It Begins...

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -Confucious

My name is Angelica, but most people call me "Angel" for short. I am twenty seven years old, and morbidly obese. In addition, I have several co-morbid conditions (diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, polycystic ovary syndrome, and high blood pressure). I've been looking into gastric bypass surgery for over a year, mainly gathering information about the surgery, the benefits, the risks, and possible complications. I'm scared about the prospect of the risks and complications, but at the same time, I'm more afraid of what will happen to me if I do not lose weight. While I realize that nothing associated with this procedure will be easy, I feel that I am ready to do whatever it takes to lose this weight, once and for all.

To start the process, I called my insurance company to see what was covered with respect to bariatric surgery. According to my insurance company, in order to qualify for a covered bariatric weight loss procedure I have to meet several conditions. For starters, my BMI, or Body Mass Index, must be 40 or higher, or over 35 with other co-morbid conditions. A co-morbid condition is a medical condition in a patient that causes, is caused by, or is otherwise related to another condition in the same patient. Well, I meet this condition for sure. I currently have a BMI of 45.3, in addition to several comorbid conditions. Next, I have to complete six months of a physician supervised diet and exercise program. It's actually seven months because the first visit doesn't count. During this time, I have to be sure to see the doctor every thirty days. I cannot miss an appointment, or I'll have to start over again. Over the six month period the doctor must record the diet and my progress or lack of progress. When that period is over, all of the information will be sent to the insurance company with a request for approval for the surgery.

I wanted to ask if they also cover a procedure for the removal of excess skin after the weight loss, but the customer service rep. that I got on the line seemed rather rude and kept referring me to to look online at the Blue Cross website. I tried to explain to her that I had done that, but that our benefits booklet had not yet been uploaded and therefore was not available to me, but she kept insisting that I look online. I decided that I was most likely not going to get anywhere by talking to her, so I hung up the phone and found an F.A.Q. at the Blue Cross website about the gastric bypass surgery requirements, but that is all that I've found so far. If I cannot find anything else tonight, I'll call back tomorrow, and hopefully get a different CSR.

I did call and make an appointment for a surgery consult last week, and today I called and made an appointment with my primary care physician so that I can speak to him about getting started on this six month diet and exercise program. My surgery consult is on April 28, and my appointment with my PCP (Primary Care Physician) is on April 23. I have a list of questions that I saw here and decided to print out to ask the surgeon. In addition, I want him to explain everything to me, from start to finish. I'm excited, and can hardly wait to get started.