Weigh2Fat
APPROVED!!
Oct 11, 2008
October 10, 2008
As of October 9, 2008, I'm in! After 3 denial letters, my insurance company has finally approved me for bariatric surgery. Not really something to be proud of, but nonetheless, I am!
I started considering lapband about 2 years ago when one of my brothers and two of my closest friends were banded. One friend with insurance, the other friend and my brother were out of pocket. I knew I could not afford self-pay with college tuitions ahead of us, so I started looking at my insurance policy. We pay high premiums but receive excellent coverage. We're on Health Alliance and they have been fantastic throughout the entire process.
The guidelines are strict. You must have a BMI greater than 40 or have a 35-40 BMI with co-morbidities. I appear to be a somewhat healthy obese woman. But with measurements from old medical records, I was just under the required 40 BMI. With a lot of persistence, and two trips to the DR to be remeasured for a current actual height. I was approved with a 40.7 BMI.
So the next step is a 6 month iCanChange program to work with one of their nutritionist to make sure I'm geared up for a new lifestyle. The old eating habits must disappear and I must be able to lose 5% of my current weight on my own before they will approve me for surgery. I have no doubt that I will be able to lose the weight. My problem has never been losing weight. It's always been losing enough weight and keeping it off. I'm your traditional yo-yo dieter.
So stay tuned and check back often to see how I'm doing.
