Michelle_Anne

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

Wendnesday March 12th is here!

I had to be to the hospital (Unity) at 5:00am.
Things began with the typical weight, height, and vitals.
I weighed in at 198.5lbs which met my first personal goal of being under 200lbs before surgery. 
Next came the shot of Heparin (blood thinner) in the belly, changing into those all so "Hot" hospital gowns and slipper socks, and the IV.
Dr. Johnson stopped in to see me and discuss any last minute questions and/or concerns. Then a visit from the anesthesiologist Dr. Cummings and his team (Christy and Shawn).
At 7:15am we headed for the OR. I don't remeber much after this for several hours.  I do recall moving to the OR table and a quick Hello to Dr. Johnsons nurse. There are also a few blurs of conversations in the recovery room pertaining to vitals and medications being administered. The next thing I remember is my SO standing next to the bed rubbing my cheek. I remained pretty groggy for the remainder of the day. I was up and walking the first time about 1:00pm and continued walking in between the naps. My incisions didn't really give me alot of pain. The incision where the port was placed was tender. However I did have significant pain in my back (hospital beds are so comfy...lol). The nurses brought me a heating pad which has become my best friend since surgery. 
My mouth/lips were very dry from the effects of the anesthesia, swabs of moisture and chapstick were a necessity since I was not allowed anything to drink. On Thursday morning I had an 'Upper GI' to confirm there weren't any obstructions. By about noon I was allowed to begin the sip, sip, sip. Taking in fluids went very well so I was discharged at about 5:00pm. I am on 1 week of clear liquids. I will update my progress after I see the surgeon for my 1 week postop appointment on Wednesday March 19th. 
Hopefully after this appointment I will get to move onto the 'Full Liquids'.

I seen the surgeon today and I am ready for surgery!

My date is Wednesday March 12th @ 7:15am

I receiced a fantastic phone call today. Medica has approved my surgery!

Good Evening!

I am officially covered by Medica today. I will call the clinic tomorrow to submit to insurance !

I began my journey in July attending an information meeting at Unity.
 
My first appointment with the nurse was scheduled for August 14th.
I went to the appointment prepared with the letter of support from my PCP, weight histories, and previous weight loss attempts. It turned out my weight loss attempts weren't acceptable for BCBS since they were not "medically supervised". My weight was 241.5lbs and my BMI was 40.2. I just barely made the qualifications for insurance (BCBS) since I don't have any co-morbidities. I chose to go forward with RNY.

I seen my PCP on August 27th to begin the medically supervised diet (6 months required by BCBS). After this appoinment she was comfortable with me seeing the dietician for the remainder of my supervised diet, but I had to have update appoinments with her in November and February (2008). 

I met with the dietician for the first time on September 19th. I began a 1500 calorie diet and was well on my way to losing the weight needed before surgery.

Things progressed quite rapidly from here. I had four appointments with the psychologist and was cleared by him before my next appoinment with the dietician (October 19th).

All that was left was to continue with the supervised diet plan.

I was very successful with the diet. I have quit drinking soda (Diet Pepsi was my best friend..lol), eliminated grazing, and have controlled my sweet addiction.

Bump in the road...

In November my employer notified us we would be changing insurance plans on the first of the year. They had no idea who it was going to be, they also had no idea what the new coverage would be.
There wasn't enough time to complete the requirements for BCBS.
I didn't give up, I continued with my supervised diet hoping the new insurance would cover the procedure. In late December we met with the new carrier (United Health Care), I was reassured the coverage was going to be identical and should have absolutely no problems proceeding.

Up to this point I had lost 26.5lbs and began second guessing if I had chose the right procedure.

I scheduled my teaching appointment for January 8th. I discussed my thoughts with the nurse and she reccomended that I have a consult appoinment with the surgeon to discuss what i was feeling.

I met with Dr. Johnson on January 17th, 2008. At this appoinment I decided to switch to the Lap Band ( I am only 59lbs from my personal goal). I left this appoinment on cloud nine. I had a surgery date of February 13th, of course this was pending insurance approval.

At this time we still had not received new insurance card or any Explanation of Benefits from UHC.  The clinic submitted my paperwork on Monday January 21st. By Friday January 25th I was no longer on cloud nine. It seems there is an exclusion written into the new insurance plan that doesn't cover any type of WLS. They won't even cover the dietician appointments. The weekend was very long and I thought my only option was going to be to continue as a self pay (not even knowing if we could possibly afford it).

A glimmer of hope...

On Monday January 28th we found out that my boyfriend's employer has domestic partner coverage on their medical plan (Medica). I called Medica to get specific information on his coverage. They will cover the surgery 80% with a $1200 maximum out of pocket. The only additional stipulatiion is you have to choose a In-Network provider. The lady was very helpful, she checked right away to see if Dr. Johnson was In-Network or if I needed to find a new surgeon.  Yes...he's In-Network.

All the paperwork has been completed and will be submitted to his employer for the domestic partner benefit approval (verificaton of documents to prove we are in a long term relationship). Once we have that approval I will be added to his medical plan. Once verification has been confirmed that I am actually covered by Medica the clinic will resubmit.

Medica's approval time is 10-14 business days.

If all goes well I  could still get a surgey date in February...