Click here to read Part 1 of Marie’s story, and how she chose gastric bypass surgery
After making the decision that I wanted to pursue gastric bypass surgery, I started jumping through all kinds of hoops to get ready, which is just the first step in this life change.
Here is what I had to do, and criteria that I had to meet to be considered for this surgery with Dr. Snyder as well as meet my insurance requirements:
1. Verify insurance or work out financing or pay upfront. Gastric Bypass (or Roux-n-Y) surgery costs about $20K – 25K. Mine is covered by my insurance, except for a co-pay. I started working with my insurance-assigned case worker to coordinate all benefits. This is a fair amount of work almost daily.
2. Have a BMI of 40 OR a BMI of 35-39 with multiple co-morbidities (like sleep apnea, depression, arthritis, cardiac or pulmonary issues, etc).
3. Blood work. They drew 14 vials of blood from me–yes, 14. That is based on my medical history and surgical consult results.
4. Pulmonary study to make sure that I either stay in the hospital long enough or go home with the right equipment if I really have breathing issues while I sleep. Apparently I snore like a truck driver, which I doubt is a turn-on for my husband. (My Great Dane doesn’t seem to care, but he is only my husband when the real husband travels!)
5. Two psychological consults, totaling 90 minutes. I think that is a little light, but I had been seeing a counselor for over a year. My weight and depression were a big part of those sessions, so I feel like I have a handle on it.
6. The initial seminar and then the initial consult with Dr Snyder. Those seminars are only once a month, so if you miss it, you have to wait for the next one. There is a line afterwards for people to sign up for the consultations, and space is sometimes limited. The consults are 30 minutes long, and I must say he makes those 30 minutes very valuable.
7. Research on which surgical option you feel is best for you. I was clear all along after my research that I wanted and would get the gastric bypass.
8. Patients 50 or older are required to have a full cardiac workup. Since I’m not quite 50, I didn’t have to do it. A lot of people also require a gastroenterology clearance.
9. Mandatory pre-surgical nutrition classes with a group of patients and my support person. They really want to see you and your support person at everything. The internet bariatric discussion boards are littered with people who “fail” post-surgically because nothing changes in their lifestyle. The classes and support system are there to help with that change. If you cannot commit to the lifestyle change, this surgery will not be successful.
10. Mandatory meeting with the staff nutritionist at Dr. Snyder’s office. This is to specifically review my nutritional needs and expectations immediately post-op, as well as the following stages as we move into what will become my “new normal of eating”– five to six 4-6 oz meals daily, comprised mostly of protein (70%) and complex carbohydrates. You also learn that you cannot drink with meals, and you must learn to sip, not chug liquids.
11. Meeting with my primary care physician (PCP) to get a recommendation letter and medical records. This letter outlines that I am good surgical candidate and five years worth of records detailing my weight and what we have done to address it.
12. Most insurance requires a mandatory 3-6 month physician monitored diet prior to surgery. Sometimes you can get it waived, which I was able to. You don’t ask, you don’t get…
All of these hoops are necessary and worth it and I don’t think anyone who is having bariatric surgery should take it lightly. This surgery is life-altering. Forever. No turning back. So while it can be demanding and take up time, this stuff is necessary.
This process is already changing my life, in some ways that I might not have expected. I have already unearthed a surprising number of people in my life that are very resistant to this choice I have made I knew to expect it, yet it surprises me anyway. Why would anyone want me to stay obese? I did not arrive at this decision lightly, and I did my research.
In regards to the resisters, my daughter summed it up best. She said that there are people out there that like having me as their “fat friend”. Well, too bad for them. Life is literally too short to keep toxic people around, so I am going to consider this part a blessing.
The hardest part in all of this is making the conscious choice to focus on me and my health, and to step away from taking care of everything else. I am a HUGE (there is not a caps lock button large enough to emphasize this) control freak and I HAVE to let that go. All the other people in my life can take care of themselves, and my desire to immerse myself in controlling every little aspect of their lives is part of what got me here.
The biggest upside to this experience is going to be getting back to good health. Getting back decades on my life, and eliminating health issues. I want to run again. To have energy. To not be depressed. In fact, I am less depressed just getting ready for this!
I’ve also found that my new favorite websites to cruise are clothing sites. I have never done that before, because I have been fat since the shopping websites became popular. I was also excited to I hear that I might drop a shoe size, so I get all new shoes!
Lots of things are starting to change. I cannot imagine what it will be like to be out and about and not have people give me that look that obese people get. You cannot imagine how mortifying it is until you have been on the receiving end of it. Being critical of fat people seems to be the last acceptable bias. No one is happy being fat. And I am ready to get control of this and take back my life and my health.
Get ready world. Here I come!
Marie
Marie had her gastric bypass surgery in January of 2012. You can read more of her story on her blog, My Gastric Bypass Journey and she will be guest blogging for Rose Knows Health with updates of her progress.
