Finally Friday

I figured it was time to update about how the second seminar went. I was shocked to see such a difference from the first one I went to. This surgeon seems like an arrogant ass and I will not be re-visiting him in the future. He made it quite clear that he only deals with the "surgery" side of things and takes no interest in anything related to after care. I don't really care how "great" he is at surgery, if he won't be there to help me through the rest then I am not interested. Thanks but no thanks.

In a way this makes it easier for me. I was thinking if I liked him I might have a tough decision on where to go for this procedure. Now that I'm assured I don't want to use him, my choice is narrowed down. The other thing that I found shocking at this seminar was the lack of education in the people who were attending. It was quite clear the majority of people sitting there had done no research on this surgery and had no clue about how the human body works.

Now, I don't think you need a medical degree or anything like that, but I do think you need some basic knowledge on the anatomy of your body and understand how they are going to alter it. I heard some really astonishing questions but my top two favorites were as follows.

1) The surgeon gave a statistic indicating that in morbidly obese people who suffer with type 2 diabetes, 86% will be cured of their diabetes following weight loss surgery. (This by the way is simply amazing to me). After the doctor says this statement a guy in the audience asks, "so doc, what your telling me is this surgery will alter my genetic code! Like um, my mom and my dad have diabetes and I have diabetes, so if I have this surgery then I won't have it no mo".

WOW! I sat there and literally shook my head in disbelief. Seriously?? You think this will alter your DNA, which by the way does not determine if you have diabetes or not?? Wow, just wow!

#2) One of the types of weight loss surgery is called a sleeve gastrectomy, in which they remove a large portion of your stomach entirely. When the surgeon was discussing this surgical option a woman says to him, "oh so after this surgery you can't have no babies no mo".

Now, I am a nurse and I did have a long semester of OBGYN training while I was in school. It was not my favorite place to be and I was not overly good at it, but I am pretty sure I don't remember anything about babies being made in the STOMACH!!!

Needless to say, this was a very enlightening experience and I am thankful I am taking the time to explore all of these options. One more seminar to go and then time for decision making. I pretty well already know what I'm going to do, but I am taking my time and making sure.

On another note, happy Friday everyone! It's Mardi Gras time in St. Louis. The Grand Parade is this weekend and I'm thinking it would be wonderful to take the hubby down there for some beers and hurricanes. We haven't been in a few years, mainly because it is always freezing cold, but for some reason I want to go this year. I have a fond memory of my first Mardi Gras. It was almost 7 years ago and it was the weekend that Jared and I technically started our courtship. We went with a group of friends and saw the parade. We collected beads (no we did not show boobies) and had drinks. It was a blast! That night we continued to party and the rest as they say is history. I think it would be a fun thing for us to do and a good reminder of where we started all those years ago. Plus, since Valentines day is Sunday it could be a nice "couple" sort of thing for us to do. We shall see. I guess it depends on if I can convince the husband to get up early enough to make our way down to the busy streets of Soulard.

Anyway, have a wonderful weekend!