Tales Of The Lap Band Journey, Part III

So after a month and some change of freakin’ waiting, I finally got some responses about what the hell was going on with my Lap Band surgery. Two weeks ago I had called the Lap Band office to see what was going on. It had already been like two and a half weeks after my appointment with the surgeon. I was getting understandably antsy about the wait, so I thought a call wouldn’t hurt. The lady that I talked to was quite pleasant and reassured me that they would be calling me to set up pre-operation classes and other appointments. That made me less antsy, but still a bit anxious because it seemed to be taking forever. Turns out I was right to be nervous.

Cut to two and a half weeks later. I’m REALLY antsy by now. I haven’t heard ANYTHING at all. Plus, I was supposed to get a letter from the sleep study clinic to explain to me what the hell was going on with that, and where I was supposed to go for it. Silence. Not being the most patient person in the world, and thinking that I’ve given them MORE than enough time, I called them on Tuesday. No answer, so I left a message. Weirdly enough, I got a call that night from the sleep study clinic, asking if I wanted to do my sleep study that night. Not being prepared for it and hubby not being home, I had to decline, but mentioned to the guy that I had not received the letter nor any paperwork. He was puzzled by that, but said he would send it out to me. I’m waiting on that and I’m hoping to see it before Wednesday. But I digress…

The Lap Band clinic returned my call yesterday. The lady was pretty annoyed that no one had called me and told me anything, but said that they were holding classes yesterday and today, and oh, the dietitian was going out of town after today’s class, so I’d have to wait two weeks before doing any more classes. That slightly ticked me off because if I had known anything about any of this, I could have already had my classes done and been one step closer to getting the surgery. Since someone dropped the ball, though, I was shit out of luck and would have to make do with today’s class and just wait. I also made an appointment for the 24th to see their doctor and go over my test results and everything.

I left for the hospital at noon today and got there with plenty of time to spare. I signed in, filled out the sheet, got weighed in (still at 394), blood pressure taken (112/80), and just waited. While waiting and talking to some other candidates for the surgery, I discovered that the clinic doesn’t call ANYONE. We were supposed to go to their Yahoo group and find out about these things. Nice of them to tell me. Shit. Anyway, we were finally led into the auditorium by a tiny Asian lady, who turned out to be our dietitian. She was bloody awesome. No nonsense, answered every question, and then made a room full of obese people get up and exercise. Contrary to popular belief, fat people can and DO exercise. It was proven today, and we did an awesome job, even the people who had trouble with their knees. I’m feeling it now, though.

So this is where I’m at right now. Playing the waiting game again. At least now I know that I’m going to have be a pain in the ass to get appointments and class times. That shouldn’t be too hard with my personality.