Jenn F.

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• I've always been a big girl. I remember feeling like I was fat. I don't know why I felt that way, I just did. I look back at picutes and realize that my weight wasn't that far from normal. As a teen I wore a size 12 which was unheard of then. I couldn't find cute clothes so I had to settle for old lady stuff. Luckily when I began working in the mall at 15, I was able to find some more current fashions. I worked really hard at being nice and funny so people would accept me and like me.
  

• I remained happy and even found someone (after high school) who accepted me for who I was and actually liked me (thank you Tim).
  

• Immediately upon finding out I was pregnant I was diagnosed with Hyperemesis gravidarum {(HG) is a rare disorder characterized by severe and persistent nausea and vomiting during pregnancy that may necessitate hospitalization. As a result of frequent nausea and vomiting, affected women experience dehydration, vitamin and mineral deficit, and the loss of greater than five percent of their original body weight.}. I literally did not eat or drink for 2 weeks before I was hospitalized. If I looked at food (even on TV) I would vomit even up to 7 times an hour. I lost 48 pounds with the first pregnancy and 42 with the second. I didn't begin to gain weight until after our first daughter was born. I believe it was in response to being deprived of food for 9 months. Once I could eat, I ate with reckless abandon and never stopped.
  

• I continued on with my life rarely thinking about taking care of myself. I was preocuppied, like most young mothers, with taking care of my family. I gained more weight.
  

• I started thinking about having the surgery about 3 years ago and decided that it wasn't the right time for me. I wanted to try yet again to lose my ass shelf on my own. I made 2 very good attempts at the Atkins Diet losing 72 pounds the first go round and 48 the second. Until recently I had kept 30 pounds off. Sugar was my evil enemy. The only problem was that when I started eating a little sugar again, I found I had no control over my consumption.

• Hearing stories of weight loss surgery only made me focus on the negative aspects. I told myself that surgery was the easy way out. I know now that I was secretly jealous as I knew I was not ready to give up my precious sugar.
  

• About a year ago I started to seriously research weight loss surgery. I watched a close family friend have the surgery. I began asking her questions and she let me have the good, the bad and the pukey.

• In May 2006, my husband (he's having the surgery too) and I attended a weight loss surgery seminar. We were amazed at the number of people there. Some looked like us and others had to be wheeled into the room in ginormous wheel chairs.

• The day after the seminar we got calls from the medical facility to set up our appointments with the surgeon, behaviorist, and internist within the next 2 weeks. The scheduler told me that I would probably be scheduled for surgery by the end of June. I was ecstatic to think I would be on the road to better health soon.

• I had been cautious and called the insurance company to find out the requirements for approval. All you needed for our plan was to prove that you had been obese for 5 or more years and a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 40% or more. I had both of those things in the bag.
  

• Our last appointment was with the internist who is a woman. She seemed very cold compared to everyone else. The first thing she said after asking my profession (sign maker) was that I would be denied by the insurance company. I think she thought that I had bad insurance based on my profession. She thought signs were still hand painted. DUH! I cried all the way home thinking about rejection.

• After leaving the internist's office I called the insurance company again to confirm the requirements for weight loss surgery (WLS). I was assured I met both.

• My last appointment at the WLS center was on Tuesday and I saw my primary care physician (PCP) on Thursday. He already had the report from the WLS center that had been sent to the insurance company. I was high on life to think that things were going as planned and even quicker than expected.

• One month went by. I decided to call the insurance company to find out what the hold up was. They could see that my paperwork had been sent in but there was some sort of hold up. I found out that my paperwork had been sitting on somene's desk for 2 months on hold because the WLS center had not filed the paper to set the process in motion. The insurance company had never contacted anyone at the WLS center claiming that because it was summer that people were on vacation.
  

• When I called the WLS center to let them know what the hold up was, I had to leave a message. I didn't receive a call for 2 days. I called back to let them know that they were not the only WLS center in Michigan. They stood to lose not one, but two patients (my husband and me).

• Miraculously the insurance company received the letter they needed.

• Another month went by and at the end of July we received insurance denial letters. My thoughts on WLS and insurance is that most people are initially denied because the insurance company knows that many people will not fight. All we needed to do was get our health records and prove through doctor's notes that we had been obese for 5 or more years.

• I assumed this would be simple. I was dead wrong. We had switched doctors about 3 years before and I specifically remembered signing the papers to have our medical records transferred over. Our doctor's office could find no record of having them.

• I spent the next week trying to track down our previous doctors as 2 of them had moved and there was no record of where they had gone (I found out both had mental breakdowns and were no longer MDs).
  

• It took 3 weeks to get it all together. I faxed our paperwork to the insurance company and to the WLS center just to cover all avenues. The denial letter states very clearly that you will have a decision within 15 business days of receipt of information.

• My husband received an approval letter almost 3 weeks ago. I called to find out where I was in the process. My case had not been looked at. I was furious and devastated.
  

• I called again last week only to hear the same story. It didn't bother me quite as much that time. I've let it go. If it's meant to be, it will be.
  

• The timing isn't what I thought it would be and I've basically put my life on hold to wait for my rebirth. I guess I put all my eggs in one basket and I only hope that basket isn't dropped.

• My husband called the insurance company and found out that my case has been CLOSED for lack of information. They felt that the letter I wrote and the info I sent was addition stuff that didn't apply to the appeal. The crappy part is that the letters I sent for both of us were identical except for the names and numbers and my husband got approved. The company neglected to tell me that the case was closed on the 20th of September when I called them the last two times!!!!!!
• After a 2 hour phone call, my husband got the insurance company to reopen my case for WLS. Today my surgeon called the insurance company doctor that is reviewing my case to review my file. The surgeon made my case for me but was told by the insurance doctor that he couldn't understand my paperwork. My surgeon has to highlight and circle all the weights and dates and refax all info to the insurance company so the idiot can see that everything is there.
• I finally got my official approval on October 9, 2006.
• My surgery is scheduled for October 25, 2006!!!!!!!

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