- I waited a bit for the Doctor to come in and visit with me. He was pleasant and mostly straightforward. I can only imagine that he talks to people about this day in and day out, so instead of providing information in advance, he waits to see what questions I have. I told him I was leaning towards the Gastric Bypass and he talked me out of that, said he thought the Sleeve Gastrectomy was better in my situation, age and the results will be just as satisfactory with less complications down the road. This was a very surprising outcome, because I went in thinking one thing and left his office thinking another.
- The 2nd thing the doctor discussed with me was that it was going to take 6 months of visits with him to qualify for the procedure with my insurance. I knew that was going to be a possibility, but here it was in black in white. Quickly my brain started doing the math and I could clearly see I was looking at January before I would be scheduled, and on top of that, new deductible, so my out of pocket was going to become much more. Oh well... Additionally, I asked Dr. K how much weight did he need me to lose? He said there wasn't a set amount, just not to gain any weight. I told him that if I go on a weight loss diet I WILL lose weight, because that's how it works with me...I lose weight pretty fast but then I put it right back on. He said he understood and he didn't want me to lose a lot of weight because then I will no longer qualify for the surgery, Catch-22, right? He wants me to just exercise and try to maintain where I am. It's pretty cool that he understands this issue....is realistic in that we need to have a tool that will help us lose the weight and then we can work on keeping it off.
- He also said he wanted me to visit with a psychologist to make sure I am mentally healthy to take on this huge change
- He also said, because of my weight and age, he recommends a sleep study test. This isn't an insurance requirement, but it is a doctor requirement. He didn't want me not coming out of anesthesia or dying after my surgery because I stop breathing. I know this is probably something I am long overdue for, but I sure was dreading it.
- He then took me over to speak with the insurance specialist and set up appointment for the next 6 visits, talk about out of pocket costs and set up referrals for these other specialists I will need to see.
And this is where it all gets crazy:
- She explained to me once again about the 6 month requirement with 3 consecutive months of visiting with a licensed doctor about weight loss. She said my appointment today counted as the 1st one. I asked her if the visit I had with my primary care physician in June would also count as 2. She pulled up my medical charts and said, YES! Dr. Sur had clearly stated on the visit it was in regards to obesity, YAY! I also saw the doctor in May because of my diabetes and the lovely doctor had mentioned my need to lose weight to stabilize the diabetes! YAY again! She then looked back through my records and had no problem finding 3 more visits where she noted on the visit we discussed my need to lose weight and exercise. Suddenly my 6 month/January projection just changed dramatically!!
- She then told me I needed to have the 2 other appointments with the psychologist and the pulmonary consult and she would send referrals out to them to contact me for an appointment.
- I also will need to meet with their dietitian to go over what I will need to do pre-op, post-op and the weeks and months after.
- And the fun thing is...she took me out to reception after to check out and announced to the ladies there, "This is Shelley and she has already met her 6 month requirement!" They all seemed as surprised as I was!
I head back to work, and about 2 hours later I get a voice message from the psychologists office to schedule my appointment. It's August 1st!! That's only 25 days away! So, hopefully, I will hear from the pulmonary doctor in the next week or 2 and get that appointment too. I hope they aren't too backed up. :(
And, do you think I could concentrate at work this afternoon? Not even a little bit!!
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