Getting Anxious

Well I'm still trying to get the hang of sleeping with the equivalent of a gas mask on my face. I have an appointment on Jan. 2 to see if a different mask will help. I get weighed on Jan. 5 and I'm afraid I gained over Christmas. I'm going to try really hard between now and the 5th to loose as much as I can. Boy when I started this whole process in September it seem so far away till I could have surgery. It's just around the corner now, April will be here before you know it. I'm excited to start a new life but also scared that I will fail at this too. After all I have failed at weight loss my entire life. With the surgery though I hope and pray that it gives me the ability to succeed.

Still having issues

This whole CPAP thing sucks! I am not giving up though. I have a big sore spot under my nose and I now have a twitch in my right eye. I think the mask is pressing on nerves in my face. When I press under my nose the twitching stops. I guess I could just walk around with my finger under my nose all the time but I'm sure there would be talk of "picking". I also had my appointment with the nutritionist on Friday and it went really well. She said she was impressed with how much knowledge I had as far as what to expect with the surgery. I had a dr. appointment Friday too he was not happy with my bloodpressure 156/95, so he is starting me on blood pressure medicine. Oh yea!!!!

I have Issues

Well it's been 3 nights now with the CPAP and I'm trying but this is difficult to say the least. I've had pain in my teeth for 2 days and sore spots on my face and under my nose from the mask and a headache for 2 days. I WILL NOT give up. I am determined to feel like a new well rested person once I get used to this. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

First night with CPAP

Well what an experience, first of all I looked like something from outer space. The pressure that comes through the tube into the face mask is preset by the doctor at 17. The highest it goes is 20, thats a lot of pressure. The girl at the medical supply company that showed me how to use it said it can take up to a month to get used to it and be able to keep it on for 8 hours at a time. All in all my night wasn't too bad. I actually slept on my back for the first time in my life. I was awake several times, I think I had the straps too tight for the mask. It felt like it was over the corners of my eyes and too low on my upper lip. I think it's just going to take some playing with to get it comfortable. However I did sleep with it on for 8 hours. I'm just anxious to get used to it so I can see what it feels like to actually get a good nights sleep.

Not what I wanted to hear but what I expected

Well I got my results from my sleep study I had done on 12/5. Not good, the Doctor said I stopped breathing and collapsed my airway 93 times per hour and my O2 levels dropped to 87%. After the CPAP machine was put on me at a pressure of 17 I didn't collapse my airway at all and my O2 level came up to 94%. I just waiting on the medical supply company to call and I can pick up the CPAP machine and use it at home every night. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to this. I know you're saying WHAT!!!! But I'm really looking forward to knowing what a good nights sleep feels like, instead of constantly feeling sleepy all the time. After I've been using it for 4 weeks then I have to pick up a thing that you wear on your finger and sleep with it on and it measures and records your O2 levels while sleeping. Then I have to have a follow up with the lung doctor to see how I am feeling. It's a good thing I'm doing all of this now because if you have sleep apnea the doctors want you to be using a CPAP at least 6 weeks prior to surgery. I got that covered since my surgery won't be before the middle of April. I'm working on getting some before pics taken and I'll post them as soon as I can so you can follow with me along my journey.

Jumping through hoops!

Well this is my first post and I'm still learning so bare with me. I have been on a journey since September 2, 2008. That's when I made up my mind to have gastric bypass surgery. After thinking about it for 2 1/2 years and learning as much as I possibly could I finally made up my mind. I started all the hoop jumping right after my doctor appointment in September. There's a lot that insurance requires before they will approve the surgery. So far I have had an EKG, stress test, heart catheterization and I'm in my 3 month of a 6 month supervised weight loss program.
I also have had a Psychatric evaluation. Now let me tell you I was a bit worried about this one. The appointment lasted about 15 minutes and he said he saw no red flags or confusion. Gee obviously he was blind and not paying attention. I got the heck out of there before he could change his mind. Oh well mark that down as a big PASSED!