I made it to one of the surgery seminars held at the Obesity Center near GWU hospital.  The presenter didn't add a significant amount of info; he said things I've found during my research.

I went through the process of having my weight and BMI taken.  Next, I met with the surgeon to discuss my comorbidities.  Then I meet with the insurance coordinator to discuss fees and my insurance company.  At this point, the insurance company is my biggest concern.  The insurance coordinator called me on Friday to let me know the procedure is covered, but they wouldn't give her many details regarding qualification.  Now that's another thing that has me nervous.  I'm more than certain I qualif; just write the damn check!  She told me that they may require six months of doctor supervised dieting.  Um....HELLO!  My whole point of consulting a surgeon is because the dieting thing really isn't working out for me.  That's not so bad though, my target surgery date is March 24th so it's still well within my reach.

The doctor gave me two referrals to get a sleep apnea test and some other kind of test that I can't recall off hand.  I have no idea how I'm gonna do all this pre-op stuff, including attending support group meetings from 12-1.  That isn't a big deal for people who work in downtown DC, but I work in Columbia, MD which isn't exactly a couple of Metro stops from the Obesity Center.  It will work itself out somehow.

On Friday, I told my boss I'll need to use medical leave in the spring.  Though he was visibly surprised, he's very supportive as well.  I think the hardest thing will be dealing with co-workers.  They aren't the most tactful people I've experienced, nor do I feel moved to share anything personal with most of them.  I'm still working on how I'm going to address their questions without divulging anything I don't want to share.