Dare I hope this is going better than expected?

After I attended the weight loss surgery informational seminar earlier this month I started right in on all of the paperwork, and I won't lie, it was A LOT of paperwork to fill out but it could have been worse.  I contacted my OB/GYNs office and also my family nurse practitioner's office and requested that any records or office notes that list my weights be forwarded to the bariatric surgery nurse coordinator.  I was honestly thinking it would take a while but it actually has been very quick.  Everyone I have had to speak to by phone or email so far has been very nice and very accommodating.  The bariatric RN gathered all of my weight data and she not only talked to the insurance company but also contacted my nurse practitioner for a letter of medical necessity for the surgery and a referral to the surgeon, so I guess that step, I can say, came together nicely and much quicker than I thought it would. I was worried because my BMI range was not always over 40 during the last two years, which is what the insurance company wants, but I guess they will attribute the times my BMI was under 40 to times I was actively dieting.  As soon as the referral is received by the surgeon's office I can go in for my initial appointment with him.  There are many steps to take after that before the actual surgery and I'm sure things won't keep going this smoothly, but so far this is going well.

First step...Check

I attended a weight loss surgery seminar at the hospital last night.  It is the first requirement, the first step in starting the process of getting weight loss surgery.  The bariatric program is at the hospital I work at and it is an all inclusive program, all of the specialties a patient needs to see during the pre-op phase, the surgery itself and the hospitalization, and all of the post-op follow up care are done on site.  All of the team members were there, the nurse who is the bariatric surgery coordinator, the exercise consultant, the nutritionist, and the surgeon.  All of the members of the team got up in front of our little group and gave their presentation, I'll be honest I have been researching weight loss surgery for months and maybe even years off and on and nothing they told me about the surgery itself was new information to me.  It was helpful to hear how the process works, all the appointments that need to be done to get clearance for surgery and things that will  happen post-op were all nice to hear about.  The biggest take away I got is to have patience.  Nothing about this process is going to be speedy.

My medical insurance is going to make this very difficult for me.  I have been obese my entire life, I can diet and lose weight but the weight always comes back on.  I don't feel as bad about this since talking to the bariatric nurse who said this is typical of all of their patients.  Hence, my BMIs are all over place if looked at over time.  The insurance requires a documented BMI of over 40 for 2 years.  Obviously I don't have that because my BMI has dipped down to the mid to upper 30's at various times in my life (35 is still classified as morbidly obese).  The only way the insurance will cover a BMI of 35 or greater is with some very specific co-morbidities, none of which I have.  Apparently the health system I work for just came up with this new policy and sprung it on the bariatric team with no notice.  They also require a medically supervised 6 month diet, which to me is so stupid.  I know I can lose weight, they can look at documented weights for me my whole life and see I can lose weight, I just can't keep it off.  The bariatric team is not happy about the new policy and has met with "the powers that be" from the health system we work at to see if this can be changed.  Hopefully they will see reason.  I'd hate to think they would willingly tell me to stay morbidly obese with a BMI of over 40 until I reach the 2 year mark and then proceed with surgery.  How detrimental to my health will that be?  Just makes me shake my head.    I'm sure there is an appeals process if we get to that point, but they may not budge.  There is also the option of medical tourism and having surgery in Mexico, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it!!

Anyway, for now it's lots and lots of paperwork to fill out, pulling together old medical records with documented weights, and then setting up the initial appointment with the surgeon and the doctors.  I will keep pressing on and pushing toward this goal.