Hi Jenn,
Thank you for your time and all the information that you have provided me with. I really appreciate it as this has served as wake up call in many respects. The first thing that I found out is that although Tufts is the administrator of my insurance with Cigna, my coverage benefits are the ones laid out by Cigna - not Tuft. This makes it even worse for me as Cigna imposes a formal 6-month weight loss program by a doctor or dietitian previous to the surgery approval. There are many other conditions imposed by the insurance company that I hopefully will be able to comply with. The other thing that I found out today at my doctors office is that the average cost of the surgery at MGH is $25K, as compared to Beth Israel and Lahey average cost of $12K. Does this sound right to you? I found this cost on the Cigna's website.
I have started to look into Lahey based on your recommendation (thank you so much for the information). They are a little bit far from me but definitively have great reviews. My sister knows a couple who went to Lahey and they were very happy with the clinic and their results, together they lost about 400 pounds in a little over a year. Lahey is not that close to me as I work in downtown Boston, but definitively will consider them seriously for the surgery despite having to make the effort to get there. I am not sure how much I will have to pay out of my pocket either, but if it is a % of the cost, that would then be another plus if I choose Lahey over MGH.
The other thing is that my lab work from last week shows very low Iron levels and severe anemia. I had been feeling very weak and with no energy over the last couple of months but thought this was related to my weight and some laziness - never imagined that I could have anemia. In addition, my levels of Vitamin C and D are very low too which don't help with the iron absorption. My thyroid levels are low too. So I walked out from my doc's office today with a bunch of prescriptions as he strongly suggested that I try to fix all these issues before my surgery, which is going to be more like in November. He also thinks that if I can control the anemia, I will feel stronger and more willing to do a little bit of exercise and start loosing a bit of weight before then. I am starting my 6-month program today and will stay with MGH for now just due to the convenient location.
Tell me how your 10% weight loss is going. Have you had any success since we last posted? You must be very excited about your surgery in August. Please keep me updated!
Best wishes,
