Tired of all the hoop jumping!

Nov 15, 2009

     Hi all. I was approved for surgery some time ago and have a surgery date of December 03, 2009. I was happy to get to that point simply because the process has been exhaustive and I started it more than a year and a half ago! I had to do a sleep study twice...once was bad enough I thought. Anyway, the nurse who performed it was someone I trust explicitly and I have worked with her many times in the E.R in past years. I  have chronic and sometimes severe allergies, and it was just my luck that during the first study I was having issues breathing through my nose. Despite that, She only saw 5 instances where my O2 sats dropped to 90 or below. She explained to me that the pulmonologist doesn't recommend having to use a CPAP unless there are a minimum of 22 episodes. I was happy about that...I don't want one. Unfortunately, because she didn't see a need to put a CPAP on me during the study, and because the bariatric surgeon disagreed with the results, I had to return to do it again. Sigh! When I went the second time, I again had the same nurse who told me that shady things had gone on with my last results. Someone had overscored her results (5 episodes) and altered them to reflect that I had 20!!! What the hell?!! (Thus being the reason I was called back in) I wasn't thrilled with the idea that someone in the medical practice is a shady person with a personal agenda. We all know they're out there but none of us want them having access to us!! 
     I have Medicaid for insurance and my surgery approval ends on December 31, 2009. After that, if I haven't had the surgery, I will have to start the entire process all over again. ALL OF IT! Arrrrg. So what's the problem? Because of all this time wasting with the sleep study that I didn't need.... time has been ticking away. Medicaid (our lovely government) has said that the process to approve the CPAP (which the surgeon deemed I need) can take about a month! The surgeons requirements are that I have to sleep with the CPAP on for a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the surgery. Doing the math... its not going to happen.
    I have breathed the same way I breathe now quite successfully for the entirety of my 35 years. (Saturday was my birthday in fact) I have had 4 previous major surgeries and never once was breathing an issue prior, during or after any one of them. Why all the hub-bub now?
    At any rate, I have resigned to that if after December 31, 2009, I have not yet had the surgery, I am not going to pursue it any further. The process to get to the result is far too stressful and discouraging and makes the bit about carrying around 90 plus extra pounds seem not such a bad thing in comparison.
   I hope that everyone else out there who is going through similar experiences ends up with a positive result.

   Best wishes!

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