We walked in to a very welcoming Dr. McMahon and Dani, the nutritionist.I decided to grab an information packet just to have something to read during the seminar. We sat through an hour presentation where Dr. McMahon mentioned several times that obesity is a disease. That really hit home for me and every minute that went by I was more convinced to look further into weight loss surgery as an option for me. At this point, J had all of his paperwork filled out for the doctor's office to check insurance benefits and to take the next steps. The seal on the deal was the patients that they came in to talk about their real life experiences was a husband and wife team. Now, I had my paperwork filled out and wanting more information.
Once we got home, we now had the task on choosing which type of weight loss surgery we were interested in. J originally wanted to get the lap band, I was turned off by having something foreign in my body. The roux-en-y gastric bypass also seemed to be a little too evasive for me. Therefore, our last option seemed to be the best, the vertical sleeve gastrectomy. This is where the surgeon basically goes in and removes part of your stomach reducing the size of your stomach and making you feel fuller faster.
Within a week of the seminar, we heard back from the doctor's office (it was probably much quicker than usual because J was pretty persistent) our health insurance does in fact cover the cost of the surgery as well as the tests leading up to the procedure, we are only responsible for the deductible. We are now doing the happy dance and begin scheduling the next appointments that are needed.
Together we go in to Dr. McMahon's office to meet with the dietitian, medical provider for a complete physical and in depth discussion about why we chose which procedure we did. We also met with the nurse/social worker who discussed the next step of the process and scheduled up coming appointments. At this appointment, they usually have a psychological exam completed, but that doctor was on vacation so that was another appointment we made for the future. The other upcoming appointments we made were for a full panel of blood work, a blood gas test, and endoscopy. J also had to see another doctor due to acid reflux and I had to go in for a sleep study because I answered one to many questions yes on the sleep apnea questioner.
We completed all of the above appointments, J before I. Once all of J's appointments were complete and the decision was made for him to not have the sleeve done but to have the Roux-en-Y, the nurse we met with at the first appointment then submitted his file to the insurance for a pre approval. About 4 days later he has a response of a YES! He then scheduled his surgery for June 12th, 2012. I completed my sleep study which showed that I had a very slight case of sleep apnea. I was given the option to have my tonsils removed or to wear a C-pap machine. I opted for the removal of the tonsils due to I get really bad strep several times each year. Once that decision was made, I was submitted to insurance and had a YES! only two days later. I then went and scheduled my tonsil removal for July 13th, 2012 and my Sleeve for August 13th, 2012.
That leads us to today and the beginning of my three week pre-op diet.
It is our desire to share our story and hopefully inspire others to make a difference to become healther!
Hope you follow us on this journey of 2 Fatties to 2 Fitties!
Within a week of the seminar, we heard back from the doctor's office (it was probably much quicker than usual because J was pretty persistent) our health insurance does in fact cover the cost of the surgery as well as the tests leading up to the procedure, we are only responsible for the deductible. We are now doing the happy dance and begin scheduling the next appointments that are needed.
Together we go in to Dr. McMahon's office to meet with the dietitian, medical provider for a complete physical and in depth discussion about why we chose which procedure we did. We also met with the nurse/social worker who discussed the next step of the process and scheduled up coming appointments. At this appointment, they usually have a psychological exam completed, but that doctor was on vacation so that was another appointment we made for the future. The other upcoming appointments we made were for a full panel of blood work, a blood gas test, and endoscopy. J also had to see another doctor due to acid reflux and I had to go in for a sleep study because I answered one to many questions yes on the sleep apnea questioner.
We completed all of the above appointments, J before I. Once all of J's appointments were complete and the decision was made for him to not have the sleeve done but to have the Roux-en-Y, the nurse we met with at the first appointment then submitted his file to the insurance for a pre approval. About 4 days later he has a response of a YES! He then scheduled his surgery for June 12th, 2012. I completed my sleep study which showed that I had a very slight case of sleep apnea. I was given the option to have my tonsils removed or to wear a C-pap machine. I opted for the removal of the tonsils due to I get really bad strep several times each year. Once that decision was made, I was submitted to insurance and had a YES! only two days later. I then went and scheduled my tonsil removal for July 13th, 2012 and my Sleeve for August 13th, 2012.
That leads us to today and the beginning of my three week pre-op diet.
It is our desire to share our story and hopefully inspire others to make a difference to become healther!
Hope you follow us on this journey of 2 Fatties to 2 Fitties!
Congrats on your new journey and thank you for sharing it. I know you will do amazing. Best wishes on your upcoming surgery.
ReplyDelete