Yay!!! Finally starting the process!!!

[wendy645 1]

I quit my job for many reasons, but a big one was that my insurance laughed at the thought of preventive or mental health. For instance, they covered fills but not the surgery. And nobody needs to talk to anyone or take meds for depression, whatchu talkin' bout, Willis? Not covering the surgery even though I had two doctors who recommended it irked me enough, but the mental thing, well, if you're reading this you understand the mental toll of being obese.

So I left my job and enrolled myself in state insurance which covers it after doctor supervised weight loss. Plus, I'm now enrolled in the mental health part of it, which is helpful on many levels.

There are two state insurance options in Arizona, one of which requires a 12-month supervised diet, and the other requires a 6-month supervised diet. We found out I'm on the one that's only 6 months! :drool:

I had my first appointment to talk about weight loss Saturday. I don't know if they do date or month in general, but I wanted to make sure I had one in January as soon as I was on the new insurance! The last day, but technicalities are the base of any legal/paperwork process so I got that January visit in! hehe

I didn't know that having rather good health (all things considered) to begin with was a good thing in the eyes of the insurance company so I- *gulp*- hyperventilated before they took my vitals so my BP was higher than usual. It still ended up only being 127/84. Or was it 124/87? I don't remember.

But once I saw the doc, she told me that actually, being in decent health with some budding problems made me an ideal candidate (love that term! :tongue:), because recovery would be easier on me than someone who already had lots of issues, and my age put me in a better position as well because I had more time to benefit from it. I felt silly for faking higher blood pressure. heh. Then again it puts it at pre-hypertensive, which also looks good to nip in the bud.

So I'm on my way! Got one appointment down, my next one scheduled. I also found out I have an ulcer and got meds to treat it, and the referral to the bariatric surgeon for a little later. I'm looking at Dr. Berger in Flagstaff since Page, my hometown, is only 2½ hours from there but to Phoenix it's 5. It really hit me how big I am when I looked at what she wrote- "Morbid Obesity- BMI over 46". Wow.

I'm so excited! I just need to figure out how to support myself on the income limits to stay on insurance. But that will come in time with faith in the universe/higher power :thumbup:

So I had to share! After the crushing denial from my insurance company I ditched them (and a stressful job) and am taking slow steps toward this monumental step in bettering my life! Yay!!!

[ashleysara 0]

Hah, love that cartoon :tongue: I think its great that you are doing this for yourself and it will be worth it even if you have to jump through a few hoops :thumbup: