PLennon
Money (That's What I Want)
Feb 15, 2010
The best things in life are free....
So starts the song. It's also a great adage to live by. I believe that the truly important things ARE free. My relationship with J is strong and getting stronger by the day. My band is really starting to get noticed and I know it's because we really ARE that good! Our fur-kids seem content, although Caille needs to have a check-up. I've come to the realisation though, at least where it regards this surgery, if you don't have a strong financial base, you could be in big trouble after the surgery. My personal situation is that I'm on disability, a fixed income. I have Medicare A & B only. I'm also a musician, but if you know anyone in the entertainment business, unless you're famous that won't pay your bills. When I was investigating the surgery, I thought I had really done my homework. I knew how the surgery was done. I knew how much it would cost me out of pocket. I knew that my surgeons fee as well as the fee for the shrink were totally out of pocket because insurance won't cover those fees for bariatrics. I thought..."wow, I'll be saving money on food for sure"! Well, that part is true. I used to spend an obscene amount of money on food, mostly junk food, but I don't cook, so it was easier to go to Burger King or Wendy's or Taco Bell and spend $5-$8. Now, my food bill is pretty low. I know that right now, I'm still eating very small amounts (2 1/5 oz per meal) and that will increase a bit in the coming weeks. I also knew in advance that because the surgery I had involves malabsorbtion, I'd have to take supplements the rest of my life in order to get proper nutrition. No problem. I've taken vitimins for a long time. Not too expensive, right? WRONG!!! The specific supplements following WLS aren't your typical "one-a-day" type. The multi-vitimin, especially for the first 2 weeks post-op must be in liquid form. It's very expensive and also very hard to find. I had to go to another city to actually find some. Not one pharmacy in Orlando carried any. I was told by Dr. Kim's staff to get it at the pharmacy right there at Celebration Health, but when I called them, they said they no longer carry it. Great. After the first 2 weeks, you start taking other sorts of supplements, all of which are expensive (with the exception of the B-12. I chose the monthly injection which is dirt cheap!). The worst thing though is the protein powder. Because I eat so little, I have to supplement my protein intake with protein powders that I put in milk and have as a "shake". They actually taste pretty good, but I've only had the chocolate. They cost a fortune! The one that I got at GNC was "buy one-get one half price" and still cost almost $90! The brand that Dr. Kim's office advises is "Unjury" (www.unjury.com) which is a protein powder made especially for bariatric patients. The cost is $18.95. Sounds reasonable, right? Well, for that price, you get 17 scoops. Each shake requires one scoop. I need at least 2 shakes a day to get enough protein in. That means that one can of Unjury only lasts me for 8 1/2 days. That means that I'll go through 3 1/2 cans a month. That means that the protein powder would cost me over $66 a month. Add that to the price for the supplemental vitimins, the cost of food (albeit lower) and that puts me WAY over what I used to spend on food on a monthly basis. You may think to yourself, "well, that's a small price to pay to get your life back" and you'd be right...IF you have it! If you don't have it, well...you don't have it...and that's the boat I find myself in.
Now, on another note (although it's related to money), last Friday I had to call Dr. Kim's office because I had had some diarrhea the night before. It was also almost black in colour. The nurse relayed a message that he wanted me to come in for a blood test and also to pick up a prescription for Carafon Suspension. It was possible that I had a bleeding ulcer. So, off to Celebration Health I went. Got the blood work done right there and got the prescription from Dr. Kim's office. When I got to the pharmacy to have it filled, I was totally shocked to find out that the medicine was $212!!! It was a liquid and there was no generic form. I called Dr. Kim's office back and told them there was no way I could get that medicine. Dr. Kim suggested I get the pill form and crush it. Okay...Wal-marts price was $57 for the generic of the pill form. Still more than I have in the bank. I've been depressed about this all weekend. I hate the fact that I have to choose money over my health! All of my credit cards are maxed out because of the surgery. I have nothing. I'm flat broke. 2 days after I got home from the hospital, my refrigerator died (the compresser). Thank the gods that via a friend, I was able to get a refrigerator from a friend of hers who had just gotten a new one. It still cost me a small fortune to have it picked up, delivered and installed, but at least I didn't have to buy a new one. I've got all sorts of things going wrong at my house. My dog needs to see a vet because she looks so sluggish these days. I just don't have it. For the first time since I had the surgery, I'm wondering if I didn't make a mistake. While I'm on the road to health for the first time in my life, my stress levels are through the roof because of the financial burden of it all. I suppose the people in the bariatric business assume that the people coming to them for surgery are probably pretty sound financially. I hate to cry poor-mouth every time I go in there, but that's the reality of it. I just can't afford to get healthy. Sucks. The good news is that my blood work was normal. I guess they still want me on the medicine though. Off to sell a kidney on eBay...
To end this blog post on a positive note (Bb), I've lost about 30 pounds since surgery which is a little more than a pound a day! (I'm going by my scale, which is about a pound off from Dr. Kim's scale).
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So starts the song. It's also a great adage to live by. I believe that the truly important things ARE free. My relationship with J is strong and getting stronger by the day. My band is really starting to get noticed and I know it's because we really ARE that good! Our fur-kids seem content, although Caille needs to have a check-up. I've come to the realisation though, at least where it regards this surgery, if you don't have a strong financial base, you could be in big trouble after the surgery. My personal situation is that I'm on disability, a fixed income. I have Medicare A & B only. I'm also a musician, but if you know anyone in the entertainment business, unless you're famous that won't pay your bills. When I was investigating the surgery, I thought I had really done my homework. I knew how the surgery was done. I knew how much it would cost me out of pocket. I knew that my surgeons fee as well as the fee for the shrink were totally out of pocket because insurance won't cover those fees for bariatrics. I thought..."wow, I'll be saving money on food for sure"! Well, that part is true. I used to spend an obscene amount of money on food, mostly junk food, but I don't cook, so it was easier to go to Burger King or Wendy's or Taco Bell and spend $5-$8. Now, my food bill is pretty low. I know that right now, I'm still eating very small amounts (2 1/5 oz per meal) and that will increase a bit in the coming weeks. I also knew in advance that because the surgery I had involves malabsorbtion, I'd have to take supplements the rest of my life in order to get proper nutrition. No problem. I've taken vitimins for a long time. Not too expensive, right? WRONG!!! The specific supplements following WLS aren't your typical "one-a-day" type. The multi-vitimin, especially for the first 2 weeks post-op must be in liquid form. It's very expensive and also very hard to find. I had to go to another city to actually find some. Not one pharmacy in Orlando carried any. I was told by Dr. Kim's staff to get it at the pharmacy right there at Celebration Health, but when I called them, they said they no longer carry it. Great. After the first 2 weeks, you start taking other sorts of supplements, all of which are expensive (with the exception of the B-12. I chose the monthly injection which is dirt cheap!). The worst thing though is the protein powder. Because I eat so little, I have to supplement my protein intake with protein powders that I put in milk and have as a "shake". They actually taste pretty good, but I've only had the chocolate. They cost a fortune! The one that I got at GNC was "buy one-get one half price" and still cost almost $90! The brand that Dr. Kim's office advises is "Unjury" (www.unjury.com) which is a protein powder made especially for bariatric patients. The cost is $18.95. Sounds reasonable, right? Well, for that price, you get 17 scoops. Each shake requires one scoop. I need at least 2 shakes a day to get enough protein in. That means that one can of Unjury only lasts me for 8 1/2 days. That means that I'll go through 3 1/2 cans a month. That means that the protein powder would cost me over $66 a month. Add that to the price for the supplemental vitimins, the cost of food (albeit lower) and that puts me WAY over what I used to spend on food on a monthly basis. You may think to yourself, "well, that's a small price to pay to get your life back" and you'd be right...IF you have it! If you don't have it, well...you don't have it...and that's the boat I find myself in.
Now, on another note (although it's related to money), last Friday I had to call Dr. Kim's office because I had had some diarrhea the night before. It was also almost black in colour. The nurse relayed a message that he wanted me to come in for a blood test and also to pick up a prescription for Carafon Suspension. It was possible that I had a bleeding ulcer. So, off to Celebration Health I went. Got the blood work done right there and got the prescription from Dr. Kim's office. When I got to the pharmacy to have it filled, I was totally shocked to find out that the medicine was $212!!! It was a liquid and there was no generic form. I called Dr. Kim's office back and told them there was no way I could get that medicine. Dr. Kim suggested I get the pill form and crush it. Okay...Wal-marts price was $57 for the generic of the pill form. Still more than I have in the bank. I've been depressed about this all weekend. I hate the fact that I have to choose money over my health! All of my credit cards are maxed out because of the surgery. I have nothing. I'm flat broke. 2 days after I got home from the hospital, my refrigerator died (the compresser). Thank the gods that via a friend, I was able to get a refrigerator from a friend of hers who had just gotten a new one. It still cost me a small fortune to have it picked up, delivered and installed, but at least I didn't have to buy a new one. I've got all sorts of things going wrong at my house. My dog needs to see a vet because she looks so sluggish these days. I just don't have it. For the first time since I had the surgery, I'm wondering if I didn't make a mistake. While I'm on the road to health for the first time in my life, my stress levels are through the roof because of the financial burden of it all. I suppose the people in the bariatric business assume that the people coming to them for surgery are probably pretty sound financially. I hate to cry poor-mouth every time I go in there, but that's the reality of it. I just can't afford to get healthy. Sucks. The good news is that my blood work was normal. I guess they still want me on the medicine though. Off to sell a kidney on eBay...
To end this blog post on a positive note (Bb), I've lost about 30 pounds since surgery which is a little more than a pound a day! (I'm going by my scale, which is about a pound off from Dr. Kim's scale).
A Hard Days Night
Jan 29, 2010
Well, I did it! On Tuesday, January 19th, I finally had my surgery. I originally had a "call time" of 10am, but they called a couple of days prior and moved me to noon. Of course, the night before, I could have nothing by mouth, not even water past midnight, and I had to drink 8oz of magnesium citrate. Lemme tell ya, that stuff tastes like ASS! But, it did what it was supposed to do and by morning, I could whistle through my butt. I hadn't had such a case of dry-mouth in my life. It was absolutely painful. I was walking around with a water bottle, taking a mouthful and spitting it out into a cup just to lower the irritation. Even my tongue was chapped. Sitting in the waiting room listening for my name to go back to pre-op was maddening, but it finally happened. I went back and got into the lovely ass-presenting gown that they provided and lay on the gurney as different people came in and poked and prodded me, taking vitals, getting me hooked up to the IV so they could start running fluids into me and fitting me with several wrist bracelets just to make sure I remembered my name. I have to say, the staff at Celebration Health was very friendly and very efficient. They have this down to a science, truly. I met with the anesthesiologist, his assistant and his assistants assistant. Finally, Dr. Kim came in and asked if I had any questions for him, which I really didn't. I've been researching this for so long, I think I may be able to scrub in to a surgery myself. Dr. Kim is a very analytical man and doesn't seem to "get" humour. It's okay, he's a bloody genius!
Several hours passed and they sent my friends in to see me one at a time, which was nice because I didn't want to leave things like my wedding band in the hands of anyone I didn't know. After a while, they finally came in to get me for surgery. As soon as I was wheeled into the operating theater, I got a glimpse of the "Da Vinci" machine, which is an amazing robotic device that they use for certain parts of the surgery. Immediately, they started moving me to the table. I asked if they could play any music and they said sure. Of course, I requested Beatles and soon, I heard the sound of what I think was "Get Back". I'm not really sure, because they put a mask over my mouth and nose and said "okay, take three deep breaths" and I was OUT!
When I woke up in recovery, of course my mouth was dry as the Sahara. They brought me some ice chips. I didn't feel any real pain, just a tightness and some discomfort. I had a new IV in my other hand that they must have put in after I was out. I was very groggy, but very happy that it was actually done! I was in recovery forever! They didn't have an available room to put me in. After a very long time, a nurse came and said they had a room for me. My friends said they would meet me up there. The only thing I needed was for someone to haul me up there. Seems the hospital bed I was lying in was the same one that I would be using in the room. They called transportation and then we waited...and waited...and waited. After about an hour and a half, someone FINALLY showed up to take me to my room. When we got there, my friends were there, looking half asleep. It was already almost 10 at night and they'd been waiting since noon. I have amazingly tolerant and loving friends. They're actually more of a family to me than anything.
They hooked me up to IV fluids and also to a Morphine pump that I could hit every 6 minutes for pain relief. I have to say, it didn't really do much. I had thought that I'd only be in hospital for 24 hours, but they informed me that RNY patients now do a minimum of 48 hours. That first night....well, it was a nightmare! The pain I was feeling was absolutely excrutiating. The morphine did nothing. The problem was, not only was I having pain from the surgery, but my back was in total spasm and never let up. They moved me from the bed to a reclining chair. That didn't do much either. I just couldn't get comfortable. So, the first night, I didn't sleep at all. The next day, they took me off the morphine pump and put me on the liquid Lortab, which is essentially the same as Vicodin. It must have been a very low dosage, because with that, even in combo with my Xanax that they brought me, I was still having horrible pain. I noticed that a great deal of the pain was coming from the drain which was still in my body that they emptied every shift. THAT was like white-hot pain and it never let up. I was literally screaming. I couldn't take it. I honestly, at one point, wanted to die. I felt a little sorry for the night nurse and staff, because I was so hysterical, but I just couldn't help it. When you're in that much pain, there's nothing left to do but cry and scream. Somehow, that gets the frustration of it out, I guess. I did manage though, to get a little sleep. I had been up for two days, so I think I wore myself out.
Here's the most amazing thing...when I woke up the next day, I needed to pee. I called the nurse and she helped me to the bathroom. Well, I think I had a "magic pee" because as I sat there on the toilet, all the pain went away! I was even able to stand and walk back to bed on my own. Yeah, there was an achey-ness, but no real pain. I even cancelled the pain meds that I had requested right before going to the toilet! It was remarkable! I went for a walk around the floor and was even building up some speed. Then...the heavens opened up and they came to remove that awful drain. Lemme tell ya, whenever I hear the words "okay, take a deep breath", I know I'm in trouble. I had no idea how much hose was in my body! I could literally feel it snaking through my chest cavity and it made this awful sucking noise as they pulled it out. Once it was done though, sweet relief! I went for another walk and ran into Pedro, one of the other people who had surgery the same day I did. He still had his drain and a lot of pain. I told him that when they pull out the drain it's like magic because so much of the pain disappears.
One sort of funny thing happened. I had so many people coming in and out of my room. Dr. Kim was running late, so I didn't see him till later, but Dr. Alabi came by and several other doctors. My nutritionist was there helping me figure out some food stuff. They told me that I needed to attend a very short "movement" class. My friend Trish was there and witnessed this. I stood up to go to the movement class and the very second I did, I felt this wetness. I said to everyone in the room..."well, I think I either peed myself or just started my period"! One site of the red confirmed it. The nurse went to get me a sanitary pad. They brought me this pad that had to be from the 1960's! It had no adhesive at all. I was waiting for them to hand me the belt and safety pins!! How archaic in this day and age. Anyway, I was late, but made it to the class.
They told me that I'd be released as soon as Dr. Kim came in to do his evaluation. He didn't show up till almost 7:30 that night. My friend Katie was coming to get me and she went ahead and just went to work instead of waiting all that time. We arranged for her to pick me up when she got off work and in the meantime, they moved me to another section of the hospital because they needed my bed. When I was there, I actually saw Dr. Tanton, who was visiting another of his patients. That was so cool.
Katie finally came to get me and I spent 3 days and nights at her house because she had the room, she'd had the surgery and she really just wanted me to be there. I'm very glad I did, because that first day, I don't think I could have done much on my own.
This has been a VERY long blog entry, but there was so much to go over. I'm now 10 days post-op. I have no idea how much weight I've lost. Every scale is different. I have a feeling I haven't lost as much as I thought I would. I'm sticking to the pureed diet like it's my new religion. I've only been able to do some minimal exercises, so maybe if I ratchet that up, more will come off. I had some pain in one of my incision sites tonight and called Dr. Kim. He's having me come into the office on Monday, just so he can have a look. Other than that, my first official follow up with him is Friday, February 5th. More later...
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Several hours passed and they sent my friends in to see me one at a time, which was nice because I didn't want to leave things like my wedding band in the hands of anyone I didn't know. After a while, they finally came in to get me for surgery. As soon as I was wheeled into the operating theater, I got a glimpse of the "Da Vinci" machine, which is an amazing robotic device that they use for certain parts of the surgery. Immediately, they started moving me to the table. I asked if they could play any music and they said sure. Of course, I requested Beatles and soon, I heard the sound of what I think was "Get Back". I'm not really sure, because they put a mask over my mouth and nose and said "okay, take three deep breaths" and I was OUT!
When I woke up in recovery, of course my mouth was dry as the Sahara. They brought me some ice chips. I didn't feel any real pain, just a tightness and some discomfort. I had a new IV in my other hand that they must have put in after I was out. I was very groggy, but very happy that it was actually done! I was in recovery forever! They didn't have an available room to put me in. After a very long time, a nurse came and said they had a room for me. My friends said they would meet me up there. The only thing I needed was for someone to haul me up there. Seems the hospital bed I was lying in was the same one that I would be using in the room. They called transportation and then we waited...and waited...and waited. After about an hour and a half, someone FINALLY showed up to take me to my room. When we got there, my friends were there, looking half asleep. It was already almost 10 at night and they'd been waiting since noon. I have amazingly tolerant and loving friends. They're actually more of a family to me than anything.
They hooked me up to IV fluids and also to a Morphine pump that I could hit every 6 minutes for pain relief. I have to say, it didn't really do much. I had thought that I'd only be in hospital for 24 hours, but they informed me that RNY patients now do a minimum of 48 hours. That first night....well, it was a nightmare! The pain I was feeling was absolutely excrutiating. The morphine did nothing. The problem was, not only was I having pain from the surgery, but my back was in total spasm and never let up. They moved me from the bed to a reclining chair. That didn't do much either. I just couldn't get comfortable. So, the first night, I didn't sleep at all. The next day, they took me off the morphine pump and put me on the liquid Lortab, which is essentially the same as Vicodin. It must have been a very low dosage, because with that, even in combo with my Xanax that they brought me, I was still having horrible pain. I noticed that a great deal of the pain was coming from the drain which was still in my body that they emptied every shift. THAT was like white-hot pain and it never let up. I was literally screaming. I couldn't take it. I honestly, at one point, wanted to die. I felt a little sorry for the night nurse and staff, because I was so hysterical, but I just couldn't help it. When you're in that much pain, there's nothing left to do but cry and scream. Somehow, that gets the frustration of it out, I guess. I did manage though, to get a little sleep. I had been up for two days, so I think I wore myself out.
Here's the most amazing thing...when I woke up the next day, I needed to pee. I called the nurse and she helped me to the bathroom. Well, I think I had a "magic pee" because as I sat there on the toilet, all the pain went away! I was even able to stand and walk back to bed on my own. Yeah, there was an achey-ness, but no real pain. I even cancelled the pain meds that I had requested right before going to the toilet! It was remarkable! I went for a walk around the floor and was even building up some speed. Then...the heavens opened up and they came to remove that awful drain. Lemme tell ya, whenever I hear the words "okay, take a deep breath", I know I'm in trouble. I had no idea how much hose was in my body! I could literally feel it snaking through my chest cavity and it made this awful sucking noise as they pulled it out. Once it was done though, sweet relief! I went for another walk and ran into Pedro, one of the other people who had surgery the same day I did. He still had his drain and a lot of pain. I told him that when they pull out the drain it's like magic because so much of the pain disappears.
One sort of funny thing happened. I had so many people coming in and out of my room. Dr. Kim was running late, so I didn't see him till later, but Dr. Alabi came by and several other doctors. My nutritionist was there helping me figure out some food stuff. They told me that I needed to attend a very short "movement" class. My friend Trish was there and witnessed this. I stood up to go to the movement class and the very second I did, I felt this wetness. I said to everyone in the room..."well, I think I either peed myself or just started my period"! One site of the red confirmed it. The nurse went to get me a sanitary pad. They brought me this pad that had to be from the 1960's! It had no adhesive at all. I was waiting for them to hand me the belt and safety pins!! How archaic in this day and age. Anyway, I was late, but made it to the class.
They told me that I'd be released as soon as Dr. Kim came in to do his evaluation. He didn't show up till almost 7:30 that night. My friend Katie was coming to get me and she went ahead and just went to work instead of waiting all that time. We arranged for her to pick me up when she got off work and in the meantime, they moved me to another section of the hospital because they needed my bed. When I was there, I actually saw Dr. Tanton, who was visiting another of his patients. That was so cool.
Katie finally came to get me and I spent 3 days and nights at her house because she had the room, she'd had the surgery and she really just wanted me to be there. I'm very glad I did, because that first day, I don't think I could have done much on my own.
This has been a VERY long blog entry, but there was so much to go over. I'm now 10 days post-op. I have no idea how much weight I've lost. Every scale is different. I have a feeling I haven't lost as much as I thought I would. I'm sticking to the pureed diet like it's my new religion. I've only been able to do some minimal exercises, so maybe if I ratchet that up, more will come off. I had some pain in one of my incision sites tonight and called Dr. Kim. He's having me come into the office on Monday, just so he can have a look. Other than that, my first official follow up with him is Friday, February 5th. More later...
It Won't Be Long
Jan 16, 2010
Okay...so, I never said I was going to be a frequent blogger. I'm sooo not a writer. I just don't ever get the "urge" to tell the world how I feel. Maybe it's because I'm a private person, maybe not. Doesn't matter...
Anyroad...it's been a long time since my last update. June 21st of last year, in fact. In the last almost 7 months, I've been through the ringer. I started my six-month doctor supervised diet with Dr. Tanton, an endocrinologist at Celebration Health. Actually, I was seen most often by his assistant, Jeannette, a nurse practicioner who is an amazing woman. No matter how bad I felt going in there, she was there with a smile and I'd leave smiling too. I had a few months where I gained a few pounds, but most often, I did lose at least a little weight. The most amazing parts were my weigh-in's for December and January. Somehow, and I truly don't know how, I managed to lose like 18 pounds OVER THE HOLIDAYS! Maybe it's because I don't go to parties and holiday get-togethers. It's just not my bag. However, during that time, I cheated on my diet a LOT. I became far too familiar with Crunch 'N' Munch popcorn, eating sometimes 2 boxes a night for days on end. Finally, I had the final appointment for my 6 month requirement and called Dr. Kim's office. They pushed me right up to practically the top of the list! More than anything, I wanted to have my surgery in January so that I could lose as much weight as possible prior to us doing the Abbey Road On The River Beatlefest in May. When we played last year, I was just in so much pain and could barely move. I'm hoping to shed enough to really make a difference. Maybe I'd even be able to stand up to play, which I haven't been able to do for more than one song in years. So, when I called Dr. Kims office, they e-mailed me a list of all the medical clearances that I'd have to have prior to getting a surgery date as well as instructions to begin the "Pre-Op diet, Phase One". I needed a cardiac clearance, pulmonary clearance, chest x-ray, EKG and an H-Pylori test. They also included a list of local doctors I could use to get these clearances. Being that I really don't know any doctors in the area outside of the ones I've been seeing, I went to the list. I started with the cardiologist and picked the first name off the list. When I called, the receptionist told me that the doctor was booked until January. Keep in mind that all this happened about two weeks into December. I knew that would happen! But then she paused and said "well hang on, seems we've had a last-minute cancellation. Can you come in tomorrow"? Can I?!?! Hell yeah! Wow, that was just too easy. Now onto the pulmonologist. Again, I called the first name on the list. Once again, the receptionist told me that they were booked into January. Once again, I said...it figures...and once again, she stopped and said "well, hang on, seems we've had a last-minute cancellation. Can you come in tomorrow"? !!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. She literally said the same thing, word for word that the first one had said. So now I had two appointments at 3 hours apart the very next day! I knew the cardiologist would do the EKG and the pulmonologist would do the chest X-Ray, so that was 4 things that would be taken care of in less than 24 hours! Now, all I needed was the H-Pylori test, which is blood work. I had to call my PCP to get an order for that. I called his office and was told that if I could be there in an hour, Dr. Pinero could work me in!!! You've gotta be kidding me! So, off I go to get the orders for the blood-work. I also took the opportunity to let Dr. Pinero know what was going on with me regarding my WLS. If you've read my blog, you'll know that he actually refused to be my doctor for the 6 month diet, not because he didn't believe in it, but because he said he wasn't qualified. I knew that he'd been informed I was seeing Dr. Tanton, so it's not like I was hiding anything from him. Anyway, I went in, got the script and came back home.
The next day, I went early in the morning to have the blood work done because it had to be fasting. Afterward, I went to the first doctor's appointment, which was the cardiologist. They did the EKG which was fine. The cardiologist told me he had no problem clearing me for surgery. He didn't even do a stress test, which I figured he would. He wrote up the clearance letter and handed it to me. That was the easiest thing ever! Next, I had to haul-ass to Kissimmee to visit the next doctor, the pulmonologist. They gave me all the breathing tests and the chest X-Ray, which I passed with flying colours. Then I waited to see Dr. Martinez, the pulmo doctor. When he came in, he was looking at all my information and at the health forms I had filled out. He said "it says here that you snore sometimes. Have you ever been tested for sleep apnea"? Well, yeah, I had been tested, many years ago. The test was a failure because I couldn't fall asleep. That's when the shoe dropped...he said that he wouldn't clear me until I had a sleep study done to check me for apnea! I was heartbroken. It was the holidays. I was terrified that I couldn't get an appointment to have it done, not to mention the expense of it. To the credit of his office manager, they managed to get me an appointment that very night at a sleep center in Altamonte Springs, fairly close to my house. Okay, I'll do this and get it over with. It's not like I have a choice. So, that night, I went to have the sleep study done. They had so many wires and probes stuck to me I looked far more robotic than I did human. It was inhumane. They made me try and fall asleep at 10PM, which for me is basically the middle of my day. I'm a night-owl. I don't sleep at night. Secondly, they made me lie on my back. I haven't been able to sleep on my back since the 80's. I've got all these ruptured discs in my back and the only way I can lie down in relative comfort is on my stomach or my side. The pain was excrutiating. I spent the entire night crying my eyes out. When it was all said and done, they told me that I had "severe" sleep apnea. I asked how they could possibly determine that when I never fell asleep. They had no answer. So, I waited for them to send the results to Dr. Martinez. They told me on X-Mas eve that he wouldn't clear me for surgery until I did a second study with the CPAP machine. I was floored! I told him that there was no way I could afford to do that again and go through such pain. He insisted. However, he did contact the sleep center and got them to do it for free. So, the day after xmas, I had to go back and go through it all over again with the CPAP. Once again, I couldn't sleep. The stupid thing kept dripping water in my nose so I felt like I was drowning. Of course, once again, they said I had "severe" sleep apnea and stopped breathing 97 times an hour. Hello...when you cry, you DO gasp for air a LOT! I didn't get the CPAP. I just couldn't afford it. Dr. Martinez did give me the clearance though, so now that I had everything in order, I contacted Dr. Kim's office and at a few minutes before 5 on January 5th, I got a call back from the scheduler. She said (LOL) "well, I thought we'd have to push you into February, but about 15 minutes ago someone cancelled their surgery date. Can you do it on January 19"? Oh. My. God. AGAIN with the "last minute cancellation"! I definitely took the date. She gave me the instructions for the Phase 2 liquid diet and told me I had to start it the next day and be very faithful to it. I also had to have my initial consultation with Dr. Kim and go to their nutrition/exercise class as well as meet with their exercise guy. All of that would happen on January 7th, a mere two days away! I was so excited. After all the waiting, slogging through the 6 month diet and hoping against hope, it was finally happening! So, I got all the stuff I needed for the liquid diet (which is outrageously expensive!) and went to Celebration Health Hospital on the 7th, which is where everything would happen that day. First, I had to go have labs done, so I had to get there early. Then I went to the nutrition class. Then I went for my appointment with Dr. Kim. I got there and they weighed me and took my "before" picture (wearing my John Lennon shirt). I waited in the little room and Dr. Kim's nurse Vanessa came in, gave me 4 prescriptions that I'd have to have filled and went over a check-list of things I'd need to bring with me to the hospital, like a robe and my CPAP machine. I told her I didn't have a CPAP machine. She looked confused and said "you don't"? I told her that I hadn't had time to get one and that I didn't currently have the finances for it. It was January after all and I had to meet a brand new deductible for the year, which I hadn't met yet. She said "I'm pretty sure Dr. Kim will cancel your surgery"! I was crushed!!! She explained that Dr. Kim requires anyone with severe apnea to have been on a CPAP for a minimum of 3 weeks prior to surgery. She said to hold still and she would go talk with him. I was in tears. I felt like all that build up had been for nothing. Dr. Kim came in while I was still crying. He asked what was wrong and I told him that Vanessa said he would probably cancel my surgery. He explained why he had that policy. In his entire career doing bariatric surgery, he's only lost 2 patients. One, was a man who had a heart attack the day he was going home after surgery. That was totally unexpected and had nothing to do with the surgery. The other was a person who died on the table because they had untreated sleep apnea and wasn't getting enough oxygen. I was really upset and just couldn't stop the tears. I told him the entire story of my sleep studies and the pain and me not sleeping and how I was crying through the whole thing. He said "hold on" and left the room for a few minutes. He came back in and said that he was willing to get a second opinion on the severety of my apnea. He had contacted his colleague, a Dr. Alabi, a pulmonologist right there at Celebration. He said that Dr. Alabi is doing him a favour and is squeezing me in for an appointment Thursday of that week (which was last Thursday). He said that if Dr. Alabi is willing to "follow" me through the procedure while I'm in hospital, I can keep my January 19 surgery date. He said that in the meantime, continue on the liquid diet and everything just as if I'm definitely having it on the 19th. I thanked him, went to my other appointment of the day and went home. On Thursday, I went to see Dr. Alabi, who was a wonderful, friendly man. He looks remarkably like Taye Diggs which I thought was pretty cool. He read the report from the sleep lab right in front of me and said "well, these numbers show a very extreme case of sleep apnea". Once again, I told the story of the two nights of sleep study that I had. How I had been crying and didn't sleep at all. He told me that he wanted me to do him a favour. He left and came back in with a small box. He said that it was something called a Itamar Watch Pat-100, which is a fairly new contraption for checking sleep apnea. The difference is, you do it at your own home. You can wear what you want, sleep at the time you choose and lay however you want. It's a sleeve that goes over your hand and wrist with a small computer velcroed to the backside. You have two sensors that go on your ring finger and your pointer finger. There's also one wire that goes to a sensor that you tape to your throat. That's it. Totally non-invasive. He said he's sure I do have apnea, but also doubts the severity of it and that if I used it that night, brought it back in the morning and the results were markedly different than what was gotten at the sleep clinic, he'd be willing to follow me in hospital. That night, I wore the thing and slept fine. The only discomfort came from my cat who constantly tried playing with the wire. Finally, my partner had to lock her in the bathroom so I could sleep. Then she meowed a long time, then I slept LOL. First thing in the morning, I brought it back to them. They uploaded the data and what it showed was that yes, I do have sleep apnea, but instead of the 97 times an hour that the other clinic showed, this machine showed 18! He said that was "moderate" sleep apnea. He told me that he still recommended a CPAP machine, but he'd be willing to watch me in hospital. FINALLY!!! I got the last green light that I needed! All that...just because I said that sometimes I snore! So...I'll be having my RNY this coming Tuesday, January the 19th, a mere 3 days from now. I went and got the prescriptions filled that they gave me and I'm on day 11 of the liquid diet. It hasn't been that bad, really, but when I was going through all that crap my cravings went through the roof! It's settled down now. It's almost time. The weight is almost over...
Peace,
Pattie
8^)
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Anyroad...it's been a long time since my last update. June 21st of last year, in fact. In the last almost 7 months, I've been through the ringer. I started my six-month doctor supervised diet with Dr. Tanton, an endocrinologist at Celebration Health. Actually, I was seen most often by his assistant, Jeannette, a nurse practicioner who is an amazing woman. No matter how bad I felt going in there, she was there with a smile and I'd leave smiling too. I had a few months where I gained a few pounds, but most often, I did lose at least a little weight. The most amazing parts were my weigh-in's for December and January. Somehow, and I truly don't know how, I managed to lose like 18 pounds OVER THE HOLIDAYS! Maybe it's because I don't go to parties and holiday get-togethers. It's just not my bag. However, during that time, I cheated on my diet a LOT. I became far too familiar with Crunch 'N' Munch popcorn, eating sometimes 2 boxes a night for days on end. Finally, I had the final appointment for my 6 month requirement and called Dr. Kim's office. They pushed me right up to practically the top of the list! More than anything, I wanted to have my surgery in January so that I could lose as much weight as possible prior to us doing the Abbey Road On The River Beatlefest in May. When we played last year, I was just in so much pain and could barely move. I'm hoping to shed enough to really make a difference. Maybe I'd even be able to stand up to play, which I haven't been able to do for more than one song in years. So, when I called Dr. Kims office, they e-mailed me a list of all the medical clearances that I'd have to have prior to getting a surgery date as well as instructions to begin the "Pre-Op diet, Phase One". I needed a cardiac clearance, pulmonary clearance, chest x-ray, EKG and an H-Pylori test. They also included a list of local doctors I could use to get these clearances. Being that I really don't know any doctors in the area outside of the ones I've been seeing, I went to the list. I started with the cardiologist and picked the first name off the list. When I called, the receptionist told me that the doctor was booked until January. Keep in mind that all this happened about two weeks into December. I knew that would happen! But then she paused and said "well hang on, seems we've had a last-minute cancellation. Can you come in tomorrow"? Can I?!?! Hell yeah! Wow, that was just too easy. Now onto the pulmonologist. Again, I called the first name on the list. Once again, the receptionist told me that they were booked into January. Once again, I said...it figures...and once again, she stopped and said "well, hang on, seems we've had a last-minute cancellation. Can you come in tomorrow"? !!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. She literally said the same thing, word for word that the first one had said. So now I had two appointments at 3 hours apart the very next day! I knew the cardiologist would do the EKG and the pulmonologist would do the chest X-Ray, so that was 4 things that would be taken care of in less than 24 hours! Now, all I needed was the H-Pylori test, which is blood work. I had to call my PCP to get an order for that. I called his office and was told that if I could be there in an hour, Dr. Pinero could work me in!!! You've gotta be kidding me! So, off I go to get the orders for the blood-work. I also took the opportunity to let Dr. Pinero know what was going on with me regarding my WLS. If you've read my blog, you'll know that he actually refused to be my doctor for the 6 month diet, not because he didn't believe in it, but because he said he wasn't qualified. I knew that he'd been informed I was seeing Dr. Tanton, so it's not like I was hiding anything from him. Anyway, I went in, got the script and came back home.
The next day, I went early in the morning to have the blood work done because it had to be fasting. Afterward, I went to the first doctor's appointment, which was the cardiologist. They did the EKG which was fine. The cardiologist told me he had no problem clearing me for surgery. He didn't even do a stress test, which I figured he would. He wrote up the clearance letter and handed it to me. That was the easiest thing ever! Next, I had to haul-ass to Kissimmee to visit the next doctor, the pulmonologist. They gave me all the breathing tests and the chest X-Ray, which I passed with flying colours. Then I waited to see Dr. Martinez, the pulmo doctor. When he came in, he was looking at all my information and at the health forms I had filled out. He said "it says here that you snore sometimes. Have you ever been tested for sleep apnea"? Well, yeah, I had been tested, many years ago. The test was a failure because I couldn't fall asleep. That's when the shoe dropped...he said that he wouldn't clear me until I had a sleep study done to check me for apnea! I was heartbroken. It was the holidays. I was terrified that I couldn't get an appointment to have it done, not to mention the expense of it. To the credit of his office manager, they managed to get me an appointment that very night at a sleep center in Altamonte Springs, fairly close to my house. Okay, I'll do this and get it over with. It's not like I have a choice. So, that night, I went to have the sleep study done. They had so many wires and probes stuck to me I looked far more robotic than I did human. It was inhumane. They made me try and fall asleep at 10PM, which for me is basically the middle of my day. I'm a night-owl. I don't sleep at night. Secondly, they made me lie on my back. I haven't been able to sleep on my back since the 80's. I've got all these ruptured discs in my back and the only way I can lie down in relative comfort is on my stomach or my side. The pain was excrutiating. I spent the entire night crying my eyes out. When it was all said and done, they told me that I had "severe" sleep apnea. I asked how they could possibly determine that when I never fell asleep. They had no answer. So, I waited for them to send the results to Dr. Martinez. They told me on X-Mas eve that he wouldn't clear me for surgery until I did a second study with the CPAP machine. I was floored! I told him that there was no way I could afford to do that again and go through such pain. He insisted. However, he did contact the sleep center and got them to do it for free. So, the day after xmas, I had to go back and go through it all over again with the CPAP. Once again, I couldn't sleep. The stupid thing kept dripping water in my nose so I felt like I was drowning. Of course, once again, they said I had "severe" sleep apnea and stopped breathing 97 times an hour. Hello...when you cry, you DO gasp for air a LOT! I didn't get the CPAP. I just couldn't afford it. Dr. Martinez did give me the clearance though, so now that I had everything in order, I contacted Dr. Kim's office and at a few minutes before 5 on January 5th, I got a call back from the scheduler. She said (LOL) "well, I thought we'd have to push you into February, but about 15 minutes ago someone cancelled their surgery date. Can you do it on January 19"? Oh. My. God. AGAIN with the "last minute cancellation"! I definitely took the date. She gave me the instructions for the Phase 2 liquid diet and told me I had to start it the next day and be very faithful to it. I also had to have my initial consultation with Dr. Kim and go to their nutrition/exercise class as well as meet with their exercise guy. All of that would happen on January 7th, a mere two days away! I was so excited. After all the waiting, slogging through the 6 month diet and hoping against hope, it was finally happening! So, I got all the stuff I needed for the liquid diet (which is outrageously expensive!) and went to Celebration Health Hospital on the 7th, which is where everything would happen that day. First, I had to go have labs done, so I had to get there early. Then I went to the nutrition class. Then I went for my appointment with Dr. Kim. I got there and they weighed me and took my "before" picture (wearing my John Lennon shirt). I waited in the little room and Dr. Kim's nurse Vanessa came in, gave me 4 prescriptions that I'd have to have filled and went over a check-list of things I'd need to bring with me to the hospital, like a robe and my CPAP machine. I told her I didn't have a CPAP machine. She looked confused and said "you don't"? I told her that I hadn't had time to get one and that I didn't currently have the finances for it. It was January after all and I had to meet a brand new deductible for the year, which I hadn't met yet. She said "I'm pretty sure Dr. Kim will cancel your surgery"! I was crushed!!! She explained that Dr. Kim requires anyone with severe apnea to have been on a CPAP for a minimum of 3 weeks prior to surgery. She said to hold still and she would go talk with him. I was in tears. I felt like all that build up had been for nothing. Dr. Kim came in while I was still crying. He asked what was wrong and I told him that Vanessa said he would probably cancel my surgery. He explained why he had that policy. In his entire career doing bariatric surgery, he's only lost 2 patients. One, was a man who had a heart attack the day he was going home after surgery. That was totally unexpected and had nothing to do with the surgery. The other was a person who died on the table because they had untreated sleep apnea and wasn't getting enough oxygen. I was really upset and just couldn't stop the tears. I told him the entire story of my sleep studies and the pain and me not sleeping and how I was crying through the whole thing. He said "hold on" and left the room for a few minutes. He came back in and said that he was willing to get a second opinion on the severety of my apnea. He had contacted his colleague, a Dr. Alabi, a pulmonologist right there at Celebration. He said that Dr. Alabi is doing him a favour and is squeezing me in for an appointment Thursday of that week (which was last Thursday). He said that if Dr. Alabi is willing to "follow" me through the procedure while I'm in hospital, I can keep my January 19 surgery date. He said that in the meantime, continue on the liquid diet and everything just as if I'm definitely having it on the 19th. I thanked him, went to my other appointment of the day and went home. On Thursday, I went to see Dr. Alabi, who was a wonderful, friendly man. He looks remarkably like Taye Diggs which I thought was pretty cool. He read the report from the sleep lab right in front of me and said "well, these numbers show a very extreme case of sleep apnea". Once again, I told the story of the two nights of sleep study that I had. How I had been crying and didn't sleep at all. He told me that he wanted me to do him a favour. He left and came back in with a small box. He said that it was something called a Itamar Watch Pat-100, which is a fairly new contraption for checking sleep apnea. The difference is, you do it at your own home. You can wear what you want, sleep at the time you choose and lay however you want. It's a sleeve that goes over your hand and wrist with a small computer velcroed to the backside. You have two sensors that go on your ring finger and your pointer finger. There's also one wire that goes to a sensor that you tape to your throat. That's it. Totally non-invasive. He said he's sure I do have apnea, but also doubts the severity of it and that if I used it that night, brought it back in the morning and the results were markedly different than what was gotten at the sleep clinic, he'd be willing to follow me in hospital. That night, I wore the thing and slept fine. The only discomfort came from my cat who constantly tried playing with the wire. Finally, my partner had to lock her in the bathroom so I could sleep. Then she meowed a long time, then I slept LOL. First thing in the morning, I brought it back to them. They uploaded the data and what it showed was that yes, I do have sleep apnea, but instead of the 97 times an hour that the other clinic showed, this machine showed 18! He said that was "moderate" sleep apnea. He told me that he still recommended a CPAP machine, but he'd be willing to watch me in hospital. FINALLY!!! I got the last green light that I needed! All that...just because I said that sometimes I snore! So...I'll be having my RNY this coming Tuesday, January the 19th, a mere 3 days from now. I went and got the prescriptions filled that they gave me and I'm on day 11 of the liquid diet. It hasn't been that bad, really, but when I was going through all that crap my cravings went through the roof! It's settled down now. It's almost time. The weight is almost over...
Peace,
Pattie
8^)
Devil In Her Heart
Jul 21, 2009
Yesterday, I went to see my primary care physician to have the physical plus the EKG so that they can clear me to have surgery on my hand. I flunked my EKG. They said that my right ventricle is enlarged. They refused to clear me for the hand surgery. I have to see a cardiologist first. This is getting me so damn depressed. It seems like everything I do, I have so many stumbling blocks that it's almost not worth going on with anything. The pain in my hand is so intense, frankly, I don't know if I'll be able to do that gig or not now. They won't give me cortisone because of the diabetes. I'm so screwed... 
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Help!
Jul 16, 2009
It's been quite a while since my last blog entry. When I last wrote, I said that I had an appointment with my primary physician on June 19th. I was planning to tell him that I was going forward with surgery and wanted to start my 6 month, doctor supervised diet. He said that was great that I was considering surgery. He thought in my case, that's the best way to go. What I didn't expect was for him to say NO when I told him about the 6 month diet! What do you mean, "NO"?! I've never had a doctor in my life that didn't put me on some sort of diet. He said that he doesn't have a weight-loss program, is not a nutritionist and refused to supervise any programs. He told me to go to Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig!!!!!!!!! I was floored...not to mention devastaed. I had waited all this time for him to turn me down?! I knew damn well that Weight Watchers doesn't have a physician on staff and was fairly certain it was the same with Jenny Craig. When I got home, I called Medicare to see if they would accept either of those programs. They practically laughed at me! Of course they don't. So, I decided to call Amanda, the insurance specialst for Dr. Kim to see if she had any suggestions. She gave me the name of a doctor in Oviedo that a lot of Dr. Kim's patients have used. She asked if I was diabetic and I said yes, so she also gave me the name of an endocrinologist that some of Dr. Kim's patients have used, who happened to work out of the same location as Dr. Kim (Celebration Health Hospital). I called the first doctor who couldn't take me until late July. I went ahead and made the appointment, but then I decided to call Dr. Tanton's office. He's the endocrinologist. I found out that he could see me on July 1st! I made that appointment and cancelled the one I had made with the other doctor. As luck would have it, Dr. Tanton has pre-contracted rates with Medicare which are dirt cheap! Bonus!
So, on July 1, I went to my appointment with Dr. Tanton. He was a lovely man. He told me to do some research on a diet called "Volumetrics". He also sent me for some lab work to rule out Chrone's Disease. Well, I got the Volumetrics book and I've never been so confused in my life. One of the problems I've had with any diet is that I don't know how to cook. At all. I can boil water and use a microwave or a Foreman grill. That's about it. Before you shake your head and say "just learn how", let me tell you that I have tried so many times in my life and have never been able to pull it off. I've literally, and this is no exaggeration, burned down two kitchens! It's true. I'm not proud of it, but it's true. I have a form of dyslexia called dyscalculia. It causes me to see numbers and symbols wrong sometimes. I can think I'm setting a timer for 15 minutes and set it for 45 instead. It's weird. It's the same reason I can't read music. Anyway, every person so far that has tried to teach me to cook has given up. So, most of the time, I eat out or do frozen dinners I can microwave or eat things like sandwiches or anything else that doesn't require cooking. There are maybe 2 recipe's in this book that don't require cooking. And not even basic cooking, but REAL cooking. Plus, most of the food it's telling me is fine to eat are NOT fine if you're diabetic! What I'm going to have to do is wait until my next appointment with Dr. Tanton and talk to him about it. Maybe he can come up with a solution. I hope so because I do want to do the best I can, and right now, I'm failing miserably. My eating is way out of control, and I can't seem to stop it.
Besides that, the newest drama in my life is my hand. I developed a bad case of DeQuervain's Tendonitis in my right wrist. It hurts like hell! I went to an orthopaedic doctor for it in May and he gave me a shot of cortisone (bloody hell that hurts!!). He said the pain would never come back. He lied. It came back with a vengeance!! I went to see him again a few days ago. He said that because I'm diabetic, the cortisone injections will only last a short while. If I wasn't diabetic, one shot would take care of it for life. He said I had to have surgery. Joy. He also said that after the surgery, I wouldn't be able to play for 3-4 weeks afterward! We've got a gig scheduled already for August 9, so I have to be able to play for that. I also have to have an EKG and other tests done prior to make sure I can even have surgery. In the meantime, I just have to live with the pain. I've already got so much pain between the back pain and the fibro. I don't need more. This is getting ridiculous!! The co-pays are going to cost me a small fortune that I just don't have. I'm so depressed right now. I despise my body and everything that is happening to me because of it. I feel like I have no control over anything, like I'm just losing touch with the world. It's scary...
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So, on July 1, I went to my appointment with Dr. Tanton. He was a lovely man. He told me to do some research on a diet called "Volumetrics". He also sent me for some lab work to rule out Chrone's Disease. Well, I got the Volumetrics book and I've never been so confused in my life. One of the problems I've had with any diet is that I don't know how to cook. At all. I can boil water and use a microwave or a Foreman grill. That's about it. Before you shake your head and say "just learn how", let me tell you that I have tried so many times in my life and have never been able to pull it off. I've literally, and this is no exaggeration, burned down two kitchens! It's true. I'm not proud of it, but it's true. I have a form of dyslexia called dyscalculia. It causes me to see numbers and symbols wrong sometimes. I can think I'm setting a timer for 15 minutes and set it for 45 instead. It's weird. It's the same reason I can't read music. Anyway, every person so far that has tried to teach me to cook has given up. So, most of the time, I eat out or do frozen dinners I can microwave or eat things like sandwiches or anything else that doesn't require cooking. There are maybe 2 recipe's in this book that don't require cooking. And not even basic cooking, but REAL cooking. Plus, most of the food it's telling me is fine to eat are NOT fine if you're diabetic! What I'm going to have to do is wait until my next appointment with Dr. Tanton and talk to him about it. Maybe he can come up with a solution. I hope so because I do want to do the best I can, and right now, I'm failing miserably. My eating is way out of control, and I can't seem to stop it.
Besides that, the newest drama in my life is my hand. I developed a bad case of DeQuervain's Tendonitis in my right wrist. It hurts like hell! I went to an orthopaedic doctor for it in May and he gave me a shot of cortisone (bloody hell that hurts!!). He said the pain would never come back. He lied. It came back with a vengeance!! I went to see him again a few days ago. He said that because I'm diabetic, the cortisone injections will only last a short while. If I wasn't diabetic, one shot would take care of it for life. He said I had to have surgery. Joy. He also said that after the surgery, I wouldn't be able to play for 3-4 weeks afterward! We've got a gig scheduled already for August 9, so I have to be able to play for that. I also have to have an EKG and other tests done prior to make sure I can even have surgery. In the meantime, I just have to live with the pain. I've already got so much pain between the back pain and the fibro. I don't need more. This is getting ridiculous!! The co-pays are going to cost me a small fortune that I just don't have. I'm so depressed right now. I despise my body and everything that is happening to me because of it. I feel like I have no control over anything, like I'm just losing touch with the world. It's scary...
Misery
Jun 13, 2009
Well, I finally have spoken to the insurance coordinator for Dr. Kim. She was very nice and gave me all the information I'll need to be approved with Medicare. Medicare does require the 6 month supervised diet with my doctor (which will begin the 19th of this month) as well as the letter of medical necessity. Dr. Kim requires the psych eval with his staff psychologist. This is an out-of-pocket expense of $500. He also requires that I participate in his program, another out-of-pocket expense of $600. There's also my deductible for the surgery, which is $1068.00, which must be paid in advance of the surgery. At this rate, I won't be able to have the surgery until probably February, which means I'll also have my new yearly deductible of $1200.00 for Medicare. So...somehow, I'll need to come up with about 5K in advance of surgery. That has me a bit depressed. The thing that really threw me for a loop though was that she said that Medicare, unlike other insurance companies does not require pre-approval. In other words, after I have all the stuff, the doctors notes, evals, not to mention the money, Dr. Kim will perform the surgery on me and they submit the paperwork to Medicare for approval AFTERWARD! Despite the fact that she re-assured me that there's really no reason for Medicare to deny me, the bottom line is that I DON'T TRUST MEDICARE! I've heard too many horror stories about them being notorious non-payers. All it would take is for my doctors notes not to be up to their standards, and they will turn me down, leaving me with a medical bill of over 25K. That is terrifying for a person with no job and only disability income. Now...this doesn't mean I'm giving up, but damn it WHY do they make it so freaking difficult to have medical assistance in this country?! Keeping in mind, I'm fresh off the heels of watching Michael Moore's incredible documentary called "Sicko", but I don't understand why the US, supposedly the greatest, most compassionate nation in the world, treats it's citizens in need with such mistrust and disdain. If I were a Canadian, a Brit or French, I would have had this surgery years ago, 100% free and would have a decent quality of life by now and might even be able to go back to work! What a concept!! And frankly, I don't care if I have to pay more in taxes if it means I'd never have to worry about the cost of my medication or whether or not everything is pre-approved. It would be so worth it.
I can't seem to stop eating and it's killing me...literally. It's all I think about any more and I can't stand it.
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I can't seem to stop eating and it's killing me...literally. It's all I think about any more and I can't stand it.
Tomorrow Never Knows...
Jun 03, 2009
Tonight, I went to the free informational seminar at Celebration Health Hospital in Celebration, Florida, about a 40 minute drive from my house. If I'm approved, that's where I'll be having my surgery. The surgeon who runs the program, Dr. Keith Kim, was supposed to be there, but there was a MAJOR traffic tie-up on the interstate and he wasn't able to make it. That was disappointing because I was very anxious to meet him. His staff ran the meeting. They were awesome. They answered all my questions even when I raised my hand and proceeded to forget what I was going to ask 
I found out that unfortunately, the rumours are false about Medicare not having the same waiting period as "regular" insurance companies. They also require a six month doctor's supervised diet program before they can even submit my request for surgery. That means that if I start this month (and I already have an appointment with my regular doctor for the 19th), it will be December before Dr. Kims office can submit the request for coverage. After that, Medicare will probably take a long time to give a decision. If it's in my favour, then my surgery can be scheduled. They said the average wait time is 2-3 months after being approved. That means that I probably won't have this surgery till February or March. That really depressed me. I feel like I could be dead by then! One good thing that happened is I'm not as heavy as I thought I was. I assumed I was at least 400 pounds, and I came in at 377.4! Not that it's a good thing, but...yeah.
Yesterday, I got the results of my blood tests and was officially diagnosed with diabetes. Lovely.
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I found out that unfortunately, the rumours are false about Medicare not having the same waiting period as "regular" insurance companies. They also require a six month doctor's supervised diet program before they can even submit my request for surgery. That means that if I start this month (and I already have an appointment with my regular doctor for the 19th), it will be December before Dr. Kims office can submit the request for coverage. After that, Medicare will probably take a long time to give a decision. If it's in my favour, then my surgery can be scheduled. They said the average wait time is 2-3 months after being approved. That means that I probably won't have this surgery till February or March. That really depressed me. I feel like I could be dead by then! One good thing that happened is I'm not as heavy as I thought I was. I assumed I was at least 400 pounds, and I came in at 377.4! Not that it's a good thing, but...yeah.
Yesterday, I got the results of my blood tests and was officially diagnosed with diabetes. Lovely.
A Beginning...
May 28, 2009
Well, here I am, finally able to admit that surgery is the only way that I'll be able to lose enough weight to remain alive a few more times around the sun. I'm terrified and excited at the same time. I am a disabled person with 4 ruptured discs in my back. I'm 50 years old and have been on disability for the past 5 years. I was always one of those types who believed that surgery was for people who were looking for an easy way out and that wasn't me. I've since learned that couldn't be further from the truth. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to consider this surgery. There is the potential for all sorts of problems, including death. I realise now though, that there are more risks in me yo-yo dieting my way through life.
I have Medicare A/B and that's it. No other supplemental insurance. I just can't afford it. I'm also a musician, but that brings in very little cash. I had contacted Medicare years ago about this surgery and they told me that it wasn't covered. Well, as fate would have it, a good friend of mine e-mailed me a couple of weeks ago to tell me that she was going to have the LAP-band surgery, hopefully in September. Her exact words were "skinny at last and forever". That just made me so sad...sad because I already knew that if I could have it done...well, I would. Last weekend, I was one of the performers (with my duo "Luv Me Deux") at the largest Beatles festival in the world, Abbey Road On The River in Louisville, KY (we're a Beatles tribute duo here in Orlando). We were very well recieved. I had people asking for my autograph, pictures with us, we were even bothered at dinner LOL. It was surreal. Then when I got home, I found video of us on YouTube that "fans" had taken and posted. When I saw myself in those videos, I burst into tears. I had no idea how big I had gotten. I look like freaking Jabba the Hut! I can't stand up to play, I have to sit. I could barely walk around that place and there was a LOT of walking. My partner and our roadie had to do just about everything for me because I just couldn't do it on my own. The whole time we were there, I was thinking about my friend Katie and the surgery she was going to have..."skinny at last and forever". I wanted it. I wanted it so bad, I could scream! Seeing those videos only cemented it in further. So....I called Medicare again yesterday. They informed me that they do now cover WLS. They cover the RNY, the LAP and something called Biliopancreatic Diversion w/Duodenal Switch (sounds like quantum physics). They also told me that the Celebration Health hospital down by the House of Mouse accepts Medicare. They're referring to Dr. Kim and his bariatric program. I did some research last night and read that Dr. Kim no longer accepts Medicare. The hospital does...but he doesn't. But, I went ahead and contacted them anyway. The internet isn't always the best place for this sort of information. The coordinator called me back today and told me that yes, Dr. Kim accepts straight up Medicare as of this week! Talk about timing! So...next Wednesday, I'll be attending their information seminar and hopefully will be able to take care of this once and for all....skinny at last and forever!
By the way...if any of you are actually reading this blog and ever wonder about the titles I'm giving my chapters, I'm a Beatles/John Lennon historian and I've decided that all of my blog entries will have Beatles song titles. "A Beginning" (an instrumental piece) was actually written and produced by the Beatles producer extraordinaire, George Martin. It was originally intended as an introduction to the song "Don't Pass Me By", written by Ringo for the Beatles LP "The Beatles" (aka the "white album"). If you've never heard this beautiful piece, it can be heard on the Beatles "Anthology 3" CD set as well as in the movie "Yellow Submarine" right before they lapse into "Eleanor Rigby". Too much information, I know...LOL
0 comments
I have Medicare A/B and that's it. No other supplemental insurance. I just can't afford it. I'm also a musician, but that brings in very little cash. I had contacted Medicare years ago about this surgery and they told me that it wasn't covered. Well, as fate would have it, a good friend of mine e-mailed me a couple of weeks ago to tell me that she was going to have the LAP-band surgery, hopefully in September. Her exact words were "skinny at last and forever". That just made me so sad...sad because I already knew that if I could have it done...well, I would. Last weekend, I was one of the performers (with my duo "Luv Me Deux") at the largest Beatles festival in the world, Abbey Road On The River in Louisville, KY (we're a Beatles tribute duo here in Orlando). We were very well recieved. I had people asking for my autograph, pictures with us, we were even bothered at dinner LOL. It was surreal. Then when I got home, I found video of us on YouTube that "fans" had taken and posted. When I saw myself in those videos, I burst into tears. I had no idea how big I had gotten. I look like freaking Jabba the Hut! I can't stand up to play, I have to sit. I could barely walk around that place and there was a LOT of walking. My partner and our roadie had to do just about everything for me because I just couldn't do it on my own. The whole time we were there, I was thinking about my friend Katie and the surgery she was going to have..."skinny at last and forever". I wanted it. I wanted it so bad, I could scream! Seeing those videos only cemented it in further. So....I called Medicare again yesterday. They informed me that they do now cover WLS. They cover the RNY, the LAP and something called Biliopancreatic Diversion w/Duodenal Switch (sounds like quantum physics). They also told me that the Celebration Health hospital down by the House of Mouse accepts Medicare. They're referring to Dr. Kim and his bariatric program. I did some research last night and read that Dr. Kim no longer accepts Medicare. The hospital does...but he doesn't. But, I went ahead and contacted them anyway. The internet isn't always the best place for this sort of information. The coordinator called me back today and told me that yes, Dr. Kim accepts straight up Medicare as of this week! Talk about timing! So...next Wednesday, I'll be attending their information seminar and hopefully will be able to take care of this once and for all....skinny at last and forever!
By the way...if any of you are actually reading this blog and ever wonder about the titles I'm giving my chapters, I'm a Beatles/John Lennon historian and I've decided that all of my blog entries will have Beatles song titles. "A Beginning" (an instrumental piece) was actually written and produced by the Beatles producer extraordinaire, George Martin. It was originally intended as an introduction to the song "Don't Pass Me By", written by Ringo for the Beatles LP "The Beatles" (aka the "white album"). If you've never heard this beautiful piece, it can be heard on the Beatles "Anthology 3" CD set as well as in the movie "Yellow Submarine" right before they lapse into "Eleanor Rigby". Too much information, I know...LOL
About Me
Orlando, FL
Location
25.3
BMI
Surgery
01/19/2010
Surgery Date
May 27, 2009
Member Since
