Beasley317

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My story huh? Well, it's kind of on going.  Hopefully it'll be on going for a long time.

10-20-08
I guess I was put on a diet for the first time when I was around 10. I wasn't a big kid, just a little chubby. Unfortunately though, I came from a family that looks meant a lot. Mom and my older sister had lost some weight so I kind of got sucked into it. But I've always been the black sheep. Actually, I've always been the rainbow sheep LOL  Anyway, I never got why what anyone else thought was all that important and dieting wasn't about health, it was about looks, right? I just wanted to be happy and I was perfectly comfortable with who I was.

As my teenage years went on, it kind of turned almost into a rebellion thing. I kept some weight on because I wanted to be me. Well, I kind of kept that streak going through my 20's. I came out which really went over well let me tell ya LOL. By now my self esteem was pretty much in the toilet. I ended up turning to a lot of drugs and alcohol to make me feel better. Well, actually it was so I didn't have to feel anything.

I was very blessed though. I caught myself and stopped using when I was 23 and I've been sober ever since. Go me  I faced a lot of issues when I got sober, including my weight and my family. It took a long time, but my family and I managed to really work out a lot of issues. My Mom even came to the realization that I was right about not worrying as much about what other people think. But by now I could see at least that my weight was holding me back, but I still had that mentality that dieting was all about looks, health was just an excuse people used. I'd try a diet, I'd exercise, the whole nine yards. I'd lose weight for a little while and then gain it all back and then some. The same story a lot of us have.

When I turned 30 I got promoted with my job and moved to Louisiana. I didn't have any friends down here so for the first time, I found myself turning to food for comfort. I put on a LOT of weight. I started getting really worried about it so I went to the doctor. I found out that I had high blood pressure as well - almost at stroke level. I tried one last time to get my weight under control and it was the same old thing, except harder.

I went back to the doctor and she suggested I look into bariatric surgery. To make a long story a little shorter, I've been through all the tests, found out that I have sleep apnea, and now I'm just waiting for the insurance company to make up their minds. Incidentally, I'm convinced that when they said that US soldiers were mistreating terrorist prisoners, they were giving them sleep apnea tests. Somehow in all this, in all the poking and prodding and all that I realized that I'm doing this for my health, not my looks. I'm doing it to save years of my life. And I'm doing it to be able to take advantage of every opportunity I can. And ok, the idea of looking good while I'm doing it is appealing, but it's just a perk to me honestly.

I'm so nervous about all this, but mostly excited. I feel like I'm a prisoner and the surgery is my parole. I keep thinking about all the things I want to do, things that I haven't been able to do in years or ever. I'm trying to keep occupied in the mean time with getting ready for things. Adding meal replacements to my diet and I'm taking all the vitamins I need. I'm even exercising a little more. Every day is driving me nuts. I hate waiting...

10-21
I'm not fond of United Health Care. I can't get a strait answer. I called them last night and I was told the UHC doesn't actually handle bariatric surgery, another company does. I called the other company (the name totally escapes me) and they said they weren't able to find out with their system, but that they'd assign it to a case manager and the case manager would be back to me within 5 business days. *bangs head against wall*

In the mean time, I have a bad muscle spasm in my lower back so I can't even go to the gym to try to work this stress out.

Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue.

10-24
Not STRANGLING my entire insurance company is a virtue too. I still can't believe what's happened.

I finally got a hold of my case manager. She accidentally picked up the phone is more like it. Within 5 minutes she told me that they wouldn't approve the surgery because I didn't have the 6 months of supervised dieting. WHAT????

I explained to her that when I started this whole thing I called UHC immediately and asked them what I needed to have the surgery. She listed everything so I asked her SPECIFICALLY if they needed the 6 month diet. She told me no. I've called them a couple of times since then asking questions and never did they tell me this.

The case manager told me that in order to have this done I should've called them 6 months ago. I was like lady I didn't know you even existed until 2 days ago!!! I was so upset. Just to top it all off, she tells me this isn't UHC's policy, it's my employer's. Ok, now I just feel flat out betrayed. The same company that I've given 10 years of hard service to?

I called the dr's office back and they suggested I go through HR to see if there's anything they can do to help. I emailed Johnette today and she's in Dallas at a territory meeting.

Every day I go through the before and after photos and it gives me hope. Tonight it's just envy.

10-27
Well, I talked to my called Optum Health (the case manager people) today and asked for a new case manager. She's not answering my questions, she's not callin me back, and she just seemed...well...mean. Within a couple of hours, one of the supervisors called me back. The answer was still "you have to have the 6 month diet and it's your company's policy, not ours," but at least she was really nice about it. She even let me vent and cry a little over the phone. Does it make me feel any better about the situation? Hell no. But at least I felt like a human being for 5 minutes.

11-2
I called HR and they're sending me an appeal form. As soon as it gets here I have to fill it out and send it back. Just in case I went ahead and make an appointment with Dr Aaron to get the "diet" started. Arg. I did find something interesing last night. There are apparently attourneys that specifically represent people in obesity cases. If the appeal doesn't work, I might give them a shout.

11-5

I'm am so over all this nonsence.

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