Lo82

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

So, from my last pre-surgery update, I was just establishing care with my new surgeon, Dr. Sandor. That went well and I was given a new tentative surgery date of December 27. I was kind of bummed out because my original date with the other surgeon was supposed to be December 20. I get off the week between Christmas and New Year's and I could couch the extra days beforehand in Christmas family time. The new date would mean time off work after New Year's which takes some more explaining. BUT December 27 would be better than January, so I was all for it.

I kept in contact with the doctor's office, but she told me that my insurance denied my surgery for a 2nd time. The first time was because of the hospital not being a bariatric center of excellence and that is why I had to switch surgeons/hospitals. Now, they denied me because they said there wasn't 90 days between my first doctor's visit and my last doctor's visit. That actually wasn't true! Because of the insurance I have, there is a "Carelink" between my main insurance company and the approver for the surgery (Cigna). For some reason, I don't get to talk to Cigna and can only talk to my insurance company. My insurance company and my doctor's office can talk to Cigna, but not me. I have no idea why that is. 

So... time is counting down if I want to have 2 weeks for the pre-op diet and I'm stressing out. I kept calling my insurance company and doctor's office to see if there was anything that could be done. My doctor's office filed an appeal and I was denied again! Then, my surgeon called Cigna for a peer-to-peer review which means that my doctor talks to a Cigna doctor about my case. Cigna was only denying me because of the time between first and last visit and my doctor had to literally count days on the calendar with the Cigna doctor. What a waste of time! BUT it worked! On Wednesday, Dec 13 (after I had already talked to my doctor's office and she said not to hold out hope for the 27), she called me back and said that A) I was approved and B) there was a cancellation in the hospital OR for December 19 (less than a week away)!! It was either December 19 or January, so I took it! I was surprised they would take me with less than a week for the pre-op diet, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

Luckily, I hadn't eaten yet that day, so I started the pre-op diet. I'm not going to lie and say that I was perfect on it. I had no time to prepare and I think that messed with my mind a little. I did mostly protein shakes, broccoli and veggie soup (which were all approved). Not so approved were the few pieces of cheese, pepperoni and crackers that I had a holiday parties. Or the peanuts (small individual pack). Definitely not approved was the popcorn I ate at Star Wars on Dec 14 or the small piece of lasagna I had on Saturday. I do feel guilty about the popcorn and lasagna. All in all, I think I did pretty well.

Anyway - that's the catch-up on my pre-surgery story. Next post will be about surgery day and how I've been doing since (surgery was 3 days ago). Thanks for reading!

So, a bit has happened since I last posted. I had another visit with the nutritionist and what was supposed to be the final visit with my surgeon. Those appointments both happened on the same day (a week and a half ago) and they were submitting my file to insurance the same day. That was a Monday. On that Thursday (exactly one week ago), I had my appointment to get my c-pap machine. It went pretty well. I was given a machine that has "nose pillows" instead of something more intrusive. It takes distilled water and I didn't have time to get to the store, so I didn't start using my machine until the next day (Friday).

The machine isn't so bad, though I can't say that it's comfortable. It's way more high-tech than I thought it would be. I was used to seeing my Dad's old c-pap machine from the 90s that made a ton of noise and was huge. The one I got is the size of a game console and it is really "plugged in" so to speak. It tells me my AHI (how many episodes I have in a night), if the mask fits well, how many hours I wore it, etc. That is good and bad. On the plus side, I know that my AHI went from just over 10 when I did my sleep study to under 1 every night. I was told that under 5 is good, so I'm happy with that. The downside is that the machine sends out readings, so my insurance company will know if I'm not wearing it. I have to be compliant for a minimum of 2 weeks before surgery.

Now, I've worn the machine/mask for a total of 5 nights. The first night and last night were the worst. I took it off after 4.7 hours the first night and after 5 hours last night (a "compliant" night is at least 4 hours). It's weird having a mask on my face and having to worry about the long tube connected to the machine. I already wrenched the tubing too hard one night and the machine fell over and I had to clean up the distilled water. Whomp whomp. I haven't done that since. Last night, after I took the mask off, I did notice by myself that I was snoring without the machine, so I have to be real in saying that it does help. I'll wear it every night and then see where we are after surgery. I hope that by losing the weight, I'll lose the sleep apnea as well.

Anyway - back to pre-surgery stuff... I was told that it takes a week, max to hear back from my insurance, so I was a bit nervous when I didn't hear back a week later. I did hear back this afternoon with good news and bad news. Bad news is that my insurance denied my claim because the hospital isn't a bariatric hospital of excellence, or whatever. I specifically called my insurance company a month ago and they said that didn't matter. That person was wrong. Good news is that the other surgeon in the practice is willing to take over my case because his hospital (Winchester Hospital in Winchester, MA vs Lawrence Memorial in Medford, MA) has the excellence rating. That means that I have to change surgeons near the end of the process, which sucks, but I hear he is really good too.

I now have to go meet him on Monday to establish that he is my new surgeon before my paperwork can be resubmitted to insurance. If it goes quickly, I can still have a December surgery date. If it takes too long (especially considering Thanksgiving is next week), my date might be pushed back, which would suck hardcore. I will have to pay another copay to see this doctor and establish care, but whatever. I'm happy to do it IF I can still have my late December surgery date. If that doesn't work out, it will have been kind of a waste.

Fingers crossed that my meeting with the new surgeon goes well next week, that my insurance approves quickly and that I can get the surgery date in December that I initially wanted! Will update again soon!

Hi All! I had started documenting my journey on a different site, but feel this is the place to be. I will copy and paste my previous entries and then go from there. Would love any advice, recipes, support, etc. Thanks!

Originally written October 30, 2017:

Hello there! I am pre-surgery and I've been using this site (as well as Youtube videos) to see what other people are doing and how their experiences with WLS have gone. I figured I'd start to document my own journey for others and for myself.
To start:
Highest weight: 287
Weight at the start of the process: 277
Current weight: 268
Goal weight: 150 (we'll see if this changes as I get close to it)

"Backstory":
I've been overweight for most of my life. I remember considering myself fat when I was 10/11, though it really wasn't that bad. I was just chubby. Unfortunately, in middle and high school, my weight went up pretty rapidly. I was about 190 when I graduated high school. Now, at 35 years old, I've lost and gained weight multiple times. I've done nutrisystem 3 or 4 times, weight watchers, gotten personal trainers, Curves and other gyms, my own program, etc. The most success I've had was in 2010 when I lost 80 lbs for my high school reunion. Surprise, surprise, I started gaining almost immediately after. I lost 40 pounds again in 2013 and have been on a gain, stay, gain, stay pattern ever since.

I've thought about bariatric surgery in the past, but I wasn't heavy enough at the time. Now, I'm big enough (not that that was the goal, obviously) and I'm at a place where I know I can lose weight on my own, but I never keep it off. WLS is the tool I want to make sure that I keep the weight off for good. I don't mind working out and I even have a trainer right now! It's just that my eating is so bad that I don't lose weight.

Getting ready for surgery:
Once I made the decision that surgery was for me, I attended a free seminar at a local hospital (August, 2017). I met the doctor a week later and have been going through the process ever since. I did blood work, breath tests, upper GI, nutritionist visits, mental health visits, cardiologist, PCP visit, sleep study, etc. My insurance should cover it, but I expect to pay about $600-700 or so in deductibles and co-pays. So far, I've paid $300 for co-pays and lab tests.

I have been planning to have my surgery in late December so that I could potentially avoid paying another full deductible in 2018 (though I might have to do it anyway if they order follow-up blood tests) and so that I can time it with time I already get off from work for the holidays. I was on track until Friday (3 days ago) when I had my follow-up appointment from my sleep study. I now know that I have sleep apnea. This is "good" because I don't have any other comorbidities (no problems with cholesterol, blood sugar/diabetes, heart, etc). Sleep apnea will help me with my insurance covering the surgery; HOWEVER, now, I have to wait to get a c-pap machine and wear it for at least 2-3 weeks before surgery. I'm hoping that I can get a surgery date and wear the machine in the meantime instead of having to wear the machine for several weeks before even getting a date. If I have to wait, that will push me into January/February and I would have to take real time off of work instead of hiding my recovery time in Winter Break. Sigh...

General thoughts:
- I'm thinking about going for bypass instead of sleeve because my issue is with food. Dumping syndrome will help me stay on track. Also, people seem to lose more weight and keep it off with bypass over time. I know that I'll have to be more strict with my diet and with vitamins, but I'm ok with that
- I'm worried about being alone during the recovery process. I do have an offer to stay with my parents and I do have friends that would come over if I asked, but I think I should be able to do it alone. Let me know if you disagree
- I'm hoping to lose most of the weight in the first 6 months. Maybe even 100 lbs? I won't be disappointed if I don't lose it that fast, but that would be awesome
- I'm worried about hair loss and extra skin. I know that these are very common. Hair - I guess it starts growing back after a few months? I hope so. With skin... best case scenario is that I don't have much once I really start working out. In reality, I'll probably have a lot of loose skin around my arms and my stomach area because that's where I'm biggest and don't have as much muscle (my legs are stronger). I've already started looking into the different plastic surgery types and costs. I know this wouldn't be an option for at least a year. Plus, I would like to have kids at some point and it wouldn't make sense to do it until afterwards (unless I just do my arms first). 

Anyway - that's where I'm at right now. Any advice, thoughts are welcome! I hope to be one of those people on here who write/update regularly and include photos. :-)