ursamajor31
The WLS Journey Begins
Apr 23, 2011
After years of waffling on having weight loss surgery (WLS), I decided 2011 is the year. Now is the time!! I'm at a crossroad in my life. There are several goals I want to accomplish and this excess weight is holding me back from fullfilling them. In 2010, I started to get serious about my health. I saw several physicansand had lab tests to determine the status of my health. Well, the good news is I don't have any major health problems. The bad news is I am morbidly obese! I am on the verge of being diabetic, havesleep apnea, hypertension and high cholestrol. All of the doctors I saw told me I need to get the excess weight off and recommended bariatric surgery. I have tried diet programs in the pass and it didn't work. I would gain the weight back plus more. I knew WLS was the solution but I was scared of surgery. Would I be able to eat normal again? What if I had complications and died? I hesitated and tried to diet and exercise again. No luck... I didn't lose a pound!! 
So, in March 2011, I have decided to go forward and pursue WLS..specifically the sleeve gasterectomy. I like the fact that nothing is rerouted. Just my stomach resized. I attended an bariatric surgery info session at Sibley hosptial. I enjoyed the presentation and my brief encounter with the staff. I made an appointment for a consultation for March 16. On March 16, I had my consult and got some bad news. My insurance no longer covers bariatric surgery. I was so crushed!! However, my insurance would cover 6 months of nutritional counseling. I decided to take advantage of the counseling benefit and met with the Sibley hosptial nutritionist (Jodie) on April 8. It was a good visit. I completed an nutrition evaulaion before my visit and mentioned that I am an emotional eater. At my appointment, Jodie gave me an workbook that we will be following for the next 6 months. The workbook is titled 'Healing the Hungary Self: The Diet Free Solution to LifeLong Weight Management.' It deals with emotional eating. I have to complete the first two sections before my next appointment on May 7. I have started the first chapter and it is interesting. Makes you focus and identify why you eat.
I spoke with the bariartic advisor at Sibley to inquire how much the sleeve would costs if I wanted to do it as as self-pay. He said $19,800!!! Whoa, there is no way I can afford that. I could cover $9,000 at the most. I ran across the obesity help site and found a lot of information about sleeve surgery in Mexico. It is fairly safe and the costs was less than $9k!!! After much research, I found Dr. Alvarez who specializes in the sleeve procedure. My plan B is to have the sleeve surgery in Mexico in October if I am unable to get the procedure covered by my insurance (I filed a petition).
My current focus is incorporating the lifestyle changes recommended by the nutritionist and start exercising. I have a membership to Bally's. So far, I have done a couple of water aerobics classes. So, cheers to getting focused and on track!! I pray it continues..
