careylea1
Triple digits, baby!
Nov 12, 2007
Okay, so this is a very big, VERY exciting day for me. Why is that, you ask? Because I hit a major weight loss milestone this morning... I've now officially lost over 100 pounds. Triple digits, baby!!! For around two weeks, I had been on a nasty little plateau, at 99 pounds lost. That STUNK! I was so anxious to get to the 100 pound mark, but every day was the same: 99... 99... 99.... Blaugh! Finally, when I stepped on the scale this morning, I had lost two more pounds, for a total of 101 pounds lost... hallelujah!!! :)
At some point in my life, I think I've tried every mainstream diet available: Atkins, The Zone, South Beach, Weight Watchers... the list goes on & on. In 2003 & 2004, I had a lot of success with medically supervised weight loss. I would see a bariatric physician once a month for a weigh-in, a B-12 shot, and a look over my food diary. In the year I saw Dr. Beeson, I lost between 65 & 70 pounds, which was wonderful. Then, Jason got transferred, we moved to Peoria, IL, and I wasn't thrilled with the move. Jason's job in Peoria got changed at the last minute, and he ended up traveling four days a week, working in a Chicago suburb. So, there I was in a (very cold) city where I knew no one, working a job I didn't like, and without my husband four days a week. Misery loves company, and the only company I had was food. It started small: instead of just ordering a grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo at McDonald's, I would add in the French fries. Then, I would add in a Diet Coke. Then, I went to Dr. Pepper. Before I knew it, I was back to ordering a Big Mac meal with all the trimmings, because it was comfort food. Eventually, Jason & I found a great church, which meant we found great friends - friends we still keep in touch with - but the first few months we lived in Peoria were not good. The moral of that sad tale is that I've never been able to lose a significant amount of weight & keep it off long-term. When I tried Weight Watchers (again, in Peoria, to try to get back on track), I would lose 7 pounds in a week, then a month later, be back to my same old eating patterns. I finally had to admit to myself that I needed to do something more permanent, if I was ever going to have long-term weight loss success... I just wasn't tough enough to do it all on my own. Enter gastric bypass!
I know some people are kinda freaked out by the idea of having a teeny-tiny stomach, and eating little bitty portions of food. Some folks even consider it "unnatural" and swear that the only way to really lose weight is to do it the old-fashioned way. (I know this, because I was once one of those people.) Unfortunately, weight loss just isn't one size fits all, if you'll pardon the pun. :) For me, the old-fashioned way worked well, but only for a while. I needed to do something to break the food addiction once & for all, and allow myself long-term success. Now, less than a year after my surgery, I've lost 101 pounds, and can definitely say the food addiction is broken. I still enjoy the taste of my favorite things, but food for me is all about quality, not quantity. My new addictions are the feeling you get after a really great work-out, the looks my husband gives me, and the feeling of finally being comfortable in my own skin. I can do things now I've never been able to do, even when I was a kid... because I was a chubby kid. :) It's like God is letting me make up for lost time, and I'm loving every minute of it.
One thing my new body is letting me do is to dance. I've always known, somewhere deep inside, that my body wanted to dance, but I just couldn't make it happen. In the community theater production I'm in this weekend, there's real dancing, with real choreography... and I love it! Jason went to a dance rehearsal with me last Tuesday night, and told me how good I was. He even told me, "there's a reason the choreographer put you right in the middle." Okay, I know he's a little biased, but it was still really nice to hear. :) Just doing the play is new territory for me. I loved doing plays in high school - especially musicals - but I had basically stopped performing in the last few years. For one thing, I was just uncomfortable being on stage, because I didn't want people looking at me... I hated the way I looked. For another thing, I just couldn't do musicals any more, because I didn't have enough air to sing, dance, and act all at the same time. Not any more! I had really missed performing, so when this opportunity arose, I decided to put my fears aside, reach out, and grab the chance to do something new & exciting. It's been 10 years since I was in a real play, so this is now a little outside my comfort zone. Surprisingly, though, I am absolutely adoring the opportunity to be "uncomfortable." :)
Thanks so much to all of you who have sent sweet messages and comments since my surgery. I love hearing all the compliments, and knowing how many of you are praying for me. I've still got a little more to lose, but after crossing into the triple digit range, I know I have more than enough momentum to keep going. This is all so AMAZING!!!
I'm tough... GRRRR!
Aug 09, 2007
The first big milestone I hit was a personal goal of mine: I got to wear a silk robe that's been hanging in my closet for a LONG time. In 2004, my husband went on a mission trip to China, and was part of a group that backpacked through the Himalayas, delivering the Gospel to the rural Chinese populous... many of these folks had never even SEEN a "white" person before, so it was quite an experience for everyone involved. One of the gifts my husband brought to me, upon his return to the States, was a GORGEOUS pure silk, navy blue & gold robe. I was working hard to lose weight at that time, so Jason bought the robe a little small, on purpose, thinking it would be nice for me to be able to wear it longer. I started slowly putting the weight back on, however, and the dream of wearing the robe slipped further & further away. Just a couple of weeks ago, though, I began to wonder how close I was to finally wearing that robe; when I tried it on (drumroll, please) IT FIT! My sweet husband was sitting in the living room, and when I walked in wearing the silk robe, grinning from ear to ear, it would be hard to say which of us was more pleased. :) That was a very cool moment.
Along those same, clothing-related lines, I also hit another personal hallmark a couple of weeks ago: I bought my very first non-"women's sized" piece of clothing. Since I was in my teens, every single item of clothing I've purchased has been designated "plus sized" or "women's sized," or has had a "W" on the tag. For the first time ever, I dared to wander into the Misses' section and pick something out to try on... and it worked! Will wonders never cease?
Another big milestone just happened this week: I hit the 80 pound mark. That's right... at 6 months & one week post-op, I could officially say that I'd lost 80 pounds. WOW! It's amazing what a careful diet, regular exercise, and adequate water intake can do. :)
The last big milestone just happened yesterday. I could finally tell that I'm not just getting thinner, but that I'm also getting stronger. For several years now, I've been the proud owner of several Richard Simmons videos (don't laugh... I actually like that little weirdo!). The one I've always had the most trouble with is "Tone & Sweat," which uses elastic cords to tone different muscle groups. I've been able to do nearly the whole video for a while now, but there were still some back & triceps exercises I had to cut out early on... until yesterday! Yesterday, my husband was out of town on business, it was CRAZY hot outside, and I just did NOT feel like leaving the house. So, I skipped Curves & pulled out my old "Tone & Sweat" video, instead... it had been a long time since I'd done that one (my new "Denise Austin Fat Burning Dance Mix" DVD has been the stay-at-home choice as of late). Anyway, I did the entire video, start-to-finish, without missing a beat! That's when I was finally able to tell myself, "I'm tough... GRRR!"
I've been doing much better with my water intake in the last few weeks, and I'm continuing to put healthy things into my body... protein is my friend! I also work out five times a week: my normal routine is to hit Curves on M,W & F, then powerwalk around the neighborhood on T & Th. I always keep exercise videos in the house, though, in case I'm having a stay-at-home day, so I have no excuses to duck out of a work-out. I'm getting healthier & stronger all the time... man, I really AM tough! GRRRRR! :)
It's all good!
Jun 04, 2007
I'm now at the four-months-out mark and I've felt like "me" again for a long while... except now I'm getting to know the best version of "me" there's ever been. I will readily admit, there was a time when I wondered what I'd gotten myself into. The weight wasn't coming off as quickly as I'd hoped, I had a good bit of residual pain, and it finally started to sink in that I'd seriously altered my body... forever. (Sometimes, I almost felt like an alien, with my teeny-tiny stomach and teeny-tiny portions.) When I was at a support group meeting in my sixth week post-op, I mentioned my chief concerns to a woman who had had her surgery around a month before mine. She promised me that in the eighth week, things would get dramatically better... and they did! One day, I just realized, "Hey! My tummy doesn't hurt anymore!" I began exercising again, and building my stamina back up to pre-surgery levels, and with the increased exercise, the weight really started to drop off. Plus, I just flat-out got smarter with my eating. For a while, I was trying to eat anything & everything I liked, just in smaller portions. (I think I was suffering from a bit of separation anxiety!) I've started eating more healthfully, and feel SO much better! Take tonight, for example: I fixed my husband chicken parmesan, but I had a little salad with some grilled chicken on top. I really love the taste of chicken parmesan, and was quite tempted to have a bit. But, I knew the chicken - which had been breaded & lightly fried - wouldn't like me back, and neither would the pasta. (Carbs are NOT my friends!) I was able to resist the temptation, because I wanted to avoid feeling miserable later. That kind of discipline is so new to me, it still scares me a little. :) Who IS this chick in my mirror?!
One of my biggest struggles at this point - if you can really call it that - is dealing with all the attention & compliments. I've always liked receiving compliments, so this is weird for me. I think part of it is that, in my head, I'm still chubby. I know most women would be mortified if they ever reached the weight I still am right now. That's why hearing, "You look fantastic!", especially from my thinner friends, is a little strange. I know it's all relative, but it's still a little bizarre to hear all the time. Nice, but bizarre. I've been called "Skinny Minnie," "Teeny Weeny," and "The Incredible Shrinking Woman," just to name a few. Perhaps it's because I'm just impatient to see what I'll look like when I'm at goal, but anyone calling me those names, when I still have such a long way to go, just seems ridiculous. :) This past week, I got to see my family back home in MO, most of whom I hadn't seen in a while. The shocked looks and compliments just kept on comin', and I felt like I was perpetually blushing. If everyone is this excited about the new me, only 60 pounds into my journey, imagine what's still in store!
I'm very happy with the way my post-surgery life is going. I need to learn to drink more water, but other than that, I'm sticking with my doctor's orders, and reaping the benefits... praise God for leading me to this surgery, and giving me the strength to endure the first few difficult weeks. I inputted my new numbers on obesityhelp.com, and my BMI is low enough now, I don't even qualify for surgery anymore! I'm now officially the smallest I've ever been as as adult, even smaller than I was in Jr. High! And best of all, I feel fantastic. With all those blessings, and all the support of my friends & family - especially my church family - I am positively glowing. :)
Now what?
Feb 14, 2007
I'm afraid my sanity is hanging on by a very thin thread.
Jason is still great. My family is still great. My friends are still great. My life is still great. The only conclusion I can draw, then, is that the problem is me. My surgery was two weeks ago, yesterday, and I'm in that "much better, but still not quite well" phase. This phase stinks. I keep over-doing it, because I feel like such a loser, just sitting around & waiting for my body to heal. Poor Jason has been a super-busy engineer lately (he worked a 15 hour day on Monday), so he's just not around very much. Last week, my mom was still here to keep me company, but this week, I'm going it alone... I'm kinda sick of going it alone. I was also sick of sitting in the living room, mentally cataloging all the house-cleaning that needed to be done. (I'm a nut about keeping my house clean.) I scrubbed the house down the day before my surgery, but that's been more than two weeks ago. Since Jason is too busy to come home & clean, I had two choices: keep on sitting in the living room, mentally cataloging & going crazy, or just get up & do something. Yesterday, I finally snapped & decided to clean house. Yikes. I cleaned with one hand for two hours, while I clutched my stomach with the other. Not smart. I'm definitely paying for it today... I feel just as sore as I did when I came home from the hospital a week-and-a-half ago. So... I kinda feel like I'm back to square one. And I don't like it.
So, I ask, "Now what?" Just because I want to be up & around again doesn't mean I should be. But, for the purposes of sanity, I really feel like I need to be doing something. I hate this in-limbo stage. I have some plans for tonight - and for this weekend - that I really think might be too ambitious, but that I still refuse to cancel. Jason & I obviously can't go out this evening for Valentine's Day, so I'm going to cook him his favorite dinner. This will be the first time I've cooked since before surgery, so I'm anxious to see how I hold up. On Friday night, we're having two friends over for dinner. Our friends Brian & Shannon will both be by themselves that night (Brian's wife & kids are visiting family in Canada, and Shannon's wife & daughter are visiting family in Atlanta). Our three families - the Beckerdites, the Lingles, and the McFarlins - have a long-standing tradition of feeding solo spouses, so I'm determined to keep the tradition alive. Before my surgery, I made some main courses and froze them, to make it easier on myself during the recovery process. On Friday night, I'll pull out the Poppy-Seed Chicken, then all I have to add is a salad, something starchy (noodles?), some bread, and a dessert. That's not too bad. On Saturday, I'll be cooking breakfast for our Sunday School class, then Sunday morning is church. On Sunday afternoon, we're inviting the guys from the college Sunday School class my husband teaches to come over & watch the Daytona 500. (The guys like to watch major sporting events here at our house, because they enjoy the surround sound.) Although I don't have to sit & watch the game with all the fellas, I am going to be making them dinner that night. The class Super Bowl party was the Sunday after my surgery, so I definitely didn't feel like cooking for our students... we cheated & called Pizza Hut. This time, I'm going to make big, baked sandwiches. I'll be having clear liquids, of course. :)
As badly as I want to be up & moving, I'm still a little nervous about all the stuff I have planned. Knowing how gross I feel this morning - after my cleaning spree yesterday - I'm afraid I'm going to over-do it this weekend & set my recovery even further behind. Once again, I have to ask, "Now what?"
Recuperation.
Feb 11, 2007
Whew! Recuperation is taking longer than I had expected!
I knew the doctors kept using the term "major surgery" to refer to my laproscopic gastric bypass, but I was completely unprepared for just how down I would be after surgery, or for how long.
All my pre-op stuff went very well, except that Dr. Mejias' office was absolutely overflowing with patients. The day I was scheduled for pre-op - Thursday, January 25 - was one of the first days Dr. Mejias' staff was using a new computer system. Things got a little flubbed up, and they ended up having patients show up for appointments who were nowhere in the computer. It was frustrating to have to wait so long (I was there from 10:30am to 12:45pm, for a 10-minute "Are you ready?" chat with Dr. Mejias and 10 minutes with Janet, singing forms), but I mostly felt sorry for Dr. Mejias & his staff. It was obvious how stressful the whole situation was for them. After Dr. Mejias' office, it was off to St. Mary's for a long talk with a nurse (she took a health history & made sure I knew what I was getting myself into), a chat with the anesthesiologist, a urinalysis, blood work, and a couple of chest X-rays. All in all, it was pretty painless, so all my worry was for nothing!
My husband, Jason, and I stayed in Athens on Monday night, January 29, because we had to be at the hospital bright & early at 6:30am on January 30 (surgery was scheduled at 8:00am). Since Athens is over an hour from home, we decided to get a room the night before, and make surgery day as easy as possible on both of us. I was pretty nervous when we arrived at the hospital, but Jason did an excellent job of keeping me calm. Before I knew it, I was in a gown & wearing some dang sexy support stockings. (I kept those babies for a really hot Valentine's Day.) A nurse came in to start my IV and, after two tries, gave up and sent me on to the OR's pre-op room. In that room, I was stuck an additional SIX TIMES before my IV could be started, for a total of EIGHT STICKS. Yuck. My arms (and hands) are still black-and-blue. I know it wasn't their fault... I have deep veins, anyway, but expecially after the bowel prep I had just done the night before (those are some strong laxatives!), I know I was dehydrated. That just made finding a vein even harder. As soon as the IV was started, they started giving me happy medicine, and I don't remember anything else for several hours. I was told that laproscpoic gastric bypass can take 3 - 4 hours, if everything goes well, and up to 5 or 6 hours, if there are complications. My procedure went so flawlessly, I was in & out of the OR in 2 hours flat. Hooray, Dr. Mejias & Janet! Talk about an answer to prayer... it was so nice to wake up sometime Tuesday afternoon & hear how well everything had gone. At that point, I was on some pretty high doses of Morphine, so I went right back to sleep again.
I was up & walking by Wednesday morning, because I had to have an upper G.I. in the radiology department, most of which I slept right through (the Morphine just kept on comin'!). By Thursday, I was walking around the hospital floor several times a day, and on Friday, I was allowed to go home. Can I just tell you how AMAZING my husband was through all this? He slept in a skinny little hospital-issue recliner every night, and only left my side when he needed to go find food... even then, he tended to wait until I was asleep, so I wouldn't know he was gone. I wanted everything quiet, so poor Mr. Jason couldn't even watch TV or pop in one of the movies we brought along. He was an incredible support: encouraging when I needed encouragement, and a rock when I just needed to whine. I can't imagine how miserable I would have been if anyone else had been there instead of him.
As I mentioned, I really wasn't prepared for how much pain I would be in, or how dependent I would be on Jason for everything... that's why our original plans for Jason to drive to Atlanta on Saturday, February 3, to pick my mom up at the airport, were completely scrapped. Our friends, the Lingles, volunteered to pick my mom up in Atlanta, and gave up nearly their entire Saturday, because my mom's flight was delayed out of KCI. The Lingles are wonderful friends.
Having my mom here in Toccoa for a solid week was fantastic. She ran, she fetched, she cleaned.... The only thing she didn't have to do was cook, because our AMAZING set of Toccoa friends brought dinner in every night for a solid week. From lasagna to potato soup to honey-almond chicken, my little family was well taken care of. I hadn't expected that kind of gift at all, but my friend Hannah decided to organize the meals; each woman she called told Hannah a story about some way I had helped her in the past, and said they were thrilled to have a chance to help me now. I cried & cried. :)
Mom & I mostly spent our time keeping up with my 15 CCs of clear fluids every 15 minutes, watching re-runs of old sitcoms, & napping. It wasn't exciting, but I couldn't imagine being alone all day during the first week Jason returned to work. Mom took very good care of me, just as I expected, and I continued to get a little stronger every day. In fact, I was beginning to feel kinda like me again... until Thursday. On Thursday, Mom had to take me back to Athens for a follow-up appointment with Dr. Mejias. We were in the car for nearly three hours, round trip. For a girl who had been down for more than a week, that was a lo-o-ong day! My mom was so excited to have me back up & around, I agreed to go with her to Belk & Wal-Mart on Friday. (I loved how thrilled she was at my progress & didn't want to disappoint her.) The big Friday excursion was a definite mistake. Belk wasn't so bad... I just needed the Clinique counter, which is at the front of the store. Wal-Mart, on the other hand, required a lot of walking that I just wasn't ready for. So, on Friday, February 9, I took a little bit of a turn for the worst, but I got to revocer by taking it pretty easy Saturday. On Saturday, February 10, Jason & I drove Mom back to the airport in Atlanta - it was actually a pretty comfortable ride - then Jason worked all afternoon while I rested.
Mr. Jason just got home from church, and is going to be home with me all afternoon... yay! I stayed home this morning and took a shower all by myself! (Only in the context of my recent surgery is that exciting news.) I'm going to rest today and, hopefully, feel even better next week. Recuperation is a long process, but I'm pleased to report that the worst of it is all behind me.
MUCH Better!
Jan 19, 2007
Just yesterday, I posted a blog expressing my extreme frustration with my insurance company, UHC, because of the last two phone conversations I've had with their representatives. Even yesterday afternoon, the fine folks at UHC were telling me on the phone they had no record of any request for WLS being faxed to them from Dr. Mejias' office. I called Janet this morning to discuss the issue, and found out she was going to be in training all day. That meant that I was just going to have to deal with the frustration of not knowing anything until at least Monday morning. That's when God decided to do some BIG things.
Around 12:15 this afternoon, my husband came in from the mailbox, laughing hysterically. When I asked him what was so funny, he handed me the letter he was holding. It was an official notice from UHC that my WLS had been approved. Just like that. As of yesterday, no one at UHC had any idea who I was or what kind of surgery I wanted, but by noon today, I had an official approval in my hot little hand. I think that was a clear case of God letting me get frustrated so I would have no choice but to turn to Him... there's absolutely no way I can say, "Boy, I sure cleaned this mess up!" I had no choice but to go to my Heavenly Father, and He did some amazing things for me today. Janet called me a little after 4:00 this afternoon and told me I could have surgery as early as January 30th, if I wanted to. I definitely wanted to, so I'm scheduled for RNY at 8:00am on January 30, 2007. HALLELUJAH!!!
This upcoming Thursday, January 25th, I'll meet with Dr. Mejias at 10:15am, then it'll be off to St. Mary's for all my pre-op stuff. I know it'll involve some needles and other things I don't really care for, but I'm just so anxious to get the surgery part of this process over with, I don't even care. I know the first week after surgery is AWFUL, and it takes a L-O-O-ONG time until you really feel "well" again. I'm so glad to actually have a surgery date, so I can get through all the yucky stuff and start working on my new, healthy self. Yahoo!
My mom bought a plane ticket today, so she could come be with me after the surgery. My husband will be off work the week of my RNY, then my mom will arrive the Saturday after surgery, on February 3rd. She'll stay an entire week and will go home on February 10th. I'm so happy to have all this support... what a HUGE blessing!
Okay, my husband and I are off to a party. I'm going to try to focus on the party itself tonight, but I'm pretty sure there will still be at least a little part of me still silently celebrating my good news today... I have a SURGERY DATE!!!
GRRRRR....
Jan 18, 2007
I e-mailed Janet, the Bariatric Coordinator & Dr. Mejias' nurse, last Friday, before my husband & I left town, and told her I wouldn't be reachable for the next several days. I did ask, however, that she please, PLEASE call my cell phone during the week, if she heard anything from insurance - or if she had anything new to report. I promised to check my messages just as soon as I stepped off the boat, which I did this morning, and I had no new messages from Janet. That's certainly not a problem, if she hadn't heard anything from insurance, or if she had nothing new to report, but it did make me curious. My insurance company reserves the right to look over my file for 15 business days, and Janet told me she thinks she submitted my information to UHC on December 22nd. (She was away from her desk when we discussed dates, but she was able to pinpoint the Friday before Christmas, which would have been the 22nd.) If my information was actually faxed to UHC on the 22nd, then 15 business days (not counting Christmas, New Year's Day or MLK Day) would have been yesterday, January 17th. So, since Janet obviously didn't have anything to report, that meant UHC was over their alotted 15 day limit. I called UHC directly on our way home this afternoon; that's when I started to go from frustrated to really ticked. UHC is STILL claiming they've never received anything from Dr. Mejias' office. Nothing. At all. As I mentioned in my last blog, I called the insurance company a week ago today, and they were claiming to have never received any information from Dr. Mejias' office. (They had already called Janet and requested additional information to supplement my file, so the idea that they've never received anything from Dr. Mejias' office is ridiculous.) I fully expected everything to be ironed out by the time I called today, given they'd had a full week to "find" my file. When I tried one last time to reach Janet this afternoon - after just hanging up with my insurance company - I realized Dr. Mejias' offices had just closed for the day. I really, really hope I can find something out tomorrow, because this whole mess is starting to get to me.
On a MUCH happier note, our cruise was absolutely fantastic. In fact, it was so over-the-top fabulous, I absolutely didn't even THINK about my upcoming WLS. I was worried that the surgery would still be so forefront in my mind, I wouldn't be able to really let go & relax. WRONG! For the last six days, I truly haven't had a care in the world. My husband and I could not have been more pleased with our romantic Bahamian getaway... the hardest part of the trip was getting off the boat this morning, knowing reality was lurking right around the corner. :)
I'll be sure to post more information when I have it... and I'm definitely praying I have it SOON!
Almost gone....
Jan 11, 2007
I had to call my insurance company today, about something totally unrelated to my upcoming WLS, and while I had them on the phone, I asked if they had any information about how my WLS approval was progressing. The lady I was speaking with spent nearly five minutes looking things up in her computer, and finally told me she couldn't find anything about my WLS approval at all... not a thing. As far as she knew, no doctor's office had ever submitted any information to them at all about me having WLS. Here's the funny thing, though: as I mentioned in my last blog, the insurance company called Janet earlier this week to request documentation from a doctor about my weight in 2002. If they truly don't have my case in their files, why on earth would they call Janet back & ask her for more information? As Janet put it, "Either they actually DO have the file, or they have an amazing sense of telepathy!"
I spoke with Janet this afternoon, and she promised she would take care of this latest development. I'm so glad to have her on my side... especially since I won't be here next week. My husband & I leave for our cruise early Saturday morning. I'll be out-of-pocket all next week, so it's nice to know I'll have Janet back home, knocking all these curve balls out of the park.
I went to my favorite day spa today (for a tanning appointment), and I'll be back at the spa again tomorrow for one more tanning session, blonder highlights in my hair (it's the tropics, baby!), and a manicure and pedicure. I also picked up our dry-cleaning this afternoon, with all our fancy formal clothes. This whole week feels a LOT like the week before my husband & I left for Acapulco, last February. Besides just the big count-down, and all the preparation, it feels surreal to be wearing a sweater and boots, but packing bathing suits & flip-flops. Crazy!
Okay, I'm off to start getting a few things in my suitcase - like all the fun little travel-sized toiletries I love to buy for vacations... little-bitty bottles of shampoo & conditioner just make you feel like you're about to take a really great trip! On Saturday morning, we're gone!
Surprise!
Jan 09, 2007
On Monday, January 8th, Janet from Dr. Mejias' office called to tell me the insurance company needed some information. Evidently, they wanted some documentation from a doctor I saw in 2002 that had my weight listed. I guess they want to know my weight from five years ago so they can prove a pattern of obesity, but that was still some pretty hard information to come by.
The family doctor I saw in 2002 has since retired, and I had no luck contacting him. I called my amazing husband - who is brilliant - and explained the situation to him. After pondering for a minute, my husband suggested I call my gynecologist in Missouri. I loved my gynecologist in Missouri so much that when we were transferred to Georgia in May, 2002 (for my husband's job), I still traveled back to Missouri once a year for my annual appointment. I called the gynecologist's office IMMEDIATELY and found out that, because of stricter patient privacy protection, I would have to fill out a medical records release form. (Yay. ANOTHER step.) I had them fax the form to my husband, I ran to his office to fill it out, and we faxed it right back. So, all that was left was for my doctor's office in Missouri to fax the 2002 document to Dr. Mejias' office... I'm REALLY hoping that little task was accomplished on that same afternoon. I e-mailed Janet today, to see if she had received the medical records, but I haven't heard back from her yet. I'm glad I got everything on my end done in just an afternoon, but leaving the rest up to the gynecologist's office staff in Missouri makes me a little nervous. To me, time is of the essence... the sooner Janet receives the information about my weight in 2002, the sooner she can forward it on to the insurance company, and the sooner I get approval. Even though every day counts to me, I'm sure the gynecologist's office staff in Missouri has more important things to do than go searching through my old files... I hope I haven't been back-burnered.
Here's hoping everything is moving quickly, and my insurance approval process is still on track. Wasn't I the same girl who said - just a few days ago - that I didn't want to worry about insurance approval?! :)
On a happier note, we leave for the cruise in five short days! Hallelujah!!!
The Waiting Game
Jan 05, 2007
I told myself I wouldn't worry... that I would just keep myself busy, and NOT dwell on what's going on with the insurance company. Here I am, though, wide awake at 1:30am, so I guess the whole "not worrying" thing isn't really working for me.
I talked to my surgeon's office a couple of days ago & found out that all my information was submitted to insurance on December 22nd. The insurance folks reserve the right to deliberate for 15 business days, so with all the holidays in the past couple of weeks, we should know something no later than January 18th. My very sweet husband planned a cruise for us from January 13th through the 19th, which sounded like a great idea when he announced his plans. The theory was, we'd go away for a week, relax, and take my mind off the coming surgery. As we close in on my potential surgery date (the doctor estimates it could be as soon as January 23rd... yikes!), I'm a little worried I'll be so proccupied with WLS, I won't be able to relax on the ship. My husband & I are both praying hard that I'll be able to hand all this over to God & just focus on celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary with my husband.
I'm really hoping that my next post will have good news... like insurance approval & a surgery date!
