Malz579
10/14/05 - I have an consultation with a WL surgeon tomorrow. His name is Dr. Michalski. I am very nervous & can't sleep. I hope that everything goes good & my insurance approves for me to have the Lap-Band surgery.
10/15/05 - I went to see Dr. Michalski today & as soon as I mentioned that that my preference of surgery was the Lap-Band he INSISTED that it was the wrong choice for me & that having Gastric Bypass Surgery would be better for me because I would lose more weight faster! I left his office feeling like I hit rock bottom & all my hopes of having a Lap-Band faded away. He told me to call Norma from his office on Tuesday to set up my appointments to see the nutritionist,psycologist & all the other stuff I needed to do to start the ball rolling.
10/18/05 - I called Norma & she said that she doesn't have my chart yet with my info to call her back tommorrow.... :o(
10/19/05 - Spoke to Norma & she said she would mail out my paperwork today with the telephone numbers to call to set up my own appointments..... what a downer...I guess I just have to wait for the mailman...
10/22/05 - 11/02/05 I have not heard from Dr.Michalski's office for TWO WHOLE WEEKS & I have not recieved ANYTHING by mail.
I think i'm gonna look elsewhere!
11/08/05 - I attended a WLS seminar @ NYU Medical Center this evening & IT WAS GREAT !!!! The Surgeons are Dr. Felding & Dr. Ren. They are BOTH very PRO Lap-Band!! How great is this??!!!?!?
Dr. Felding even has had WLS with the Band so he actually knows what his patients go through. I now have renewed hope of doing this the way I had originally intended. They outline everything that I need to do to make this process fly by. I next need to schedule an appt with Dr. Huberman (psychologist), then fill out a 12 pg patient information form to bring in with me to see one of the Nutritionists. After that I set up an appt for a ONE on ONE with the Surgeon. Then they give me a tentative surgery date and while I wait for that the billing dept deals with my insurance company for clearance!! I am soooo excited!!!
11/11/05 - Spoke to Dr. Huberman today & set up an appt for wednesday 11/30 at 2pm!! He said to be there at 1:30am to fill out all my paperwork first. I have to pay him $275 but hopefully my insurance will reimburst me, if not then it's money well spent! I also set up my full physical for December 2, @ 2pm with my NEW practitioner Dr. Tsamparlis. I have to go do my lab work tomorrow at 9am. I hope that everything goes well with this whole process.... Going to that free information seminar @ NYU was the best thing that could have happened to me!!!!
11/16/05 - Dr. Huberman called me today to reshedule my appt a week earlier!!! This is soooo cool!! It will be now on Wednesday Nov. 23rd. I have to be there at 4:45 pm. I hope that everything keeps going at this pace! I am so excited...!
11/24/05 - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! I went to see Dr. Huberman yesterday & everything was great! He said he would have the report typed up & ready by next week. Now I have to make my appointment with the nutritionist. Also I found out that as of January 1st, 2006, my health insurance will switch over to United Healthcare !! I am excited about this because from what I have heard, United Healthcare is great with this type of surgery!! Well I hope everyone has a wonderful & safe holiday weekend!!
11/26/05 - Today is Saturday & I called the nutritionist's office just to see if someone was there so I can schedule my appt. All I got was the answering system so I left a messege. Hope to hear from them sometime this week!
11/28/05 - Hey! I got a call today from Priscilla from NYU and she scheduled me to meet with the nutritionist on December 7th at 1pm. So far the service at NYU has been great. They deal with you professionally & very prompt. I have to bring my bloodwork results, physical exam results, the 12 pg patient info packet, and a full body picture of myself. UGH! Also I need to give them a check for $325. She said that since my insurance is changing in January, she will set my appt to meet with the surgeon for my consult early in January. After that I am hoping that I will have my surgery by the end of January or Febuary. I am soooo excited!! Well I'll get back when I have another update. Later!
12/02/05 - I had an appt with Dr.Tsamparlis today for a full physical & he said that the bloodwork I did 2 weeks ago show that I have Type 2 Diabetes. Thats not a surprise at all because alot of my family have this already. He also said that I suffer from sleep apnea. At least my blood pressure & cholesterol is good...so far.
But anyways, I can't wait to see the nutritionist on Wednesday.
Gotta run!
12/07/05 - Today I had my appt with the RN @ NYU. His name is Gasper & he is very nice & understanding. He also has a lap-band. He has lost over 100lbs himself! Then I met with Barrie the nutritionist. She is also very nice & i had an overall nice experience at the office today. Even the people in the waiting room were friendly & conversational. Priscilla at the front desk gave me an appt for Jan. 3rd,2006 to meet with Dr. Fielding. He will be my surgeon. If it weren't for my insurance carrier changing in January then I would have had an appt set up for the end of Dec. But its ok, I've waited all my life whats a couple of more weeks!!! So when I finally meet with Dr. Fielding he'll give me a tentative surgery date & they said most likely by the end of January! I am so excited I can't wait!
12/27/05 - I am ENGAGED!!! I have a beautiful diamond ring! I love it & can't wait to wear it. This year ended on a good note. I hope next year is even better.
01/03/06 - HAPPY NEW YEARS!!! I had my appt to meet with Dr.Fielding today & GUESS WHAT!!!!.........I HAVE A DATE!!! My tentative surgery date if for February 6th, 2006. I have to do all of my pre-op testing on the 25th of this month & I start my liquid diet on the January 23rd.
01/12/06 - Today I went out & bought some Slimfast Optima shakes in preparation for my pre-op liquid diet. I am supposed to start on this liquid diet on the 23rd of this month but I think i'm gonna take the extra step and start one whole week earlier so I can lose more initial weight before I get the operation. Well I can't believe that the time is approaching so quickly. Until next time!!!!
01/19/06 - Well I misplaced my cell phone on Monday the 16th & when I found it today I had 2 missed calls from tuesday from Dr Fielding's office. First was to call & when I did I spoke to Johanna & she explained that they wanted to know if I would mind changing my surgery date for Feb. 3rd instead of Feb. 6th!! One condition....the Dr. wants to televise his surgeries that day. I said YES of course !! I want it as soon as possible! I was sooo elated & I thought that nothing could bring me down..... Until I heard my 2nd message. It was Shawna from the SAME OFFICE telling me that my Insurance company was requesting 5 yrs of documented weight to be given to them so they can approve me. That means that I would have to go to like 3 different hospitals to get all my records & that takes time. I though they would give me some time to get it all together....BUT.... when I called Shauna back she told me my claim was DENIED TODAY because I didn't provide the required Info!!! Now I have to appeal once I get all my papers together. I CRIED ALL DAY!!! I can't believe I have this set back. Now I won't be able to do it until WHO KNOWS WHEN!!!! Well I guess a few more weeks won't kill me... I waited this long already. Anyways, I'll get back as soon as I hear something.
01/25/06 - Well I already contacted & requested my medical records from two different hospitals & they both said it would take about 7-10 business days to receive it. Which means that I should have everything I need to Appeal my insurance company's decision by next Thursday or Friday(02/02-02/03). I already have a "NEW" tentative surgery date of 03/06/06. Hopefully everything goes as planned this time around.
02/07/06 - Well I still haven't received any paper work from my main hospital which was the 1st one I requested the records from. They are supposed to mail it to the Surgeon's office. It's been 14 business days & I am getting restless. My surgery is only 27 days away & I need this last piece of info to appeal United HealthCare's decision. Johanna from Dr.Fielding's office has been very nice about all of this & she said she will call me to let me know if she received the package yet.
02/08/06 - Soooo, today I call Jacobi Medical Center that has my medical records from 1998-2002 & they said that they would "resend" my paperwork! I don't even think they sent it to begin with! I explained the situation, that I had been waiting for 15 Business days & I CAN NOT WAIT ANOTHER 15 DAYS!!! All they said was that they would "expedite" the package. I asked them how long that would take & they had NO answer!! I am sooo pissed that I am hoping that my surgery date won't have to be rescheduled AGAIN!! These next couple of weeks are really gonna drag & once I get the paperwork I need to send the info to my Insurance Company.
02/14/06 - Well Happy Valentine's Day!! I called Jacobi hospital today to find out what the estimated date my info would arrive at my surgeon's office & the lady there (Rene) said that my chart was still in the back office & was never sent out!!!! I just BLEW UP!!! I told her that they were being VERY unprofessional and that I have surgery in like 2 1/2 weeks. She said she would mail it out personally TODAY & I explained to her that that would be unacceptable! I asked her if I can go & pick it up myself now since I have been waiting since January 19th!! She agreed to have them ready for me tomorrow afternoon.
I also called the insurance company (UHC) to find out exactly what I need to send in to them to appeal their decision. Jeff @ UHC said I can FAX the missing info plus the denial letter to them & give them a couple of days to review the info. OMG I finally have hope that this will actually go through this time! I am gonna fax the info right to UHC tomorrow!! OK bye for now!!
02/22/06 - Well Today is day three of my liquid pre-op diet & it wasn't as bad as days #1 & #2. I had all of my pre-op testing done today @ NYU. I had my EKG done, my bloodwork and a chest X-ray. I also had Shawna from Dr.Fieldings office fax over my paperwork to UHC. While I was there I asked if I can weigh myself & I just "KNEW" that I had gained some since my last weight-in. Drum roll please.......................I actually lost 11 pounds!!! I dunno how but I will definitely take it!
03/01/06 - I have been calling UHC everyday to see what the status is on my appeal & so far nothing has changed. My surgery is scheduled for monday the 6th but I have no approval for it yet. Worst case scenario is that I am gonna have to reschedule the surgery. I am so ready for this band that its not even funny. This liquid diet isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Takes alot of will power though. Well i'm gonna call UHC again tomorrow to see whats going on. Later!
03/10/06 - I called UHC & still no answer from them about my appeal. They gave me a case number & now I had to reschedule my surgery AGAIN!! Now its for March 27th! Talk to you Later!
03/13/06 - I called UHC again & was ready for them to tell me that nothing has changed & then the Rep told me that they have it on file that they sent me a letter dated March 10th for my APPROVAL!!!!! I couldn't believe that she said that.... I was like "what"??? I started to cry on the phone!!! This week has been so good. So now I will keep my surgery date for March 27th!!! NO MORE RESCHEDULING!!!!
03-15-06 - Well I got a call form my surgeon's office today & they said that they have an available spot on Saturday March 25th....I was like "OKAY!!!".....So my surgery is on that day. I have to do some Pre-op Testing like bloodwork beacuse the time has expired from when I had them done the last time.
03-18-06 - I can't believe that surgery is only one week away!!! It feels great to be so sure this time.
03-22-06 - I did all my bloodwork again!! Today is my oldest son's birthday. He is 7 yrs old already!!
03-24-06 - Tomorrow was supposed to be the big day but I got a call from my surgeon's office stating that because I might have sleep Apnea that I would have to be rescheduled until Monday. I have to be there at 7:30 am.
************************************************************************************************
09/02/06 - Okay, so it's been awhile and a whole lotta stuff has been going on with me lately. Well first lets start with the surgery. I had the Lap-Band done on March 27th, 2006. Everything went well and I actually wanted to get up right away to start walking around because I was so tired of laying on the hospital bed. Everything was uneventful and I was home the next day. Just two days later my DH drove down to Florida to start a new job and a new life for us all. We relocated to Florida and I followed him in May but before I left I had a fill(1cc in my 4cc band). I am now working for a bank as a Customer Service Rep in the Mortgage Dept and I can say that all is going great. My son Dustin is in a new school and has many new friends and loves Florida too! He joined Cub Scouts (something that we would never have been able to do in New York). My youngest son Mason is learning to swim and enjoys going for walks around our new apartment. My DH is working for the cable company and we are enjoying all the benefits of free & discounted Cable TV, Internet & Phone services.
One day while at work sometime in July I was feeling kinda sick & my stomach felt funny. I ended up going to the Doctor & I found out that I was PREGNANT!!. My estimated due date is 12/01/06 which put me at conception around March 12, 2006 and I guess it was too early to detect when I re-took my bloodwork on March 22nd. So I am now in my 3rd trimester entering my 7th month. I haven't gone to a Bariatric Doctor since I was in NY because I didn't have Medical Insurance yet from my employer. My benefits kicked in yesterday 09/01/06. So I haven't been focusing too much now on losing weight because of my pregnancy. I went to my first Prenatal appt last week and weighed in at 352lbs. So far I have lost 49lbs from my highest recorded weight pre-op and on the day of surgery I weighed in at 380lbs which means that I lost 21lbs on the pre-op liquid diet. I am most concerned with my baby thats growing inside me & I have been worried about all the anesthesia I had during surgery, the flouro test after with the x-ray to check the band placement and my slight weight loss. I will be back at the doctors' office next week for a sonogram. I hope all is well.
