sherryh

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I am going this afternoon to find out what my sleep study says about my sleep, etc. Today, i've been falling asleep all morning long. it's really tough. last night i was waking up all night making weird gutteral noises, apparently. i'll be glad to know what's up.
i emailed the wls schedule person at a new hospital yesterday. no word yet on transfering my files and stuff.

Well, i finally heard from the insurance company. they won't pay for me to go out of network. i'm really frustrated ...but i feel better today than i did on thursday after hearing the news.
I am now going to try for a hospital that is in network. i'm just hoping that i won't have to start over at square one. i hope my records will indicate my dedication to the WLS and everything that goes along with it.
that's all i can do.

It's Thursday and i'm supposed to meet with my surgeon for the first time on Monday. My insurance company hasn't ruled on the appeals i sent and the medical management team hasn't ruled on whether or not i can go to the appt. on monday (they see the clinic itself and the doctors as out of network ... so they don't want to pay for the previous visits and i'm not sure it makes sense to go on monday if they don't approve it ...since i don't have the $$ anyway ...and if i can't continue there ....) 
So, i'm a bit frustrated but trying to stay positive. We are expecting a big storm tomorrow ...so i'm going to call the insurance people today and see if they have a decision yet. 

I feel like a physical wreck. On Friday, I worked a 10 hour day. that's not typical for me, it only happens occasionally. anyway, i went to bed that night and woke up when my partner got up to go sleep on the couch. the snoring/gasping/kicking/shifting around was too much for her. I woke up at about 4 am. with a screaming headache. i felt as if my head may just explode. I took some aspirin and went back to bed. i have an herb mask that i heated up and put on, too. about an hour later, i was still in sooooo much pain and at that point, vomiting. ugh.
i didn't feel well the rest of the day ...the migraine hangover kind of thing.
i went to the orthopaedic doc this morning and he ordered an mri for my knee. we discussed possible treatment options (a shot or surgery basically). the mri is on wednesday. 
next monday i meet with my surgeon. i'm still waiting on the appeal result from my insurance company. and i'm waiting to see if they approve going out of network for this stuff. if they don't, i may have to start the process all over again with a different hospital. that would suck, but i'm trying to keep an open mind and heart to whatever is supposed to happen.
i feel old. the knee thing is really bothersome. and it hurts enough to make me limp and .....ugh......just that whole fat girl limping image, you know?
sigh.

it feels like, in addition to the WLS issue, i have so much going on. It's hard to not feel overwhelmed ...but interestingly, i'm not too crazy yet. I suspect i'll break out in head to toe shingles at some point.
i'm going back to see the ortho doc on Monday about my knee. Meanwhile, i'll only be doing PT in the pool part of the time, "on land" the other part of the time. 
and the following week (monday, march 5) is my appt. with the surgeon. after that, i should be in good shape. well, depending on about a million factors. and on the 13th, i see the doc about my sleep study/apnea, etc. 
all of this stuff ...and life too, you know, work, part time work, my home life, my dog, my family. lots to deal with.
i just try to keep it in the day. a day at a time. that's all i can do.

After 4 weeks of PT on my knee, it feels like it's getting worse, not better. Today, I talked to my PT supervisor who recommended that I get in touch with my ortho doc and see if he can schedule and MRI. and everyone keeps mentioning surgery, which i soooooooo don't want to do. I don't want to be on crutches and i don't want another surgery to get in the way of my WLS, if that is happening. Lots seems up in the air right now. feeling kind of ....on the precipice. and it does feel as if the WLS will help take pressure off my knee ...but the WLS might be a ways off. 
anyway, feeling kind of grouchy and not at all spiritual.
:)

This is one of my favorite holidays. I made heart-shaped cookies for the folks at work and wore red and gave a Valentine to my sweetie, etc. I just think we don't celebrate love or romance enough.
Anyway, I had a great piece of mail yesterday, from my PCP. He wrote a letter to my insurance company appealing the status of two claims to see my docs in Boston. They are out of network, something neither of us was aware of. But in the letter, he really spells out my difficulties and ...talks about what a special person I am and how much I"ve struggled. It was hard to read (because it spells out my future without WLS) but good at the same time. and i feel soooooo supported by him and his staff.
I called the pulmonary doc's office yesterday and requested that they put me on a cancellation list. I can't see him until March 13 (!) but i know they have the results of my sleep study already. 
I called specifically because on Monday night i had a choking incident while sleeping. I couldn't catch my breath and ....i don't want to sound gross here, but it was a very sour-y tasting stuff (like acid reflux?) in my mouth. It was really, really frightening. I woke my partner up to tell her, but she didn't even remember it in the morning. I really have to get this sleep thing figured out.

I have a torn meniscus ligament in my left leg, which has been an issue since May. I went to my PCP, an orthopaedic surgeon (twice), PT in September, for a an initial exam, and then back to PT two weeks ago to start working on it. 
today, it's so sore. i did too much over the weekend, and i didn't do a lot. it's so frustrating.
went to PT this morning and the therapist used an ultrasound to get it feeling a little better. sorta worked ... but not much. I have Restless Leg Syndrome ...and although i take medication for it, it's not always working perfectly. i have to take it at a certain time at night ...and if i go to bed earlier than normal, my legs will still be kicking. and leg kicing stuff is aggravating my knee. 
and it's such a struggle to lose weight when i can't exercise. and i see my surgeon in a month and i want to at least lose 5 lbs. 
grrrrrrrrr.
feeling crappy today.

I really had a rough time sleeping last night,. i just wasn't comfortable and with 26 electrodes hooked up to me everywhere, it was just a recipe for disaster. the tech was excellent and he said i slept plenty ...but i'm beat today.
he didn't have to wake me for the cpap, which is good. but he suspects i'll need one ...i wasn't in the severe category but i had plenty of 'episodes' and snoring.
*sigh*

the folks at the sleep center just called and they have a cancellation tonight ....so i'm going. i only had another week to wait, but i have nothing going on to stop me and right now, the weather is pretty good. it's about an hour and 15 min. from my house, so in the morning, i'll just go right to work.
i'm happy that this is going to be in my past soon.