Tara S.

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So, I took about two weeks to get my crap together after my psych appt, and find anything in my prev. medical history that references my weight.  They need 5 years (not consecutive years, luckily).  I've been such a medical vagabond, never having the same doctor for more than a few visits, and never remembering who they are, that I really had no idea where to get that.

So, I finally remembered that the one year I was missing I went to the hospital at one point.  So I was able to have them call the hospital and get what they need.

But I never hear back that the do or don't have what they need.  They don't call me to say they need more - they just wait for me to call.  So at this point, I'm frustrated and waiting to find out what's going on.  I've left them a message and haven't heard back, so I'm leaving another as I type.

As far as I can tell my claim hasn't even been submitted to insurance yet.

This sucks.

:(

And I quote "You can go home and tell your husband that an actual psychiatrist says you're not nuts!"

I called Dr. L's office yesterday to find out about the psych eval, and it appears I didn't do one at the Wish Center.  So, that's the bad news.  When I called the folks they like to use for that, they said their next appointment was 1/14/08... that's almost a month away!  Ack!  I was bummed.  Until she put me on hold and then came back saying someone could see me today at 1:30, OR a month from now.  LOL.

Woo hoo!

So, I'm off to my nutter exam shortly. :)

I called Dr. L's office today to see if they'd received the fax from the Wish Center (a.k.a the "Wish You'd Picked Someone Else Center") and they said they hadn't.  So, I called the WIsh Center (they're now called something else) and they were fairly snotty and said they'd faxed it "the very same day" I sent the request, and had even received a fax confirmation so they KNEW they had done it.  Additionally, they remembered me specifically because my chart was VERY VERY LONG.

I had exactly one meeting with them, and it was their required minimum length, so why on Earth it was any longer than anyone else's I have no idea.  But they said it was 44 pages.

But she was clear she had received a fax confirmation so she KNEW they had faxed it.

I called Dr. L's office back and asked the angels there (who had said it's OK to stalk them all I want) to double check because WC said they'd faxed it days ago.  They didn't have it, and asked for WC's number to contact them directly.

Lo and behold I get a call two hours later from Dr. L's office saying that they finally received them ... in the MAIL.  Yes, snail mail.  So much for all those "fax confirmations".  LOL.

So, now I'm waiting to hear if WC did a psych screening or not.  I KNOW they did the nutritional evaluation, so all that's in question is the psych eval.  I honestly don't remember if the WC did one or not - it was about 18 months ago, and I can't remember what I ate for lunch yesterday let alone what happened during an 8 hour appointment 18 months ago.

Yesterday I knocked two things off my "to-do" list.  I had my bloodwork done, and found my medical records through the Wish Center.  Now I just need to find out if the Wish Center actually did the psych evaluation (they were doubtful they had).  If not, I get to go do that, and I think that'll be my last step before submitting to insurance!  YAY!

I guess I'm going to put this internal argument down on paper (er... e-paper), but I'm not 100% sure it's a good idea.  There are some strong feelings about this topic floating around :)

I initially chose the Lap Band for several reasons:

1.  I had closer to 60 lbs to lose that I just couldn't get off no matter what I tried.  To get into a sub-25 BMI I needed to lose more like 75 lbs, but my whole hope was just to get back to a weight I was OK with.  To do that, I needed to lose 60 lbs.
2. It's less invasive (no re-routing or stomach stapling/cutting).
3. Quicker recovery time.
4. Reversible.

A few things have changed my mind about that, and I now think that for me the RNY is a better choice:

1. I am now heavier, and have more like 85+ lbs to lose to be happier, and 100+ lbs to lose to be in a sub-25 BMI.
2. I spent a lot of time on the Lap Band board, and honestly, people seemed very frustrated and generally unhappy most of the time.  I heard repeatedly that people were frustrated with not losing as quickly as they'd like etc. etc.
3. I'm scared of having a foreign object in me for the next 50 years.  Particularly the possibility of erosion into my stomach.
4. I spent a year looking at the comparitive stats and didn't like the Lap Band stats as much.
5. I spoke at length with my sister, who is an M.D., and she talked me out of being worried about 2 & 4 above.  Her opinion is "Forget about being scared.  They're both scary. If you're going to do it, do it once, do it right, and go with whichever surgery you have the most confidence will give you the result you want."
6. I have confidence in my surgeon, and he truly believes the laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery (Lap-RNY) is the best option.

So, there it is, in a nutshell really.

I'm excited. Sure hope my insurance approves me. :)

Hey all -

My name is Tara.  I'm a 33 year old web developer in the Seattle, WA area, mother to a fantastic 4 year old girl, and wife to a wonderful man.  I've been fighting my weight for ... decades.  As an adult I was happy with my weight for probably a year total.  And I was basically starving myself to get there.  I look back at how fat I felt through my 20's, and now I'd pay very good money to be just that "fat" again!

I've been pursuing WLS for awhile now - probably 18+ months.  I went to the Wish Center to look into a Lap Band, but was denied by my insurance.  I don't actually blame them - Wish Center wasn't exactly trying hard to persuade them.  My BMI wasn't quite high enough (38ish) and even though my Dr. sent them a list of possible co-morbidities, they didn't appear to include that in the submission to my insurance company.

I was very depressed after the denial, and didn't look into an appeal for awhile.  Every time I'd asked Wish Center about an appeal their attitude was "well, I guess we could... if you want us to..."  By the time I tried to call the Wish Center again to look into an appeal they had shut their doors in some bizarre midnight closure (they left patients on the doorstep waiting for surgery, I hear).

So, anyway, here I am, 20 lbs heavier, more depressed, and hoping that a new surgeon and a renewed spirit about it will change my luck.  I also decided to try for the RNY, rather than the Lap Band.  But that decision is another story... :)

If I can dig up my previous psych & nutritionist paperwork from Wish Center, my surgeon is going to submit me for approval right away!  I hope I can at least find someone to send those records through, because now that my BMI is 40 I shouldn't have to show the co-morbidities anymore.  Um... yay?

Wish me luck!!