Living with Diabetes

Blog

  • 5 Day until Surgery

    Got message from doctor — all results are back but one, and the rest won’t show until it’s back.  He does say everything looks good.

    Been checking on the Vytorin — it’s too big to swallow and the pharmacist says that the literature doesn’t recommend splitting so I’m going to look into getting the original medications in separate pills and see if that will work.

    However, today hasn’t been a great day as it was raining and aggravating my arthritis.  I did work with my personal trainer.

    Just want to get past this process!

  • 6 Days Until Surgery

    Lab results from the PreOp are not in yet. I honestly didn’t expect them to be, but the doctor does.
    I’m sure they will be back on Monday.

    Rough day, but Fridays usually are, but this one more than normal.  We’ve got a teacher who always gets her way, no matter what she wants and she wants new software installed on the library computers.  Fortunately the hard part was done by our network engineer but I really don’t have time to get it going. 

    The good news is that the district is trying to get the new principal what he wants.  Guess they would rather put up with me rather than someone they don’t know.

    So I’ve been stressed.

    Got through the day and just trying to get through each of them one at a time.

    Had a good workout with the personal trainer.  She’s playing with my Max weight machine and figuring it out.

    Frankly I’m tired of dealing with the liquid diet and still have 5 weeks to go and then fill liquid diets.  It will come.

    The good news, I was pretty sure my husband wanted me to do this and we did talk about it tonight.  He has not wanted to be over supportive, as he wants the decision to be mine which is pretty cool.

    Just wish I was 5 weeks out.

  • 7 Days until Surgery

    Made it — seriously this has been hard — today is the first day I truly was on my liquid diet. Over the past 4 weeks, I’ve been doing mostly liquid via SlimFast. My exceptions have been SlimFast bars and various forms of protein. Before the surgery was scheduled, I did have a few days where I did a bit more than that, but have stuck to SlimFast / protein since Friday and each day of the four weeks the quantity was less.  And I am eating MUCH less than I usually do, both volume and calories.

    Surgeon did seem okay with that yesterday but did urge me to get 100% on track.  I stopped by the grocery store on the way home from the appointment and picked up popsicles and different times of pre-made stock and that has REALLY helped. 

    I was okay during the school day though had a few minutes during lunch when going down for a piece of chicken sounded good, but managed not to.

    This evening I’ve alternated between stock, Crystal Light and popsicles.  Am also doing some Special K Protein water.  So I only have 6 days of preSurgery diet to go.  (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) – 2 days of clear liquids, 12 days back to the liquid diet and then can start adding some food. 

    Yes, I’m counting.

  • 8 Days Until Surgery – Part 2

    Logging into the Live Chat and asking them to fax the approval letter to TLC worked. Case Manager said she had it around noon.

    Saw the surgeon.  That went real well.

    So everything is called down, the ducks are all in a row, and I just need the labs from the primary care which I can access online from home.

    Coolness!

  • Day 8 until Surgery – Part 1

    Went back to the primary care physician, got blood drawn and was out by 9:00 am. I could have gotten someone to cover first period BUT they did threaten to send me to Medical City if their Quest lab tech couldn’t do that and I didn’t want to leave my kids without a sub that long, or put that much on other people.

    Of course, the Novell server is down.

    I did get my final review packets done.  I’ll print them in the morning and get them copied tomorrow.   And can use that as a Final Exam for seniors.

    TLC still doesn’t have the approval letter so I went to the BCBS Live Chat site and asked them to fax it and they said they would. Haven’t heard from TLC so I’ll check before noon.

    All set for the surgeon this afternoon and will post again then.

  • Fun Day – Rolling Eyes – 9 days until Surgery

    I’ve had more fun in the last two hours than anyone should be allowed — not.

    So today was the day for my pre-Op appointment.  Got there are 3:40 and only two people are the office — I think — good.

    Well the man in the waiting room started screaming at everyone in the place because he wasn’t getting the script he wanted and he wasn’t going to wait for the doctor etc.

    In the middle of this tyrade, the receptionist told me that I didn’t have an appointment, which set him off again.

    But I knew that the doctor would see me and he did.  Come to find out three people didn’t show that evening so he had plenty of time.  But my records were not in the EMR so we had to go through all that.

    They ended up doing the blood work last, at about 5:30.  However, no one could find my veins.  They didn’t want to mess me up with the surgery, so I have to go back in the morning.

    I expected to see my approval letter in the mail so it was missing.  Decided to try Live Chat and the agent told me that I was denied and that a denial letter went to TLC Edge on Friday.  Told him that they told me twice it was approved, gave him the diagnosis code and “whew” he came back and said, yes it was approved.

    So now I need to set up things for the sub….

  • Surgery minus 10 Days

    I had to move up my PreSurgery appointment — it’s now tomorrow at the same time — why they couldn’t schedule it Saturday morning that way, I don’t know.

    I am scheduled to see the surgeon on Wednesday at 3:15 so one of my good teacher friends is going to cover my 6th period class.

    I am TRYING to go to completely liquid diet but I’m still needing to chew.  I am eating only once a day now.

    Making progress!

  • Surgery – Minus 11 days

    I’m working on several different new computer projects hoping to keep my mind off of food — isn’t working.

    I am eating the same way I did that helped me lose 7 pounds in 4 weeks, plus I did work out with the personal trainer, though I seem to be taking today off.  Didn’t mean to.

    I’m also doing a lot of stress stuff — mostly losing things, like leaving my wallet at Krogers — and man, they were nice, all the money and everything was still in it, misplacing meter etc.  That means I’m not paying attention to what I am doing.

    I need to start packing for school tomorrow, though food is done.

  • Surgery minus 12 days

    I have an appointment with my primary care physician for pre-Opt testing on May 19th, two days before surgery which worries me, but I have a question out to my case manager already so I’ll let her decide if I should reschedule.

    I’ve been on a liquid diet since yesterday and that’s going okay.

    Personal trainer came out for a second visit today and that went well too.

    I think I’ll spend some time learning Flash and play with my Chumby’s while I’m waiting.

    Also need to finish up 8th grade curriculum.

  • Another piece of the puzzle solved – I think

    One of the things I've been wanting for a while is an in home personal trainer.  I like doing weight but I am not really confident with them and I really like using a personal trainer when I do.

    I asked the lapband group for recommendations and I found a really nice gal who lives a few blocks away and she came over for the first time tonight.  I like her and I liked the workout and I'll see her again tomorrow.

    Price is reasonable so it looks like I am getting there.