Jewel M.

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I went to my WLS consult last week.  It was very informative and I decided to have the Gastric Bypass. I wanted the lapband but my dr doesn't do them. After explaining more in detail about the surgery and speaking to several friends who had the surgery. I felt more comfortable with having the gastric bypass. I do not have an exact date but it looks like it will be sometime in september. My sister Marlyn came with me and I am very grateful she did. I handled the seminar and consultation with no problem. But five minutes after we left, I was in hysterics. God bless my sister, she pulled the car over to comfort me. I explained this was a very hard decision for me to make and I have to stick to it. I do not like any type of surgery. But with the way my health is going, I will die if I don't do something.  I put myself through college, moved across country, yet can not manage my weight. I keep telling myself that I am making a major step by admitting that I need help by having the surgery. 

 I made my dreaded appointment with my doctor with the intention of asking her about wls.  When I first started seeing her, she gave me a long speech about not approving wls. (at that time I wasn't thinking of it and thought it was odd that she was bringing it up).  Well I saw her on Monday and told her I decided to have the lapband surgery.  She was very supportive and set me up for appts with a foot, sleep and nutritionist. yay!!

I was also scheduled for a seminar at the end of august. But got a call tuesday morning asking if i would mind going in june. I am like, heck yeah. yay looks like things are slowly falling into place.

Five years alot and so much has changed. I am moved back to my homestate.  I finally have a job that will pay for the surgery. Now I have to start the process of finding a Dr near me and setting up a support system.  Since my last post, I have developed diabetes, high blood pressure and need a knee replacement.  I have tried to do this on my own and it has not worked out. I can accomplish everything else I put my mind to. But losing weight  has not been successful. I plan to have the lapband surgery. I am hoping it will be the extra help I need to get healthy.

Well I received the rudest email from my BCBS. I called and asked if they covered the procedure. Customer service answered the question so quickly and I asked if they could email it to me. She promised she would. Several weeks passed and still no email. I emailed them twice and this is the response I received.

"we spoke on the phone concerning this on feb 7th, I explained to you
then that I can not send information concerning policies outside the
company as I stated in our conversation you would have to request a
predetermination to see if it is medically necessary and you would need to meet all the requirements in the anthem policy."


Is it me or is this the most unprofessional email?

Well I made the first step and attended Dr. Gornichec seminar last night. It was very inspirational. At times I had to wipe away tears. He was so honest about the positives and negatives. I liked the fact that he spoke directly and didn't try to sugar coat anything. It was longer than I expected but worth it. I came directly from work, so we arrived about 5 minutes late.. I want the lap band done. I came with a co worker but she changed her mind. She lost 100 pds a couple of years ago. she since gained it all back but feels she isn't ready for surgery yet. Which is fine and she was so supportive. 

Talk about excellent services. Everything is done in house. I love the fact that the fitness facility is used to working with his patients. I would love to work out and know I am not going to do any further harm to my knees and back.

I am going to call his office and see if they can suggest a primary doctor. 

I am very happy with my decision. Keep your fingers I can get it paid for. lol

I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I still haven't found a primary doctor. I want a fat friendly doctor. It's kind of hard to find that when your going through a book without any references. plus i don't drive or have a car, so that makes everything a million times harder.

I called my insurance company BCBS Anthem. They were supposed to email me the requirements for getting approved for the surgery. That never happened. I emailed them and they never responded. I called and they rattled everything off at the speed of light. uggh.

Regardless by the end of the week  will have an appointment with a doctor. I am also trying to find a dietitian. 

I am so looking forward to the WLS seminar this week at integris. I am cleaning up my credit report. I decided that even if my insurance doesn't cover my surgery, I will take out a loan. well as soon as my credit gets clean enough.  lol

hiya,

I still haven't made an appointment to see a primary yet. I am going to do that next week. My life has been a whirlwind lately. Work has been hectic. I don't know if its the weather but my knees have been killing me. One so much so that I was dragging it for a couple of days. I was in tears at time. I was taking 1000 ibuophofen and it wasn't helping. I normally don't do this but a friend offerred some pain pills.Kathy also has knee problems.  I forgot the name of the pills she gave me.  Being the hippie that I am, I've never had to take anything stronger than ibuophofen. Kathy found that hysterical. I broke one in half. by the second day, I was popping two pills a day. I am feeling much better today.  She was trying to get me to use her cane.   My knees haven't bothered me this bad since I fractured them about 8 years ago. I am happy to say I didn't have to pop any thing today for them. I am barely limping. oh ok I did pop something for a headache.

I found out earlier in the month that a dear friend insurance won't cover the surgery. She is at a loss. Unfortunetly she is not in the position to do self pay. It just sucks that wls isn't covered. It's not as if its a cosmetic surgery. Yet viagra is covered. hmmm go figure.

I showed out a little. I went to TGI Fridays on Friday. They sat us at a booth. It was so tight, I didn't think I would be able to eat and get out of the table.  I explained to my friend Kathy and Nicole that we needed to get a table. Nicole suggested I get a chair and just sit on the side of the table. I told her no. The server came and nicole asked for a chair. I told the server, we needed to switch to a table. Nicole was sweet about it but wanted to know why i needed a table and not a chair. I explained because the walkway was small and  I would be in the way. Most importantly I would be embarrassed. She couldn't understand why I would be embarrassed.  You can always tell someone who hasn't had any fat friends. I explained the situation over the phone to my sister. My sister Marlyn is just awesome. She told me not to worry about Nicole or what she thinks.   

Off to dream land.  

Good night.

Well I called my provider. The woman was talking so fast on the phone. I wasn't able to write everything down. First she stated that BCBS will cover the lap band procedure IF it is deemed medically necessary. Then she went on to say my plan doesn't cover it. What sense does that make. But the way she was talking, it sounds like normal procedure to deny the claim and then appeal it.   

She promised to email the information to me but I have yet to receive it. I sent a email to my provider. Hopefully they will respond and I will have something I can read at my pace. lol

Well I made an appointment for March 13th for a informational seminar at Integris.  My friend Kathy is going with me for moral support. She is also debating getting the surgery.  I am planning on getting the Lap band.  I am kind of scared to call my insurance company to find out if they will cover the surgery and how much they will cover.  I work for a trade school and we have the worse health insurance I have ever had. I pay 63 every two weeks for the lowest health insurance. One of my co workers got sick and had to pay 54 for his flonase with the health insurance. 

I don't have a primary doctor and need to find one. I am noticing with all the info I am reading about wls, you need to get permission from a primary. I am also noticing that you need six months of documented weight loss attempts. uggh. everything I have done is at home. I guess if I have to wait six months, that's just what I am going to have to do.