doodlebug
As of April 2007 I have lost 107 pounds!
I have several concerns with having surgery, I also have several with not having it. I think I will feel better once I have been to the info meeting and can see/meet the Dr. My info meeting is June 24th!
I am married with children, we have a cat and dog.
I have an appt with the nurse on August 5th.
8/4/03
Consutation w/nurse tomorrow morning, wish me luck!
8/5/03
The consultation went well. They are going to try to fax everything to the insurance co tomorrow. I gave the nurse the results from the bloodwork I had done, he told me they couldn't use them. They do their own bloodwork and insurance paid for it. I will call the PCP's office and tell them what I have learned.
8/7/03
The nurse I had my consultation with asked me to call my insurance company again to double check on what was covered. I did and while I was on the phone with them I was told they got my papers and they were on a nurses desk waiting to be reviewed. They said it would take 7 to 10 days. Later I checked my mail and received my copy of the letter that was sent to the insurance company on my behalf. Up to this point all has gone well EXCEPT for one thing. I was told by my PCP on my initial visit in May, to have some blood work done so I did. I later was told by my insurance company they would not pay for it because it was coded "obesity". I then found out when I had my consult with the nurse that the blood work wasn't necessary! So far I am stuck with the bill for $579.00. My insurance does cover the surgery, dietician, etc.
8/8/03
I just got a call from the nurse at my PCP's office. They are going to send the bill for my blood work over to coding to see if it can be fixed. I had asked them to do this last month and they said it couldn't be done. Now I guess they are seeing it differently since I told them what I learned from the nurse at my consultation. I hope to hear good news on that as well as wheather or not I've been approved. Fingers are crossed......prayers said.
8/13/03
I called the insurance co today to see where I was in the process and they said I was still in the pile to be reviewed. They have till 8/22/03 to make a decision. Still no word on the code change for my blood work.
8/19/03
I got a partial denial. The insurance co wants more info. They said they sent a letter to me and my Dr that we should get in a few days.
8/22/03
I got the letter from the insurance co today. They want three things from me.
1) Medical record documentation of weight over the past two years, with documentation of failed diet attempts and patient compliance in structured supervised weight loss settings over that period of time.
2) Medical record documentation of medical conditions that were exacerbated by morbid obesity over the past two years.
3) Documentation that the patient has no medical conditions contraindicating bariatric surgery.
DOCUMENTATION TO INCLUDE ACTUAL CLINICAL NOTES
I am considering hiring a lawyer to help with this, I have already contacted him and received papers from him to fill out.
8/24/03
I checked on the bill for my blood work today. It's still not paid but they said they received the bill with a Dr's note at the end of July. She made it sound like they hadn't had time to do anything with it yet.
8/26/03
I got a call from the nurse last night after they went over my denial letter. We talked a bit and I was asked to fax over more papers today. Now I hope to hear good news in return. I have to give the nurse I have been working with alot of credit. He has been positive and caring, giving me hope yet not giving me false hope. I really feel he's going to bat for me instead of leaving me out to fend for myself.
I missed the call back from the nurse today so I don't know if the additional papers I faxed in did any good or not. :>(
I did at last connect with the girl I did Herbalife with. She of course dosen't want me to have surgery. She says her step-mom had it several years ago and has had food problems ever since, plus she has put all the weight back on. Needless to say she wants me to start Herbalife again, saying they have made improvments since I tried it last. She also said that for people who have 20 pounds or more to lose it is now tax deductable. I'm not so sure that's true yet. I heard there was something in the works on that subject however.
8/27/03
I heard back from the nurse today who said it's still a no go. He talked to the insurance people but they still said no after he received the diet history I faxed to him. He said I have some great diet documentation, but due to a paragraph in my insurance handbook it was still a no go. I will file an appeal. Kurt (the nurse) has been wonderful to work with, he has really tried to help me get approved.
On a lighter note I got a statement from the insurance co today saying they paid 90% of the blood work bill. They told me on the phone we would owe about $16.00, but when the bill came it said $116.00! I am so frustrated!
9/1/03
I sent all of my papers to Mr. Walter Lindstrom the end of last week, I hope he can file an appeal letter for me that will work.
9/4/03
The lawyer has all my information, papers should start going out to the appropriate people soon. I stopped by my PCP's office today and was weighed, I have put on another pound since being on the scales at the nurse consultation. I asked the nurse to note my weight in my file and she asked who my Dr was. Then she said that they usually put everyone on a low carb diabetic diet first. I told her I was already almost to the end of the process of getting surgery. I thought to myself if the Dr never mentioned it to me to start with, there is no way I am going to start over now. I called the insurance co yesterday to tell them I would need an extension on my time to file an appeal.
I also sent a follow up letter to the insurance co and CC'd the lawyer on it asking for a time extension for my appeal.
9/11/03
I joined the YMCA today, I plan to do Water Areobics on Tuesday nights, I also paid extra to join a Pilates(sp) class on Thursday mornings.
9/15/03
I just checked the google site and found everything I have ever posted on this site listed there for the world to see. I am not comfortable with that, so I am no longer making this profile available. If this doesn't stop the problem I will close the profile.
9/18/03
I went to my first Pilates class and it was harder than I thought it would be, but I didn't end up to sore from it.
9/22/03
I tried changing my name to keep my identity more private. I also e-mailed Google and asked them to remove all of my personal info.
9/25/03
I got this e-mail from Google saying I can't be removed from their site, this doesn't make me to happy.
Hi Gwen,
Thank you for your note. We recognize the annoyance that this situation
may cause you, but there is nothing that Google can do to remove the
offending content without the cooperation of the site administrator.
Google is a provider of information, not a mediator. Even if we were able
to eliminate the offending page from our index, it would still be on the
Web. Every few weeks our robots sweep the Web for content. If the site is
still available on the Web when we crawl, we will likely pick it up and
add it to our index again. Only an administrator can, by including code
that blocks our robots or placing a request with us, prevent his/her page
from being listed. Without administrator cooperation we cannot exclude
material available on the Internet from our index.
Please contact us if you are able to obtain the cooperation of the site's
administrator. If the offending material is removed, Google's search
results will mirror that change shortly after it is made on the site in
question. We are sorry that we cannot be of more immediate assistance on
this matter.
Regards,
The Google Team
10/17/03
Still waiting to hear on my appeal. Talked to the nurse this week, they are now sched till the 1st of the year. There is no way I will get my surgery till 2004 sometime.
10/27/03
I started Weight Watchers (again) tonight. Still waiting to hear on my appeal.
12/3/03
Talked to the lawyer again today. Honeywell is also doing some investigating now. The lawyer faxed a letter to the insurance co about October 5th. The insurance co never responded to it. As of today they are telling us and Honeywell they never received anything from the lawyer. He is going to resend the original letter and copy it to the people at Honeywell as well. I have yet to receive a copy of the letter myself. In the meantime I have developed another health problem. I have to go in for a Hysteroscopy the first week of January.
12/4/03
Walter Lindstrom re-faxed his letter to the insurance co and we made sure the people at Honeywell got a copy as well.
12/5/03
I sent an e-mail to the Kurt (the nurse) to confirm what he had been told by the insurance co that led us to believe I had been denied back in Aug. I then sent that e-mail on to the Walter today.
12/8/03
Sent an e-mail to Mary at Honeywell who is helping us deal with the insurance co, letting her know the trouble we had with the blood work bill related to my quest for WLS.
12/15/03
I heard back on the blood work bill again today they said we owed $16.20. Getting the blookwork bill straightened out has been a full time job almost. Now they say the bill is more than $16.20 because insurance refused to pay for my inital visit with Dr. Malvey so I could get referred to Dr Jones for WLS. So they added more than $90.00 to the bill for that office visit. Still no word on my appeal.
12/18/03
I sent an e-mail containing info about a phone call that took place in August to the people checking on my appeal. I also asked if there had been any progress with it. I was told they hadn't heard anything.
1/6/04
I just talked to the lawyers office, insurance has decided to uphold their decision of denial. If I want to continue to try for approval I will have to file a "Level Two" appeal.
I must say I am a little miffed with the lawyers office. It took me checking up on them to find out the original letter to insurance hadn't been received by them almost a month after Walter said he sent it, nor did I get a copy. I didn't even know a letter had been sent till I called to check up with Walter. Then I had to wait for it all to be re-sent, including a copy to me.
Now the Lindstrom's have known since December that I have been denied on my appeal but never told me. I called to check if they'd heard anything yet and left a mesg and sent an e-mail. Kelley called me back on Jan 6th, to tell me what they've known since Dec. Kelley said all correspondence has to go through them, so I was never notified by insurance, and the lawyers failed to notify me (again). The denial from insurance was dated December 10th.
It seems if I did't call the Lindstrom's to check up on things nothing happened and I didn't hear from them. I am very disappointed in them at this point. It seemed the letter that Walter sent was kind of a form letter where he just inserted my name and insurance co where appropriate, so I don't know why it took him so long. We wonder if Walter ever really sent the letter the first time he said he did.
I feel the Lindstrom's have dropped the ball on me and are either to busy to really handle my case or just weren't really interested in helping me.
Bottom line it took from August to December for Walter Lindstrom to send one appeal letter which was denied within 5 days after it was rec'd.
1/?/04
Rec'd a letter from Walter Lindstrom that originated at Wausau. They finally spelled out what they wanted in my diet history, then follow it up with I have used all my appeals. WHAT???? You finaly tell me what you want then say but now it's to late so don't bother?
1/20/04
Talked to the nurse at the surgeons office, he called their contact at Wausau (Leeone)(sp). She brought up the diet history again, didn't say I was out of the system or that I'd used all my appeals. She did say she was not aware of Walter's letter.
1/26/04
The nurse faxed my diet history to Wausau again.
1/31/04
I talked to Obesity Law Institute today, I agreed to send them a copy of Walter's letter to see if there was anything else they could do for me.
2/3/04
I made a copy of Walter's letter and sent it to Obesity Law Institute today.
2/6/04
I called Wausau myself today, talked to someone I thought was "Joanie" but then I think she said her name was Jenny. She never mentioned I had used all my appeals or had been kicked out of the system. She put me on hold three times while she ran down my information. She too came back to the diet history that Walter's letter should have taken care of. I asked her what happened to the papers the nurse faxed over on the 1/26/04 and she said she didn't see them having any activity on my case since the nurse called on 1/20/04. So where did that fax with my diet history go? So I made some notes of what she said I needed to send and where to send them (diet history) and made yet another set of copies. This time I included some papers I hadn't copied before and stapled everything together in sets.
2/7/04
I just sent my diet history AGAIN. This time I sent it snail mail, I could staple pages together that way and it was cheaper. I've been waiting since August 7th 2003 to get approved, so what's another few days. They have enough copies of my diet history to wallpaper their offices!
2/10/04
I sent an e-mail to Mary at Honeywell to see who at the corporate office got a copy of Walter's letter, I am still waiting for a reply. According to the tracking I put on the diet history I just sent to Wausau it was Rec'd by them today.
2/11/04
I got the name of someone else named Roberta who may be able to help me and contacted her.
2/12/04
Here is the response I got on the e-mail I sent to Mary at Honeywell, it took her three days to get back to me.
"Gwen,
I know who was copied on the e-mails but I'm checking to see whose name I
should give you that ended up with the request.
Mary"
Mark took a mesg giving me the name of Edith in HR and her phone number, I'll have to call tomorrow they are already closed today.
2/13/04
I called Edith in HR she said Honeywell didn't get a copy of the Walter's letter, they didn't need one as the carrier (Wausau) was contracted by Honeywell to handle everything. So I can't send a letter to anyone there, that won't help me. They leave everything in the hands of Wausau, they make all the decisions.
I also talked to Tammy in Appeals at Wausau who told me that the last stuff Kurt and I sent in was not considered because I was no longer able to appeal. Tammy said my only recourse now is to take legal action. I sent an e-mail to Kurt letting him know who I talked to and what I just found out. Now I am in the process of contacting the insurance commissioner.
This is Friday the 13th for sure!
I just called the State of MN to see how I should file my complaint. Mike McLaine (sp) told me that Honeywell is self insured. They decide who is accepted and who is denied. He said there is nothing the state can do for me. That I needed to go through Honeywell, I told him I tried that this morning already with Edith in HR. I asked him if I should find someone else at Honeywell and send them a copy of Walter's letter and he said it couldn't hurt. Edith said they didn't want a copy of the letter as they contract Wausau to take care of everything, so it would do no good.
I called the number listed in the Honeywell "Do You Know Where To Turn" pamphlet and they said they weren't affilliated with Honeywell, they were actually Cigna that offers Honeywell employees counceling etc, but that was it.
I just sent an e-mail to Wausau asking for the names, titles, and address I should use to send a letter to upper management.
In the mail tonight I got an envelope from Wausau containing the papers I had just sent and a letter stating I'd used all my appeals.
2/14/04
Hubby sent e-mail to his boss and Mary at Honeywell.
2/16/04
Mark's boss told Mark he'd check into things. So far hubby hasn't heard anything from Mary yet (3:52pm).
2/17/04
The last thing Tammy at Wausau said to me was that my "only recourse was to take legal action." I heard today that you can't sue for surgery, even if it is medically necessary. I will check into it tomorrow. I have been so sick with this head cold which is moving to my chest, it's hard to keep up and talk on the phone with hardly any voice.
2/18/04
I was given the name of a lawyer who deals with obesity law. He asked me to fax him a copy of Walter's letter and the last two letters I got from Wausau. I went to Kinko's and did that, also sending him my diet history. Later at home I e-mailed him a couple more letters from Walter and Wausau so he could get an idea of where I am and what I need. He said he'd get back to me today with his thoughts. He said he wouldn't charge me to go over the papers to see if he could help me. We were hoping to find a local lawyer who delt with obesity law, but so far no luck. This lawyer is in New York, but if he can help me and we can afford him I don't care if he's on the moon! The lawyer called and e-mailed today and said he thinks he can help me, and has already done more work and research for free than I ever got out of Walter. If we want him to help us the base fee will be $350.00, that's $100.00 less than I paid Walter. If it goes to a full blown court case it will cost far more. Hubby just talked to his boss since nobody at Honeywell has responded to the e-mail he sent on 2-14-04. Hubby's boss said he didn't think we were going to get a positive response, so hubby thinks we may have to hire the lawyer and it may go all the way to a full blown court case. I sent the lawyer a copy of the e-mail hubby sent to Honeywell on 2-14-04 to see if it would have any effect on his decision to handle my case. Gary said hubby's letter wouldn't be a problem for him. I told Gary depending on what we hear from Honeywell on Monday or Tuesday I'd be calling him. I asked Gary if we ended up going all the way with this if he would take the case on a contingency, he said we could talk about it if it came to that point.
3/1/04
Hubby and I decided to hire Gary Viscio this weekend to help me get approved. So we are off to the races again, and this time I want to be the winner. We waited two weeks to hear back from Honeywell on the e-mail hubby sent, but never heard a word from anyone. Hubby even checked once with Mary to see if there'd been any response. I sent the nurse an e-mail today to let them know that I had hired another lawyer. I also had a sleep apnea question I know they can answer. I sure hope Gary is successful and this is all over soon! Before you know it, it will be a year since I started this process. The lawyer from the Obesity Law Institute called me this morning. He said he thought the letter Walter sent was pretty good, and there was only a couple things he might have done differently. I thought I would have heard back from him before now, so I thought he couldn't help me. If I remember right he said if I didn't hear back from him then there was nothing he could do. I guess I didn't wait long enough. But based on what he said about Walter's letter I'm glad we hired Gary, I don't know if this guy would have been able to do much more for me than Walter, which was nothing.
3/2/04
Tonight while hubby was in New Orleans his boss called him to say he talked to a lady Pat Baldwin? from Honeywell HR Who was interested in my situation. AT LAST SOMEONE WHO CARES! I let Gary know.
3/4/04
Someone by the name of Lori has sent hubby an e-mail saying she would have info for him by the end of the day 3-5-04. I let Gary know of this also.
3/5/04
Hubby was contacted by someone in what we think may be Honeywell's legal Dept. today by the name of Allison. hubby sent Gary an e-mail letting him know. We aren't sure if we should talk to anyone now that we've hired Gary. Where were all these people when we tried to talk to them before hiring Gary????? So far they keep asking hubby to talk to them, he keeps saying he will as long as it's in writing. He doesn't want to have a phone conversation anymore at this point. But nobody has e-mailed him or sent him anything by mail. Hubby was contacted at the very end of the day Allison's time so he couldn't have returned her call anyway till Monday.
3/6/04
Gary said he will call Allison back on Monday. I sent him the part of this journal that tells when I talked to Edith in HR and what was said.
3/7/04
My sister in law called today. She was all in favor of my having this surgery till she heard we hired Gary. She is afraid that hubby may lose his job in retalliation by Honeywell. I had talked to hubby about this before we hired Gary. I don't want him to lose his job, etc in retalliation for trying to help me get this surgery.
3/11/04
Tried to pull some stuff together for Gary the last couple days. Today the nurse was going to fax him more up to date stuff from my med files. I had to sign a release for the nurse to do that. Also had to send a letter to Gary so he could let Wausau know that I dropped Walter Lindstrom and now have Gary to represent me. Got Gary's new website in my e-mail today.
3/14/04
Got an e-mail from Gary today, he said we would get a copy of the letter he is sending to Honeywell this week sometime and would make sure we got a copy as well.
3/15/04
I sent the packet to Gary today that I got from Walter so he could see what I had paid Walter to do, and how much I paid for it.
3/22/04
Gary's letter to Honeywell was dated 3/18/04, hubby and I both think it was very well written. Gary sent me my copy right away. We pray it does the trick and I hear good news this week. I had to get out of the house for awhile today, otherwise I was just sitting on the computer waiting to hear from Gary. It was nice to get out and it ate up some time. Still waiting to hear on the appeal.
3/24/04
I talked to the lawyer today and he said Honeywell still had not rec'd his letter. Due to the Anthrax scare the mail there is sometimes very slow. He said if they don't get it by tomorrow (Friday) he will Fed Ex it to them.
3/26/04
I e-mailed the lawyer today to see if Honeywell had gotten the letter yet or if he had to Fed Ex it, but I never heard back from him. That's a first.
3/29/04
Talked to the lawyer to day and Honeywell has decided to uphold their denial. So he will make some notes and try again.
5/12/04
I talked to the nurse at the surgeons office the other day. He said they wouldn't make me start the process all over since they know I have been fighting this whole time to get approved. It has been a year since I started this process and normally they make you start over after a year. But the nurse said it's not like I walked away and came back from changing my mind. I've been trying to get approved this whole year.
The lawyer still can't get Honeywell to put my denial and the reason for it in writing. He quit asking by phone and e-mail and sent them a letter giving them 10 days to respond. If I am correct today is the 10th day and as of yesterday Honeywell still had not responded again.
When I spoke to the nurse he said they have had others from Honeywell come in trying to get the surgery and they too were turned down by Honeywell. The only difference between me and them is they just walked away where I chose to fight for it.
5/17/04
Hubby talked to Gary today and they decided we will move forward and turn Honeywell in to the Labor Board. Neither Gary or hubby has still gotten a response from Honeywell to their letters and e-mails. Gary decided to send one last request to Honeywell asking them to put their response in writing. I was shocked when he said they responded this time, especially when he said they told him it would take them TWO WEEKS to do it. Why would it take them two weeks to put a decision they made over a month ago in writing, and why have they refused our request for it up till now? I think it may be something Honeywell said to get us to shut up for awhile. There may not be a letter in two weeks after all. They may just want us to leave them alone for two weeks, then go away forever.
6/2/04
We got our copy of the letter the lawyer sent to the Labor Dept in the mail. Still no word from Honeywell to the best of my knowledge.
6/7/04
The lawyer got a response from Honeywell at last. He said it didn't say much but they did mention they sent a copy to the Inusrance Commissioner. Why I don't know, when I talked to them a few months ago they said they couldn't help me due to Honeywell being self insured. We haven't heard a word from the Labor Dept yet.
6/9/04
We got a two page letter from Honeywell today delivered to our home by Fed Ex. It was sent to a few other people as well but not our lawyer. We did not respond to it, we sent a copy of it by e-mail to Gary our lawyer.
6/10/04
I called Gary this morning to let him know to check his e-mail for the letter we sent from Honeywell last night. I told him we were not going to respond to it, we wanted him to.
6/11/04 (PM)
I haven't heard back from Gary yet about the letter from Honeywell. I did talk to Kurt the nurse I've been working with at Park Nicollet. I let him know where we were in the battle to get me approved, and that after receiving the letter from Honeywell the other night I might need to be re-evaluated to confirm my BMI. He said that would be no problem.
6/16/94
I got an e-mail from the lawyer yesterday saying he wants to talk to hubby about a couple things he has in mind to try next. Hubby is in Phoenix till Friday, I keep wondering what is next? I also got a call from Kurt the nurse this morning, he will re-evaluate me on Friday morning.
6/18/04
Today is our son's 20th birthday, and Sunday is Father's Day, hubby is in Phoenix all week. I saw Kurt the nurse today and got re-evaluated for WLS. While I have lost a few pounds I still qualify for WLS. Kurt is going to put all my new stats in a letter and fax it to Gary. I still don't know what Gary wants our next move to be.
6/22/04
It has been 31 years today since my mom passed away from a stroke due to obesity. I got an e-mail from Gary today saying he will send us a proposal to see what we think of it.
6/25/04
I got my copy of what Kurt sent to the lawyer after he did his re-evaluation on me. I think he did a good job.
7/8/04
Got two letters from Gary today he wanted us to look over. Hubby read them and asked Gary to make some changes. The changes were made and Gary sent them out.
7/11/04
I sent a letter to the Attorney General Mike Hatch.
7/16/04
I sent a letter to both Senator Norm Coleman and Mark Dayton today. Medicare also has recognized Gastric Bypass now, so more people will be able to have the surgery. At least those with Medicare.
7/21/04
I got a letter from Senator Mark Dayton's office in the mail today. I scanned it and sent it to our lawyer. I want to know what he thinks before I fill anything out. The Senator said he was willing to have my situation checked into but I would have to fill out the release forms he sent first. I don't want to do that if it will cause problems since I already have a lawyer. The lawyer said to fill it out and send it in, so I did.
7/23/04
I got a letter from the Atty General saying he can't help private citizen's. Still no word from Senator Norm Coleman. Sure hope Mark Dayton can do something. My fear is his people will contact the insurance company or Honeywell, they will tell them that I didn't meet the requirements and they will drop it. I hope they get the lawyer's and my side of the story before they do anything.
7/28/04
Gary said he got a call from Norm Coleman's office today saying they couldn't get involved in on going legal matters.
7/29/04
I got a call from Marye Knutson at Senator Dayton's office today. She asked me a few questions and said she was going to call Wausau and Gary Viscio.
8/2/04
Gary said he spoke to Marye today and she is going to make a few phone calls. I hope she comes back with some good news.
8/9/04
I got a call from Marye at Senator Dayton's office today. I just don't know what to do right now. She said she spoke to Allison at Honeywell who told her they would be willing to look over my info again if I just sent them the info they require. Like I haven't done that more than once already! She also said Allison told her I had to have 3 failed diets, one in the last year. Before I was told I had to have three in the last year. Tomorrow I will have 12 weeks on my second diet of this year. Allison also told her I haven't proven that I have tried other methods of dealing with my comorbids in the last year. That's the first I have ever heard of this, it was never a requirement till now. Allison also told her I hadn't proven my BMI was over 40 for the last 5 years. I was never asked to. I sent them info from as far back as 1995 out of my medical files, they could look at them. Marye also said I needed to make sure my diet history was VERY WELL documented. I can only give them what I am given from the place I do the diet. If this is good enough for everyone else to submit, why not me? She also mentioned that only one of the three Dr's letters I submitted was recent. The other two are from when I started this journey, the last is from when I was re-evaluated in June trying to make Honeywell happy. My attorney is out of town till the end of the week. I put a call in to him and he called me back, I let him know what I learned today. I will talk to him again when he gets back to his office. He plans to write another letter.
8/12/04
I spoke to Gary on the phone and he is going to think things over to see what we should do next.
8/25/04
Gary sent me some info he received from Allison at Honeywell. He also sent a letter to the Senator's office. He also is in contact with someone from the US EBSA or soon will be.
9/7/04
I got a medium size Fed Ex box delivered today with about a two inch stack of papers on my case from Honeywell. There also was a letter stating they are still upholding their denial. I called Gary, he said he got the same thing but said not to worry that my case was in the hands of the Labor Board and we had to wait and see what they say. He said it would take about two weeks.
9/22/04
Gary nor I have heard anything further from the Senator's office nor have we heard anything from the Labor Board.
10/08/04
I got an e-mail from Gary last night asking me to call him and do a conference call with the Labor Board
10/18/04
Gary sent me an e-mail saying the Labor Board will not make Honeywell overturn their decision, they said I am free to take it to court.
10/20/04
I spoke to the Senator's office again and asked them to put in writing what Honeywell told them when they spoke. I am going to resubmit and includ their letter when I do. I also called my PCP's nurse and Kurt at the Bariatric office at Park Nicollet asking them to put together my BMI for the last 5 years.
10/22/04
I received the letter from the Senator's office, I am just waiting on the BMI paper. When I have all that I will include all the new stuff I have and resubmit AGAIN. I'm afraid they will come up with something else to deny me. But I will have everything they told the Senator's office that I needed.
10/26/04
I got the letter from my PCP's office today with my BMI's listed only I can't use it. The nurse listed 4 years instead of five. I will have to see what Kurt at Park Nicollet comes up with. Glad I asked him to do it also as a back up because looks like I am going to need whatever he comes up with. Kurt knows there HAS to be five years, I doubt he will make a mistake like the nurse did.
10/29/04
I went to the Orth Dr today and he said I have Plantars Faciaitis (sp) so he taped up my right foot for five days.
11/10/04
Got the BMI's from Kurt today and will send them to the lawyer right away. There were five years and the pages out of my medical records showing where he got them from. I'm not to thrilled that one of the pages is from my OBGYN with some very personal info on it, but I know they won't accept the BMI's without documentation to back them up so I swallowed my pride and sent it all.
11/15/04
Went back to the Orth Dr today to have molds made of my feet. He wants me to get custom orthodics to see if they help with the pain of the Plantar's Faciaitis.
11/22/04
I had sent a letter to Mrs. Bush at the White House earlier stating my situation. I got an envelope in the mail today with a card from the White House saying they got my letter and it was given to the people who have jurisdiction over these types of things. They said they would be in touch with me.
11/30/04
I talked to my lawyer today as he has been out of town for awhile. He said he sent all of my stuff to Honeywell again between the 10th and 13th of November. He sent it to Allison and Dave at Honeywell, the Labor Board and the Senator's office. He has yet to hear back from anyone, and I have yet to hear anything further from the White House. I know the holidays will slow down things a bit but I hope to hear some good news for a change from someone soon. Maybe that's what Santa is bringing me for Christmas!
11/30/04(update)
I got a call from Washington DC from a woman named Carrie Becker. She said since Honeywell is self insured they fall outside the guidelines of anything they can do for me. She said the Labor Board would be the ones to help me. I told her I already tried that and they didn't want to get involved they told me to take it to court. She said it sounded like I had already done everything she could suggest that I try. I guess we just wait for Honeywell to fire the last bullet now and throw in the towel. I can't afford to take this to court.
12/7/04
I got an e-mail from the lawyer saying he has had no response from Honeywell yet and he left a mesg with Carrie Becker in Washington DC who has yet to return his phone call.
12/18/04
I got a letter snail mail from the lawyer today saying I was denied again, but he didn't say what their reason was this time.
12/21/04
Still don't have a reason for being denied again. The lawyer is faxing and e-mailing more letters for me today. They will probably say they never received them. They tend to do that with faxes and e-mails.
12/31/04
Everyone we deal with at Honeywell is on holiday vacation till Jan-4-2005.
1-3-05
I got a call from Sentor Dayton's office this afternoon I had to refer them to my lawyer. It's good to know something is going on.
1-7-05
Still no response from Honeywell from the last stuff the lawyer sent in December.
1/25/05
Still no response from Honeywell, but I did get an e-mail from the Senator's office asking for a conference call between them, my lawyer and myself on Thursday of this week. The Senator's office said they were getting documents from Honeywell they were going to look over.
1/25/05 PM
The Senator's office suggested we reorganize all my paperwork into specific catagories and resubmit it. It appears that everything we are sending in may not be being read.
2/3/05
I saw my PCP today and he is going to write another letter for me to submit for WLS.
2/9/05
Today would have been my mom's 72nd birthday. She died at the age of 40 from a stroke, she was obese.
2/11/05
I got a copy of the newest letter my PCP wrote wanting me to have WLS.
2/22/05
I spent the last two days putting together packets of my info and the requirements I have to meet. The lady from the Senator's office wanted us to resubmit my info once we went through it and put everything into sections so nothing could be missed by Honeywell. I went through everything and put it into catagories according the list of requirements I was sent by Wausau when I first started this journey in 2003. I sent a packet to the Senator's office, the lawyer, Honeywell and kept one for myself. My lawyer and believe I clearly meet all the requirements and have proven it catagorically in this attempt to get approved. We'll see what happens.
2/23/05
Two more packets were mailed out today to two other people at Honeywell.
3/1/05
Everyone has received their packets. I just got a call from Senator Dayton's office saying we need to re-apply to Wausau with the info contained in the packets, and a cover letter stating this is a brand new application starting from square one. I have contacted the nurse at the Bariatric office and my papers are being pulled together for re-submittal.
3/2/05
I went to Kinko's(again) yesterday and made up ANOTHER packet for the nurse at Park Nicollet. I delivered all 8 sections to the nurse today. I figured it wasn't that far to drive and I didn't have to wait on the mail this way. I got an e-mail later from the nurse saying they had already looked at the packet. I hope it will be submitted soon!
3/3/05
I got another e-mail from the nurse saying everything was ready to be sent in for approval. PRAY!
3/10/05
I called the insurance co to check on a different issue and asked while I had them on the phone where my info was in the process. They told me they had just gotten it that day. So where was it between the 3rd and 10th?
3/14/05
I got a certified letter from hubby's employer today. I decided not to do anything with it once I read it. They offered to send my info to the insurance co. Well the insurance co had already recieved my info almost two weeks ago. They also said "As you know none of us is the plan administrator for the portion of the plan in which you are enrolled." I hope this doesn't mean they are going to start passing the buck again as to who makes the decisions, them or Wausau. I made the lawyer and the Senator's office aware of the letter.
3/16/05
I called the insurance co today to see where I was in the approval process. The lady told me I was APPROVED! I could hardly believe my ears! What a happy day this has been! I have worked for this day for 2 years! Thank you Jesus!
3/18/05
I got my letter of approval in the mail today! I will send a copy of it to the lawyer later tonight. I also got my appt and instructions in the mail for my Gall Bladder Ultra Sound. Things are really moving along FAST now!
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Friend Bear |
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3/19/05
I just want to say THANKS to my atty Gary Viscio for the entire year of hard work he put into my case, and not giving up when things looked grim. THANKS GARY!
3/2005
If anyone needs help getting approved and wants/needs to hire an obesity lawyer this is the man for the job:
Gary J. Viscio, Esq.
Viscio & Associates, PC
145 Willis Avenue
Mineola, New York 11501
tel. (516) 742-5300
fax. (516) 742-8130
www.obesitylawyers.com
3/25/05
Had my Ultrasound today.
3/30/05
Had my pre-op class and consultation with the surgeon today. I have a surgery date of May 10th! Our wedding anniversary is May 11th but I feel confident all will be fine.
4/15/05
I already filled out my preadmitting form for the hospital and mailed it in.
I have my last big meal with family and friends planned for the 23rd at Olive Garden.
4/23/05
The turn out for the dinner was great! There was about 35 people there, it was wonderful. I start my 10 day liquid diet in two more days.
4/29/05
Hubby took me out for a wonderful steak dinner at Kincaid's. It was to celebrate Mother's Day, our Anniversary and my getting Approved. It is also the last solid food I can eat for 10 days.
4/30/05
The liquid diet begins.
5/2/05
I had my pre-op exam and first dietitian appt today. I don't anticipate any problems with the pre-op exam. The Dietitian said to up my intake. I have had a headache on day two and three of the liquid diet, she said this would help. I also was a phone angel today for someone named "Gwen" who had her surgery today in St. Cloud. Her mom said she did great!
5/3/05
I woke headache free and still am so far. So taking in more liquids must be the answer.
5/6/05
In memory of "Sammy" our 12 year old fur baby who passed away today from Kidney failure. He loved boxes even if he was to big for them. Photo was taken Christmas morning 2004. (he had long hair)
5/18/05
Had my first post-op check up and I am doing great and have lost 18 pounds so far.
5/24/05
I am post-op! WooHoo!
I has surgery on May 10th and all went well. On the 11th I had a rough day as I had a slight complication. "Edema" which is swelling at the internal surgery sight. So I had nothing by mouth only IV on the 11th. Thank God I was feeling better by the 12th. I came home from the hospital on the 14th and all has been well! I have moved up to pureed foods which is such a nice change from broth, Jell-o and water. Full liquids were like heaven, tomato soup never tasted so good. I can't wait till June 6th when I should get moved up to soft foods.
6/15/05
I had my one month check up on the 9th and I was down 28 pounds, 4 inches in my waist and 5.5 in my hips! I have had no problems with food but I did deal with liquids having a metal taste for about the first month. That is letting up thank God!
We took in a stray orange cat, his ears are in bad shape with mites and one is also infected. He's hungry and tired. He'd been hanging out at the house across the street for about a week. He's a good boy but needed a home and medical attention.
Consider fostering the pet of one of our fine soldiers till they safely return home. To learn more click the banner below.
7/11/05
I went to the Dietitian today as I was two months post-op yesterday. I'm down 41 pounds!
7/16/05
I got on the scale today and it said 199! It's heaven to be below 200!!
| You Are Strawberry Ice Cream |
 A bit shy and sensitive, you are sweet to the core.You often find yourself on the outside looking in. Insightful and pensive, you really understand how the world works. You are most compatible with chocolate chip ice cream. |
7/31/05
My two month post-op photo was added today. I just noticed I was wearing a pink shirt pre-op and post-op. I also should have taken my sunglasses off the top of my head. And yes, my hair is rather curly if I don't straighten it. LOL
8/11/05
I had my three month check up today. I am down 45.3 pounds. My BMI is down to 34.1, I have lost 9 inches in my waist and 7" in my hips. I don't have to go for another check up till November.
9/1/05
I had to go to urgent care today for something that has nothing to do with WLS. They weighed me and I am down 55 pounds now. I am so glad the scale is starting to move again!
10/10/05
I saw the dietitian today and am now down 65 pounds and wearing a size 12 jeans! Woo Hoo!
| How to make a Gwen |
| Ingredients: 3 parts intelligence 1 part silliness 5 parts instinct |
| Method: Add to a cocktail shaker and mix vigorously. Add a little lovability if desired! |
Username:
Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com
11/10/2005
I missed my 6 month check up! Ugh!
11/14/05
My good friend and WLS buddy Jessica O. passed away this morning. I don't know the right words to say at this time to explain how I feel.
11/28/05
I went to the lab in B-Ville and had my blood drawn today. I hope my levels come out well. I know I forget to take my B-12 and Iron sometimes. I wish I could have gotten weighed while there. I am in a size 10 jeans now!
You're Brigitte Bardot!
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12/5/05
I got my 6 month labs back and everything was good except for my iron was low. I expected that since that's the one I always forget to take. Last time I was on the scale I was 167!
12/31/05
It's New Year's Eve and we are staying home. I did alot of stress eating in November and December so I didn't lose much. But I guess I lost it in inches, because I am wearing a size 6 and 8 in Jeans at Old Navy now. I have pretty much stayed with that brand since I can always find a pair on sale in my size and they have "short/petite" length pants.
1/5/06
HAPPY NEW YEAR! My weight on 1/3/06 was 160!!!!
1/18/06
I did the Hydrostatic Weighing today, my goal weight should be no higher than 150# and no lower than 140#. Dr. Dan said it might be hard for me to get to 140 and maintain it so I think I will shoot for 145#. He also suggested I have my Thyroid checked, he rarely sees someone with a Basal Metabolic Rate below 1000, higher is normal. Mine is a whimpy 864. That's one SLOW burning fire trying to consume my calories!
2/16/06
Still no weight loss, still sitting at 160-162. The stress is easing up a bit, MIL is improving somewhat. I bought a size 8 jeans at Old Navy the other day so I guess things are still shifting around a bit!
In One Leg Of My Size 22/24 Pre-Op Pants 1/2006 (8 Mo Post Op)
3/2/06
I weighed at the Dr's office today and it said 158! I am finally losing again!
3/9/06~GOAL~
I saw my nurse today for my 9 month check up (late). It was worth the wait as I am at Goal! The nurses goal for me was 158 pounds and that's what I weighed today. I have lost 84 pounds, 12 inches in my waist and 14.5 in my hips. My BMI is 28! I did have to get some blood drawn to check my Iron level again and will learn the result of that on my one year appt in May. I MADE IT!
April 1-2006
I bought a size 6 pair of jeans at Old Navy! No fooling!!!!
4/4/2006
I weighed myself while at Park Nicollet today and I was 157. So I have not lost any "pounds" in awhile but I have lost "inches". That's the only way I would still need to buy smaller size jeans.
4/16/06
HAPPY EASTER! I just calculated my BMI and I am "Moderatly Overweight". That must explain this stubborn belly fat I have. I got each of the kids a bag of jelly beans for Easter and they are keeping them in their rooms.
4/25/06
I was bummed when I got the call today saying they had to cancel my appt with Barb on the 11th. That was my one year check up, I was pretty excited about doing the year long review. I will see another nurse the following week instead.
ANGEL~
I was an angel for the third time last week and it's always such a great feeling! I may do it again soon!!
So far I have been an angel for Gwen, Laura and Melissa. They all have done wonderful post-op. I will be an angel for Leia on May 2nd 2006!
5/18/06
I saw Carol for my one year check up today and things are going well. I hope my bloodwork comes back good as well.
Here's my new stats:
Weight: -87 pounds
Height: Same
BP: 108/60
BMI: 27.2
Waist -13 Inches
Hips: -14.5 Inches
Now if my bloodwork comes back good I'm set for 6 months! (my Iron may be low again)
5/25/2006
I got my bloodwork results today and they are NORMAL! WooHoo!
6/6/06
I was asked by Amy to be her angel, she had her surgery today. We will communicate by e-mail and phone as she is way up north from me. I'm sure she will do fine!
6/13/06
I have walked a mile around the lake the last two days. I did half a mile last week. I wish I could get out there everyday.
7/10/06
I am up to about 3 miles a day now, I think I will miss it when winter comes. I bought a pair of size 4 jeans today!
8/3/06
I was just on the scale and shocked to see I weigh 146! I am now only 4 pounds from the "Century Club"! I never thought I'd get there!! The heat has been keeping me from walking every day. Once it was 101* so today I walked but only a mile and a half. I need to work up to three again after not walking for almost a week straight.
9/5/06
I made the Century Club today! WooHoo!
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11/08/06
I had my 18 month check up today and it was really good! The best part was seeing Barb AND Dr. Svendsen. Between PMS and Halloween candy I am up 5 pounds. But that will be gone again soon! So here's my new stats:
-96.4 pounds
BMI 25.2
Waist -16"
Hips -14.8"
Still need to get my blood work done.
1/11/07
My bloodwork came back low on Iron again, not a surprise since I hardly remember to take it. I haven't weighed myself since Christmas but I was still at 138. I thought I would have put some weight back on. I hurt my back on 12/14 and was not able to do anything for 3 weeks. Pain management was all I could focus on till the begining of the 4th week. Today is my 5th day without pain meds.
Note to everyone: Changing the sheets on your bed can cause serious injury! LOL
2/15/07
I decided to reward myself for my WLS journey. I have stayed at the same weight now for a few months and am almost two years out. I think my journey is over and now it's time to maintain the weight I am at. I bought a three stone ring. One stone for the two years it took me to get approved, one stone for the almost two years it took me to lose the weight and one stone for the new lease I have on life. I have lost over 100 pounds and am happy with the weight I am currently. I pick it up on Monday! Hubby was out of town on business for Valentine's Day yesterday but he gave me a gift and card before he left and called me in the morning. My back is still causing problems. I still see the Physical Therapist twice a week.
4/1/2007
Hubby and I were in Australia from Feb 22 till March 29th. It was alot of walking almost every day, but a trip I will never forget. Last time as a pre-op I wanted to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge but couldn't. This time I could and did! On March 11th we climbed the bridge on a beautiful day. I only lost 3 pounds while there but my pants fit better so all the walking still paid off. That puts me at a solid 135 pounds right now. I posted a couple of the Bridge Climb photos on my new profile.
7/18/2007
I have not been able to walk as much as i want to due to the weather and the local park being closed so a liquor store can be built at the park entrance. I wonder who's bright idea that was! I can't afford to drive to the park I really like to walk at due to gas prices. It isn't worth it to drive that far just for a walk around the lake. The last time I was on a scale I was 142 pounds and I wasn't happy but when I took everything into consideration it makes sense. I am still wearing a size 4 jeans so I won't panic.
6/16/2008
I am three years post-op and through some acts of my own and some circumstances I have put on 12 pounds. I will take it off again, I am not going to panic just yet. I am not happy about the regain but it is what it is and I have the tool and knowledge to deal with it. Gas prices keep me from attending as many support group meetings, coffee groups and driving to the parks to walk as I used to. I am wearing size 5/6 jeans now.
Photos
 242 Pre-Op Easter 2005 |
 |
 Two Months Post-Op. Six Months Post-Op At 170 Pounds. |
Hospital Reviews
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Member Interests:
Click here to see interests of other ObesityHelp members.
Surgeon Info:
Surgeon: Charles A. Svendsen, M.D.
I have nothing but praise for Dr. Svendsen!
Insurer Info:
Patient Choice, Wausau Benefits
I've been told my insurance company was one of the harder ones to deal with when it comes to WLS. Wausau got my papers on Aug 7th 2003 and I got their decision on Aug 19th 2003 when I called them. It's a partial denial, they want more information. The nurse called and gave them more info that I faxed to the Dr's office, and the insurance co still wouldn't budge. I mailed all my papers to Mr. Walter Lindstrom so he can prepare an appeal letter for me. He came highly recommended so I felt I could get approved using his services, sadly this was not the case. I found out Honeywell is self insured which will make the battle to be approved even harder. I hired Atty Gary Viscio March 2004 and he has worked very hard to get me approved. I am delighted to say I was finally approved on 3/15/2005! THANKS GARY!
