They told me the MRI results should be available Wednesday. I didn’t hear from anyone Wednesday, so I waited until Thursday to call. It seems like the department has fallen apart. I called my care coordinator and got a message that her voicemail box is full. Nice! I called the main number and asked for her and they told me she was out on maternity leave (I had previously been told she was on medical leave, so this was no surprise) and that she had switched departments. They gave me the name of two other people to call. I called one and ended up at my old care coordinator’s full mailbox (Uh-huh, that’s useful). The other number led me to Rita, who is also a care coordinator. I left a message, but today I never heard from her. *Sigh*

Well, one thing I’ve learned from this process is that you have to be proactive and be your own health care advocate even when dealing with one of the best hospitals in the world. Sooo, I’m not going to wait to be called back. I’ll keep calling again, starting Monday. While I’m annoyed that I didn’t get a callback; honestly, I’m not sure I wanted to receive test results on Friday the 13th, so I didn’t bother calling back. Monday may be everyone’s least favorite day but it’s always better than Friday the 13th.

That MRI sure didn’t seem like it was made for obese patients. My sides pretty much were off the table. When they slid me in, my hands were squeezed up against my sides. There was maybe 2 inches between my face and the wall of the unit. Fortunately, this was open-ended; but that’s not very conforting. I kept my eyes closed of the time. Being in a tube with very little space between you and its’ walls is weird even for people who aren’t claustrophic. When they ask you to hold your breath you hear a buzzing that seems to be different frequencies each time.

They told me my results should be available by Wednesday. One more test done. I’m getting closer…I hope!

Well, that is a bummer! I did some reading on masses on the liver ,and while, yes, it could be cancer — I have had 7 relatives with cancer in my mother’s family, so there is a strong history of cancer in my family — but it could also be benign. I don’t know what’s bumming me out more, the threat of cancer—which is worse than the the obesity–or the fact that I will have to wait some more…

I got a letter a week later saying the Cedar Sinai Medical Group was still deciding if they wanted me to have an MRI and had requested my records from my primary care physician. It said they gave her 45 days to send them, and that it was non-urgent. I guess it’s good news that it’s non-urgent, but that means more waiting….Ahhhh!!!

Yay!!! I’m done with all my preop testing! When’s my surgery date gonna be, I wonder? I called the surgeon’s office to see if I could schedule surgery. The care coordinator told me, “No. The doctor has to look over all your tests and then decide if they want you have more tests.” *Womp! Womp!* That’s the sound of my heart sinking. They did not have the results of the endoscopy biopsy yet, but the endoscopy was normal.

Guess what? It was not that big a deal. They give me a solution to numb my throat. Then wheeled me into an operating room. The part I was most afraid of–swallowing the scope– was nothing. They slide the scope down you so quickly that it’s in there before you know it. I understand why some people panic. It’s strange to have something in your throat. They blow you up with gas so they can see inside. You have to keep taking deep breaths. The reason they discourage people from having endoscopy without sedation is that some people panic and think they can’t breath, but you can breath.

Despite the fact that I wasn’t being sedated, I still had to have an IV put in and have nasal oxygen. (I hated that thing. It burned my nose). The whole endoscopy procedure lasts less than 5 minutes and you’re done. There was a nurse holding my hand throughout the procedure (That was a nice. I wasn’t expecting that…hehe). There were 6 or 7 people in the room. I still can’t figure out what all those people where there for. I had to have a heart monitor and blood pressure monitor. I’ve never been in an operating room before so this was a new experience for me.

I had to sit in recovery longer than the procedure lasted. I don’t know why. They gave me shortbread cookies and apple juice. Boy, that was nice because I was starving. I hadn’t eaten since midnight the night before.

It seems like they make a big deal out of nothing. I didn’t gag. I didn’t panic. Mind you…I didn’t enjoy it. It’s very strange having something down your throat, but it was not the big horrendous ordeal I was warned about. They turn you on your side during the procedure, probably beause they don’t want you looking at your guts on the gigantic monitor behind you. But, frankly, I wanted to look…hehe.

I had to wait a week to hear back from Cedar Sinai about whether they would be willing to do an endoscopy without sedation (because it would be hard for me to get a ride–they won’t let you take a cab). Finally, they called me to tell me they could do it without sedation, but they left a message saying the next available appointment for an endoscopy was June 15th. Huh!?? I called back and asked if they had anything sooner, even if it was with a different doctor than the Dr. Stein whom I had had the consultation with. I got an appointment for May 31st, 1 week away, at 3:30 p.m.. *Sigh* I breathed a sign of relief. Okay, I have to go all day with out eating, but I can do it.

When I went to see the surgeon on 3/20/07 I was over-prepared (Thanks to Obesityhelp.com! I’m glad.). I came with my receipts from Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Opti-Fast, 6 Week Body Makeover, weight records from the past two years with pictures of my highest weight and after losing 90 lbs. At the time, they told me they didn’t need to submit any of that. I didn’t believe I could be approved without proof of previous dieting efforts, but they were right.

Wow! Insurance approval was my biggest worry right from the start. I’m a so-called lightweight so I didn’t really believe I would be approved (120 pound overweight lightweight? yeah right!)

However, the surgery can’t be scheduled until I’m done with the preop testing.