trichie
06/24/05- Friday
I sent my info packet into Dr.Champions office on Wednesday and confirmed on Thursday that they actually got it. So I am waiting on the call to say my chart is ready. I have already scheduled a psych evaluation for 07/01/05 so that I can move things along a little quicker. I know my insurance requires one so that will be done probably by the time they get my chart together. :) I already talked with my insurance and the lady was very nice. She said they have no problems paying for the surgery as long as I can prove I have tried dieting for 6 months at a time and I meet all the normal requirements such as being 100 lbs overweight. I meet all of those. I have ten years worth of Dr records where I have been on diets. So hopefully things will move along smoothly. I will update after my psych eval unless I have something good to talk about before then. :)
06/30/05-Thursday
Today I got the call from Dr.Champion's office to tell me my chart has been completed. Nancy, I believe was her name I got so excited when I heard her say Dr.Champion that I may have that wrong but I will correct if I am wrong. Anyways she was so sweet!! She said she contacted my insurance and they do cover the surgery, which I already knew but it sounded so good to hear her say it. The best part is that all they told her they require is a psych evaluation!!! I have that scheduled for tomorrow morning!!!! I am so excited. I feel like everything is falling into place and this may really become a reality. When I talked with my insurance they told me they require you to have a psych eval, a nutrition eval, thyroid panel, and a few other things, (I forgot when I got excited) But Nancy said they may always request that later but most of the cases she has dealt with regarding the New York BC/BS has not requested anything more than the psych evaluation!! I will let you know how the evaluation goes tomorrow.
07/01/05-Friday
I had my psych evaluation today! It was very short and sweet. He asked some questions about myself and my life and cleared me for surgery stating that I am more than ready for this. He thought I had done my homework and have a very good head on my shoulders and I should do just fine with the surgery.
After I left I called Dr.C's office to make sure they faxed my notes over. They did and the lady said my chart was already on Dr.C's desk just waiting for him to dictate a letter for insurance!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy that things are going so smoothly. Two years ago when I started this process with a different facility I had to jump through so many hoops that I got discouraged. I had to have a sleep study , which I knew I did not need. I had to see their own personal psych which charged me $400.00 for a ten minute visit and then I would have to go to a weekend seminar that would have costed an additional $400.00. It was scary thinking I had to dish all that money out and maybe not even get insurance approval. But in the end I realized the facility wasn't what I wanted it to be. I was scared to have WLS with them because the after care was very poor in the hospital immedialtly post op and alot of people wound up in ICU for weeks. So thankfully I have found a wonderful Dr, Dr.Champion, that I respect and TRUST. And they do not make me jump through fire just to put money in their pockets before its even official. They make me provide just what insurance requires and I appreciate that. Well wish me luck that my letter gets made soon and I have approval and a date before long!!!!
07/12/05-Tuesday
Well it has been 12 long days since my chart was put on the doctors desk for dictation. I know I have to be patient but I am so anxious to find out if insurance approves me. I am not in that big of a hurry for the surgery date I would be happy just knowing it's officially a go. I need time to get the money together. I am figuring I will have to pay at least three thousand dollars up front because he is out of network for me. Anyways, I will update as soon as I hear something new. :)
07/28/05-Thursday
I got the call on Monday from Dr.C's office to tell me that my paperwork was sent to insurance. However, they need a nutritional evaluation. So I have that scheduled for Tuesday. Then as soon as I'm finished they will fax it straight to insurance. I really hope my insurance is quick. So it took 5 weeks from the time I faxed my paperwork to get all my info together and to insurance. Thats pretty quick! I will update after the nutritional evaluation. Have a nice weekend!
08/02/05-Tuesday
Today I had my nutrition evaluation. It was not as bad as I thought it would me. Well I didnt think it was gonna be bad, but I dreaded having to do it. Anyways, we talked about foods that I eat and of course what I should eat. Margo was very nice and enjoyable to talk to. Going into Dr.Champions office was like going into a famous persons house. I just felt like I was privalaged to be there.
08/04/05-Thursday
Well today I called insurance just to find out what kind of wait time I have. But they say they dont have the info from the Dr. I have tried to contact the office but I cant get ahold of Sherrie.
08/08/05- Monday
Today is the first day of school. My kids were so cute this morning. Anyways, I still cant get ahold of Sherri. She is the lady who gets your stuff to insurance. My insurance said they have a case open for me and all they are doing is waiting for the dr office to send them a few things. So here is where my patience comes into play. And Julie has taught me that patience is the key. Thanks Julie for all your help and support. I will post as soon as I find out something.
08/09/05-Tuesday
Today I found out that the Dr. office is waiting on my nutritional evaluation to be translated and typed out. They said they should have that by tomorrow and then my whole info packet will be sent to insurance. So I misunderstood about the insurance earlier. I thought they sent it in and insurance requested a nutrition evaluation. But actually they phoned insurance and told them what i had and insurance told them what i need. Anyways, hopefully it will really be sent to insurance by the end of the week. My insurance sounds so good when I talk to them about it so I hope I dont have any problems with them.
08/24/05-Wednesday
IM APPROVED!! I got the call from insurance today!! Exactly 2 weeks from the day they received all my info IM APPROVED!
And actually they didnt get the nutrition info until last week. It had been misplaced and they needed a new one. Anyways my insurance was wonderful. My case manager, Arlene, was so sweet. I will always remember her because even though she had the facts she needed to approve me, in my mind she is a big part of what made this possible. Thank you Arlene! (and thank you Empire BC/BS) Arlene said my date on the papers she received is 09/13/05. But she said that the dr will probably change that. So I will have to wait until I hear from the dr's office.
08/29/05-Monday
Today I got the call from the doctors office to tell me I have been approved.(I knew this a week ago.) But anyways, it was the lady from the finance department. My insurance will cover the surgery but since Dr.Champion is out of network (he is for everyone) I will have to pay him all his fee upfront and insurance will refund me their portion. So my total cost will be $5690.00 to Dr.C and $500.00 to the surgery assistant. My insurance should reimburse me about $3000.00. So my upfront cost after insurance reimbursment will be $3000.00. I know that is alot of money but for the new life waiting on me its all worth it.
08/30/05-Tuesday
I got the call from Dr.Champion's office today to schedule my surgery. I have pre-ops on Thursday and surgery next Wednesday 09/07/05. Man thats quick!! It gave me butterflies to hear her say those dates. That was much sooner than I expected but i'll take it!! :)
09/01/05-Thursday
Hi! I had my pre-ops today! I met Dr.Champion for the first time. It was like meeting a superstar! I have read so much about him and did so much research on him I feel like he is a celebrity. Anyways, I think he is the greatest. He has a smile that just makes you feel safe. I am totally comfortable with the whloe thing. The hospital is the best. Everyone is so nice and intelligent. I have no worries in the world. My surgery is next Wednesday at 9:30am. I can't wait. Anyone who is researching this or looking for a surgeon, I strongly recommend Dr.Champion. And this is coming from someone who almost did this surgery 2 years ago but chickened out because i realized my choice of surgeon wasn't the right one.(I am so glad I found Dr.C.) I am looking at it as a vacation. 2 days in one of the nicest hospital rooms available, no kids, no work, no housecleaning or cooking. Man I can't wait.
09/10/05-Saturday
I made it to the loosing side. I had my surgery on Wednesday. I did great. So far I have not been sick at all. When I woke up I was in more pain than I have ever in my life felt from the gas they blow your stomach up with. I was given pain meds but it didn't help the gas pain at all. However, that pain was far less than I expected. I had no reaction to anesteshia. And no complications during surgery. Thanks to everyone who prayed for me and had me in your thoughts. God listened and he protected me. I did have a hernia which Dr.Champion repaired. He said that was the reason I have been having heartburns. So I am glad he found that so I didn't have to have another surgery later. That is one advantage to choosing the best Dr I could find. I am so grateful I found Dr.Champion. He put all my fears at ease before I ever even met him. Just knowing what wonderful things I have heard and read about him made me feel safe. And meeting him topped it all off. So back to my surgery, I started walking 3 hours after surgery. They wanted me to wait 4 but I was in such pain from the gas and they said walking was the only thing that was gonna ease it up. And I was blessed with Byrd as my day nurse for my entire stay. I did fine with the walking and the gas did move alot but didn't really ease up. So I was on a schedule of walk,then pain meds, then nap the meds off. Luckily I had no drain tubes. By my third walk I was walking 6 laps around the hospital. I felt much better after a long walk. The first night was kinda rough compared to a usual night but very smooth considering I has just had major surgery. I was so uncomfortable from the gas pains I could not find a good position to sleep in. Plus I am a tummy sleeper so having to lay on my back was bad anyways. My mom met a girl that had hers the day before me and so she kept me informed of what to expect next. The next morning the doctor came by and said I was doing great. All my vital signs were good. I had no temp. So I went for the leak test and let me tell you that is the worst tasting thing I have ever had. Plus it was the first thing you have to drink after surgery besides ice chips. But I didn't through up. I had no leaks. So Byrd gave me some juice and a popsicle. I ate the popsicle and a couple sips of juice and did fine. I sipped on water the whole day and it all stayed down good and didn't make me sick at all. For supper they brought me lemon jello and raspberry crystal light both of which i hate. I did try a bite but I didn't like it. So I just kept on with the water. That night I slept like a baby. I even slept through my 4 am walk but I got up at 6 and started walking. I had one pain pill before bed and none through the night. The next morning I had lemonade crystal light and chicken broth. I drank the lemonade but chicken broth at 8 am wasn'y getting it. So my sister and I walked to the cafeteria to get her some juice and I found some light yogurt. I only had one ounce of it but it was good and felt fine on my stomach. I was released around noon and the ride home was not that bad. I get car sick if I ride along way. If I drive I am ok but riding gets me (strange i know). When I got home I spent time with my kids and hubby and then I had a nap. I am doing so good it almost scares me. No sickness and pain! I feel so lucky.
09/11/05-Sunday
Last night I went to the county fair. Yes just four days post op and I am taking my kids to the fair! I knew the walking would be good for me and it only comes once a year so I couldn't let the kids miss it. I was really tired when we left but was not in any pain. I took water and sipped on it constantly. As far as eating goes I am never hungry. I have my self on a schedule as recommended by Dr.Champion. I eat when it's time and sip water all day. I walk as much as I can. I am eating 3 oz at a time. Mostly sugar free jello and light yogurt. I have not started protein shakes yet. I have to get those today. I could not get the powder down before surgery. It made it half way down my throat and made me throw up so I am scared to try them again because I do not want to throw up and make my tummy sore. Dr.Champion said I can try the atkins shakes in a can to get some protein. I will get those today. I have not started vitamins either. Dr.C said to wait until Monday becasue my stomach is still swelled. So I will let you know how the shakes and vitamins go tomorrow.
09/14/05-Wednesday-One Week Post Op
Today is my official one week post op. I have lost 17 pounds. Not bad! :)) I have started my vitamins and protein shakes. Vitamins I take are 2-Flinstone Complete, 3-Extra strength Tums, and 2 Feosol (iron) daily. I had a hard time with the protein shakes. I tried the slim fast low carb but they come in 11 oz cans and I can only drink 1/2 of one at a time so I was only gettin 10 grams of protein at a time. I need 20 at a time so that I get 60 total for the day. But this morning I started on a protein powder called Designer Whey strawberry flavored. It is not good but I can drink it. I am going to put in some real strawberries or bananas tonight when I make one maybe that will give it some flavor. I am walking as much as possible, some days more than others. I have not started a real workout or exercise plan becasue my doctor wants you to wait 3 weeks. I am sticking to the rules of Dr.Champion. I eat only what he has included in my first two weeks menu. I think about trying to eat something I shouldn't be eating. My evil side says yeah go ahead try it you will be ok but my good side says that would be ridiculous to go through everything I have been through to have this surgery and not stick right to the rules. My good side always wins. I want things I see my family eating but I know I can not have them right now and I am ok with that. I knew I couldn't eat like they do before I had the surgery. Thats the point of the surgery because I have no will power. If I was not afraid it would make me sick or hurt my new pouch I would give in and eat bad stuff. Luckily I have a very good head on my shoulders and I can deal with this very good. And the 'liquid' diet is not that bad to now. I have started eating mashed potatoes and grits and have no problems. I love light yogurt now and can eat sugar free jello but sugar free pudding is off limits. I tried it once and it made a sick feeling. Not like so bad I would throw up but bad enough to know I won't try that again. Well enough for now will update in a week if not before then. Oh yeah my BMI has went from 48.4 to 45.3 in one week. :)
09/21/05-Wednesday-2 weeks post op
Today is my two week post op date. I have only lost 2 pounds this week. I have lost a total of 19 pounds. That is still good for two weeks I think. I was warned that my body was gonna resist weight loss after I lost so much the first week. It was put to me as my body will go in shock tryng to figure out where all the weight went so quickly. And it will not let anymore go until it gets adjusted to the weight loss. I also have not been walking as much as I should. I will pick up on the walking and next Wednesday my sister and me are joining the YMCA. I have alot of excuses for not walking,none of which are really good. So I will have to make myself do it. The first week I walked alot and lost alot. This week walked a little and lost a little. I am doing good with food. I have had no problems at all with food. I start the Phase 2 diet today and I will let you know how that goes. Of course I am no angel, I have tried a few things on the phase 2 list already like pasta and fish and no problems. Someone did tell me that in the 2nd and 3rd weeks when you are hitting those plateaus that you are loosing alot of inches. So I will be anxious to measure when my one month is up on 10/07/05. So there is good in everything even if the scales don't say it.
09/28/05-Wednesday--3 Weeks Post-Op
This week was better than last week. I lost 6 lbs this week. That is a total of 25 lbs in 3 weeks. Life is good!! I have done really good with all the phase 2 foods that I have tried. Still no vomiting.
I have had a few episodes of gas pains. Which was a really bad pain in my chest area. But after 5-10 minutes I started burping and it all went away. Nothing major. I am finally getting all my protein in thanks to the protein vials I found on the internet. They are really good. Taste like fruit drinks and they come ready to drink in 3 oz vials. They have 25 grams of carbs. I went to join the YMCA last night but the girl there was new and didn't know how to sign us up so we will go again today. We walked two miles instead. I read an article from OH magazine that said walking two miles was the ultimate workout. I believe it too. My stomach is diminishing!:)
And my skin seems to be coming in nicely. I drink lots of water and after every shower I use a body cream from Lancome on my whole body. You have to keep your skin hydrated on the inside and outside. The lotion is wonderful. It is a bit expensive but I am sure no where near what plastic surgery will cost if I don't take care of my skin. My BMI is now at 43.9! Man I am so close to not being morbidly obese.
10/18/05-Tuesday
Hey! I am very bad at keeping things up. I will be six weeks out tomorrow. I am doing exceptional. I have lost 32 pounds. And a whole lotta inches, just haven't had time to measure. I plan to do that tomorrow. I have had no problems at all. I can eat anything I want with no problems. A lot of foods taste so different that I choose not to eat them. After chewing and chewing it just destroys the taste of some foods. I have not tried any sweets at all. I am afraid of dumping. I have not thrown up at all and I do not want to do anything to make me start now. Plus I am afraid I could tolerate sugar and then it would be hard to resist at times so I have decided to not try it so I don't know either way. I will assume if I have sugar I will get extremely sick . I had my check up last week. I was 5 pounds ahead of schedule. I yo yoed for about 2 weeks with my weight. I am not sure exactly what was going on but i bounced between 247 and 252 for 2 weeks. Finally that bump is over and I am at 240. I lost 7 lbs last week so that makes up for the yo yo. Of course everyone would love to just lose alot every week but it just doesn't happen. So I will just stick to the rules and let it come off when its ready to. I have been going to the YMCA everyday for the last 2 weeks. I love it. It is so good to work out and get all tired and sweaty and realize what good it is really doing for your body. Well just wanted to update I know it has been awhile. I will try to keep up better. However, the doctor recommended that I only weigh once a month so I will try to wait a month before I weigh again so if I have a bad week I will not know it. But I probably can't hold out that long so I will let you know if I cheat before then. :)
11/07/05- Monday- 2 Months Post-op
Today I am officially 2 months out. I have lost 40 pounds total. It feels so good to finally be loosing all this extra weight. Every day I feel better. I am still exercising everyday at the Y. I alomost wonder if weight training every day is too much. I am sure you have heard that when you weight train you lose fat but gain muscle and since muscle weighs more than fat you won't see it on the scales. I wanna see it on the scales. But I am sure in the long run this is much better for my body. Don't get me wrong 40 pounds in 2 months is amazing to me. But I know alot of people who don't work out lose more than that so I am just curious. Well enough for now. Oh yeah my BMI is now 41.3!
01/04/06--Wednesday
Well I have not updated in quite awhile. I will be four months out on the 7th and so far I have lost 70 lbs!! I had an extra good month this month. Instead of pigging out at Thanksgiving and Christmas like I used to, I ate sensibly and in the process lost around 20 pounds in December alone. This is truely amazing to me that I am down to 203 pounds from 273. I am still doing very good. No sickness at all. On New Years Eve I drank alcohol for the first time and honestly I dont think I got drunk any quicker than before. But maybe I did and didnt realize it!! Well I hope everyones New Year is as good as mine so far. My BMI is 36 now!! I am no longer morbidly obese :))
02/27/06--Monday
Hey everyone! I have been terrible at keeping this up. I guess its true that when you lose weight you get your life back and no longer spend all day on the internet. Anyways I am almost 6 months out. I have lost 91 pounds so far. In the first few months I never expected to hear myself saying I have lost 91 pounds at the six month mark. I lost kinda slow there for a minute but I am averaging about 10 pounds a months so it is really going quickly.
I have more energy than ever before. I feel good everyday. When I wake up I look forward to getting dressed because clothes actually look good on me now. It is really nice to go shopping and just pick up a size 16 and not have to worry about it fitting. I used to just walk around and shop for my kids because nothing fit me right or looked good on me. Now its all about me. 16's are getting loose on me now. The smallest I have been since junior high was a 14. Then I weighed 156 pounds. I think my body has taken a different shape now than it had 13 years ago. I am at 182 pounds and could probably wear a 14 if I tried them. So thats a good thing!
To anybody reading this that has not had surgery I recommend that you go for it. It has been the best thing I could have ever done for myself. When I weighed 273 pounds I knew life was bad but its not until you lose the weight that you realize how bad it was. I can not believe I spent 10 years of my life being morbidly obese. That really sux. But for 10 years I felt trapped in all the fat and every diet that failed me made me that much more discouraged. It was a nightmare that, thankfully with the help of God and Dr.Champion, is now over! My BMI is now 32.2. Well thats enough for now, I have my 6 month check up on Thursday so I will update on my visit. Have a great day! ( I know I will! :)
08/02/06-Wednesday
Well I was reading some other profiles today and realized that I have completly neglected to keep up my profile. I apologize for this. Shortly after my last post I had to have my gallbladder removed which was in March. I am now 11 months out and I am down 119 pounds. I am weighing in at 154 pounds. Life has changed soooo much since I had surgery. It is really a blessing that I was one of the obese people in the world fortunate enough to have WLS. I am more active and have tons more energy. I am constantly on the go. Before surgery I could not keep up with my husband and kids. Now they can't keep up with me. A year ago if someone was having a get together my husband and kids would go but I would stay home and hide from the world. I was totally to big and ugly to be in the public eye just hanging out. Now if I hear of a get together I am the first one ready. I love to show off my new self to everyone I know and I have no problems at all explaining what I have been through. I am proud of the surgery and even more proud to tell people about Dr.Champion, my wonderful surgeon! I encourage every obese person I know to check into the surgery. Not everyone is a good candidate for the surgery but alot are, so I encourage them to get the info and just check it out. In 11 months my life has made a complete turn around. I am wearing size 11 jeans and they are getting loose. I can finally shop at all the good stores for clothes instead of just one or two places. Which may not be a good thing this weekend as we will be going school shopping for the kids and I will probably want to buy more than the kids. I just wanted to update my profile here and let everyone know how truely amazing WLS has made my life. I will try to update more often. I know when I was researching the surgery, reading peoples journals is what really gave me the inside view I needed to make my decision. So I hope I can encourage at least one person. If anyone would like to ask any questions please feel free to email me at [email protected] . On this day one year ago I was at my nutrition evaluation, still waiting on everything to be approved by insurance. Now it is funny to remember how long it felt like it was taking to get approved and get a date. The year has flown by as I was shrinking. It has been an incredible year! So those of you still waiting for approval, hang in there your day will come and before you know it you will be half the woman(or man) you are right now! I hope everyone has a wonderful day!!
9/14/2006-Thursday
Today was my one year check up. It was a great visit. I have lost 131 pounds. I weighed in at 142. All my bloodwork was good. My cholesteral was actually low. My bone density scan was better today than it was one year ago. The calcium is really doing its job.
Dr.Champion was really pleased with my progress. He really is the BEST! I am really proud to say that he is my doctor. Anyways, I saw my first offical before and after photo today that the doctor's office. It really shocked me. I never realized that I looked that bad. I was huge before at 273. I wish I could let you guys see them. But I have to say the after pic was really cute. The before pic has been on my mind all day. As I sat in the room waiting for the doctor to come in I was almost in tears. The pics were so different. I really look like a completly different person. Which is a good thing. The nurse said to me "That was in the past, you are a new person now." I really am a new person. I love the new person I am and I am so glad I had the surgery. I cannot beleive that I spent ten years of my life looking the way I did. It is really embarassing to know how I looked. I was huge! I never took pics and I never looked in the mirror. So I say that I had no idea that I was that big but really I think I did. I remeber sitting on my bed and glancing in the mirror and I would ask myself what I had let happen to myself. I felt so trapped in all the fat and I was so burnt out of trying diets and exercising myself to death with no results. I really tried to block it out of my mind so I didn't have to face the reality of what I was looking like. But as I said that is all behind me. I am finally ME again. Ten years of my life was lost. I had all of my children at a horrific weight. I was fat and tired from the 1st day that my daughter was born 8 1/2 years ago. My kids are just now meeting the real me. I am so much like the way I was in my young adult life. I am the way I always thought of myself to be. I denied the fact that I was morbidly obese. But I was and now I am not. It is truely amazing to me that I lived through that and came out better than ever. I owe my life to Dr.Champion. He did the best thing that anyone will ever do for me. He gave me my life back. I will say again that anyone researching this should really know what a wonderful tool this is. If you are anywhere near Atlanta I would highly recommend Dr.Champion. Well sorry to be so long but I just felt like letting you all know how I feel one year post op.