Friday, December 31, 2010

So.

I saw my doctor yesterday. He wasn't sure I would qualify for lap band surgery, my particular insurance is hard to convince.  But then he reviewed my blood work, my weight, the diabetes, some mild sleep apnea and now diabetic neuropathy, and said I actually should qualify.  I wanted to make sure he was on board because even though this isn't his expertise - he is the doctor I've been seeing for the last 20 years and he knows me the best.

He also agrees that I only have so many years of "cute" left.  The jerk.  :)

So on Monday I believe, I will make contact with the doctor my doc recommended.  I will have to go to the seminar, a psychologist or some such doc, do a few back flips and learn to eat fire, and then I can have the surgery.  I will do whatever it takes - now that I have made this decision.  As of right now, all systems are go!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Tired of hiding

It's SNOWING outside, one of those snows where everyone on the road slows down and drives safely and everybody prays that one stupid jerk doesn't try to whip around a corner and kill us all!  I enjoy this kind of snow though, the big fat, fluffy flakes that just keep coming and coming ... all day. and all night.  Woo hoo!  But then, I have 4 wheel drive on my girl's suv.


Not me

Regardless of whether there was snow or not, I needed to stop at Walgreen's to pick up a few prescriptions.  Sitting at the drive-though I could see the customer standing at the counter inside.  My old boyfriend.  And I mean OLD.  He was kind of my second boyfriend really, I was 18 and he was 23.  But now I'm 51 and he's 56 and he looks old!  We both pretended we had not seen each other, and I pretended I wasn't hiding behind the raised collar of my coat.  Cold weather and high collars cover double chins quite nicely actually.

But they can't make me feel any better about doing it.

I've never been like that.  I've always wanted to see people from previous times in my life, loved to see where they had gone, catch up on what they had done, etc.  Not anymore.  Now it's more likely I'd be ducking or turning away because it seems everyone I run into these days is from at least 50 pounds ago.  Ugh.  Intolerable.  Now that I have made the decision to have the surgery if I can, it can't happen soon enough for me.  I hate this feeling.  I hate ducking almost as much as I hate the double chin.

Waiting for a new day!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

This is not enjoyable.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Christmas and especially - my Christmas tree.  But this year, decorating it has not been enjoyable.  This is the first time in my life that I feel uncomfortable moving around the tree, bending and reaching, going through the boxes and methodically bringing my tree to life.

I am literally physically uncomfortable because of my weight.  Not good.  So much has happened since I wrote last, my eating habits went totally off the rails again and then my mom passed away.  Eating right has just not been a priority.  But now I feel my toes burning a lot.  Well, not exactly burning, but the sensation is similar to being out in the cold and coming into the warmth and your toes kind of tingling and burning a bit as they warm up.  But mine feel that way for no apparent reason and I am afraid it is the diabetes.

How people continue with the struggle to lose weight, I just don't know.  When you have been heavy, your body wants to stay heavy.  You gain weight more quickly when you fall off the wagon than someone who never been overweight.  I am tired of the struggle.  Truly.

There is a girl I work with - Renee - we are in different states but we work together and she made the decision to see if she could be approved for the lapband.  She is in much the same situation that I am - neither one of us has a high enough BMI to qualify with that alone.  But both of us have the diabetes factor, and she has hypertension as well.  Those things allow someone who is not quite morbidly obese still qualify (by insurance standards) for the surgery.  I have decided to do it.

Renee and I are going to do it together, albeit in different places, but we will go through the process together and be supportive of one another.  We have both taken the first step of signing up for seminars and making appointments to see our doctors.

It's not just that I'm frustrated, although I am.  It's not just that I'm tired of the struggle, although I am.  It's not even simply because I hate being fat, although I am.  I am afraid of the diabetes but more than that - I am frightened of having a stroke.  My dad had 2 strokes, and that is what killed him.  He became diabetic probably 10 years before he died and even though he was taking better care of himself, losing weight and exercising, he still had his strokes.  I am about 10 years ahead of my dad in terms of what age he was diagnosed with diabetes.  And I take after my dad's side of the family in terms of body type, much more so than my mom's.  And it terrifies me.

It's usually about a 6 month process to get approved for the procedure and for me - the decision was a big part of it.  But now it's like Nike - it's time to just do it.