What else is there to do now??

I am at a stand still because I'm having to begin my journey again. I have printed out all of the posts from you guys that gave me your surgeons names in hopes that I can find one that will take my Medicare. I never knew how big of a headache this would turn out to be for me. I feel as though the last six months was spent waiting for nothing. I am at the point of quitting. I know I should not give up. I had a small amount of strenth left in me so I called more offices today and was told the same thing over and over, sorry we dont do Medicare so now Im facing a huge phone bill, from the calls to surgeons offices today to get packets and information sent to me. I dont know how much more I can take from this nonsense trip. In the beginning I had to wait till I could get my disability, then I had to wait almost two years for Medicare to kick in, then I had to wait till the doc DISapproved my surgery that took 6 more months, so now where do I go from here?? I need your prayers desparately......I am on the edge of just packing it in and going to bed and STAYING there till death comes to get me. Sorry, I just had to vent......I am at a loss......if you are in my area, and if you can, please email me and get my number and call me or something cos I need a friend now.....thanks....... Renee

Renee, are you on straight Medicare or do you have a Medicare Advantage plan? For example, even though I'm on Medicare, I belong to Kaiser's Senior Advantage Medicare Plan, so I get my care through Kaiser and don't have to hassle finding doctors who take Medicare. When I had my WLS, they contracted with a surgeon who was affiliated with a hospital that was an established Bariatric Center of Excellence, so it wasn't a problem. If you have Medicare, your surgery must be done at a Bariatric Center of Excellence or Medicare won't cover it. I don't know if there are any of those in Macon, are you able to travel to Atlanta? If so, I'd start researching surgeons in the greater Atlanta area. Also, Amy Williams lives in Georgia, have you contacted her for advice or assistance on finding a surgeon? Don't give up. Kaiser originally told me "NO" when I wanted WLS -- they said I was too fat for WLS! If it's important enough to you, you have to keep pushing until you get what you want. It might be easier to roll over and die, but we're not going to let you, so there! Kix

Hi Kix Thank you for the sweet letter. I am sorry now that I poored my heart out like that. I know it sounds really lame of me to feel like that. I am okay now and I have had a long talk with Jesus and I have decided to put all of this nonsense into his hands and I am not gonna call anyone else anymore. It is not worth getting upset and feeling like I did today. It was awful. I have spoken to Amy a few times, and she is great but I know how busy she is and I dont want to be a bother to her. The medicare I have is A and B and I dont have to pay out of pocket for anything, not even the monthly fee that most folks have to pay, the state of GA pays all that stuff for me. I dont know what it is called and I dont know what company it is written on. Yes I am familiar with the center of excellence thing and My town Macon is so backwards that there are no bariatric surgeons here. I have called about 5 surgeons in Atlanta and was told the same thing, "sorry, we dont do medicare" I did get one to agree to send me a packet though and I have made contact with Dr burrowes office as well so between the two of those maybe upon maybes I will get some good news. I am almost at the point of being bed bound now, I cannot hardly walk anymore and most of the time I will ask myself "is this gonna be the day when my knees say no more" so you see I am really in pretty bad shape. If you ever saw the show on DHC about that girl Robin that is at the Andover Hospital in Ohio, well I am as big, if not bigger that she was when she began her journey.....my thighs are 144 centimeters around that is just an example...I do thank you so very much for the response I truly do I really needs prayers and friends now. Email me if you want too. [email protected] See you later.......Renee

Renee, don't apologize for sharing your feelings, that's why we're here! I know how you feel -- I was almost bedbound myself and could only walk a few steps before I needed to sit or had to use a wheelchair to get around. My BMI was around 90 and I weighed over 500 lbs. I became so ill at one point that I had to be admitted to the hospital for two weeks, then had to go to a rehab facility for two weeks, and then to a nursing home for three months. I felt pretty hopeless, and all I could do was to keep going one day at a time. My HMO tried to tell me I was too fat for surgery, so I had to hire an attorney to get them to cover it. Around the time I finally won my appeal, my HMO coverage converted from an individual plan to Medicare, so I didn't have any more trouble. They even covered the Optifast diet products I used to lose weight prior to surgery. Have you contacted the bariatric programs at the Atlanta hospitals that are Centers of Excellence? They may be able to refer you to a surgeon who accepts Medicare. I'm wondering if traveling outside of Georgia is an option for you? There are surgeons who take Medicare, it's just a matter of finding one. Amy is a good resource for you, being familiar with Georgia and all. I'm sure she would not consider it a bother helping you find a surgeon. Stay focused and strong, and I'll certainly pray for you! Kix

Hey Kix, I am glad to have found someone that knows how bad it is to be this big and not be able to get around. You know the childhood song "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth"? Well, I am always humming that tune in my head except change it from the two front teeth to WLS......yes just a chance to get my life back and to be able to give back to this wonderful place here on OH. I have so many things on my "to do" list and the very first thing is when I can get on my knees, to thank GOD above for his mercy and for letting me have my 2nd chance at living again. I know about the center of excellance in Atlanta, but I dont know of any groups that can help me find a surgeon. If you know how I can contact anyone in the organization please post it here or email me the link. At this point, I will do anything now. Yes I would be willing to go out of state if I have to, to get the surgery, but I know I wont be able to with no money and no transportation. The girl that is gonna drive me to Atlanta for the surgery has volunteered to do so for me and I have only met her one time. I dont go to any churches around here because of my weight and also for the fact that I cannot get there. My family wont take me to church either. I know, that is a shame and it is another sore spot with me but yes, if I had the resources, I would go anywhere I could to have the surgery. Thanks for all your help dear. I hope you are feeling good I do not mean to let the conversation just be mee mee mee......sorry about that. I know you must feel better now that you have had your surgery. I can only hope to be like that one day and to be able to help someone as you have helped me. I have even tried to get into the Andover Village Hospital and rehab in Andover, Ohio but I am number 300 on the waiting list ha ha so the way I see it, I would probly be about 200 when a spot finally does open up. I have spoken to the director and the PA there a few times. I will just continue to put it in Gods hands and pray that I will hear something soon. Hope you have a great day.....Renee

Renee- First of all do not feel bad that you shared your feelings with us. That's what we are all here for. Each of us has had different struggles to be able to start our journey and along the way. God promises us that He will not put on us more than we are able to endure. I read the previous responses to your original post. It sounds like God has already sent you some answers and information that you cried out for. Keep trying to get in touch with the lady that Kix suggested. Bother the heck out of her if need be because you are worth it! Do you live alone? If so do you have someone *****gularly comes in to check on you? You have been in my prayers and will continue to be. You have such a sweet tender spirit and you deserve this surgery if that is God's will for you. Don't give up!! Please continue to post so we can keep track of how God is answering our prayers and yours. God Bless You! Karen

Hi Karen, Thank you for the post. I appriciate any or all help I can get now. I will continue to post and let you guys know what all is happening with me in my profile and also on here too. I hope you are feeling okay today. It is a pretty day here in Macon, and the high is gonna be 70 today I think. I love weather like this and oh how I wish I could get out and enjoy it. I have a screen porch and sometimes I will sit in a metel chair and jus****ch the day go by. I cant sit like that for very long because of my legs but I do try. My sister will stop by and get my mail for me cos I cant walk up the hill to get it. I got permission to move my mailbox down to my fence where I can get it myself but my family wont move the box for me. No one knows how to do this.....yes I know how silly it sounds cos if I had my health, I could do this. I just deal with my sister getting it for me. She will come by and hang out for a while here and there but when it comes down to having someone help me with myself, NOWAY.....I dont have anyone and Medicare here in GA wont pay for personal care, so most of the time I have to endure weeks of having a dirty head and it takes all I can do to bath part of myself too, It wears me out so bad that I have to sleep for about two days afterwards. I used to be embarrassed to post stuff like this but now it has reached a point where I just dont care anymore. Thank you for your concern prayers is what I am asking for now. Maybe I will hear from someone soon. Hope you have a great day....thank you again......Renee

Hey renee, I am so sorry that dr duncan didnt pan out. I told you several times earlier that you have so much more patience than I do. You have been a rock in that department I feel. Its just sad that people give you the run around when they have no idea in the world what you are going thru. We here surely do know. It is a sad thing for people to have such a hard time finding surgeons to do this WLS. Around here it is not done unless you want the lapband. And my insurance wouldnt touch that for some reason. So you have to travel to either Tallahassee Fla way or head up north Ga way. I know it is a challenge for you to find someone but let me tell you.... You have come way to far to give up. You might even have to consider traveling some miles to find one. By the time I left my house and was sitting at the drs office it was almost four hrs away. I live close to the Fla line. So I know the travel would be hard for you but just maybe something could come from this.... DONT GIVE UP! Hugs Marge

Hi Marge, Wow dear you live close to Florida. I love Florida, I lived there in the early 90's when I had a life and was not sick like I am now. I keep saying that one day I am gonna go back and continue my dream of living their near the ocean. I just love your name too. One of my sisters is Margie. I hope you are doing well. Today looks to be a great day for me. I am happy to have such wonderful and dedicated folks to help me here at OH. Thank you for making my day brighter dear. I have turned all this mess over to GOD now and it is entirely up to him weather or not I will have my surgery. I am done with the searching and the depression now. I have to be cos the road I was on was a bad one and I did not like where I was going yesterday. I called about 3 more yesterday and I am gonna see what happens with them. I would love to have the surgery out of town but my resources wont let me and I have no transportation. The girl that is gonna take me to Atlanta is a wonderful person but I have only met her once so far. I cannot walk so where ever I go I will have to take my chair so I can walk a little ways and then sit down then walk some and then sit down.....I have said if I ever get my life back I will never come to this place again. Right now I am just existing. Just keep me in your prayers and hopefully something good will happen soon. Thank you for all your uplifting words. You and the others will never know how much good it did to hear from you.......See you later sweety....have a good day..... Renee

Renee, have you tried dennis smith, he's in georgia, and he accepts medicare, and he works out of a center of excellence. How do i know this? Anne from washington (who posts on the DS forum often) is waiting for her medicare to kick in ..and she's done a ton of leg work to find a surgeon who accepts medicare. I hope this helps (if you need his information post on the DS forum and ask somenoe to give it to you..he has about 10 patients that post on a regular basis). Scott