I start the process today!!!

[wendy645 1]

My insurance has an exclusion on WLS (of course :tea:) and also excludes consultations regarding to any excluded item/procedure. So I e-mailed the local doctor I'd been referred to by another WLS patient in town (our town has 8,000 people so we're kinda limited on doctors). Gotaa love being in a town so small you can e-mail your doctor LOL

Anyway I explained the situation to her and she said to come in and she'd figure out how to code the visit, and told me she has pretty good luck with getting insurance to cover referrals to WLS surgeons (my ins. covers the surgeon but not the procedure :huytsao) and told me that I need to be on doc-supervised weight loss for 6 months, which I'm fine with.

I can't help but wonder, though, if you can do the doc supervised, wouldn't they just say, "See? She can do it. Denied."?

So what should I ask? What should I tell her? I'm so excited but I always end up forgetting things, so any suggestions would be GREAT!

[wendy645 1]

Bump! I go in in 2 hours!

[wendy645 1]

Update!

I went to the doc and she was impressed with me. I brought along a printout of the spreadsheet I'd created listing my attempts to lose weight since 1993. I was 10 years old :cry I listed when, what, how long, how much it cost, and what the results were.

I also brought along a copy of my filled-out patient intake report for the surgery center I figure on using (I called them, even they were like... you're getting ready to go to your first appointment with your PCP and want the packet??)

I plan on going to the next info session put on my said facility next week. It's an almost 3 hour drive but better than the 5-6 hour drive I took last time to go to a session on WLS!

We talked about what changes to expect in lifestyle and eating habits her patients have had to made, and what success she's had with approvals before. She's going to tackle my insurance company's policy and fight for me. She set me up with a referral to the nutritionist (who I've heard is a real bimbo) and I'm to check back with her in a month as part of our "doctor suprevised WL plan".

She told me to start walking as exercise. She made me giggle when she said, "Start with 3 minutes, OK?" because I usually tackle a couple miles at a time when I go walking but I'll do what she says (well, I'll log what she says, and do what I want, which'll be at least a mile) because she knows her stuff and what ins. co's want.

I cried in her office a few times, which annoys me because I hate crying but this is something very emotional, so I forgave myself for it... that's big for me. She gave me a Rx for Ibuprofin 800mg to take before I go walking, because I know from experience if I don't take one an hour before walking, my back seizes up and I can't make it home.

I feel so relieved that I'm taking the first steps on this long journey, and that the 3 people I've told (only one's I'm going to tell) support me completely!

:whoo: <-- and I finally get to use this guy!!

Now I just need to figure out what my story's going to be to everyone around me. I'm thinking something with a hiatal hernia, which I have, but I'm not sure what, exactly. I don't want to lie, just be creative with the truth. Maybe...

"Oh, I'm seeing a doctor for stomach problems, and need surgery to fix my hiatal hernia. There's a problem with my stomach's absorbtion levels."

Yeah... it absorbs too much!! And I did see the doc for stomach issues, I may be getting another visit from my friendly Mr. Ulcer. Plus she said, if possible, we can ask the surgeon if he can fix the hernia while he's in there, which is not uncommon around LBT.

My boyfriend supports me 100%; his only concern is how much everything's going to cost. But we'll figure that out.

First step taken. And I'm on cloud 9! :bounce:

[2008er 0]

Good for you! You sound like me - a hyper-prepared kind of person Gotta love it!! I've ben doing weight loss attempt logging, family medical history chart, personal medical history chart, list of potential co-morbidities, the whole works. i wonder what else is in your packet? What's a patient intake report (a list of everything you eat/times/amts)? Maybe I should do that, too. I already saw my PCP, but I have the orientation mtg on Sept 11 and want to be ready to rock n roll as soon as possible.

I hear ya on the "what to say to people" issue - none of their biz, but you know it'll be awkward if you don't have something planned to say. Fortunately (?), I've had GERD-type issues for a couple years, so saying I'm going in for stomach surgery won't surprise too many here at work, but losing 100 pounds might (hee hee!).

I'm SO glad you have your BF's support - mucho importante to have those closest to you (best friend, super close relatives, yada yada) be on your side if at all possible. Hopefully, they truly just want what's best for you. Good luck to you, and I'll be following your journey as well.

~kat

[wombat712 2]

Congrats Wendy!!!!

I had all my forms and printouts that I could possible get when I went as well. I wasn't doing insurance so I got approved and ready for surgery three weeks later. Talk about fast - at least I never got on the fence about changing my mind. By the time I went to the seminar I knew I was committed!

[jfran 0]

Congrats! You will be so happy that you are doing this. I also have not told many people. Now that I have lost 37lbs people are starting to notice the weightloss and want to know what I am doing. I tell them the truth "I am exercising like crazy, eating healthy with more Protein than carb and I drink a ton of Water." I just leave out the part about the band. Those people that were around when I had the surgery just think I have stomach surgery for my GERD and gallbladder which is also true to an extent.

Good luck on your journey and keep us informed of your progress.

[wendy645 1]

Thanks you guys!! NYTrink, a patient intake form is a packet about... er... 20 pages long? It asks you about your medical history, things like if you have support at home, how ling you've been obese, if you are happy with your job, what medications you're on, etc, basically a getting-to-know-all-about-you form. I think that some of it may go toward the psyche eval. Not sure.

I planned it. I'm telling them I was seeing a doctor for GERD and a hiatal hernia and we were testing the waters to see if I needed surgery and if so, we were going to play the insurance company's game. And then, when the weight comes off, I'm eating less, watching what I DO eat, and exercising more. Completely true!

I just pray my ins. won't be jerks about it and just flat-out deny deny deny!