Before the Countdown

I’m about 26 days away from my surgery. I started this process back in July of 2021. My mom recommended Maryland Bariatrics to me as the provider she was considering. She ended up not moving forward because she lost the weight naturally. But it started with me signing up for their mandatory introductory class. It was virtual so it was pretty convenient to attend.

From there, I had an appointment with my surgeon, Dr. Greene. If you look up MD Bariatrics, you’ll see that both surgeons are Dr. Greene. It’s because they’re brothers. I think the younger one goes by Dr. Joe. At any rate, I met with Dr. Greene for my initial appointment and he asked a few questions and explained which surgery he recommended based on my medical history, current weight and what I was hoping to see post surgery. At that point, I received my Care Plan which is ultimately a list of everything you need to do to get approved for surgery and the referrals to start getting everything done.

Be aware that you may actually have to pay some stuff out of pocket during this time. For example, MDB has a fee for the services they provide during the approval process. It was like 300 something bucks. I also had to pay for the sleep study (still not sure why, I might have to follow up with Cigna about that). And of course you’re gonna be paying copays for all the visits that you are required to do. I just made sure I had enough on my flexspend card going into the new year.

The worst part about all of the requirements for approval was the sleep study. I might write a whole blog about that. I had never had one done and it was the literal worst. Thankfully, I don’t have sleep apnea.

So, now here we are. Weeks before my surgery. I am required to start a liquid diet on Friday of next week. No, this does not mean I can just liquify all of my foods and eat them lol. It means that I can drink water, protein shakes, Gatorade, and drink chicken broth when I’m feeling like I want a steak. This will last for three weeks. I’m really nervous about this because I’m afraid my mood is going to be impacted heavily. They say it takes your body about four days to get used to it. All I’m saying is, don’t nobody invite me out nowhere for the next three weeks cause I’m not going!

Y’all wish me luck.

-F