Susan Q.
I have been morbidly obese much of my adult life. I have been down and up on the scale. I have been researching and considering WLS for about 2 years but encountered resistance from my husband when I first mentioned it. When up meant that I was over 300 lbs and my health continued to deteriorate, I decided it was time to do something. While talking on the phone to my childhood "best" friend, I mentioned that my sleep doc had recommended WLS and that I was considering it. Little did I know that she had moved from gastroenterology to bariatrics a couple of years ago. She talked to me about the surgery and strongly encouraged me to consider it. I talked to my husband again and told him that I was going to pursue the surgery because I want to be in better health. He is supporting me in this decision. I am now playing the waiting game on the insurance approval.
Just a little funny. I told my almost 4 year old grandson that I am trying to get an operation so I can lose weight and not be fat anymore. He told me he doesn't want me to get skinny because I won't be soft anymore and he likes me just like this.
February 10, 2006 - I was denied for the lack of a 6 month medically supervised diet within the last 2 years. My doctor had not documented well enough so now I am starting over. A couple of weeks ago, all employees were notified in a letter from our insurance company that they will cover weight loss surgery but that they have strict requirements that must be followed. Of course I had already figured that one out. Now I am starting over with my six months and making sure my doctor documents sufficiently. Another change is that they are now using a program to help people before and after the surgery. The program also requires that you use one of their "Centers of Excellence". Prior to 7-1-06 you can use anyone but after 7-1, you must use one of the centers or they won't pay. Right now the only one they have is in Dallas, which is 5-6 hours away. Hopefully by time I get closer to being ready, they will have one in San Antonio. I wish that I had a better understanding of the program back in August when I started this process so that I could have my surgery in a month or two. Oh well, I guess I can't argue with their insistance on using only facilities and doctors with the best records.
I am now half way through my 6 month supervised program. I really haven't lost any weight but I have made progress on my other goals. There are still just three Centers of Excellence on my carrier's plan. One of the new one's is in Houston, which is about an hour or so closer than Dallas, so I am now scheduled for my seminar on June 7. I will then schedule an appointment with Dr. Scarborough and Dr. Wilson's office. I don't know which doctor I will be seeing. I indicated that either doctor is fine. This sure has turned out to be much more of a process than I ever imagined. However, I guess if you have the resiliancy to carry through, you have indicated that you are serious.
I had my consult with Dr. Scarborough on June 22, which was also my birthday. What a great birthday present. I lack two months on my dr supervised WL plan and am scheduled for my pulmonary and cardiology tests. Hopefully by mid August we can get this submitted and I can get approved in time for surgery in September or October.
I really liked Dr. Scarborough and his staff. I was really concerned about the number of trips to Houston that would be required pre-op but because I live so far, they are going to omit the paperwork review appointment and then when I am approved, they will schedule my pre-op for a Tuesday and the surgery on Wednesday. I have been working on this for so long and am just ready to get the show on the road. I have to keep telling myself that patience is a virtue, but it is really hard when you know that if you don't do something soon that you are going to be on a motorized cart at the grocery store because you simply can't walk on a bum knee anymore.
After 13 months, I am finally approved and have a date, October 25, 2006. It has been getting very hard to remain patient. I was really hoping for the second week of October, but Dr. Scarborough will be out that week and the third week is out because my husband will be on call so that left the 25th. That will give me 5 weeks of recovery before I have to go to Austin on business. Connie seemed to think that would be o.k. So now I will try to focus on getting my desk and house where I want them to be.
October 28, 2006
I am now 3 days post op and feeling well. I got to return to my hotel yesterday, but it was questionable for a while. Following my surgery, Dr. Scarborough reported to my family that "the surgery went very well, almost too good". I can't wait to see him again on Tuesday to let him know that he jinxed me when he said that, LOL.
I say this because the first 10 to 12 hours post surgery were pretty touch and go for me. Twice I quit breathing which caused my heart to begin to stop. I never got far enough to need CPR because my husband was by my side and I was hooked to all the equipment. The alarms would go off and everyone came running, but he was already there trying to wake me up. Of course, I don't remember any of this because I also had a difficult time waking up until 24 hours post surgery. I sort of remember the alarms going off repeatedly but it seems like I thought that the equipment was acting up rather than me. I was quite surprised when I was told that in addition to a multitude of doctors and other professionals, my surgeon had come in during the night to check on me. Heck, I even had two physical therapists there to escort me on my walks, one with a wheelchair. They also made me stay hooked up to the IV and monitors until the morning I went home. CPAP, oxygen and breathing treatments were my best friends. While my day nurses were great, my night nurse was my guardian angel. That first night, she was by my side much of the night. The next night, I realized that she had become protective of me when she ran another worker out of the room telling her that she would be taking care of me. And that she did.
My family and I were extremely impressed by the response and level of care I received. I really can't speak highly enough of the staff at Hermann Memorial in Houston. We heard of a death that occurred in San Antonio during WLS on Tuesday. I don't know who she was, just that she was a sibling of my mother-in-law's art instructor. I also don't know what went wrong. I do know that before my surgery my husband was complaining about having to go all the way to Houston for this surgery when there were doctors in San Antonio. Now he is greatful that my insurance company insisted on one of three facilities in Texas they consider to be the best. He is also greatful for all my research on these facilities and my feeling that Hermann Memorial and Drs. Scarborough and Wilson were the best.
I want to address what happened to me following surgery because I feel it is very important and hopefully, this might help someone else from experiencing what I did. At the root of my problems were my asthma and severe sleep apnea. Although I have been on CPAP for three years, I have still suffered from excessive daytime sleepiness. This was addressed with adjustments in pressure and the drug Provigil. I have known that I yawn alot and have trouble staying awake and because of that, I really feel that I should have undergone another sleep study while on CPAP. However, the one I had three years ago was considered adequate by every doctor I have seen and the insurance company. I believe that had I had a current sleep study while on CPAP, the fact that I still suffer from significant drops in blood oxygen level would have been detected. The first thing I will be doing when I return home next week is to schedule an appointment with my sleep doctor because I may need to have oxygen added to my CPAP. I certainly don't anticipate getting rid of it anytime soon. Hopefully with weight loss, but because of my pre-obesity days, I will not expect it. If it happens great! If not, it keeps me alive. Meanwhile, I will not even take a nap without it.
It's a great day to be alive!
April 27, 2007 It has been six months since my surgery and I have now lost 104 pounds and have a BMI of 31.8. I no longer take blood pressure or cholesterol medicine and feel better than I have in years. My post-op road has been relatively easy and I am so greatful for the new life that this surgery has given me.
May 21, 2011. I am now 4 1/2 years out from my surgery. My blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure are all normal. I haven't used CPAP in 4 years. I usually fluctuate between 140 and 145 lbs. I left my high stress job and now work in a little store down the road from my house and do housekeeping at a local resort, which helps keep me in awesome shape. I could barely work in an office pre-weight-loss, much less do the physical work I do now. I am so grateful for the life that this surgery has given me.
