becolegray

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I got my date today! January 9th! It took me a few years to get to this point but I am finally here thanks to my very best friend and my husband, who have both supported me in various ways. I can't wait!!! I go next Wednesday to see Dr. Wegner and to get my preadmissions paperwork/labwork done. I start the liver shrink diet the day after Christmas and then the next day I go for my last class. Then surgery on january 9th! Any tips for the liver shrink diet would be greatly appreciated! lol

I have opted not to cook Christmas dinner this year as I always do. With starting the diet the next day, I do not want to feel pressured to eat the leftovers. I feel guilty not carrying on the tradition, but I guess I would rather carry on the tradition of living instead! lol

So... I went through all that trouble last time I went through the bariatric surgery approval process earlier this year only to find out that in my original call to the insurance company (following the script the surgeon's office gave me), the rep that I spoke with gave me VERY incorrect information. My insurance does not cover any bariatric procedure. Specifically excluded! Why could they not have told me that before I paid nearly $1500 on all kinds of different tests and program fees, etc. :(

But now my best friend is loaning me the cash for the procedure. I will never be able to repay her. Monetarily - yes.... But money will not do it justice.

Now that I am not relying on insurance to pay, I am getting the procedure I prefer - RNY. I have switched surgeons. I am now seeing Dr. Wegner at St. Francis in Memphis. 

This is my third time going through the process, and I have already seen him three times. He was the one who did the seminar I attended (been to several before but never saw hide nor hair of a surgeon at one before) and was even able to ask him a couple questions. When I went for my first appointment, he came out into the waiting room and talked to a small group of us, It was very informal and made me feel even better about my choice. Once I went back to the room and saw the nurse, he came in and spoke to me for a good 20 minutes or more one on one.

Now I have gotten everything done that I needed to get done, aside from 2 classes (2 hours each) but I am going to do those on December 13 and December 27. Also on the 13th I will be having a mini nutritional assessment because I already had one earlier in the year. After December 27th, I will have everything done that I was required to do. I am not sure how they do the scheduling for the surgery. I don't know when I will get my date. I am thinking they will call me in for an appointment after I get the 2nd class done so that I can schedule my surgery. I am hoping for mid to late January - early February at the latest. My fingers are SO CROSSED this time!

I went for my evals and labs etc. today - all that preliminary stuff before they sumbit to insurance. They went ahead and scheduled me for the EGD. I thought they normally wait until AFTER insurance approval for that, but they said they only do it once a month and I would have to wait until April if I miss it next Friday. I don't want ANYTHING to delay my surgery if possible. I had blood taken in the lab, went over insurance info and spoke with the psych (also throughout the day I had to take that 564 question test between everything else). I had a physical done by the nurse practitioner. When she told me my body fat percentage I wanted to die! I knew it was high, deep down I probably thought it was even higher, but hearing it makes it true and it SUCKS! lol All my labs were in the normal range aside from my EOS % being flagged as a little low. I meant to ask what this meant. I watched a video and then spoke with the nutritionist. I was also told that I had to buy at least one bag of Bariatric Advantage before surgery. With all the costs from the surgery, I don't know if I can afford it. I was hoping I could get some from GNC or something.

I dropped the referral form off at my NP when I got back to town. I have to call tomorrow and get my urologist to send a letter of clearance for surgery. I REALLY REALLY hope she doesn't want me to come in for an appointment before she will send it, as she is 2 1/2 hours away. I still have to do the My Informed Choice test and print the results and bring them to my next appointment.

Whew!!! I am already further along in the process than I got last time. I AM NOT giving up this time. I really feel like I have more support this time, although I am not really telling anyone except close friends and my family (people snubbed their noses at me a lot last time when I told them).

Got a huge packet in the mail yesterday from the surgeon's office. It was a big book detailing all the steps in the journey I am about to take. I read the entire thing while eating lunch. It was very informative. There was also a letter telling me exactly what time I have to be where for all of my appointments on 3/3 as well as all the costs involved. Wow, I knew it would be expensive, but I guess I thought that with my insurance covering it, there would be less out-of-pocket. Oh well, it will mean all that much more. That first visit is going to break the bank! Won't get much cheaper after insurance approval either, I'm afraid. lol All those fees you never think about!

I am getting more and more nervous about the whole process. I have been a large girl for about 9 years now. I was slightly overweight in high school, and thought I was huge, but now I look back and think "Man I would kill to be that weight again!!!" That was 150 lbs. ago! lol

This is my 2nd time in the process. The first time I couldn't pass the psych eval. Psych said I was clinically depressed. SO FAR from the truth. I know I had some emotional issues, most stemming from my weight and the guilt I felt for letting it get so bad. I think a lot of the symptoms he attributed to my clinical depression were caused by sleep apnea, which I have since had diagnosed and am now on a C-PAP machine.

SO now... Going with a different surgeon this time. I was going through the process originally with Dr. Woodman out of Memphis, TN. I liked the staff ok, but it was just so far. This time I am going with Dr. Weiss/Dr. Oldham in Mayfield, KY. I printed off all the paperwork from the website and had it sent in to the office (including the form that takes 30 minutes on the phone reading a script to the insurance co. rep. to fill out) on the morning of the seminar. I also sent a copy of my insurance card. I got an email the morning after the seminar (yesterday) saying that I had been scheduled to come in on 3/3 for the preliminary testing and evals before everything is submitted to insurance.  Last time it took a month to get an appointment! They do a whole day of stuff (nutritionist, psych, testing). It took me three months to get all those appointments scheduled and get the results back to the surgeon's office last time, and they are doing all of it in one day this time! I got all the forms signed today to have all my records faxed over from my other docs before the appointment. Except one doc who I have to call in the morning.

I don't think (crossing my fingers) that my insurance will require the 6 month diet as I have proof of past failed diet attempts. The insurance coordinator said that my plan wording is vague and even after calling the company she still isn't sure what is up. So we are going to try without it first.

I am so excited! Maybe just maybe I can finally get this done!