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2005 - 2 years ago.. my body began to complain in the form of an all out revolt. My joints ached. My foot problems worsened. My whole lower body wanted to divorce the rest of me. I had lost weight before - on a variety of diets including not bothering to eat.. oh and Optifast about 20 years ago. I don't have much trouble losing weight. I have lots of trouble keeping it off. So at some point in 2005 I began reading about alternatives. I kept it in the back of my mind - and each time another physical problem crept up, I reminded myself that there was option - and someday I may be ready for it.
2006 - Now on Celebrex, Neurontin, Ibuprofen, and occasional Vicoprofen - I realized I'm only getting worse. However, the focus went off my issues when my aunt (who's home I live in) (my mom's youngest sister) was diagnosed with breast cancer. Within a week or so, she was diagnosed with cancer in both breasts. (She was 58 at the time) She had a double mastectomy - and that set off a sequence of events... Her sister (my aunt as well :) and my mom's next younger sister - who also lives with us) was also diagnosed with breast cancer a month later... only on one breast.. and she has a single mastectomy. (My mom had breast cancer back in 1978 when she was only 39) Meanwhile, I went for a mammography and due to the extreme density of my boobs, had to have so many images taken that I thought I'd be a pancake for life. Since my boobs are so huge, it made the images hard to take. They found "something" - but it turned out to be a misplaced lymph node. But again, my overweightyness was a factor that I couldn't deny as impeding a diagnosis. My thoughts returned to a bariatric procedure.. however, no sooner that I began to think of that, my mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer. (my mom and dad live about 2 blocks away - not that it's relevant, but since I mentioned my aunts, I figured I'd throw that in for good measure) During this time, my "significant other" of almost 6 years, decided I deserved better (another long story.. and unrelated to my weight issues - but still a big factor in my life) I realized that at some point, I too could be faced with cancer - and having surgery is far more risky with obesity. Plus, if I ever did need to have a mastectomy, the loss of one big boob would make me totally unbalanced - in purely a physical way. I'd literally fall over. Or sideways.. So I decided that I was going to make 2007 my year of helping myself. On 1/1/07 I joined this board and began reading everything I could.
Feb 6, 2007 - Informational meeting with Dr. Capella and Dr Iannace.
Feb 7, 2007 - called my insurance company and after being transferred around a bit, I finally found someone who was able to tell me the 10 things I must submit for determination of approval.
1. MD Documentation of obesity for more than 5 years.
2. BMI (over 40)
3. Documentation of co-morbid conditions.
4. Documentation: Despite doctor supervised diet of more than 6 months, couldn't keep off the weight.
5. CardioPulmunary Evaluation.
6. Dietary consultation with a licensed Nutritionist or Dietitian.
7. Drug/alcohol screening.
8. Rule out peptic ulcer disease (h. pylori test)
9. Measure of thyroid.
10. Psych consultation – psychologist or psychiatrist.
Once they have these 10 things it should take about 15 days for them to decide.
I have my consultation scheduled for Feb. 13
Feb 13th - found out that if I choose to stay with this practice, the lap band won't be covered by insurance (Dr I. is out of network - I'd have to pay $30,000 plus and then submit it for partial reimbursement) AND neither doctor suggests the band for me. My BMI is 55 and they highly suggest the Banded roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass - so now I'm back to thinking.. (I'm still thinking I'm going ahead with it.. but I need to think I'm considering lots of things for my personal satisfaction.) So my saga continues..
March10, 2007 Things are starting to move along now! Got a preliminary date for pre-surg testing (April 12) and preliminary surgery date of May 3rd! Today, I made several appointments to get the stuff done for insurance... and something told me to call the insurance company again... good thing.. Now I'm told that all I need is a medical necessity letter from my doctor - that is all that Target's insurance requires... not the 10 things I was told last time. So now I'll call one more time and see what the 3rd person says. According to my benefits department, I will have to pay $3000 out of pocket and then insurance will pick up 100% of the remaining costs (aside from regular medical care which I still pay $40 per visit for) If this is the case, (just a letter) I am very glad..
March 28th - It took exactly 1 week for them to approve me! I faxed the letter of medical necessity last Wednesday and got a letter in the mail today! They said it takes about 15 days so I wasn't planning on calling until next week.. and what a surprise to get the letter so soon! Wow.
I've been a non-smoker for 16 days now! Things are really starting to move along fast.. I'm purposely not looking back because I'm not going to let me change my mind. I'm sure I will have some rough times ahead, but I'm going to focus on the long run.. and hope in the end I'll be thankful to me. If not.. oh well... my bad..
