Well that was easier than I thought...

So I went on Monday to my doctor for a referral to the surgeon. I'm going to be having surgery at the Good Sam hospital in Portland, with Dr. Valerie Halpin at the Weight Management Center for Excellence.

I was rather (pleasantly) surprised to find out that my Insurance does NOT require a referral, NOR pre-authorization! I called today, because Kristin (friend/co-worker) told me that referrals aren't required when you have a PPO. Fancy schmancy, I had no idea! So right away I call the office to set an appointment.

Apparently, though, you don't JUST set an appointment. They take a bunch of info over the phone, send documents to verify insurance, THEN call you back to set an appointment up. I tried to explain that my insurance doesn't require any pre-authorization, but they said it was standard protocol. They said that the first appointment takes about half a day, as I'll have to go through psych and medical testing, go to a support meeting, etc. THEN I'll be able to set an appt to see the surgeon, and will have to go through further testing and anything else the surgeon says I'll need. I was told that some people breeze through the process, others take longer because of other co-morbid conditions (like diabetes, etc).

My only hurdle is to quit smoking again. I have to be smoke free for at least 3 months before the surgery. Luckily, Kim (another co-worker/friend) is going to quit with me. I think I'll try the patch this time, maybe I won't be such a basket case the first couple of weeks. I feel rather lucky that I don't have a lot of health problems, and hope that it will help me heal rather quickly from the surgery. From what I've read (www.thinnertimesforum.com), a lot of people can be in the hospital a few days before going home. I want to take as little time off work as possible.

Ok, so maybe smoking isn't my only hurdle. The obvious is food. I went to the store tonight and for the first time I felt bombarded with all the crap. How easy it would be to throw some ice cream, or even chips into my cart! Instead I got my yogurt, grape nuts and cottage cheese for Chuck. We're also experimenting with Crystal Light. I got strawberry, Chuck got Iced Tea. He really likes his, I need to get used to the after-taste.

So thats about it. Just doing the plate method my nutritionist taught me. Completely cut out soda (harder than I thought!). Cut Chuck off too, though I have a feeling that he sneaks some in at work.

Now to sit and wait for the surgeon's office to call. And prep for not smoking. We're quitting after the big party for Tanya and Kristin next weekend. It's gonna be epic. For sure. Or as Kristin would say "fo shizzle". Wu-Tang for life!