Final Step

Jul 08, 2014

Today I take the last step in my approval process--PSYCH EVAL. First I have to sit for that MMPI which I've been told is extremely long. I'm a tad nervous because I know they will probably touch on some subjects that are sensitive topics for me and I'm sure I'll burst into tears when talking about them but I don't want that to be the reason I'm no cleared because I'm honestly in a better place than what I was years ago which got me to this point. But once I've accomplished this and I'm cleared I can get an approval within 24hrs according to my case worker. I shall add more later once I've taken the actual test. Stay Tuned...

 

EDIT: So I forgot to add on to this post after my visit. That MMPI is no joke and beyond excruciating. I probably could've knocked it out in 2.5 hours instead of 4 but I found myself falling asleep and fidgeting because it had 560+ questions on it. Beyond the number of true/false questions it was fairly simple as long as you are honest with yourself and the inventory. The doctor didn't really ask me a lot of questions. He pretended not to know much about the surgery. I think he was testing to me to see how well versed about it I was. Of course he asked me about the pros and cons of the surgery for me. I think for anyone who is having this type of surgery that the positives out weigh the negatives. I even read that from people who have had the complications that come with this type of surgery. I am very excited about what this means for me. I have crossed the final stepping stone for approval and should have it no later than Wednesday (7/16) according to my case manager. My journey has official begun and I can't wait to get started. I think the next step for me is getting use to the liquid diet before my doctor tells me that I have to do a pre-op diet. I know it seems like jumping the gun but it's going to take me a while to get use to having liquids only. I like texture, spice and crunch so I have to get my mind in the zone and ready to go. I love reading the stories on this website because it really motivates me to see someone 2 months out and already 50lbs down or leaving the hospital with sleep apnea problems out the window. My next task is to get in those embarrassing sports bra and hot pants pictures so I always have some memories of the past and how far I have come once I transform into the new me (I'm big on scrapbooking and photography). 

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Looking forward

May 17, 2014

I have never been good with blog writing and keeping them up to date but here I go. So the process so far has been pretty smooth. I always knew exactly who I wanted to perform my surgery, Dr. Robert Marema, because this has been a dream of mine since forever. I've completed that first step that I've completed many time before which is sitting through the presentation on the positives, risks and success stories of WLS. The insurance specialist has been wonderful at Dr. Marema's office and has been in close contact with my case manager at BCBSFL. Both of them always keep me in the loop about where we are in the process. My requirements are fairly simple: medical necessity letter, TSH work ups, and psych eval. Through this pilot program the documentation of previous weight loss attempts or the pre-surgery 6 months of nutrition and exercise is not required. So I am really hoping we can knock all the requirements out before the end of the school year and get surgery scheduled for the summer so I have plenty of recovery time. I am looking forward coming back to work in the Fall and shocking everyone with my post-op hard work and transformation. 

 

I've started to tell family members and close friends what I am in the process of doing and I've received some mixed reviews. Some family members wish that I wouldn't go through with it. Mostly because they just don't know the struggle I've had most of my life trying to lose weight. Dieting, exercising, starving myself and having no success whatsoever. while some like my mother are more than happy for me. My mom and my sister have always been my support system. They have known how long I've wanted this. My mom has even tried to get financing for me to go overseas and have this surgery. The first thing my sister asked me was what does this mean. I told her it meant we would have to work our butts off because the surgery wouldn't be a cure but a great advantage. I can remember when we were little her saying to my mom that she wanted to be fat like me so kids would stop teasing me. Lucky for her she's always been the more outgoing one, taller and though not skinny but curvaceous. I'm going to need support like that in the after math. Someone to push me when I just don't feel like getting up and moving. Someone to send me motivational texts in the morning because they understand what I am going through. Yup, I'm looking forward to the future and where I go from here.

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Where do I began...

Mar 11, 2014

I have been on the website numerous times (though I can never seem to remember my login) in hopes of qualifying for weightloss surgery or being able to finance it through anyone. Of course it was always a challenge because the insurance company that would cover it had requirements that just weren't possible because of my geographic location (they meetings with a nutritionist covered under their plan 3 times a week which was only valid in one county and I lived in a county over 100 miles away) or they wouldn't cover it at all. Receiving financing was a nightmare when you are a college student with minimal income and credit.

I had asked my employer if they would cover it but was denied and jist had no energy to fight it. So in December 2013, I got word that they were starting a pilot program for weight management. All employees were eligible but only a few would be chosen: 265 for Weight Watchers and 20 for weightloss surgery. The only thing you had to do was go to your doctor, have them fill out a physical and return it by February 28, 2014. OK great! I gladly traveled to Daytona from Lakeland to get a physical from my primary care physician because getting the doctors in Lakeland to see me was a nightmare. Fast forward to May 10, 2014 and I just happened to stop by my PO Box to check my mail. In it is a nice shiny letter with a reference number and that those who were eligible would be picked on May 10 at 5pm. I had other plans that day but I just had to be at this meeting. It wasn't required to go to the selection meeting but not knowing was going to kill me and if I was chosen I didn't want to have to wait to find out in the mail.

I stopped for some dinner and off to Bartow I went. I arrived 30 mins early and those 30 mins seemed to pass by quickly. Sitting in a room full of other people anxious to find out if they would be selected, attempting to make jokes here and there to lighten the mood and cut the tension but for me it just wasn't working. My anxiety was only worsened when in walks a woman carrying a hopper (one of those things you spin in a drawing) and sure enough that's how names were going to be selected; by spinning and picking. It was announced that out of the applicants 99 people were actually eligible so the odds are 1 in 5 or a 20% chance of being selected (YAY!). We waited a little bit more until finally they started the drawing. Unbeknownst to me they are selecting by the reference numbers not the names and I left my letter in the car. I whip out my phone and start excitedly taking down the numbers so I can check later. Towards the end of the top 20 I hear a woman scream out. She came with her husband and daughter for support and she tears up because her number has just been called. The room ignites in applause and the drawing continues. The board then announces they will continue selecting until they have chosen all the numbers just in case some of the top 20 change their mind or what have you so I stay and continue to take down the numbers (of course halfway through I get the genius idea of only taking down the numbers of those applications on and around the date I submitted my application since the first part of the numbers were the application received date).

When it's all said and done, some people in the room are a tad upset that they weren't chosen. In fact one woman kept interjecting when she would hear a number called that was a Feb 28th date, the Dec 31st date (because applications weren't emailed until January but it was explained they had been available online since December) and the March 4th date (which was after the cut off date but the app did say mailed apps had to be postmarked by the 28th). She even almost got hostile. In some rights I can understand her frustration. I figured the applicants would be triaged or chosen out of those who perhaps had a more urgent necessity (higher BMI, more co-morbidities, etc). I would have never guest it would be luck of the draw and here was a woman sitting in a wheelchair, morbidly-obese with breathing problems, difficulty walking (I watched her get out of her car as I was coming in) and possibly other ailments. And I say that not to judge her but a surgery of this nature could easily change her life around if not save her life so I completely understand her frustration with not being selected anywhere even close to the top 20 (her number ended up being called in the 60s). But I digress...

A few questions are asked about what's next in the process for the one woman who was chosen and I stay around to get a little information just in case my number is on that list but I leave after about 10 minutes of questions because the anticipation is killing me. I rush to my car as quickly as possible to check my number and what do I see Feb282014003-- the first number chosen was my number. I take about 5 minutes to cry, laugh, smile, get over the shock. Can't wait to get home so I can video chat with my mom and tell her. The only thing I can think it all the denial letters, hurdles, everything has culminated to this point. FINALLY is what I want to scream but at the same time I am pinching myself to make sure I won't wake up later to a cruel joke or that I didn't take the number down wrong. In fact I reached out to the RN over the program today to verify that this was the number chosen and that I didn't mistakenly type something wrong. 

I don't know where to go from here. Those selected have 3 options to choose from: Roux en Y, Mini Gastric Bypass or the Lap band. I had previously wanted to have the Duodenal Switch done but unfortunately that is not an option. I have done tons of research and I know that the Lap band is not going to be what's most effective for me. I know what people say about the Roux en Y about it being invasive, dangerous, etc but I've never really done a lot of research and the same goes for the MGB. I am scared about what's going to happen as far as any type of surgery but I am excited for the results I know are to come with dedication. I have a ton of decisions to make once I get over the shock that this is finally happening for me but I know this is definitely the place to start. There has always been really great and supportive people on this site who have been through the approval process, the pre-op, the post-op and the millions of other struggles.

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About Me
Winter Haven,
Location
65.4
BMI
RNY
Surgery
08/06/2014
Surgery Date
Mar 11, 2014
Member Since

Friends 5

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