Busy as a bee...

I haven't posted in a while, I know. I keep meaning to update, but life keeps getting away from me.

Oh, where to start?

Well...lets start with work, since that's what is taking up most of my time. I'm on a team of 3, and right now we're a man (well woman) down. Not only is she out for at least a month, but she was 3 months behind when she left! So my other teammate (I'll call him Jay) and I split up her work and have been slaving away at our keyboards. The nice thing is that my boss has allowed us overtime, and I could sorely use the money.

On another note, I had my sleep study last week! It was originally scheduled for March 5th, but they called me last thursday with a last minute opening - for that night! So I only worked an hour overtime, rushed to the store and grabbed the family dinner and rushed off to the hospital. It was surreal. I felt like a science experiment. I woke up SO many times that night. The technician told me that if I had 20 episodes of sleep apnea by 3 am they'd put the CPAP machine on, but luckily I only had 12. At least now I know I do have apnea, and that contributes why I'm so exhausted all the time.



Yesterday was my meeting with the surgeon. She's such a tiny little thing! And so very nice. She agreed that the bypass would be my best option, and told me that I could expect to lose anywhere from 90-120 lbs or more (depending on how active I am). She showed me where my scars would be, and gave me the pre-op diet. At this point they're submitting to my insurance and now it's just the waiting game! I'm literally on pins and needles!

I have to take my measurements and start before/after pictures. Every day I look in the mirror and think about how that person looking back at me is about to change. For the better, of course!

It really takes so little -

To slow me down.

Actually, I can't really complain. I've been to the gym almost every night this week (I skipped the night before V-Day). It's now Sunday and I haven't been all weekend. My hips and knee were getting so sore that I wanted to take a break. My plan was to return today, until....I fell down the stairs. It wasn't a bad fall, by any means, but I sprained the crap outta my ankle. There's some slight swelling and tenderness, but I am able to walk on it, so at least it's not broken.

I am gonna see how it does tomorrow, but plan on getting back into the gym tomorrow night. So instead of focusing on that, lets see how I've done this week:

2/9/12 - Recumbent bike - 20 minutes - 1.95 miles
2/10/12 - R. Bike - 26 minutes - 2 miles
2/12/12 - R. Bike - 25 minutes - 2.4 miles
2/14/12 - R. Bike - 30 minutes - 2.8 miles
2/15/12 - swimming - 45 min
2/16/12 - R. Bike - 38 minutes

I forgot to track how far I went on Thursday, but I put in extra time because I was watching american idol and wasn't even paying attention to the track. I go in and see the Nurse Practitioner for my physical tomorrow. Next week is the surgeon, then the sleep study!

Food wise had been a bit more difficult. While I'm slowing trading a protein shake for a meal, I'm also fighting the 'last meal' syndrome. And caffeine, my good friend. I am going to miss coffee very much. Trying to change my mental thinking from "I can't have that" to "I'm choosing to eat something healthier and better for me" is the hardest part of this journey. But if I can convince myself its a choice and not just a restriction thing, I think will serve me the best in the end.

Another step ahead

I met with the nutritionist today, and was so pleased with such a positive response. It was nice to be reminded that I've done a great job keeping off the 15 (ish) pounds. I guess I forget that stuff. It's easy to get lost in the big picture and forget all the little steps you take along the way.

She told me she's seen so many people (well women) struggle with PCOS and beat themselves up for things they later learn they have no control over. It is nearly impossible to lose weight if you have PCOS. She asked me if I was blogging my journey, telling me that she thinks it would help so many others out there with the same issues.

Also, while I was at my appt today, the surgeon's assistant let me know that she called around and couldn't find anybody to get me in any sooner for a sleep study, so I might as well keep my appointment. But she did say that since my insurance does not have any requirements, they'll be able to submit the request for authorization for surgery right after they get the results and estimates my surgery should be sometime in MARCH! Dang!

I am SO ready!

PS. I started at the gym today. I did 1.95 miles on the recumbent bike in 20 minutes. I didn't think that was too bad for my first time. Now to just make this a habit...

This ride gets faster and faster

So far I've had 3 appointments: Welcome group, Psychologist appt and REE testing (resting metabolic rate).

Imagine my surprise when the surgeon's office calls me today to schedule my initial consult with the surgeon! They said that the psych doctor released me for surgery and based on the information I provided on the questionnaire, didn't see any red flags.

So my remaining appointments now are:
2/7 PT
2/9 NUT
2/20 physical exam w/NP
2/27 surgical consult\
3/5 sleep study

The surgeon's office also said that they want me to try and get a sleep study completed sooner, so they're going to look into that as well (I had it scheduled through my private doctor).

My concern at this point is that we are nearing my birthday (April 18) and so I can't help but wonder if there's the chance of having surgery before my birthday. Part of me says to have it done asap; the other part of me says that I might want one last hurrah (but that might just be the fat me wanting to eat and drink the night away). My friends want to plan a night downtown at a drag show along with much drinking and carrying on (AND get a hotel room!). So I'm going to just wait it out and see what happens and try to follow my gut instinct as best I can.

Good things: I don't miss soda too much, and the not smoking isn't too bad. I'm still on the patch, preparing to drop down to step 3 (which is the lowest and last step). Quitting is so much easier with the patch! Now to really get into limiting my foods...