Getting into the groove of pre-op.

So, pre-op. I’ve been drinking a protein shake for breakfast and dinner. My meal is at lunch. Seems easier for me…as I don’t have to try and make protein shakes at lunch this way. I’ve been spreading the food I’m allowed to have (based on calories allowed) over the day, while at work. I get a little something every couple of hours…that way there is no major hunger.

Well, call me a dumbass and hit me with a frying pan. I was totally cheating myself. I finally figured out (after the first full week on pre-op) that I was sooooo doing it wrong.

I started having a protein shake for breakfast, late in the morning I have a lean cuisine, a few hours later I would have a small salad, and then my last protein shake in the evening. Much better plan for me. I was not hungry or anything doing it this way! Made the remainder of my pre-op diet a piece of cake! (Hmmm…I wonder if I should retire that analogy!?)

I did spend much of the time worrying about how my liver was doing!

-Frog

Shopping to prepare and filling meds.

I met a lady through LBT…don’t know if I mentioned it previously or not…but she lives in my area. We have been exchanging emails and she’s been giving me tips/tricks and telling me the various things I can expect. We shall call her Mentor. She told me to be sure and make copies of the post op mushy stage food list. She warned that I would be looking at it over and over…trying to find something I could eat on the list that I missed the previous 10 times I read it!

I went shopping with that list. I got more SF pudding. I also got more SF popsicles (at least Tadpole is not eating sugar laden popsicles anymore!). They suggested things like refried beans with taco sauce, ravioli with tomato sauce, and mashed potatoes with stuff mixed in, etc. I got the items needed to make them all…plus a few others.

Then I went to my local Wal-Mart. (I live in a small town…and we do NOT have a Super Wal-Mart. Therefore groceries have to be gotten at the grocery store.) I filled the prescriptions they gave me (Mentor suggested I do it a week early, in case they didn’t stock either item) and started looking at containers. I figured I would need a bunch to make the small meals I would be eating.

I now have everything I should need for the first month.

I’m ready.

-Frog

Education class and prescriptions.

In the previous post, I mentioned my education class. They told me that the class is required and you must bring list of possible surgery dates that you are good with. We already know that I had my date. Turns out so did another gal…she was the day before me…but I didn’t find this out until later.

Otherwise, the rest was with the nutritionist telling us about the pre- and post- op diets. She was telling us about making good choices, etc.

The big thing from the class was the prescriptions. They gave me an anti-nausea patch and liquid pain medication. They told me to put the patch on 2 hours before surgery.

I feel like I’m finally on the way and can’t believe this is actually happening!!!

-Frog

1 week.

1 week. 1 week you ask? What does this crazy Frog mean by 1 week? Well, yesterday marked 1 week on the pre-op diet and 1 week before surgery.

I have family that made a spur of the moment decision to come for a visit. Normally this would be no big deal. I have a great family and we all like to hang out together. Now this is not such good timing as I have not told my brother or sister. I’m not sure why I haven’t told them…

At any rate, the spur of the moment visit begat some very creative dieting for my first 2 days on the pre-op diet. I had previously purchased some BSN Lean Dessert Protein (Whipped Vanilla and Chocolate Fudge) and was going to be using it for my diet. Well, I felt the need to hide those bright red tubs. I hid them in my garage. Since I was not going to be able to explain the blender 2x a day…I went to the store and bought some tuna and veggies for my snacks…as well as some pre-made shakes to bring to work. They didn’t necessarily tell me I could have tuna…but I figure why not as it is no fat, low calorie and high protein! I would then eat dinner with the family. This worked great for the 3 days I needed it to…the only exception is the odd after taste I got with the pre-made shakes. I put them in the freezer for about 1.5 hours before I was going to drink them. I then chugged them. Then I only got the taste at the end!

I had my education class with the surgeon while they family was here. Got away and drove the 1.5 hours to the office. Most of what they told me I already knew. The most “new” information came in the form of what we are allowed during the mushy stages! More stuff that I thought…who knew Tuna counted???

I took the list of allowed foods and went shopping. I got everything I should need for the first week. I bought a couple of juices, some crystal light flavors, SF popsicles and skim milk to make my protein shakes. Now, I am normally averse to “blue water”. However, I figure if I am only allowed 1200 calories I might as well make everyone count!! And you know what I found…in a protein shake, you really don’t know the difference!! I also got some SF pudding. They said Jell-O was ok…but I HATE HATE HATE Jell-O. Figured I could also suck pudding through my teeth (their criteria for liquid) so, pudding should work!

-Frog

MIA

I know that I have been Missing in Action! I promise I will try to get all caught up!

In order to do that...we will be going back in time. No worries...I won't have to make up anything crazy. I make notes to myself on things I want to blog. I'm finishing up the first one and should have it posted shortly!

-Frog

Update 3.

I immediately call the doctor's office. I get G on the phone. I give her the number and tell her that they said I was approved. She takes the number down and says that she will call me back.

About 10 minutes later, she calls back. She says, "Yes you are approved! Your approval code is good for one year."

"Could there be any better news?" you ask. Why yes there could. NO 90 day or 6 month medically supervised diet first!!!

I explain that I have to be off work on Fri, Apr 2 and Mon, Apr 5 (Tadpole's school is closed for Easter!) and ask if there is any way to get in on March 31? They say that they will look into it and call me back. In the meantime, I am scheduled for the surgeon's education class, tomorrow, 3/18.

I heard nothing Friday. I heard nothing Monday. So, again I called. G gets on the phone and says, "Oh yeah, we have you scheduled for Wed, Mar 31 at 0830. "

O.M.F.G.

I started my pre-op diet today! 2 protein shakes (30g protein) a day. A sensible dinner. No more than 1200 cals a day. I can have sugar free pudding, yogurt, cheese sticks, veggies or fruit in-between meals if I feel like I am starving.

I will write up today's food, tomorrow!

So, 2 weeks from today, I will officially be a bandster!!!

-Frog

P.S. Goals will follow shortly too!

Update 2.

I'm totally making a pest of myself! Again, I call the insurance company on Thurs, 3/11. I ask for pre-determination. I get a nice lady on the phone that looks up my account. She comes back and gives me a number and says to note it. I do. I ask what it means...her reply?

APPROVED!!!!

I cried.

-Frog

Update 1.

Let me take you back in time. March 3, 2010 to be precise. This was day 14, business days that is.

I called the insurance company again to see if I could "help" by providing any additional information they might need for the determination.

Pick 1 for this, pick 2 for that, pick 3 if you have no clue what to do! I picked through the various menu options at the insurance company. Kept telling it that I was trying to find out information about a medical claim. I finally got a living, breathing human. Shock of shocks, turns she was the right person to get to. When I described the situation and what I was trying to do, she informed me that I had been calling the wrong place all this time. I wanted "pre-determination" not "claims". She transferred me.

I got to the pre-determination section. I explained to the lady (Again I got to the right person...she was awesome!!!) what I was trying to find out. She said hold one...looked up my file and told me "there is no file in here showing that you have an open a case."

SAY WHAT?!?!

I start to mildly freak. I tell her no biggie, I will just call the doctor's office and verify. She says that is what she would do.

I call. The gal there, G, tells me that the insurance always freaks people out. She will make a quick call and get back to me. She calls me back about 5 mins later. Says she talked to D. He said that he just opened my case for approval the day before. I forgot that they told me the Doc office goes through a 3rd party for approvals. Guess that is who she was calling.

I asked her if that means I have to wait another month. She said, "Hopefully not. D is a good guy and I asked him to expedite your file."

Time will tell!

-Frog

Updates.

I am swamped with stuff at the moment...and family just arrived for a surprise visit.

I have 2 posts I'm working up that will bring everyone up to speed and give all the details on where we are on this journey!

Have a great Sunday.

-Frog

Insurance Update.

I got up the nerve to call the insurance company. Thursday makes two weeks since they accepted the paperwork...and the wait is killing me.

I tried to be all nicey nicey. I told the gal on the phone that my doctor had submitted a "claim" for pre-approval and that I just wanted to make sure they had everything they needed from me.

She told me that they would send me notification if something was missing or they needed more information. She said that my record still shows as "reviewing" and that it takes 15 days to review a claim. She also said that there was not much else she could do at this time to help me.

I forgot to ask her if that was 15 days days or 15 business days.

Drat!!!

-Frog

What if...

...the insurance company says no? What are my options? Do I somehow come up with $10K and go to Mexico to do it? Do I just continue to "grow"? Do I staple my lips shut and hope for the best?

I wonder if these thoughts rattling around in my head are part of the reason I'm not sleeping of late. I can't turn them off...I can't really address them. It's a lot like marbles in a hamster wheel...they just rattle and spin! I think part of the reason that I keep thinking about this has to do with both my couch and my bed. Let me explain.

Couch. I sit on the couch and watch TV. My couch creaks when I sit down. The main spots (I try to vary my spot for even wear) where I sit are soft, mushy and have LOTS of give. I go to a non-main spot and there is still firmness to the couch. I know that my fat ass is doing this wear. EEK...I bet the furniture salesmen freak when I come walking into the store! "Oh Lord...here's a fatty that is going to break our couches."

Mind you...I've never broken a couch. A chair, yes. In my defense, it was a patio chair that had been sitting in the unrelenting Arizona sun for about 2 years. I maintain it was sun rotted...and I just happened to be the one that sat down in it.

Bed. When I was pregnant with Tadpole, near the end, I had a very strong nesting urge. I rearranged furniture constantly. Anyway...about 1 month before I was due, I wanted to move my bed. My mother, bless her heart, was helping me. She grabbed the foot and pulled. Unaware that the frame was two side rails that fit into the foot board. She completely pulled all the parts and pieces out and broke the shit out of the foot of my bed.

Fast forward about 5 years to Fall 2009. My father has fixed the bed. All the parts are living in my garage. I have laminate flooring installed in my house (by my AWESOME brother-in-law). When the floor is done he puts my wonderful bed back together and I begin sleeping in it. Tadpole loves it...with the side rails it is very easy to climb into bed with me! About 2 weeks later, we have a "flood" in the house. Wake up at 0330 to an inch of water on the floor. Needless to say, wood floor...RUINED! After all the insurance stuff was done we had a contractor come in to put in the new floor. On day 2...my bed breaks on the head board end this time. I set the pieces on my kitchen counter and off to work I go. When I get home, I find that the contractor is also a carpenter. He and his crew have repaired my bed!!

Now, every night when I lay in bed I hear creaks and groans. This might very well be in my head...but I hear them nonetheless. I know it would be nice to have weight gone and not be afraid that I am going to permanently ruin my bed and break it all to hell.

As a result of this, I've been thinking about the insurance company verdict being "no" a lot this last week. I'm not sure what I will do if that happens. I wonder if any other people going through this process have the same thoughts at this point in time?

The waiting SUCKS!!!

-Frog