candymcclain
I'm 42 years old and have been overweight all of my life. I've been on the roller-coaster for so long. I considered weight loss surgery about 6 1/2 years ago and decided at that time I could do it all by myself. Well here we are today, you know what happened in between. I asked my PCP for a referral in Aug 09. I was completely shut down, I ended up walking out during the visit, and vowed never to return. I promised my self I would change PCP's a 100 times until I found one that would refer me. I started attending informational seminars given by the surgeons in the area. I learned at the 1st one, ask as many questions as you can and talk to as many people as you can. This en lies the answers on how to jump the insurance loop de loop.
I found another PCP and asked for the referral and BINGO. This guy listened to my history, and said that he would support me in any way he could (01/09/10). Just let him know what he needed to do to get me there. His office staff was more than helpful on finding out what I needed.
I was sent for an evaluation by a Nutritionist. I gave her the full life story. BINGO, she signed off with no "6 month supervised diet".
Then came the phsyc eval. I fortunate to be a very normal person who has a weight issue, and made my case with family history. Clue=Not depression, binge eating, or any other type of compulsion. BINGO, this was also signed off.
04/29/10 went to consultation with surgeon. Told him my story, BINGO.
From the time I got the blessing from my PCP to my surgery date is 6 months and 6 days. All of the time which was spent waiting for each appointment. I hope my story has been helpful to those who read it. My advice, be your own advocate, work the system for what it is-a system, and never give up.
