Womanvsmirror

The Game: 
1/9/2016  I attended the first free seminar. Although it was informative for some, for me it was just a step towards surgery that I was required to take. Prior to the event and choosing the facility , I had logged countless hours of research. So I gained no new information.  
1/29/2016 The consult/first official visit. On this visit I had several appointments rolled into one . Met with the surgeon. Very quickly we discussed what my goals were , and what procedure I was interested in. He then gave me his recommendation. Which was the same as mine(duh). My second stop was the nutritionist. She asked about what I eat and when. Also asked me to point about my food weaknesses. Then she came up with some simple small changes to make . Third was those labs, ughhh I hate needles. The technician was horrible, or my veins were , who knows. From what I later saw on my medical claims a cbc along with  a laundry list of other test were ran. The dietician was my next to last step. Not much of a discussion there. I was provided with a meal plan to start immediately. Just when I thought it was over I was sent to a scheduler, to set up my upper gi. I missed that in my research. All together it took about 2 hours. #226 
2/16/2016 First weight management class (behavioral modification). Not much to say here , a group of people led by the dietician, discussed portion control. We were weighed prior to the class starting , and given a worksheet to follow on portions. #222 
2/17/2016 Upper GI. First let me say I am a researcher when it comes to things I want. Knowledge is power right? Wrong when I do things like look up procedures I'm going to have I drive myself into a state of panic. I tried not to do this here. I did briefly glance at it online , just to get an idea of what was going to happen.  I had to be at the hospital at 6:00 am (I live an hour away), check in and give a urine sample. By this time my stomach was in knots. Went upstairs was  asked to undress and put my clothes in a bag. The nurse then asked a few medical questions, and wanted to know why I was pursuing VSG when I'm "not that big". She was nice so I gave a quick polite response and prepared for the iv. I HATE NEEDLES, but I rationalized with myself that the needle was the hardest part of the day, and once that was over I could relax . So they got me all hooked up in about 5 minutes, rolled me back to the procedure room. I was then sprayed in the mouth with a numbing agent , fitted with a mouthpiece and given oxygen.  The next thing I remember is waking up. I had a little irritation in my throat later that day , but was perfectly fine. 
2/18/2016 Psychiatric Evaluation (also my daughters 3rd birthday). This appointment was remote. We used a program called Vsee. Prior to the appointment I had to fill out an online assessment consisting of about 500 questions.  We discussed , life , my childhood, and my relationship with food and why I chose surgery. She was very polite and pleasant , and also gave me a little "homework". Her name is Connie Stapleton, and wrote a book "eat it up" , and has several web videos on food, breaking the bond, and life after surgery. She told me before the end of our conversation that in her opinion she feels that I am the perfect candidate for VSG. #cleared 
 
 
 
 
2/24/2016 Second meeting with the nutritionist. Very quick appointment. Went over meal plan, asked if I had met or starting working on goals from last meeting. Which for me meant eating throughout the day , and not calorie loading when I get off work, right before bed. Goal accomplished. 
3/23/2016 Weight management class. Quick class on the importance of staying hydrated and moving. Had a worksheet to complete and as always the dreaded weigh in.#216 
4/5/2016 Sleep study. First this was not what I expected. I know this is going to sound super silly but in my mind I was going to be in a big plexi glass room surrounded my men in white coats with clipboards. HAHAHA!!! That was not the case, I was in a very cute room that looked like someone shrunk a hotel room. The staff was nice, it took about 30 min to get me all hooked up. Thankfully I was exhausted , so even with all the wires and gadgets I fell asleep without much effort. They provided a cute little breakfast in the morning , which I had to eat on the Hwy. I had this done on a Tuesday, which meant I had to drive like a crazy person to get back to Georgia and on the clock at work by 8:30 am. 
 
4/19/2016 Follow up to review my sleep study results. Asked a few quick questions, went over the results, advised that he would clear me for surgery....YAYE!!!! (apparently my snoring is just snoring) 
 
 
To be honest I wasn't going to post until after I was approved by my insurance, but as am I confident that this is my time I will share my journey up until today. In 3 days (4/29/2016) I have my last set of appointments and my last weigh in. Hopefully the office will be able to submit to insurance the same day. Once approved I will be back with an update. 
 
 
 
 
 
4/29/2016 LAST VISIT!!!!! So today was my last visit with the nutritionist. We went over pre surgery diet and was given a written plan. She also discussed keeping my bmi steady until surgery. Apparently surgery can and will be cancelled on the day of surgery if your bmi drops to low. I was also given a list of protein shakes (most of which I have tried). She wrote up my letter and we are just waiting on the surgeon to attach his letter, and submit to Aetna for pre –authorization.  And so the wait begins......
I was hoping for a May surgery, but based on the calendar unless I'm approved instantly(72 hours), the best I can hope for is early June. I may asked to be put on standby in case of a cancellation.#214lbs
 
5/3/2016 Not sure if I mentioned this before by I am an impatient person. So as I'm sure this process is hard on all that go through it, it's driving me batty!!! I told myself that I wasn’t going to check anything until at least Wednesday. Yeah that didn’t work out. This morning a girl that I met on FB who happens to be going to the same surgical group, messaged me and asked"Any word yet?". Those 3 word sent my mind into overdrive. So I started with Aetna , my remaining oop was the same so I started to log out....but then I saw my last office  visit claim date. After further review I noticed that all my Visits for the 90day program were processed and paid...fast huh? So that got me to thinking, if they sent in my claims, I'm sure they sent in my Pre-authorization request. I then looked up the number for member services and gave them a call. I wanted to know about the process and notification. Apparently they do not notify the patient(crazy since its my money being spent monthly), but call the surgeon's office to give the decision. The only way I will know if im approved is when they call to schedule , I get the letter in the mail, or if I happen to call them. Well I will say I am glad that the office staff is quick , I've seen people wait weeks just to get their request submitted. Now the part that I have dreaded since I started this process............my fate left in the hands of a stranger ...but I have faith so now I just WAIT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
 
5/3/2016-5/12/2016  Called Aetna everyday, drove myself crazy.
 
5/12/2016 What can I say about today? Amazing!!!!! If you follow my story, today was day 9 of the wait. I was so tired of hearing "it's still pending", I said I would just wait it out. But a relative who had the procedure 9 months ago(one of the few people who know) messaged me today at 7 am to ask if I had a date yet. I really did not want to have the conversation cause it was driving me crazy. I answered her and informed her of the process I am going through. At the end of our conversation I thought "what the hell let me call. Normally the rep takes 2 seconds to come back with "pending", after a 10 minute hold she returned. Your request was approved and letter sent out today. I think the next 5 minutes I heard nothing she said. The reality of the word APPROVED, was trying to find me.      I should have waited until the company called the surgeon's office. But waiting is not easy for me, so I called and left a message. A hour later the scheduler called to let me know that she had a few ahead of me and would call me on Monday to lock in a date.   3 hours later I had my three pre-appointments, and a ..................................................SURGERY DATE JUNE 1st 
 
 
5/18/2016  1 of 3 pre op appointments. Today I had my last nutrition class. It always amazes me at each class how so many people go into the process of weight loss surgery with no clue. Every class I have attended there is always one maybe two people who  asks questions that makes me worry about their commitment to their own success. People at this particular class (mind you everyone in this class is having surgery within a month) were asking questions that, had I not done my own research  I
would have wanted to know at my first consultation. For example, " can I drive myself home from the hospital", " how many weeks until I can start drinking soda", " does someone need to stay with me after".  It was scary that a person would take such a big step with so little information. But I digress, I did some new information for once. First my surgeon does not require the dreaded "puree stage". The post op diet progression is as follows: One week clear liquids(broth, water, sugar free jello), Two weeks full liquids (protein shakes, cream soups, cream of wheat) , Three weeks soft foods (chicken, fish, eggs ). Between stage one and after stage three , you have to go in to be checked out and released to the next stage. Easy enough , right?  The next new information I received is that they send you home with three prescriptions. One for blood thinning, to prevent blood clots, One for pain (duh), and the last for nausea. There was only one thing that made me slightly unhappy , STAPLES. I was hoping for steri strips or dis solvable staples. The reason this bothers me so much is  the same reason I dislike needles, that foreign object sticking out of my skin creeps me out. On a brighter note, we don’t have to have a drain tube or catheter. Whoooo  two more days until appointment 2 of 3 x-rays, blood work, consent forms.......
 
5/20/2016 Finally all pre op testing complete!!!!! Today was an early day, had to be at the hospital at 9am. Which would not be an issue if it wasn’t an hour and a half away. Since I arrived early, I swung by the surgeon's office to make sure my paper work for std was completed and pay my balance. Then off to patient check in. First stop was consent forms and an explanation of what I had to do as far as testing. Fast forward I had a leg x ray, blood work, ekg, chest x ray, urinalysis, and interview/assessment. Then a quick run down on when to stop medication, using the wash to clean my body for three days prior to surgery. I started around 8:15 am and was finished around 11:05. But I'm finally done all testing, next stop quick meet with surgeon on the 24th, then surgery on June 1st.....counting down
 
 
5/24/2016 3 of 3. Bitter sweet , the very last of my pre op appointments. The next time I write I will be SLEEVED. Well let's get into it. I met with my surgeon which I think is only the second time I've actually had a one on one with him. No big deal , if you are the type of person who needs a lot of one on one with the actual surgeon do not pick a busy practice. Thankfully as long as I have a good and response office staff I am ok. First I met with the nurse, he advised me that rx was being sent to my pharmacy today and they will used after surgery. The prescriptions were for Carafate, Prontonix, and Reglan. Two of the three are for controlling the acid in your stomach, the other for nausea. He also gave me some info on a service that provides a package of bariatric friendly vitamins for around 25 a month if approved by insurance. After all the drug talk he gave me a list of my appointments until 2/3/2017,,,whew!!!! Then here comes my surgeon, after looking through all my paperwork(took all of 30 seconds), he said well "doesn't look like we have much to do"…..lol. I hopped on the table for a quick abdominal exam, he pointed out where the incisions will be placed. He asked if I had any questions, just one "can I get a picture of the removed portion?". He let me know it is not normal for him but to remind him the morning of and he will make sure he gets it done and gives it to my mom. She told me when I expressed to her that I wanted the picture, that she did not want to see it. LOL so what did I do? Tell him to give it to her, I'll be sleep she won't be able to fuss at me. A quick stop on the way to give some information so that my STD claim can be sent in, and that was it.....June 1st I'll be back …. on the other side!!!