"Every day is a faded sign ..."

The Weekend:

Emilie was home for some rest and some pampering ... with a cough from hell, and fever too. She left for Clemson this morning, hopefully on her way to being well again.

Grandma F stayed pretty consistent. No big changes.

Michael left for home on Saturday afternoon. So nice to have him close by for a little while. We took it for granted when we lived in the same town for years. Foolish us.

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I had my appointment with Dr. Bour today. My blood pressure was high: 150/85. Might be because I had just been weighed. Ugh. Let's just say that my BMI is a little bit higher than I thought it was.

Dr. Bour was as warm and friendly as he appeared to be at the seminar. He gave me lots of time to ask questions, and gave lengthy, informative answers. He said that even though my gall bladder operation ended up being "open surgery", that was no indication that the bypass operation couldn't be laparoscopic. (No huge incison!)

He said that because our insurance has a "fast turnaround" -- meaning that approvals come fairly quickly -- my surgery might happen on a sooner, rather than later, date. I was started on Lexapro, the anti-depressant. He said he likes to have all his patients on some sort of anti-depressant before and for at least 6 months after the surgery. Most obese people do deal with depression, we all know I do. So I have no problem trying this medication again. I used Lexapro in late 2004, and was later switched to Wellbutrin when the Lexapro had no effect on the depression. I stopped the Wellbutrin about 9 months ago, when I thought I would rather handle the depression than deal with the weirded-out dreams I was having. Not to mention the funk-mouth I woke up with every day. (gag)

Dr. Bour said that my "letter of medical neccesity" would be written today, and ready to go off to the insurance company as soon as I had completed my appointments. I have an appointment tomorrow with the nutrionist, where I will learn about the Optifast program I will use for a few weeks before surgery ... as well as the after-surgery food plan. My appointment with the psychologist isn't until the end of March, and now I'm hoping that I'll get a call to move that one to an earlier date, the way it happened for today's visit with Dr. Bour.

I will have to have an EGD ... an upper endoscopy ... before surgery, to check for current ulcers, and to check for the certain type of bacteria that can cause ulcers after surgery (H. Pylori). I've been with Emilie and Brandy to the hospital while they went through the same procedure, so I already know there's nothing to be afraid of there. But Dr. Bour said it was likely that no additional tests would be required for me. Yay.

Overall, I think I have chosen the best surgeon I could have found for miles around. Pleased, I am.