VSG - How I qualified.
There are several ways to qualify for gastric sleeve surgery (VSG):
Between the ages of 18 and 65
Morbidly obese with a BMI of 40 or higher
Obese with a BMI of 35 or higher and have another weight-related condition like diabetes, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, hypertension, or joint pain
Unsuccessful after trying multiple diet and exercise programs
Nonsmokers
Dedicated to maintaining the lifestyle changes that accompany the surgery
I qualified because I have sleep apnea. And let me tell you, the at home sleep study test is awful. Here's a photo of me being a goober as I strapped the test to by chest and put the oxi-monitor on my face:
Why does sleep apnea qualify me? Untreated sleep apnea has been linked to high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, liver problems and possibly even dementia. Research has also shown that older adults with excessive daytime sleepiness and moderate to severe sleep apnea are more than twice as likely to die than those who don’t have it.
My sleep apnea highly contributes to my stress, which feeds my anxiety, which feeds my body pains, etc etc etc. I think you're getting the picture. And then, I'm so freaking tired the next day that I practically live in these eye refreshers. I naturally have under-eye circles, but with a lack of sleep, it actually looks like I have two black eyes. To find out how this test works, please check out this page from the American Sleep Association.
Now, as a person with high anxiety levels, having this test strapped to me was an awful experience. All I could think about is that 1.) my qualifications depended on this test and 2.) man, I have all this stuff attached to me - how am I going to sleep?
Did I sleep - no, not much. I eventually got up and went into the guest bedroom since I was keeping my husband awake with my tossing and turning. Around 6 a.m. I managed to fall asleep. Well, off and on. I managed to get three hours and sleep and during those three hours, I woke up 52 times from my apnea. The test shows how many times I stopped breathing! That was gnarly.
Was it comfortable? No. Was it worth it? Yes.
2 weeks until my VSG surgery. Follow my Instagram (@lizrauofficial) as I'll be highlighting my liquid diet, pre-op, surgery and post-op on this page.
And don't forgot about my podcast - Life With Liz - available on iTunes, Google podcasts, Podbean, Pocket Casts, The Podcast App, Alexa and more!
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