Pair-o'-thighs Lost

 I'm sure I've mentioned that the main reason for getting VGS was so that I could get my severely degenerated hip replaced. I knew I had to get my BMI down in order to get it done, but I wanted to get my ducks in a row so I was ready for surgery when my BMI was low enough.  I went to see a surgeon at Ortho Indy in Greenwood.  I knew I probably wasn't quite ready, but wanted to talk about the options and scheduling.   I went in to meet with the Dr., and they took some X-Rays. When he walked in, I was ready to discuss my hip. He was not. He began by telling me that my BMI was too high for surgery, which I already knew. I told them that I had just had VGS, and that I'd lost about 35 pounds so far and was well on my way to being ready for this surgery in a month or 2. But that wasn't good enough for him.  He then proceeded to tell me that "EVERYONE he knows that had bariatric surgery failed!", and then started giving me the name of a doctor that can "...

Okay, as promised, I'll update you on how the past 8 months have gone. As I said before, I had VGS on 2-2-22.  The surgery went really well.  I had virtually no pain afterwards, which I'm sure is credited to the great pain management medications given to me.  I ate nothing but sugar free jello, broth, and sugar free popsicles (which went directly into the trash can because they're beyond nasty) for 3 days. I remember how excited I was to weigh myself when I got home, because they'd taken out 80% of my stomach (which had to weigh SOMETHING), plus I'd basically eaten nothing for 3 days, plus my several days of pre-op liquid dieting.  I was SURE I'd be down a few pounds! I stepped on the scale when I got home....and saw that I'd GAINED 7 POUNDS! Luckily, I do know how this stuff works, and I knew that the nonstop stream of IV fluids had plumped me chock full of liquids. I knew not to panic, and to be patient. The first few weeks were a little difficult.  Mostly...

 I know i've been awful about updating this blog.  I don't even know if anyone is reading this, but I have written this from the perspective of what I would have wanted to read when I was contemplating all of this. I had my surgery on February 2, 2022.  It's an easy date to remember:  2-2-22. But just before my surgery, I had something happen that I'd like to share, that I didn't share before.  Some might feel it wasn't a big deal, but it was a huge deal to me, and I felt it was wrong. If you've read up until now, you know how I've felt about the program I was on.  I have always felt like they were very controlling, and not in a helpful way.  My "dietician" seemed to thrive on the power she had over the group, and relished in the fact that she controlled our destinies by being able to deny us a surgery date whenever she felt we weren't being obedient enough to her.  This always rubbed me the wrong way.  She was very nice at first, but even...

 My last blog was back in October.  I DID finally get a surgery date for December 15th of 2021.  That date seemed pretty far away, but at least I HAD a surgery date. So 3 weeks before that surgery date, I began the magical "liver shrinking diet". Then 5 days before my surgery date, they pulled the COVID card.  No surgeries for at least 6 more weeks.  I promptly smashed 3 slices of Papa John's pizza.  I then ate a breadstick, just to stick-it-to-the-man. Had I not had all of the unnecessary hurdles, COVID would not have been an issue. Surgery got rescheduled for February 2nd.  I honestly did not believe it would actually happen that day, but it did.  And while I remain unequivocally against Community Hospital's bariatric program, I will give them props at the main hospital.  My surgery was easy and uneventful.  Everyone was beyond nice to me, and my pain was nearly non-existent.  I ended up staying an extra day, mostly because o...

  Well, it's been 3 more months along my "journey", and I'm basically moon-walking. This "journey" I started in April is no closer to the goal that I was back then.  If you've been reading these blogs, you will have learned about my frustration with hoops and barriers that must be crossed in order to be "rewarded" with life-saving surgery. I don't think there's a word for what I'm looking for. If you hate black and brown people, you're "racist". If you hate certain nationalities, you're "xenophobic" If you hate gay/bi/trans folks, you're "homophobic" If you hate lower class, poor folks, you're "classist". If you hate disabled people, you're "ableist". But if you hate fat people, you're just normal, apparently.  There's no word for that. So let's call them "Lipidist".  "Lipid" for "fat", and "ist" just cuz that...

Well, a lot, and yet not a lot, has transpired since my last blog. Good news is that I've lost 14 pounds on the "supervised" diet they make you follow for months before they will wave their magic wand and grant you permission to pay them 15 grand for the surgery you need. The bad news, which really isn't news, is that I found out my insurance company doesn't even REQUIRE a supervised diet at all.  That kind of pissed me off. I'm in a moderate amount of pain every day from my hip.  It's gotten progressively worse, especially in the last few weeks.  Walking is hard.  Stairs make me wanna cry.  I need a hip replacement.  I cannot get a hip replacement until I go through the VSG (Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy) surgery.  A person in pain is not a patient person, indeed.  I'm tired of the barriers. Out of curiosity, I contacted Franciscan Bariatric, and found out they have no such requirement for the supervised diet.  I have an appointment with them ...