Bumps in the Road

     Well, this was not a road block I'd anticipated.  Mom and I went to the info seminar at Surgical Bariatrics NW last night.  It was excellent in one way and disheartening in another.       Through the seminar I finally understood the mechanism of hunger and appetite.  I didn't know the stomach released hormones to turn on appetite when food entered.  It makes sense for survival of early man and makes sense why I'm the hungriest after I've eaten and not hungry at all if I haven't.  Basically it tells the brain, "food is available, stock up while you can!"  Knowing about this hormone also unravels the mystery of "diet pop starvation syndrome".  (If I drink a diet pop on an empty stomach I get more than just hungry, I get ravenous!)      Understanding this mechanism and knowing what triggers a need to eat in me has made my decision as to which surgery I should have to be the most successful.  I need to have a gastric bypass.  Unless the "appetite hormone" gets turned off I'll just be back in the same boat again.     The frustrating part is that I can't even get started with the pre-op hurdles until I quit smoking.  Right now that's more of a road block than a hurdle.  I am so ready to have this surgery! But Dr. Pennings won't even schedule a consult until I quit.  After almost 40 years of smoking I'm supposed to just stop??  How do I cope if I have to give up all my woobies at once?       I might be able to stop smoking with help and time but the longer it takes to quit the longer my surgery is delayed and the longer I have to live with this pain.  He requires 8 weeks smoke-free before he'll do surgery...and he tests to make sure we didn't cheat!   Sacred Heart is more lenient but they want a 30-day smoke free window and their pre-op prep time is 4-6 months instead of Dr. Pennings' 6-8 weeks.  Their website says that information seminar to initial consultation is usually 4 months!  I think that practice could use some more MDs!     Colleen and I are getting together on the 14th for a weekend at the Casino and a "last hurrah"!  I think of it as a living wake for a dying lifestyle.  Celebrate the good times and put them to rest.  I haven't seen my high school buddy in over 30 years though we've been talking about getting together since last summer.  Always one thing or another popping up...work, kids, harvest, the fair, getting snowed in.  So....that gives me a couple of weeks to get in to see my regular doctor.  I've been doing some research and I think Chantix is the best way to ensure success.  Meanwhile I cut down to the bare minimum cigarettes and mentally prepare to give them up completely.     This wasn't in the gameplan so it's really taken me aback.  But I can't live in this body much longer.  If I have to quit smoking then that's what I'm going to have to do.  I choose life!