Hi Cathy

[Guest guest]

Welcome to the group. I wish I could be of some help to you

but I was relatively healthy (just mordidly obese,lol) when I had

surgery. I had my surgery on SEpt 27, this year. I would be happy to

answer any questions.

January seems like a very long time to wait but it will go

quickly for you. I try to think of how long it took to gain the

weight. I didn't gain it in a month and I'm not going to lose it in

a month. I hope this DR is what you're looking for. Good Luck to

you. hopefully the process will go quickly. ---- Leeann

@...> wrote:

>

> Hi Everyone,

>

> I've been a member of this group for a couple of days, and found my

> inbox flooded with e-mail, so I had to stop it.

>

> Anyway, my name is Cathy and I weigh 310 lbs and I am in very poor

> health. I have every problem under the sun and take 14

medications,

> plus was just recently diagnosed with Severe Obstructive Sleep

Apnea.

>

> On November 3, I almost killed myself going to s doctor appt. I

> couldn't stay awake and was swerving all over the road and couldn't

> stay in my lane. I had my husband on cellphone (I have a headset

so

> it's hands-free) and he later told my speech was slurred and I

didn't

> make any sense. Somehow I made it to the appt in one piece, it was

> 45 minutes away by the way.

>

> Therapist said I couldn't keep my eyes open during the appt but did

> talk coherently (I don't remember the appt at all). She didn't

want

> me to drive home, but I argued with her and promised to call her

when

> I got home. My husband freaked when he first started talking to me

> on the way to the therapist and he didn't know how to " stop " me and

> go somewhere safely. He got me to stop at a gas station when I got

> there--about a mile from our apt. He left his car there and took

me

> home and drove me to the apt and called my primary doctor. They

said

> to bring me to the hospital ER.

>

> I had a head CT, chest x-ray and bloodwork. Was admitted to hosp.

> after midnight. Doctor saw me and said I was way overmedicated.

> Besides the other meds I take, I was on Percocet and Valium,

because

> I was recovering from back surgery and was in a lot of pain. Doc

> said no more Percocet and Valium. My pain doc took me off the

> oxycontin I was on too but put me on a low dose morphine pill so I

> wouldn't go through withdrawls from the oxy.

>

> Doc released me from hospital on Sunday (I went in the ER Friday

> afternoon) and said no driving till I saw a neurologist. (I have a

> seizure disorder and they couldn't prove that I didn't have one.)

So

> last week, I was seeing every one of my doctors the whole next week

> and the new neuro said " you have obstructive sleep apnea. " I

thought

> she wsa out of her mind! Anyway she sent me for an EEG, MRI of

> brain, and a sleep study.

>

> So this past Saturday I get the results from the sleep study and it

> turns out that every hour I'm asleep, I have 70-something

disruptive

> sleep episodes and out of those, I have 60-somthing times when my

> airway was completely closed. It scared me to death to learn this

> info. New pulmonary doc that examined my sleep study wanted to see

> me for a pulmonary lung function test which I have tomorrow and

> another sleep study (using the CPAP) which I have this Sunday night.

>

> I am morbidly obese and my doctors said my health is so poor that

I'm

> at the worst health of my life, and that I MUST have gastric bypass

> surgery.

>

> I was debating between two surgeons, one that a friend of mine that

> was operated like 3 weeks ago, and one that my sister in law had

and

> she's 18 months out. She's lost 130 lbs and just had surgery to

have

> 10 lbs of skin removed but got some infection afterwards, and had 2

> drains put in and she has to wear a compression garmment and can't

go

> back to work yet. I saw her on thanksgiving and I asked her a

> million questions, and I also asked my friend Donna who just had it

> done, about her surgeon and she told me he's the " best on Long

> Island, [NY]).

>

> About 15 minutes ago I made my decision on which surgeon to

choose.

> He is the one that Donna had and called him the best. I called the

> doctor's office to set up an appointment for a consult with the

> doctor because I need gastric bypass and the woman I spoke to

> says " The next seminar isn't until January 25 at the Sheraton

Hotel,

> (just down the road where my husband works) at 7 p.m. " I asked her

> if that's the normal way the doctor takes on new patients and she

> said yes. She took down my name, address, phone number and

insurance

> information. I hope to meet this surgeon that night, in person.

>

> So as you can see, I am getting the ball rolling. Can't wait to

get

> the CPAP, because I can't breathe, primary doc gave me an inhaler

to

> use 4x a day. If I sit quietly and don't talk, I can breathe ok,

but

> any exertion or talking--forget it....I get out of breath.

>

> I'm excited about this surgery, but wish it wasn't so far away to

> become a patient. I feel like this is going to be one long year!

>

> Thank you dear friends, I can't wait to meet you......I've read a

lot

> of posts and there is so much helpful information here. I am so

> happy I joined this group!

>

> If anyone would like to e-mail me I would love it! Since there are

> over 5K members here, I'd like to meet a few of you, or however

many

> can or want to respond to my post. I don't work (obviously, and in

> the last six years I only worked 2 of them) have had chronic pain

for

> 6 years, fibromyalgia, herniated discs in lumbar and c-spine. Just

> got the lumbar one operated on. I had the percutaneous disc

> decompression on Sept 29. They go in with a special needle and

suck

> out the material in the disc that makes it bulge. Doc told me that

> it would gradually shrink back to normal and I wouldn't have much

> pain by then but.........I can't go into stores and walk around,

> because my lumbar spine will kill me, and I can't stand for more

than

> 10 or 15 minutes without excrutiating pain in the lumbar spine.

Pain

> doc who did the surgery said I have to have this gastric bypass

> surgery because there's nothing more he can do for me, except give

me

> meds. If anyone has the same story I'd love to hear them.

>

> Sorry this post is so long, but I wanted to introduce myself to the

> group and tell you my story.

>

> Love and hugs,

> Cathy

> 310 and holding

>