Tag: weight loss surgery

Stressing

Surgery is in 16 days and I am stressing a little. Not about the surgery itself, but about some things that go along with it.

I need to book a Covid-19 test three days before the surgery. They gave me a few clinics I can go to. I spent a lot of time on the phone with two of them today, trying to schedule a test, and never spoke to a human. Jen reminded me that today is a state holiday in Massachusetts, so that might be why. Still… if you’re not home today, add that to your voice message.

I haven’t had caffeine since February 3rd (I think). I haven’t missed it. Even last Wednesday when I did my 38 hour sleep-free stretch, I was never wishing I could have some caffeine. I am today though. I am jonzing go-juice in a big way. I’m exhausted and I could really use a little help staying focused. I can’t though. I can never have caffeine again.

I do have one little piece of good news, surgically speaking. I checked the documentation they gave me to see what restrictions there are on lifting things immediately post-op. It says not to lift anything over 25 pounds for six weeks after the surgery. Why is that important to me? The average weight of a Gibson Les Paul is around 10 pounds. That’s a ton in the guitar world, but it’s far below my limit. Sigh of musical relief.

Happy Lunch Hour

It’s the tail end of my lunch break and I have nothing to share. Hard to believe, I know.

The contractor is supposed to be getting here within the next 10 minutes or so. I would be stunned if he was able to prime the whole cellar (the cellar is kinda huge), but I am really looking forward to going downstairs after he leaves and seeing how far he gets. Color on the walls? It’s hard to picture it in my head.

I have a group meeting today at 2:30. I am planning on letting my staff know that I am going to be out for a while for the surgery. My boss has all the details, and so does his boss and likely his boss’ boss. The people who report directly to me have not been given even the smallest hint. I don’t know what I am going to say. I might just say I am going on medical leave and leave it at that. Fessing up to weight loss surgery is embarrassing. Well… at least fessing up to actual people rather than posting about it on the anonymous internet is embarrassing.

We’ll see how it goes.

Hoping for a Quiet Day

Yesterday’s doctor’s appointment was a touch on the anti-climactic side. We just went over the surgery again, including all of the horrible complications that will not happen but could. After that I just signed a consent form and said see ya on the fourth.

By the time I got home the dry wall was done. The plan for today is to prep for the painting stage and start priming. The contractor is hoping to finish the painting and start the floor on Friday. Oh how lovely that would be.

The Marvel rewatch is continuing. I’m hoping to finish Guardians one before work today. I should have about 15 minutes to spare. Sweet.

As for Tuesday April 12, here’s hoping for a nice quiet day at work. I’m not holding my breath though.

Doctor’s Appointment Day

When I met with the psychologist he told me that I would know I’m coming to the end of things when they book a second meeting with the surgeon. This afternoon I have my second meeting with the surgeon. I thought I would book a surgery date after this, but I already have a date so there’s no mystery left.

Well… I don’t exactly know what we’re going to discuss today. I can speculate, but why bother. I know I am still not at my pre-surgery goal weight, but I still have a couple of weeks to go.

The main difference between today and all of the other appointments is that I am not even a little bit nervous. Likely that will change as the time gets closer. We’ll have to see.

I’ll let you all (and by you all I mostly mean my future self as I look through all of this stuff years from now) know how it goes.

Surgery Prep Milestone

When I had my first check in with the dietician they asked me to start having protein shakes in place of one meal each day. I bought a huge two pound tub of powder. I figured it would last 10 years. It lasted a month. I just finished it this morning and I opened up a second gigantic tub.

One tub down. A lifetime’s worth to go. Protein, babie. I pick things up and put them down.

Last Appointments Booked

Here’s another irrational fear post.

There are three doctors appointments I need to have before my surgery date. One is to meet with my surgeon. Another is to meet with the anesthesiologist. As you may have guessed, I totally misspelled “anesthesiologist” on my first attempt. The third is a class that goes over what I will need to do post-surgery.

The surgeon appointment was already booked. We scheduled that on the same phone call that scheduled the surgery. The other two appointments were still up in the air.

Until now…

They just called to book them. It’s all set. Sure it’s a teeny tiny, seemingly insignificant step in the process, but when it comes to gutting my innards, every step is huge… even when it isn’t.

Getting closer. We are definitely getting closer.

Less Than One to Go

On February 3rd, two months and one day ago, I was told to lose 5% of my weight in preparation for the weight loss surgery. I weighed myself this morning. I have 0.4 pounds to go. I would do the math to figure out what percentage I am at with 0.4 pounds to go but then you could use that to figure out exactly how much I weighed on that first day and I don’t want to let you do that.

I just drank my morning protein shake and had my morning vitamins and supplemented it all with a fist full of Tylenol because holy shit my back is killing me. I don’t know that my back has ever hurt as much as it does at this moment. Oh my shit, my back hurts.

Today’s plan involves going to my parents and picking up my mother and taking her to a doctors appointment. We’re going to get the results of her last blood test and see how her cancer numbers look. They’ve been pretty much perfect for the last year-plus and I am very optimistic that those results will continue.

After that I will come home and find some demo happening in the cellar. First on the list is the grid that until recently held the drop ceiling. After that it’s the rest of the ugly paneling on the walls. Most of the paneling came down during the flood clean up last year. You might recall me bitching about the paneling in the dining room recently. Suffice to say that the paneling in the cellar is 100 times uglier. Tomorrow the electrician is coming to replace the existing fluorescent lights that don’t really work anymore. There used to be six banks of lights with two tubes each. Only two of them still work, (it’s not the bulbs, I replaced the bulbs and the lights stayed dead) and one of those two only works some times. It’s been good the last week because it knows its end is coming and it wants to stay alive, but more often than not it doesn’t work when I flip the switch. Replace ’em all!

On top of that there is something going on at work that I am not going to be around for and I am feeling pretty shitty about that. I feel like I am dropping the ball. I don’t think anyone else feels that I’m dropping the ball, but I do so that’s that. Hopefully it will be quiet today. Fingers crossed.

Did I mention my back was hurting?

0.4 pounds to go. Oh yeah, and the surgery happens one month from today. Yikes!

Star Wars Day

So what are you doing on Star Wars Day this year? You know Star Wars Day, right? May the 4th? As in May the 4th be with you? Ha Ha, get it?

I know what I’m doing.

I am checking into a hospital to have my insides rewired.

I really did not expect to be getting a surgery date this soon, nor did I expect the date to be so close. They offered me April 18th too but that was way to close for my mental health to handle. I may have actually shit a brick when I heard that date. May 4 seems much more reasonable, not to mention destined, from a Star Wars fanatic’s point of view.

Holy shit! May 4th! That’s 35 days away! Insert the sound of panicked screams of terror here.

Shit is About to Get Real

I just had my Zoom call with the dietician. Woah boy, here it comes.

Insurance requires me to have sign off from a psychologist, a cardiologist, and a dietician. I already had psych and cardiology. The psychologist* told me that I would know things are close when they scheduled a second meeting with the surgeon.

The call I had today said the next step is a second meeting with the surgeon.

I have the dietician’s sign off.

Holy shit. This thing could actually be happening. Still zero clue on a timeline, but the thing I was told would be the sign that surgery is imminent is the next thing I have to do.

In the immortal words of the guy from Quantum Leap:

Woah boy.

*Should I be capitalizing the names of the departments? Should I be capitalizing psychologist when I am referring to a specific psychologist without using his/her/their name? Grammar is a bitch, you know?