Feeling Good

Just wanted to post and say I have been following my diet and I am feeling GREAT!!! I am not loosing much weight but I just feel better with my better food choices. I will admit I ate junk food this past weekend for the holiday and WOW could I feel the difference.

No date set yet, I am still saving my "Wompums" (as Dr. John would say) HAHA.

Here is a picture of my wonderful doctor, Dr. Boyce, so you all can put a face with a voice
and if you decide to have your surgery in Knoxville he can be your doctor too :-)

Update

Hey there everyone!!! First of all I want to thank you all for your support in my journey! I know I haven't posted in awhile but I have been busy working on my diet and everything I have to get in order before I go in for surgery. This part of the process is a long one but well worth it in the end!! So please forgive me if I don't update as much as I did in the beginning but it will pick up again soon.

Since my insurance does not pay for the surgery I am saving my pennies, so as soon as I have enough pennies I will be able to set my surgery date. Dr. Boyce and his staff have been very helpful, they offer a savings plan and as soon as enough money is saved up in the account it is surgery time!!!! This is a great option that is only offered to those of us who have gone through Dr. John's Call Center, so to get started call the Call Center and talk to Dr. John about Weight Loss Surgery!

On a lighter note (pun intended) I have been on the medical diet given to me during my last appointment and I have lost 4 pounds!!! I know it doesn't sound like much but it will be a huge help when I do in for surgery. The diet is geared to help you start your life style change and any weight loss will be beneficial to the surgeon during surgery, 1) less fat to cut trough to get to the stomach, 2) shrinks your liver so it is not in the way while the surgeon is in there doing the procedure 3) It helps kick start your life change and gets your mind set right so you can have optimal success after surgery 4) makes you feel good to loose some weight no matter how small the amount!!!

OK that is all for now, keep checking back and I will update you as I progress!!!

Weight Loss Surgery Questionaire

Here are the Pre-Screening Questions to help you decide if WLS is right for you. Copy and past them to an email or word document and send them to Dr. John to start your weight loss journey :-)
________________________________________________________________

For Driver’s who are truly interested in Weight Loss Surgery? Call, email or Fax the below information to Dr John’s Trucker’s On Call Center. Dr John will talk to each driver personally. See Trucker’s ON Call Center contact information at the bottom.

1. Name:
2. Age:
3. Sex: M F
4. Height: 0'0" Weight:000 pounds BMI:
5. Employer:
6. Do you have Insurance?
7. If yes does it cover weight loss surgery?
8. Call back phone #:
9. Number of years obese:
10. List of diets tried including medically supervised attempts:
11. Medication list and dosage:
12. List of previous surgical procedures and year of the procedure:
13. Do you have any of the following, answer with yes or no:
    -High Blood Pressure
    -Diabetes
    -Sleep Apnea
    -Indigestion (GERDS) requiring medication or over the counter medication
    -Cholesterol elevations
    -Muscle or arthritis problems, Back pain/surgery
    -Lung problems or Pulmonary Hypertension, Heart Disease/Angina, heart failure, COPD
    -Previous Cancer Treatment, Gout
    -Metabolic Syndrome (Circle if you have HBP, Diabetes, Cholesterol, a BMI over 40)
    -Liver Disease. For example Hepatitis, Cirrhosis.
    -Female drivers only: Polycystic Ovaries, Menstrual Irregularities
14. Alcohol consumption:
    
15. Tobacco history:
    
16. Reason you are interested in weight loss surgery?
    

Dr John’s Trucker’s ON Call Center
Fax or call 8am- 5pm M-F EST
Phone: 865-862-8902
Fax: 865-558-9551
Email any time: jmcelligott@ohswest.com

Recovery Time

Every person and every procedure has it's own personalized recovery time, so this is something you will not know exactly until you meet with your doctor and decided which procedure is right for you.

As for me I have chosen to have the 'Sleeve' done, which will be done laparoscopicly (laparoscopic surgery has a shorter recovery time) my down time will be anywhere from 2-4 weeks. The good news is they do not want you to lay in bed you will be up and moving around right after surgery, so you won't be bed ridden you just can do strenuous activities, like work. Personally I do not have a physical job but I do have strenuous chores at home, like walking my giant dog, so I will need help around the house for about a month to make sure I heal properly.

Pre-Op Diet

This diet is awesome it is simple to follow and has yummy choices on it. It is a very important part of the process, the Pre-Op diet helps you start changing your eating habit's which is extremely important. It also helps you start loosing weight which will be beneficial during surgery. The main goal is to get as healthy as possible before surgery which will be beneficial both during and after the surgery it will help speed up the recovery process.

So far I am doing rather well with the diet, I will admit I have had some slip ups but I am only human, plus my birthday was last week so I gave in and had cake :-)

Just a Reminder

This is a long process but it is a major surgery and a life style change that you have to embrace, you have to make a life long commitment to yourself and your body, I made my commitment and if you think you are ready to make your commitment take the first step and call The Dr John Truckers On Call Center and they will get you started on the right path 865-862-8902

UGH decisions decisions!!!

Now that I met Dr. Boyce and have the information I need to make my decision it is crunch time. I will be honest I changed my mind 3 times it was a process it took me 2 weeks but I finally decide that the Gastric Sleeve is the procedure that is best for me. The Sleeve is the procedure I had chosen months ago but after talking to Dr. Boyce about all the options I had a choice to make but in the end I believe that the Sleeve will be the best option for me.
Now I am getting closer to surgery with every tick of the clock, I haven’t set a date yet for surgery but just knowing it is in the near future gets me SO excited!!!! Finally I will have the tool I need to drop this weight once and for all and to be a healthy person I deserve to be!

Next step……… SETTING A SURGERY DATE!!!!!!