jp8000
Most of my intro can be gleaned from Jupiter6's posts, but here's a brief recap.
I originally decided on WLS around five or six years ago, after my family doctor recommended it. At the time, the insurance I had would not cover it, but the company I worked for offered another policy that would. I had intended to switch during the open enrollment, but was laid off three weeks before I could. Between then and October of 2005, I had no insurance that would cover it, so I put the idea on hold an concentrated on not gaining more weight and trying to stay active.
Forward to 2007. After having my weight hover around 325 for the better part of eight years, I shot up to almost 380 in the span of a year, likely due to a combination of life event stresses and the activity level at my job going from something fairly active to something approaching catatonic. I checked my current employer's policy, and, under the impression that surgery would be covered, started the required six-month supervised diet.
In the meantime, my GF Shari (the aforementioned Jupiter6) decided that she would also take the plunge - albeit with much less enthusiasm and far more ambivalence. We paid the hospital's program fees, went to the requisite dietitian and psych evals, had a GI series, ultrasounds, and fulfilled all the program requirements. Despite her uncertainty,
After finally wresting the required letter of recommendation from my primary care doctor in November, all my info was sent to the insurance company. And there it was promptly rejected, as my company had a specific exclusion for WLS attached to their policy. My original inquiry to the insurance company had been answered incorrectly, and the coverage information that had been provided by my employer was lacking the pages that listed exclusions.
We were, needless to say, totally devastated. Inspired largely by advice offered by members of this community, I spoke to both my employer and the insurance company several times, and struck out fairly conclusively. However, I had lost between 50 and 60 pounds (depending on the scale, the humidity, and apparently the phase of the moon) and was determined to keep it off as best I could.
To make a long(er) story short (too late!), through a combination of auspicious circumstances I recently acquired insurance which will in fact cover the RNY. And though the journey was difficult and heartbreaking until this point, things are now falling into place with astonishing rapidity.
I had a follow-up appointment this past Friday (4/4) to determine what - if any - of the preliminary tests would need to be repeated. The answer - none. I'd had no gallstones, and everything else was also normal. I was asked when I wanted to have the surgery, and, joking, said "How 'bout two weeks from now?"
And she said..."Sure!"
So, I'm scheduled for the 22nd of April. Yay me!
