Almost there!!!

I called last Thursday and lo and behold, I have been approved for my laparoscopic band surgery!  I found this out by logging onto my insurance site.  They said the status of pre-authorization for me was Approved/Partially Approved.

Huh?  What's the partially part mean?  I called them up and asked and the gal I talked to said there was no partial to it on her screen.  It was approved.  So now I have to sit and wait for my letter to arrive.  The clinic won't take my word for it.  And I don't want to confuse them with the whole "partially approved," thing.  

So here I wait.  And of course today is a federal holiday and thus, NO MAIL.  Oh damn you, Washington and Lincoln!!!

(tapping foot impatiently, waiting for Tuesday night)

The Waiting Game Continues

I called BC/BS yesterday and they indeed have my file and it is under review.  Yay!  I hope that they let me know something soon.  March is Dog Show Month and I want to know what I can plan for and what I can't.  Odds are if I get approved, early March is when the surgery will be.

Truth be told, I can't really afford to do much with dog shows (going to Louisville, especially).  I have to pay my bill for surgeon consultation, which was pretty expensive. I was hoping if I held out, insurance would approve me, then I could resubmit that and get it taken care of without having to pay out of pocket.  Gamble? Lost!  Oh well.  I'll take care of it, but will have to not do any non-essential shopping for awhile.  Sniff, sniff.

But it will be well worth it.

My left foot is killing me from plantar fasciitis.  My joints below the waist are all out of whack from favoring that foot.  I need to walk for exercise, but the more I walk the worse the pain is.  And to make matters worse, I busted my ass tripping on a rock on the walk to my car last night.  Ouch.  I'm home today, resting my poor, achy joints and counting the days until the pain stops as the weight continues to come off. 

I've already lost almost 30 pounds and I really don't feel any improvements physically, aside from my clothes being looser.  But it takes time.  And people have been commenting on how they can actually tell the difference.  So it's all good!

And in spite of my pissy mood yesterday, compounded by my trip and fall, I managed to not go to McDonald's!  Last week was a bad week food-wise for me and I'm proud of the fact that I am making better choices this week and staying on track.  Not rushing to get fries at the first sign of stress.

Wow, things can really change!

Slacker, at least when it comes to updating my blog!

I don't know what is up with me, but I have totally ignored the blogosphere.  Oh, wait.  Part of it is because I spend so much time reading posts at Obesity Help.  That's what, at least 8 hours a day, ha ha.

Anyway, the great news is that I should have my chart forwarded to BlueCross/Blue Shield at any time.  This monday, February 2, 2009, I met my insurance weight loss goal.  According to medical center scales (which print out the proof, I might add!) claim that I have lost 30 pounds. Okay, technically 29.5, but I am rounding up.

I have been waiting for days now to hear from my insurance contact, saying she has sent the info.  Nothing yet.  I'll give her a solid 5 work days to complete it before I become a pox on her behind, annoying her.  I hope that if it goes in next week, I'll hear something by the 20th.  I just want to get a surgery date so I can get on with my life and plan some stuff.  March is "dog show season," and I certainly don't want to blow money on dog registration fees if I'm going to be on the couch recovering.  Ya know?  

It just depends on how fast BCBS is and how heavily booked the surgeon is.

All in all, I am quite happy.  It took me 4 months to lose 24 pounds, but I guess that's not all that bad.  And it is very nice to have clothes that are not like tight sausage casings on me!  If I could just get my joint pain to start fading, I'd be a happy camper!  But that will come in due time.

The countdown begins and I hope all goes quickly!

Getting closer!

I only have two hurdles left until I can submit my paperwork to insurance:  

1.)  lose 7 more pounds

2.)  get my primary care to write my letter of medical necessity

November was quite the whirlwind, between the corgi Nationals, the symposium I organized and bariatric visits.  I had my psych evaluation on the 19th and I think it went well.  She told me at the end that she thought I would do quite well post operatively.  So I guess I passed!

I had a visit with my nurse practitioner this past Monday and that too went well.  She reminded me that the RNY has better results with respect to long term weight loss and improvement/resolution of diabetes.  I told her I was well aware of that, but still felt more comfortable with the band.  Unless, for some reason, it fails me, I would prefer to keep the routing of my intestines as is.  

Though I haven't been exercising in a few weeks because of my really bad viral infection (started in sinuses, worked its way down to my lungs;  just now starting to feel human again), I have no problem with adding exercise to my lifestyle.  I had been doing quite well before Nationals and when I got sick.  After going to the Nationals and seeing the other dogs, I realized Jack needs to drop a few pounds.  Like seriously.  (I knew it before, but seeing dogs at show weight clenched it)  So once we get his nails done, it's off to hit the walking trail.

Looking at the numbers, if you do the band and add exercise to your regime, I think you do just as well as RNYers who don't exercise.  And my take from reading online is that many do not.  My goal is to do agility and Rally with Jack, and I need to have some stamina to do that. I actually WANT to be more active.  So I feel comfortable with my decision to do the band. Again, I'd rather do the sleeve, but because that's not covered by insurance, the band is what I'm going to do.

So I only need between 6-7 pounds of weight loss to file with BC/BS.  I am so thrilled!  That seems like much more of a do-able number than the 27 pounds I started out with.  I was able to get the records to start with 6 pounds lower than initially, and I have LOST 14 pounds since early October.  Wow.  I don't even know how I did that.  Well, I've really cut down on snacking and waiting to eat when hungry.  And if it isn't fabulous (worth the calories), don't eat it.

Can you believe this:  I just threw away a cookie from Panera.  It was probably stale and totally not worth the calories to even see if it was stale.  I have definitely noticed a shift in my thinking when it comes to eating.  This is a good thing and hopefully will help me lose those last few pounds over the coming weeks.   The sooner they are gone, the sooner I can get scheduled!

The nurse said it usually takes 2 weeks to schedule, so she thinks I can lose the weight, get scheduled and be done by late January or early February.  I am hoping for late January, as I want to be well recovered prior to the dog shows in early March.  I want to be able to go and work (for our Nashville cluster), if not show the puppy.  

Fortunately Thanksgiving was no challenge.  I barely ate at all, certainly did not gorge. Didn't have seconds, didn't take home leftovers.  Christmas might be more challenging with all the rampant sweets, but I'll just write the number of pounds left to lose on my hand at and look at that when I reach for a cookie.  Is it worth it?  Really?

And hopefully Monday I will feel well enough to skip riding the God-forsaken shuttle busses and get back to my walking routine.  6.5 pounds--I know I can, I know I can!

Eeeeew!!!

So with my pre-op plan, I have to take lots of vitamin supplements. One is sublingual vitamin B-12. It's a small, pink pill that you let melt under your tongue. It tastes like a chalky, cherry flavored baby aspirin.

Yesterday, I put my little pink pill under my tongue and was like, what gives? This one is bitter and it isn't melting. Blecch! I kept it under my tongue for a minute or so then spat it out. Maybe it was a faulty one or something.

Then, when I went to take the rest of my meds, I realized the B12 was still in my cup. Huh?

Turns out I had put my birth control pill under my tongue instead! Eeeeew, nasty! I need to pay attention about a week and a half each month as that's how long that my bc pills look similar to my vitamins!

Obviously, I need a vacation! : )