brenpren07

Hello everyone my name is Brenda. I am 20 yrs old and live in Dallas, Texas. I am trying to have the lap-band®® done. I have been researching and looking to do this since 2006. My parents when I first approached them with the idea back then was very objective to the idea of me having the surgery at 16yrs old. Really it was only my Dad coming up with excuses why I am not overweight and how everyone has self-confident issues. So I left that at that and was determined to self finance it myself and disregard what he said. I mean he doesn't know what I go through everyday and my life in my shoes so how can he say it's okay for em to be fat? I mean seriously!!
So that brings me to why I am writing this blog in August 2009 after I turned 20 I decided I am no longer my parents concern and a teenager I can make decisions without asking them first now. So I read into my insurance and whether or not they did cover the procedure. As it turned out they didn't. At the time I was on my father's insurance being a student and all so I then started to look into my mom's insurance at her work and if they covered the procedure. Luckily she just changed jobs and now works at a Bariatric Hospital. Lucky Me right! So I convince her to let me be on her insurance because my dad's insurance doesn't cover certain things. I didn't automatically tell her what for. So she was like yes u can open enrollment is coming up. So there starts the "Insurance Journey". I'm sure if you have been through the process and had the band you know all about that. I checked with the insurance company to see what doctor's were available to me and what were my choices as far as what I can have done and the fees and all that great stuff. Turn out I could only have it done at that hospital Dallas Renaissance Hospital and Dr. Michael Green Jr. was the only surgeon choice I had. So now that my Doctor was narrowed down to one I scheduled an appointment to check him out more like a group session meeting first then an appointment. He talked very well and although young he has a wide base knowledge of what he is doing and is very confident in his work. He has done the surgery over 100 times and from what I hear from the patients of his at the hospital he does a wonderful job. So I was sold to him be my Surgeon. After the appointment with him I had to schedule my first appointment of what would be 6 dietitian appointments. I had labs and chest x-rays done the following week after the initial appoint. and then was the dietitian appoint. I was kind of knowing what to expect when I went there because I had researched this thing for 3yrs and knew all complications, risk, habits that need to be changed, etc. So I weighed in first it was 260lbs first weigh in. I went over my eating habits and what I need to do to fix them. I had to end up taking supplements because I was iron, vitamin D, and slightly calcium dificient. So after 5 months of that I find out my Insurance is going to be changing at the end of Janauary. Well my last Diet Appointment is the 12th of January so I have from then until the end of January to get approved becuase my insurance the company is switching to does cover Bariatric Surgery!!! Isn't that just perfect timing. Well afterwards they spoke to the HR department and had them call the insurance directly to see if there was anything they can do about getting the approval process going and expedited to have a verdict by the end of the week for me. Well they didn't have one by the end of the week so I had to wait until this week to see if something would happen. Well I had called them to see if they heard anything yesterday and they said no but they sent an e-mail about getting an update and if I can go ahead and come in Tuesday morning to get the surgery scheduled in case my insurance is approved that way it is done the same month before my insurance ends so it can cover the surgery . So I went in today and spoke to the doctor about what to expect after the surgery, my past 6 months of diet visits, and just talking about general surgery stuff and I signed a consent for the surgery. So he said they were going to go ahead and plan the surgery for Monday the 25th of January and if we hear from the Insurance Company we will call you and let you know if your approved or not. Well of course me being ancy and not being able to wait for them to do it I asked them for a name and number and I called them to see what my status was the first time they transferred me to the lady I got a voice-mail and the second time I called someone answered and they said they would see where she was and then they told me well they just finished the meeting about your case and it looks like everything is good. Meaning I'm APPROVED!!!! YAY!!! I called my doctor and told the lady what they told me and they should be receiving a paper saying Ye or Ne and to let me know. SO like 5 min. afterward they call me an say yes I am having the surgery and it is going to be MONDAY!!!. I don't know what time yet I have to go in tomorrow and do pre-registration and all that good paperwork and get a time but it is Monday the 25th.!!! I will update tomorrow........