Hi everyone! Sorry I'm late to the game here. I, too, am on CHAMPVA and have filed a claim for weight loss surgery through them. My packet has already been submitted through my surgeon and now I'm waiting on my surgery date to be picked. Since CHAMPVA doesn't require pre-authorization, all I could do was submit everything they wanted and then hope that they actually approve it after the surgery. Which totally sucks. But what else can I do? The insurance lady at the surgeon's office advised me on how to do the 1 year weight loss attempts and I'll tell you all what I did with her help. She advised me to take the year prior and break it down month by month and detail as much as possible what I had done each month toward losing weight. Since I had already been keeping track of that with my mother-in-law through emails prior to this, it was easy for me to go back and remember what I had done. Let me give you all some examples:
January- Like many people, I made New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and started off the year cutting back on sweets, carbs and trying to move more. My mom and I tried walking to the stop sign at the end of our street, but it wasn’t long before we both hurt our ankles and had to stop. My psychiatrist put me on Topamax to help with my appetite.
February- I chose to have a non-candy Valentine’s day with my family as part of my commitment to a healthier year. I also sat down and thought out some ideas on how to make better food choices for my family. Over the next few months, I began to implement those plans. To start off with, I started making sure I had fruit and veggies prepped and ready to go in my fridge and on my counters for myself and my family to grab anytime they wanted.
March- I joined the local YMCA. I went a few times and every time I injured myself, even when I just walked on the treadmill. My hips would ache, my ankle would hurt for days, it was just unbearable. My massive weight just prevents me from doing everything I want to do for myself. This month, I began packing my son healthier lunches for school and for myself, I started making myself eat a higher protein breakfast which is a meal I would often skip before.
This is what my letter looked like, right on through December. My letter continues to detail how I gave up sodas, switched to brown rice and cut out white rice, went to the nutritionist, etc. I don't know if it was the right way to do it, or if it will help any of you, but I thought I would share what I was advised to do and what I did. Hopefully it will be approved.
Good luck to you all!
