Janell K.
Well, where do I begin...when I was born, I weighed only 5 pounds, but that underweight did not last long. I remember being bigger than everyone starting around first grade. Like so many people, I have tried everything.
I started seriously researching this surgery about 2 years ago. I found out my insurance had a written exclusion, so I gave up. Then at the beginning of this year, I called my insurance again just to see if anything changed and the person I talked to said that the surgery would be covered if the diagnosis was morbid obesity, not obesity. Well, I am morbidly obese! So, I pursued it!
I went to my six months of weight loss classes, had all my consults and tests. During this six months, being the paranoid person I am, I called the insurance company no less than 10 times to hear them tell me that it was covered. I only had one person tell me that it was not. I even had the insurance broker on the phone with me when one of the people said it was a covered benefit for morbid obesity. So, I finished all my requirements and we sent the pre-authorization on Nov 5th. I called the insurance company on the 16th of Nov. to check the status. The girl I talked to said that they had it, but that it would probably be denied because of the written exclusion. I told her about all my calls over the last six months to her company and then asked to talk to a supervisor. When I got the supervisor, she pretty much told me the same thing. I asked her if there was any chance this would be approved and she said NO!
The very next day, I got a call from my doctor's office telling me I was APPROVED! My surgery is Dec. 31st! NEW YEAR-NEW ME!
Jan 9,2010.
Well, here I am 10 days post-op and feeling pretty good. I have lost a total of 22.5 pounds since my pre-op diet started on the 20th of Dec. I have lost 9 pounds since surgery. That works out to be about a pound a day since surgery. I will take that! No more pain except at one of the incision sites. Still get tired quickly though. Doc said he only wants me to walk for exercise, but the temp is keeping me in. It is so cold. Will write more later.
J.
