Then they set up the treadmill test, hooked me up with an EKG and blood pressure cuff. Stage one was just a walking pace. Stage two was a slightly faster walking at an incline and stage three was more of a fast run/jog. I only made it just over a minute into stage three and I was done. My heart rate got to 168 and I was on the treadmill for about 4 minutes. The first part wasn't bad, but the second was tough. A minute before I stopped, they injected me with more thallium and took my blood pressure again. I was so out of breath and light headed and it took quite a while for my heart rate to come back down to 100. Then, they put me back in the pet scan to take more pictures. The whole thing took about 4 hours.

The EKG was just a little abnormal according to the nurse, and it did not change with the stress test. So she thinks there is probably no real issue. But, she says it can't be ruled out and they will have to review the second set of images to see if there is any blockage or damage. I am still waiting to hear the results from this.

The next thing on my list is a sleep study. I will be doing this on October 20th. Then, I have my first real consultation at the surgeon's office on October 29th. I have made up my mind that I want a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. It is less complicated and less risky than a gastric bypass and much more effective than the lap band. I will explain it more in another post.