Quick Update

Stopping in with a quick update and then it's off to bed for me. I am pretty tired this morning and have had the mother of all headaches for most of the night.

I got a call from the bariatric treatment center my surgeon is with. They said that they were ready to fax my chart to the surgeon for his approval and discovered that the nurse had marked off that they have received psychiatric clearance, but they have not. She requested I call the doctor I saw and ask her to fax the report to them so they can then get the chart to my surgeon. Naturally I did that immediately! LOL

I'm still going to and loving the water aerobics classes. I end up with some muscle tenderness after each class, but I figure that's a good thing. They seem to work different parts of the body and that is nice so we don't get tired of it or bored with it. This past Wednesday it was the arms. One of the gals in class (who just got approval for lapband surgery on July 14th) said she wants "fabulous arms" so the instructor focused on our arms. Can I just say mine were screaming "stop" long before she moved on to the core? Still it wasn't bad and I am slowly making friends there who understand all I'm going through right now. I will definitely be going to the support group meetings every month post surgery. I'm also going to join the other exercise classes post surgery when the surgeon says it's okay to return exercising. I will already know people there and that's half the battle. The other half is it's a class for large people or people who've been large so I just don't have to be so self conscious about how I look.

Anyway, thanks to all for stopping by and posting. It's nice to have the support. Randy, I have misplaced your email addy. Maybe I need to stop by 'The Cabin' if I can find the link for it and see how things are going with you, Eric and the others. Have you heard from Karen lately? Last I knew she was very ill and I've been thinking about her a lot lately.

Take care all and I'll update again soon.

Pulmonary Visit Completed

I'm just back from the appointment with the pulmonary doctor. He said he sees no reason not to give the go ahead for surgery, from a lung standpoint. He did caution me about using the breathing apparatus post surgery so I don't get pneumonia. He also gave a couple other cautions that I cannot for the life of me remember right now. I also had chest x-rays done. Status now is to check with the bariatric center tomorrow to see if they have everything they need. Chart gets sent to the surgeon for a once over and his approval. Then it all goes to the insurance and the wait begins. I pray they don't keep me waiting and approval is swift. Now that I've decided to do this, I just want it behind me.

Paying Off

Seems the water aerobics is paying off. I have dropped nine pounds since starting and the inches are also coming off somewhat. I am pleased with those results and still am enjoying the classes. One thing that helps is that there are three different instructors so things are changed up all the time.

This week will be a busy one for me. I have an appointment to see my primary doc on Monday afternoon. Tuesday I have a meeting at work mid-day, smack in the middle of my sleeping time. I don't have a choice but to go. Wednesday I have my appointment with the pulmonary doc and hopefully that will wrap up the testing. The file will then go to the surgeon for his approval and then be sent on to the insurance company for their approval. I think I'll just be glad when this week is over!

Water Aerobics

Okay, so I finally went to water aerobics last night. The pool has glass windows over it and the sun was shining yesterday. The water temp was 86 though it didn't feel that warm to me! The rest of the group assured me it was definitely warmer than usual.

Who knew one could sweat in the pool? I had it running over my face and into my eyes. I got quite the workout. I managed to pull something twice (once in my inner thigh doing a move and the other I twisted my knee). But no worries. I managed to keep up with everyone else and it was kind of fun. We lifted and pointed. We jogged. We did jumping jacks and scissor steps. We played volleyball. We used some kind of hand weight things and did a lot of movement with them. We did cross country skiing. We used "noodles" and rode bicycles in the water. It really wasn't like working out at all. After all the bouncing, we ended with stretching.

My knees ache, but I know that will pass in time. I have some aches in my thighs and in my arms and shoulders. I figure that's a sign that my muscles did some work. I will definitely go back and am enrolling in the class, twice a week for six weeks. I figure by the time the class ends, I will hopefully be headed for surgery. Everyone was very nice, though most of them were people who have been going to this class for more than a year, they welcomed me right in.

No one cared that I had on shorts and a t-shirt. One gal even said you'd be amazed at some of the outfits that people wear there! Now I just have to get my clothes dried out so I can go again tomorrow!