wendyjo
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I have been researching wls for about a year and a half now and I feel like I know enough about it to persue it futher. I am on the waiting list to see Dr. Baumon in Concord, NC. I called in November and was told the list I was on would not probly be seen until March(it is now feb. 5 2003) So maybe it will not be much longer. I have my appt sceduled for the psychiactric part of the requirments on march 4th and the endocinologist sceduled for March 26 2003 and the nutritionist on April the 7th. I am really nervous about the insurance part of all of this. I have switched insurance and it will go in effect on 3-1-03. I am just so worried that since the insurance is so new they will turn me down. I have read other profiles and have emailed them and I have been told as long as I dont have a lasp in coverage from one insurance company to another over 30 days they should not turn me down. I am soooo ready for this, I just wish I have done all of this sooner. I guess I will just have to wait and see.  02/11/03 I finally heard from Dr. Baumans office. I have an appointment for my consultation on March the 17th. I was so thrilled to hear the lady who called, said she was from Dr. Baumans office. I have been waiting since November for this consult. I feel very comfortable so far with Dr. Bauman from all that I have read about him from other patients experiences. I guess now the days will start going by slow. I am soooo ready for this, I just can hardly wait!!! I just wished I had started this journey sooner than this. I have already started getting my medical records from my doctors. I want to have everything ready for when I go for my consult. What really worries me is the insurance approval. I have read so many horror stories. I guess I am just so negative. Maybe I should start thinking more positive.  2/25/03 The days are going by faster than I thought!!!!I have only 20 more days and I will see Dr. Bauman. I will have the endocrinoligist and psychiartic appointments done before I go see Dr. Bauman so the only one I have left would be the nutritionist and it is sceduled 3 weeks after my consult. That will be all of my required appointments unless the doctor request additional appointments. I had my gallbladder removed in 1991, so I know my gallbladder will not be a factor. I am already on thyroid medication so I will not have to have that checked out. I just hope my insurance will approve me fom the beginning and not give me a hard time about it. I will appeal if I am denyed. I will not give up but I hope it will not go that far and just get approved the first time around. I will update when I know more. 3/4/03-Psychiactric visit today. My husband drove me. It took about 50 minutes to get there. Was Asked a bunch of questions by Dr. Hall. Then I was put on the computer to answer a questionaire of about 170 questions. They made me another appointment for March the 6th. (2 days) 3/6/03 Went to second psychiactric visit today. I really did not see Dr. Hall. He checked in on me while I was taking the questionare to say hi. I had to go back today to do the second part of the test. This time it was 364 questions. I am now finished with the psychiactric part of the requirments. That makes me one step closer!!! 11 more days and I will see Dr. Bauman. 03/17/03- I went for my consultation today. I paid the $255.00 consult fee and they took my picture. I met Dr. Bauman and was really impressed. I had the psychologist appt. done and am waiting for the nutritionist and endo. I go for the endo. next week. I also will be having my upper G.I here in my home town. Well, I am one step closer than I was yesterday. Oh,and thank you Sharon for the little fairies on my profile!!!! 3/20/03 Went today for the Upper GI Series.I Will know the results when my pcp calls me after he reviews it. I go for the Endo. appointment Wednesday(3 days). I am starting to get a little impatient. All of this is taking so much time. Sharon at Dr. Baumans office said after everything is done, it will probley be the end of May or beging of June before I can have the surgery. I also hope all goes well with the insurance approval!!!! I will post again after my next appointment on Wednesday the 26th. When I go for my appointment Wednesday I will be 30. Tomorrow is my birthday(March 24th) 03/26/03- I went to my Endo. appointment. He told me my thyroid was to low and gave me a perscription with a higher doseage than what I was on. He said surgery could not be performed on me untill the thyroid levels were up because when they put me to sleep, I might not wake up. He said it would take two to three months to get the thyroid to normal. Soooooooooo, I guess I will be waiting an extra two months before I can have this surgery. I am really getting impatient. I go back to see him on May the 26th. That should be my last appointment except to meet with the surgeon again to scedule a date after insurance approval. I did call BC/BC the other day and they told me as long as it was a medical nessesity they would pay. I go to the Nutritionist next week, Monday april the 7th. That would have been my last appointment but now I have to wait it out for the thyroid to go up. 04/07/03 Today I went to see the Nutricinist, Dianne Stout. I really liked her!!! Now the only appointments I am waiting for are the Pulmonary Function Test and The second visit with the Endocrinologist to find out if my Thyroid levels are up enough to have surgery. I found out today that the levels are normal because the nutricinist checked on it for me. So, After May the 26th, I should be done. I would have already been done if the Endo didn't schedule me to come back again. I will post when I know more. 04/27/03 Nothing much has changed since I last posted. I do go back to Concord tomorrow to the Psychiatrist because when I went there on April the 6th to take the second part of my test on the computer, was the day they got a new computer system. It seems that my test got lost somewhere between the new and old system on the computer so I am going to have to go re-do it. I have spoke with Sharon at Dr. Baumans office and she said that is all she is waiting for to send off for insurance approval. I am really excited and impatient at the same time. I feel like I have everything in order that Blue Cross Blue Shield will ask for but I still fear of being denied!!! I guess everybody feels like that pre-op. I will post again when I know more. 5/02/03 I went back to the Psychiactric office on Monday. I called today(Friday) to my surgeons office and found out they have already recieved the report back and Dr. Bauman has already reviewed it. So, Now it will be sent out for insurance approval(I hope). I hope I will know soon!!!! I will post when I know more. 05/08/03 Spoke with Sharon today and she said she was sending out my packet today to BC/BS for approval. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will approve me with out any problems or delays. Now it is just wait and see. 5/12/03- My insurance packet was sent out to BC/BS Thursday evening and I called this morning to check to see if they have recieved it yet. The lady I talked to said that it was approved!!! She then asked me if I had surgery this past weekend? I told her no, she said that my paperwork from my surgeons office said 5/9-5/10. That I need to contact Dr. Baumans office and have the correct surgery dates sent in. I called Sharon at Dr. Baumans office but she was with a patient. Soooooooo, now I am just waiting to hear from her to get a surgery date. 5/28/03- Well, The last time I posted I thought I was approved. When I got in touch with Dr. Baumans office, Sharon told me that I was not approved as of yet. BC/BS still needed 2 additional years of documented weight history. I faxed that in to her Wednesday evening and she emailed me today (Wednesday-1 week) that I was approved!!!! She said that she has not yet been giving the July surgery calender yet but as soon as she does, she will contact me with a surgery date. I am so excited. I have been trying to excercise to get my heart and lungs healthy for surgery. I have been walking 1 mile or riding my bike at the park on their trail for 2 miles. I will post when I have a date. I should know within the next few days. 6/10/03- Still Waiting..........I have not heard from Dr. Baumans office yet with the surgery date. I will try to call again tomorrow. That is all I am waiting for. 6/19/03- I have a surgery date for July the 15th. I had it for July the 1st but my mother would be on vavation for the 4th of July and wanted to help my husband take care of me and the kids so I resceduled for the 15th. 26 more days!!!! 6/26/03- 19 more days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!! .  01/22/05 Hello, everyone. I have not posted in such a long time because I never did have my surgery. I was sceduled but then we bought a business a few week's before my surgery date so I had to cancel surgery. My husbands said I just could not close the store for ever how many week's it would take for me to heal since it being such a new business. It's now one and a half year later and I no longer have the store so I am on my journey again!!!!! I have an appointment with PCP Feb. the 1st for a physical and a referal for surgery to put in the insurance file and as soon as I go to the PHP and have the referal the surgeons office will scedule my first visit to see the surgeon. I was going to delete this whole profile and start over but I decided to leave it and continue so I can see my whole journey through WLS. I will keep everything posted as I have appointment's Bye for now!! 02/10/2005 Hello again, I am scheduled for my surgeon consultation for this coming Tuesday, Feb. 15th in five more day's. I will be seeing Dr. Kuwada. Dr. Bauman does not accept my new insurance so I had to find a new doc. I will post again after my consult. 3/21/05 Hello everyone, I went to my surgeon consultation on Feb 15 and I was told that I would have to been smokefree for 2 months before we can proceed with insuarnce approval so I will make an appointment to go back in about two month's. I will update when I know more. 05/24/05 Hello All! I am scheduled for my second appointment with my surgeon on June the 14th which is less than three week's away. The surgeon did mention something about setting up my nutristionist and Psyc. appointment for that same day since I am over an hour away from him. He requires you to use his referred Nut. and Psyc. which are all in Charlotte. I will update in three more week's when I know more. 6/30/06 It has been awhile since I have updated. This whole weight loss surgery has been a roller coaster for me. I guess that I was not meant to have this surgery. I have had so many road block's that I have just gave up on having surgery. I do not guess it was in GOD's plan for me to go through with this procedure. But I purchased Dr. Atkin's book and started it 7 weeks ago and have lost 25 pounds as of today. When I started the Atkin's the beginning of May, I was 270, I am now 245 in just seven week's. I know that the weight loss might be a little slower than the patients that had weight loss surgery but I am keeping an open mind because I do have hypothyroidism so my metabolism is a little sluggish but I am hanging in there though. I have tried many many diet's in the past and I have to say this Atkins program has been the easiest that I have tried. It seem's to be also easy to stick with. I will still post my weight loss even though it is not from having WLS. My BMI was 46 and now it is 42.1. 07/16/06 - My weightloss is very slow but I am down 2 more pound's. This is my ninth week and I am down 28 pound's. My BMI is 41.7 from 46. Not much new to post at this time. 07/22/06- Week 10, down 3 more pounds. 270 to 239. 31 total. 7/24/06- 2more pounds lost. 237 with a total of 33lbs. 7/31/06 - Down a few more pound's as of today. This is now my 12th week and I have now lost 35 pound's. 235 from 270. BMI was 46 and is now 40.3. 08/07/06-38 pounds, 232 weight 08/23/06- Down 43 pounds, now weighing 227 from 270. My first major goal is to lose 27 more pounds to make the weightloss of 70 pounds 09/15/06 - I am now down 47 pounds which puts me at 223 pounds from 270. I will keep trying to get to my first major goal of 200 pounds, 23 more pounds to go!!! 03/24/2014 - 273 lbs 6/20/2014 - 238 lbs ( 35 lbs loss)  SharonOne of the HTML volunteers from ObesityHelp.com If you'd like your profile spruced up write us at [email protected] Weight Loss Survey Responses Click Here To View Member Interests:
Click here to see interests of other ObesityHelp members. Surgeon Info: Surgeon: Roc W. Bauman, MD, FACS,FASMBS I meet Dr. Bauman today(3/17/03) He was very nice. I would recommend him to others. His office staff was great too!!! Insurer Info: BLUE CROSS/BLUE SHIELD of NC, blue advantage BC/BS has been easy to work with. It took less than one week to hear back for approval. I have a individual policy that I pay for myself(not through an employer). They are very firm on wanting the 5 years of documented weight history of being over 40 with the BMI. So, far they have been great!!! I would recommend anyone to use BC/BC of North Carolina. |
About Me
trinity, NC
Location
40.0
BMI
Surgery
09/01/2014
Surgery Date
Feb 05, 2003
Member Since