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on August 1, 2007 1:53 pm
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Surgeon Testimonial Alan H. Brader, M.D. Dr. Brader, from first impression to the umpteenth follow up visit, has been the consummate professional. He is a confident and skilled surgeon who is also a very warm and caring person. Despite having many patients, he always remembers me as an individual. He is patient and always makes sure to give me as much time as I need at each visit to ask questions and get the answers I need. I recommend him all the time, and couldn't be happier with my decision to choose him as my surgeon. I am grateful to him for all he and the wonderful staff at Barix Clinics of Langhorne for the wonderful treatment I have consistently recieved there. Member Interests
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Amy's Blog
I made it to the CENTURY CLUB!!!
on August 1, 2007 1:53 pm My Story My name is Amy, and I've always struggled with my weight. But I don't think I realized I was fat until I changed schools in 6th grade. I had always had lots of friends prior to that, and nobody ever called me fat. Ever. And my parents told me I was beautiful and could do whatever I wanted in the world. But I showed up at a new school when I was twelve, and people were talking about the new fat girl. And I was wondering who this other new kid was. Turns out I was she. I stayed in that school through high school graduation, and developed quite the complex about my weight. I was teased a lot about my size by a few jerks who kept me from enjoying those years as much as I should have. I didn't date much in high school, but I still had a lot of friends to support me. Thank goodness for them. Seventeen years later, I'm still very close with some of them. In college, I started fresh. New friends, new surroundings, new outlook. I regained some of the self esteem that I had lost over the years. I gained knowledge and experience of the world. And I gained weight. Without going into any detail, I remedied that problem during my last semester, so that my entree into the working world upon graduation was as a svelte size ten. Slowly, over years in the real world, my weight began to increase again. But, despite my growing waistline, I still had the confidence of the thinner me, the self confidence of the college educated cutie that I had been, albeit briefly. While I was no longer thin, I still felt like a thin girl, but with a few pounds to lose - even though I weighed more than ever. I guess you never shed the shame and embarrassment of being insulted and humiliated because of your appearance, but I did as well as possible. I tried lots of diets after that. Weight Watchers, Sugar Busters, Slim Fast. I even lost 40 pounds before my wedding by eating nothing but Slim Fast bars and Lean Cuisine entrees for six months. But as is common, this was not a long term solution. The weight came back. As a matter of fact, eight of the pounds I lost for my wedding came back during my five day honeymoon. So I knew I had to find a more permanent method of losing weight and keeping it off. The whole WLS journey began for me last summer, when a dear friend, who had always had the same body type and approximate weight I did, had Roux en Y. I saw her last July - shortly after the birth of my daughter - and she was tiny! She had lost about 80 lbs, and looked incredible. That was when the idea of actually having WLS myself first crossed my mind. I requested an info packet from my WLS doctor's office not long after that, but somehow didn't receive it. For reasons I still don't understand, I did nothing about it right away. Months later, I finally requested another brochure. I did get that one, and scheduled a consultation with Dr. Brader at Barix Clinic. I went for that consult on February 21st, and was really impressed with Dr. Brader and everyone else at Barix. So, my mind was made up. I would have WLS. I had found the answer for me. The kind folks at Barix started working on my insurance approval. I have Personal Choice (through my husband's employer), so I really thought I would sail right through that process - they seem to cover everything. Needless to say, I was wrong. I got an "administrative" denial letter about three weeks later. It turns out that my husband's employer has a clause in its agreement with Personal Choice that says they will only cover WLS for individuals who weigh at least twice their ideal body weight. I was TWELVE POUNDS shy. Talk about frustrating! For once, I didn't weigh ENOUGH. So I started wondering what to do... eat a stick of butter and a box of Krispy Kremes three times a day? Load up on deep fried Snickers bars? Start drinking Joe Weider's Weight Gainer? As you can imagine, it was the only time in my life that I actually had to figure out how to GAIN weight. Well, thankfully, I didn't have to do that. While I would have secretly savored the opportunity to eat whatever I wanted (and then some), I didn't want to make my health WORSE so that I could make it better. So I went to the OH chat room, and some nice folks there gave me LOTS of tricks to try to gain weight in a healthy way. So, without going into any detail (I don't recommend that anyone ELSE gain in order to have WLS), when I went back to my doctor's office a few months later, I had managed to gain 14 pounds more, without having sacrificed my well being. Whew! Maryellen at Dr. Brader's office was a sweetheart, making my return trip (over an hour's drive) very flexible and easy to arrange. She got me in and out of there quickly, and got the paperwork trail moving again right away. As it turns out, Barix had to re-submit my entire file to my insurer, starting the whole process afresh. So, the appeal process began. Deb Owen of Barix's insurance department was a dream, an absolute peach throughout this process. I had authorized her to manage the appeal on my behalf, and she did a wonderful job. She was pleasant, kept in touch with me to keep me apprised of the situation, and really knew what she was doing. I waited about a month after my second weigh-in, towards the end of May, at which point I received a letter from my insurer stating that my appeal was being reclassified as a "grievance", since my denial was based on my husband's employer's contractual clause about being double my ideal body weight, and had nothing to do with my medical qualification for the procedure. So, now that the administrative hurdle was out of the way - since I now officially weighed twice my ideal body weight - the medical approval process began. Little did I know that this had never even been done the first time around. Apparently, the administrative review comes first, and if you don't meet those criteria, they don't bother with the medical approval process, which appears to be the most tedious and time consuming part from their perspective. From my perspective, the waiting game had begun. I'll be honest, I really started to panic, and I worried ceaselessly that I would be denied, that they would find some other obscure reason to refuse me. This would be despite the fact that I have had multiple knee surgeries, problems with my back, my neck, my feet, along with headaches, migraines and heartburn. But I feared the worst, and I really did lose sleep over it. Not even I realized how much hope I had invested in WLS - at least, not until the denial letter. Then, crushed, I realized I had been depending on it, like a drowning man on a life raft. Okay, so maybe I wasn't thinking rationally. But I was SCARED. I hadn't realized how much I was counting on having the procedure done until I got denied. The thought of having to diet for the rest of my life, and also - GASP! - exercise, threw me into a panic. I checked the OH website every day, primarily to pore over the before and after photos, which mesmerized me. I wanted to be one of them someday! There was only one thing to do - wait for word of approval. Well, waiting wasn't really the right word - stressing and worrying was more like it. Well, after much waiting and worrying, I've FINALLY been approved!!! It took nearly five months (which I understand is relatively fast compared to some folks). I got word on June 13th - just days after my 35th birthday - that I have been approved. Thank you Deb Owen for all your help!!! Whew!!! I felt an actual weight lift off my chest when I got the news. I really feel refreshed, hopeful, and excited about the future for the first time in a while. Since the birth of my daughter, actually. I got my approval over the phone initially, so I didn't have the official approval letter yet. I suspect I will feel better still when I see it in writing. When it arrives, I have to fax it to Barix to get their wheels turning. They assure me that they have to contact my insurer to see what, if any, my financial responsibility will be. I believe it is covered 100%, and I hope that is the case. I won't be able to dish out thousands of dollars if required. Once my financial responsibility has been determined, Barix will set me up for pre-op testing, and hopefully schedule a surgery date. BUT the Barix in my area is way overbooked. One of their doctors left the practice, and the two remaining docs are squeezing in all of his patients. And the docs and the admin staff are all doing double duty until they bring a new doc on board. So I believe I won't have a date until approximately October. Maybe even later than that. But it is in sight now. I can feel it. I'm trying to imagine myself thinner. I'm picturing myself at one size smaller, fitting into clothes I haven't worn in a while. Then, in clothes two sizes smaller, that I haven't worn in a few years. Then thin, wearing sizes I've never worn as an adult. I can only really imagine these things. I can't actually PICTURE it, though. I have no no imagination of myself as a thin adult. I had once lost 50 pounds during my last semester at college by throwing up everything I ate. There was also an interminable amount of stairmaster involved. It was not healthy or smart. BUT that was the only time in my adult life when I was thin. I was a size 10, and looked and felt good. It only lasted about two years, though. I had stopped purging, and the weight came right back. And then some. So I guess I'm picturing that - a thin me, but twelve years older. It makes for a funny picture - me in sexy clothes, which are now out of style, and definitely made for a 23 year old, paired with gray hair and a baby on my hip. I'm certain that's not how it will be, though, so I have to try to replace that ridiculous image with a more realistic one. How I'm supposed to do that, I don't know. I'd be thrilled to wind up a size ten when all is said and done. I'd even be happy to be a size twelve. Anything below a ten would be incredible, but I dare not even dream of that. Suffice it to say that anything would be an improvement. I know my husband loves me no matter what, and he still finds a way to find me attractive, even now. So I realize how lucky I am. BUT I want my daughter to be proud of me, to think I'm beautiful. So I'm doing this as much for her as I am for myself. My husband has been endlessly loving and supportive, and he doesn't think I need the surgery, But I'm sure he will think I'm an even HOTTER mama after the fact! JUNE 18th, 2006 I did finally receive my official approval notice in the mail, which was another relief. I was starting to fear that the verbal approval I had received was just a mistake, and that the letter I would receive would be another denial. But it was truly an approval, and for that I am quite grateful. I faxed it to my surgeon's office, so that they can get the ball rolling in terms of finding out what, if any, my financial responsibility would be. I don't believe I should have to pay anything, except for perhaps a normal $25 copay. Once they find out for certain, they will call me to schedule pre-op testing and give me a surgery date. Yippee! I am trying to be patient, but I understand that my surgeon's office is quite overextended these days, as one surgeon left the practice, and the remaining docs are covering his caseload. So it may not be until October until I have the procedure performed. But I've been waiting for my weight loss answer for many years, and I suppose I can wait a few more months. JUNE 19th, 2006 Maryellen called from Dr. Brader's office this morning. She was kind enough to let me know that she was officially forwarding my file to the schedulers today. YIPPEE!! It was so great to hear that news and realize that, in just a week or two, I will have my surgery date! I can't believe it's finally happening. I hope that I can bear to wait another few months! I'm sure it will fly by! June 26th, 2006 Okay, well LAST Monday, I got news that I should hear from Barix's scheduling office in a week, week and a half with my surgery and pre-op testing dates. So it's officially been eight days now, and I'm literally on the edge of my seat, waiting for news. I know it hasn't even been a week and a half yet, but I'm feeling so impatient. At least knowing what the date is will give me something to look forward to. Something concrete. I will finally feel... official, I guess. And I know in the back of my mind that Barix's administrative staff are really swamped these days. So I guess that - though it pains me to think it, let alone SAY it - it could conceivably be longer than they estimated before I hear anything. And I understand that. But I'm so IMPATIENT!!! Time seems to be standing still. And here I am, still fat, but starting to think about being thin. SOME DAY.
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