tylerrowland
I am 24 years old and I have been overweight since about the age of 9. When I was 9 I was dignosed with asthma and put on two different steroid medications. As I was sick more often than not and constantly taking medications just so I could breathe, I rarely got the exercise that I so desperately needed. I became FAT. Then fatter and fatter. I can remember back in fifth grade(11 yrs old) when in class everybody was weighed and measured and we posted them on the board for everybody to see. This was such a degrading and emotional thing for me. I was by far the fattest kid in class, and this didn't help my self esteem any. At the age of 11 I remember weighing in at 165lbs and 59" tall. I was obese! Through Middle School and most of High School I was lonely and food kept me company. By the age of 14 I was up to 239lbs. I was taken off all of me asthma meds except the rescue inhaler, but the damage had been done. I had a bmi of 41 at the age of 14. What could I do? I didn't get any better. At the age of 18 my weight was up to 344lbs. Since that time I have been on and off all of the diets you could possibly think of. Loose some, gain back more.
At the end of 2004 I met the love of my life - Sara, and I proposed to her in September 2005. A few months after we started dating we did atkins together. She lost 35lbs and she is in amazing shape and so beautiful! Sara is such an incredible woman, to be able to look beyond my fat and really see who is down inside. I lost some 45lbs on Atkins, but not quite enough to break that 300 mark. Sara graduated from college during the Summer of 2005 and late Fall was offered a job in Elk Grove. In December of 2005 She and I relocated from Ohio to California. I had no job, but knew I could get back into retail here - no problem. The move caused a great deal of stress on me. I moved out of my parents' house to live with my fiance 2500 miles away from ALL of my friends and family. We had never even been here before. What a ride it has been. We have done well, but I had plenty of hard times. I gained 20lbs in two weeks moving here. After getting here food became my friend again. Before I knew it I was at 350lbs again. I tried dieting in 2006. I lost some, gained more back. January 2007 I had 4 months to get ready for our wedding in May, in Ohio; which we planned from California for 150 guests. I was able to get back down to 315 before the wedding,but felt like I failed myself and my georgeous new wife. The wedding went wonderful and I had one day where I just didn't think about my weight. You could have told me I was only 150lbs and I would have believed it. I was in heaven.
We got back to California and reality set in. I was dignosed with sleep apnea and started cpap treatment in June. I have not been succesfull with the cpap at all, and I am tired every day. I was promoted to store manager of a different store 10 days before our wedding. When I got back to work in my new store I had a ton of work to do. With the stress and hours of my new position my weight went higher and higher. At the end of 2007 I had reached my highest weight of 374lbs. I was so sick of being fat and had to do something about it. I looked into WLS. My insurance I had through my work had an exclusion for WLS surgery, so no help there. My PCP prescribed Meridia, which I paid cash for - ouch. The medication really helped. I lost about 35lbs in 3 months I was really making good process. While taking the meridia my blood pressure went through the roof. That is the reason I was only on it for 3 months. My DR made me stop taking it. Stopping the Meridia did not help my BP after 3 months off of it, and I am now on meds to control my BP. Immediately after stopping the Meridia I began gaining some weight but held pretty steady at 355lbs.
In June 2008 my wife and I had open enrollment for our health benefits. I cancelled my insurance through my work and went on hers. My coverage ended June 30th and I was on Sara's insurance July 1st. We now have Anthem Blue Cross HMO that will cover WLS. Tuesday, July 15th I went to my PCP and got a referral for WLS. I recieved paperwork from UC Davis Bariatric Center on Wednesday July 23rd and sent the forms back to them the next day. I am planning to attend their New Patient Orientation on Wednesday August 6th and we will just go from there.
As taken from the evidence of coverage:
EXCLUSION:
Weight Change Programs (Inpatient and Outpatient).
Services, programs, or supplies for losing or gaining weight.
But, we will cover
this kind of medically necessary care if:
• It is for the treatment is for morbid obesity. (Surgical treatment of
morbid obesity will be covered only when our Medical
Policy rules are met.)
Anthem Blue Cross CA Medical Policy States:
-BMI of 40 or more or 35 with co-morbidities
-Failed non surgical methods of weight loss
-Psych Eval
-Extensive pre and post surgery counseling
-Recommendation from Surgeon
