Surgery One Year Ago Today!

Nov 27, 2006


HAPPY SURGIVERSARY to ME! 

It is MY 1st surgiversary today!  My weightloss is "holding steady," as Sue says!  Well, I HAD lost 3-4 lbs. this month and THEN THANKSGIVING happened with buffet tables full of desserts, etc. So now I lost a big ZERO for the month.   Anyway, I know yawls' hearts bleed for me and you've got your violins out playin' sad, sad music for me!
 

Ah well....at least there's no lab rat table to hafta report my GOOSE EGG to! 
LeaAnn          I MY DS!!


Thanksgiving Last Year

Nov 22, 2006

My Thanksgiving last year was spent at a Waffle House (only place open) in Tucson on our route to Mexico to get my DS surgery.  We flew in to AZ along the way to see the Grand Canyon and then drove down to Hermosillo.  Very scenic  trip through the Sonoran Desert.  Lots of giant and organ pipe cacti.  After awhile they all started to look the same!  But it was a different planet than here in Alabama!  Very fond memories.  By Nov. 28 I was switched!  Christmas dinner was a few bites of turkey and I was stuffed.  Just remember that stage is TEMPORARY.  Knowing that kept me sane.  Think I'll be enjoying Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners this year?  Oh, yeah, Baby! 

The Spanking!

Nov 17, 2006

For those of you that missed it, or didn't have time to wade through 67 pages of legal jargon, I have condensed the jist of Dr. Ryce's (Medical Director of BC/BS of AL) spanking from the judge into one paragraph.  Let us continue to GLOAT over this arrogant man's day of reckoning!

And I QUOTE:

"Ryce omits mention of the fact(s).....Amazingly, Ryce also cites another article discussing BPD
without DS.....Ryce's discredited claim.....The court begins to question whether it is being intentionally mislead.....evidence negligible at best....(DS) complications are comparable or identical to those that are considered by (Ryce) to be accepted risks of the approved RNY operation.....(The) insurance manuals (Ryce) cites contain plenty of rhetoric expressing grave concerns about protein malnutrition and other metabolic abnormalities, but the proof is in the pudding (that) the risks simply do not outweight the benefits.....(Ryce's) analysis is based on a flawed understanding....(Ryce) seems to be laboring under an erroneous understanding.....(Ryce's) assertion that the (DS) does not improve health outcome is (...) absurd.....(Ryce's) review process was a biased attempt to resist pressures to expand the scope of coverage......(I)t is unclear whether the (glaring) error stems from genuine ignorance (...) or from a desire to justify an arbitrary policy decision...Another unpardonable error was Ryce's (...) citation to contextually misleading snippets...Analysis that relies on that sort of reasoning is not deserving......(S)tatement (...) is nothing less than an egregious misrepresentation of the evidence...This discussion could go on (...) however, because (Ryce's) decision was both wrong and unreasonable, there is no need....."




MwuHAhaHAhaHA!!!!!

LeaAnn          I MY DS!!

Alabama Court Rules DS NOT Investigational!

Nov 14, 2006

I WON!  I WON!  I beat BC/BS of AL in my ERISA Federal Lawsuit!!!

I began my quest for WLS around 3 years ago, and decided at that time that I didn't want an RNY but a Duodenal Switch (DS) that BC/BS of AL wouldn't cover because they claim it is "investigational." BULLFEATHERS!

Anyway, very, VERY long story short....After appealing for two years with no change in their bogus policy, I found out my only recourse in the state of Alabama is to file an ERISA lawsuit in Federal Court. (MOST other states have review laws where a State Insurance Commission will review all health insurance claim denials). I filed the lawsuit in October of LAST YEAR, and then went out of country to Mexico and self paid for my DS with Dr. Ungson.

Just found out today  that the court ruled in my favor! The judge gave BC/BS AL's medical director a sound spanking in it's decision that the denial was arbitrary and capricious! What does this mean to YOU? It means that if you have been denied the the DS as "investigational"  there is a now a court ruling that it is NOT an investigational procedure and they cannot REASONABLY deny coverage! Insurance companies will be hard pressed to continue denying this procedure to persons that wish to have it in the future because of this precedent!

For a complete manuscript of the court's decision, it has been uploaded to Dr. Husted site at:


http://www.johnhustedmd.com/JohnsonMemorandumOpinion.pdf

What does this mean for ME?  It means I'm gonna get new siding on my house!  Yes, I SHOULD be able to get reimbursed for what I spent paying for surgery myself in Mexico.  We shall see. Stay tuned!

R E C I P E !

Nov 09, 2006

SUGAR FREE NO BAKE PUMPKIN PIE

Okay, so there's sugar in the Keebler Graham Cracker Crust, but DSers can have a little sugar....and it's THANKSGIVING so....

Filling - mix one package of SF vanilla instant pudding with a can of pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cloves) and a little extra splenda

Topping - tub of SF Coolwhip and softened 8 oz cream cheeze whipped together.

YUMMY!

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Aura Pics

Nov 04, 2006

We had our auras photographed today at my friends Wally and Rhonda's New Earth Festival of Spiritual Awareness......not that *I* believe any of this "chicken-swingin'" type bullcrap....but here ya go....FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY:

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About Me
Huntsville, AL
Location
26.5
BMI
DS
Surgery
11/28/2005
Surgery Date
Oct 19, 2003
Member Since

Before & After
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Latest Blog 6
Surgery One Year Ago Today!
Thanksgiving Last Year
The Spanking!
Alabama Court Rules DS NOT Investigational!
R E C I P E !
Aura Pics

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