kjfras

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

Arrrgghhhh....I want to know why everytime I ask one Doctor to fax a medical record, or a clearance or any other document it either DOESN"T get sent or if it does the other doctor CAN"T FIND IT!!! 

My patience is wearing thin.  This revision paperwork is killing me - I'm frustrated, stressed out and annoyed as hell that no one can do the simple task that they are paid to do.  It wouldn't be that big of a deal if I had all the time in the world but since there are talks of layoffs in my company I want to get this surgery scheduled sooner than later just in case I'm one of the unlucky ones that won't have medical insurance in a few months - then all this out of pocket money will be for nothing! 

I found out today that surgery dates are now going into July - July!!!!!  By the time I get everything in and sent in for approval it will be August for the love of God. 

OK Kerry-  breathe in - breathe out - go to your Happy Place - Fuck em'!!!!! 

I'm telling you - I've had it up to here with all this pre-op shit!!!  I thought I had it all put together with the previous pre-op stuff done for theLapBand revision I was originally going to get.  But NOOOOOOOOO---there's more!!!  Arrgghhhh....

So after getting all the results sent to Dr. G - upper GI, EGD and original surgery notes - then I have had to fight to get my NUT to send over clearance, now I'm still waiting on my therapist to send over her pysch clearance (she held me up on my LapBand approval 2 months ago too...I love her, she's awesome but she sucks at paperwork!) and now I have to get Pulm clearance.

Little did I know that I need to bring a chest x-ray BEFORE I see the pulm so that means a two hr visit today to my PCP, then went to get the x-ray done and found out they won't have the written report until 48hrs so it may not be there in time for my appt on Thurs.  I called the Pulm dr and got 2 different answers - 1 says I have to have the written report, the other said it's ok if I don't have the written report as long as I have the disk (which I do). So I guess I'm just gonna have to go and hope he can give me clearance without the freakin' report.

So....after I get pulm clearance and get that sent to my PCP then she will type up a letter to give medical clearance for the surgery.  You're talking a week at the earliest before all this will be sent up to Dr.G and then I have to wait for him to review it all and Tina to type it up and submit to insurance.  At this rate it will be July before I have a date - I've been working on this damn revision for over 6 months - I'm aggrevated that everything seems to take so fucking long!!

I need to just calm down and realize this is how things work.  The office at Dr.G is great - I'm not upset at that - I just hate having to wait so long and go thru 4 different Drs just to get clearance.  It's crazy!  Understandable but crazy!

I'll post again once I get insurance approval.  Hopefully sooner than later and with alot less drama and aggrevation!

So I talked to Dr.Greenbaums office today and have my phone consult on 4/21.  I've already talked to Tina about everything I need to send her for the ins approval.  The good news is once Dr.G says he will do the surgery and Tina get the approval back - THEN I will schedule surgery and that means NO TRAVEL until I have insurance approval - YEEHAW!!!

I just didn't feel comfortable traveling so far away without first getting an approval.  It was just tooo risky.  Dr.K seems wonderful when I spoke with him but I think this is the best decision.  I have seen so many people happy with Dr.G.  I know they are both in the top of their field when it comes to RNY revisions so I feel safe with either.

I'm not sure when surgery will be - I can deal with it in May or June.  I have most of my testing done, just have to see a pulmonologist and get my NUT and Therapist to write a letter to Dr.G and we should be all set....

Let's hope everything goes smoothly from here on out....

I'm so freakin' confused by everything!!!  I've been hemming and hawwing about which dr I should go to...Dr K in CA or Dr Greenbaum in NJ.  I originally chose Dr.K and I've already done a lot of my pre-op stuff but what concerns me is that they don't submit info to insurance company until after my initial visit.  I don't want to commit to a flight, hotel, car, etc for 3-4 weeks without knowing for sure my insurance is going to approve me - it's just to much at stake.  Not to mention the $4000 program fee which I can't use any of the things it's suppose to cover since I live in Florida - I can't attend the support groups now can I? Plus the thought of having to travel after the surgery on a 7hr flight - ugghh....not to mention, who the hell knows if I will fit in an airplane bathroom?? Yes, I've flown recently but I NEVER drink before a flight and I can usually hold it about 3-4 hrs so I've never had to go until I've landed...I know these are crazy things in my head but I can't stop thinking and stressing over them!!

I talked with Frank the other day who is going to do a revision with Dr.G and he made some very good points. Dr.G is on the East Coast so if anything goes wrong it's easier and less expensive to go see him.  There is no program fee.  The costs will be alot less since my Mom lives about 4 hrs north so she could actually drive me home and rest there until my follow up visit, so it would save alot on expenses.  The only negative is having to go do all the pre-op stuff they want that is different than Dr.K and also the fact I'd probably have to push surgery back a month or two - I've already informed my supervisor that I probably will be out most of May....

I'm just so confused on what way to go.....................

Arrghhh!!!  If you had asked me 7 yrs ago that I would be back to the same weight I was prior to my RNY surgery in 7/2001 I would have told you that you were nuts!  I figured there was no way I would ever go back to being the heavy, fat, disgusting, uncomfortable person I was before. 

I was WRONG!!!!  I kept my weight loss of 164 lbs off for almost 6 yrs.  Due to a bunch of personal issues I began gaining weight back at the end of 2006 with the bulk of my weight beginning to add up around 2007-2008 where I was gaining upwards of 50 lbs a year.  Frightening I know!  I put blnders on, kept saying that I would lose weight tomorrow but kept grazing all day long.  It never stopped until I finally came to the realization that I was once again FAT, Super Morbid Obese, all because I chose to ignore thesigns and wasn't strong enough to stop.

Now I am in the predictment again.  I started looking into the LapBand, something less invasive and quick heal time.  I went to a local surgeon and got all the pre-op work done, the labs, the nutrionist, the pysch eval, the Upper GI and the Endoscopy.  All that was left was the pre-auth from Aetna.  I had to follow up numerous time with my Dr office and they always said they were waiting on something else.  They finally sent off my paperwork and I had the approval back in 2 days. 

In the meantime, I came back to this lovely site and began reading alot about the DS.  I looked up facts and research studies.  I talked to several doctors.  I talked to newbies of the DS and I talked to the Seniors of DS.  I finally feel like this is what is meant to be.  Im a little scared due to the risks of a 2nd surgery and the fact that I have to travel to get it done, but sometimes you have to fight for what you want.

So....again, I am back to square one.  I've decided to work with Dr.Ara Keshishian.  He has alot of positives and even tho the cost will be a little high and I have to travel to CA I guess it's worth it.  I'm trying to get all the pre-op stuff done so that I can get the consult and the surgery all done in the same 3-4 week CA trip.

I'll keep you all posted with my trials and tribulations - hopefully alot of good times and not so many bad times....