sherryh
Hey everyone .....
I've been reading about y'all for a while now and thought it was time to dip my toe in the water, so to speak.
I'll tell you a bit about my journey thus far:
I'm 47, live in rural NH and have been overweight since about 12 years of age. I have done all the same things you have all done ... pills, programs, books, diets in magazines ....you name it, to lose weight. I've joined gyms, played handball (I ducked the whole time) and done step aerobics. Needless to say, nothing worked for any length of time.
Around the age of 32, I got sober from drugs and alcohol. There's lots that goes along with that, but I'm trying to keep your attention, so I'll leave out the gory details of that.
After a few years of recovery, I quit smoking. I'd always hovered around the 180 lbs. mark ...but I'm a solid gal and that never felt horrible. Of course I kept trying to lose weight, but it was really the quitting smoking thing that pushed my weight into the high numbers (for me, anyway).
I'm still sober and still smoke-free ..and I'm very grateful about that. And I've done tons and tons and tons of work around so many life issues .....family, relationships, etc. I've seen therapists since about 1990. Anyway, fast forward to this past May. I had some terrific pain in my leg around Memorial Day. Eventually, I realized it was just my knee, not my whole leg. An ortho doctor diagnosed me with a bruised/torn or flipped meniscus ligament. By the time I saw him, I was dragging my left leg behind me. It got better on its own eventually, but the pain has recently come back to haunt me.
That experience was what drove me to investigate WLS. I realized that if I didn't lose weight, and a significant amount, I was in for more of the same. More joint pain, more back pain, dragging my leg through parking lots.
This summer when I went to my PCP for a yearly exam, I talked to him about it. He thought I would make a good candidate because I'm still pretty healthy, but high blood pressure and diabetes runs in my family. He also had a couple of other patients who had WLS (one lap, one gbp) and had favorable results, few problems.
In August, I made an appt. at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, at the weight loss clinic there. It's about a 2-hour drive from here. I was in contact, via e-mail, with one of the women who works in the office there. She told me what to do and what I should expect. They sent me directions, parking info and a huge package of paperwork to complete.
On Oct. 30, I went for my consultation. To begin with, they took blood and urine for tests and then I went in to visit with the Internist, Dr. Nadai. I thought he was kinda cold at first, but he is very sweet and has a good sense of humor. After going through my information, he suggested that I get a sleep study done. He thinks I have sleep apnea....I have restless leg syndrome ...but I''ve been waking up with headaches a lot lately and snoring, gasping for breath and in general, sleeping poorly. I always have, so I think I just chalked it up to ....well, the way I live. To know that it might get better gives me lots of hope.
After Dr. Nadai, I went to see a nutritionist (Margaret Furtado) who was wonderful. These folks were all very wonderful, by the way. I then went to see a psychologist ..and we talked about my life, my issues, my hopes, dreams.
The cool part about the program at MGH is that these folks are all very compassionate and focused. They get that we have all been on the weight loss treadmill for years, so they 'get it.'
That first day was exhausting. I took a good friend with me and she and I had dinner and talked about the whole day. I cried several times that day. I think it was a relief to talk honestly about my feelings with people who wanted to help but I also think I was really anticipating the appointments more than I knew ...so afterward, I could have just taken a long nap.
I went down to an orientation session at MGH about 3 weeks later. The nutritionist conducts these sessions (who I had already met) and two surgeons come to answer questions, along with 3 patients who had the surgery. It was all very interesting and informative ....and I drove back home with lots of hope.
I hadn't decided until that night that i wanted the surgery. I was afraid of the mortality rate, the complications, the stigma ...I really wasn't sure I was up for it all. But one guy who was there, who had lost 250 lbs in one year, was so inspiring. He was very young (in his 20s) and very tall (at least 6'5'') and had such a cool attitude. He just made a decision and never looked back. He was still pretty big ...but looked great and was so ...well, happy.
The next day, I called my insurance company. I was told that my policy didn't cover this surgery (gastric bypass). I was devastated. And I almost gave up there....
Apparently, insurance companies don't always mean no when they say no.
I contacted the administrator at the weight loss clinic at mgh and he told me to come in to see Dr. Nadai again and after that, they'd send a letter. I had read on this web site that my insurance company was reasonable about the insurance if you meet certain criteria.
I went back down on Dec. 19 for a meeting with Dr. Nadai. He and the nutritionist and psychologist had all gotten together and reviewed my test results and all of the appts. I had with them. They all suggested GBP for me.
I then met with Jessica, the surgery scheduler. She scheduled an appt. with Dr. Ferguson for me (I picked him because I want the surgery done laproscopically if possible and i liked his attitude. Since then, I've only gotten good information about him) on March 5. She then told me that she would make a call to my insurance company to see if the surgery would be covered. She said she'd call me the next day. She called me at noon and told me my policy does indeed cover the surgery. I was really ...happy, nervous, cautious and ...happy!
Next, she sent (or will soon send) a letter to my insurance company, presenting them with the request for coverage. They will write back and let me know if there are anythings i need to do before the surgery (lose weight using a supervised program, participate in more nutritional counseling, wear green on Thursdays, whatever) and we go from there. She said (and yes, I asked) that she felt strongly that I'll be all set to have the surgery covered.
So, now I'm waiting for a letter and head back down to Boston on March 5. If all goes as planned, I'll likely get an appt. some time in April or May for the surgery.
I have told my employer and our benefits person here, but only a couple of others at work. I have discussed it with family and friends, but am still not ready to announce it to the world ...I still know it's the right thing for me....but I don't trust my insurance company ... I'm sort of cynical by nature, I guess.
Anyway, I have to start losing weight now. Like I can do that. Well, I can ...but Dr. Nadai suggested that my liver will be in a better condition for surgery if I am on a weight-losing path rather than a weight-gaining path.
I'll post more when things start moving again.
I welcome any comments/suggestions/happy thoughts any of you want to send my way. Okay, they don't have to be completely happy. Happy-ish, perhaps.
Sherry
