Bariatric "Light Weight", The Process - West Columbia, SC

The Game:


1/9/2016 I attended the first free seminar. Although it was informative for some, for me it was just a step towards surgery that I was required to take. Prior to the event and choosing the facility , I had logged countless hours of research. So I gained no new information.


1/29/2016 The consult/first official visit. On this visit I had several appointments rolled into one . Met with the surgeon. Very quickly we discussed what my goals were , and what procedure I was interested in. He then gave me his recommendation. Which was the same as mine(duh). My second stop was the nutritionist. She asked about what I eat and when. Also asked me to point about my food weaknesses. Then she came up with some simple small changes to make . Third was those labs, ughhh I hate needles. The technician was horrible, or my veins were , who knows. From what I later saw on my medical claims a cbc along with a laundry list of other test were ran. The dietician was my next to last step. Not much of a discussion there. I was provided with a meal plan to start immediately. Just when I thought it was over I was sent to a scheduler, to set up my upper gi. I missed that in my research. All together it took about 2 hours. #226


2/16/2016 First weight management class (behavioral modification). Not much to say here , a group of people led by the dietician, discussed portion control. We were weighed prior to the class starting , and given a worksheet to follow on portions. #222


2/17/2016 Upper GI. First let me say I am a researcher when it comes to things I want. Knowledge is power right? Wrong when I do things like look up procedures I'm going to have I drive myself into a state of panic. I tried not to do this here. I did briefly glance at it online , just to get an idea of what was going to happen. I had to be at the hospital at 6:00 am (I live an hour away), check in and give a urine sample. By this time my stomach was in knots. Went upstairs was asked to undress and put my clothes in a bag. The nurse then asked a few medical questions, and wanted to know why I was pursuing VSG when I'm "not that big". She was nice so I gave a quick polite response and prepared for the iv. I HATE NEEDLES, but I rationalized with myself that the needle was the hardest part of the day, and once that was over I could relax . So they got me all hooked up in about 5 minutes, rolled me back to the procedure room. I was then sprayed in the mouth with a numbing agent , fitted with a mouthpiece and given oxygen. The next thing I remember is waking up. I had a little irritation in my throat later that day , but was perfectly fine.


2/18/2016 Psychiatric Evaluation (also my daughters 3rd birthday). This appointment was remote. We used a program called Vsee. Prior to the appointment I had to fill out an online assessment consisting of about 500 questions. We discussed , life , my childhood, and my relationship with food and why I chose surgery. She was very polite and pleasant , and also gave me a little "homework". Her name is Connie Stapleton, and wrote a book "eat it up" , and has several web videos on food, breaking the bond, and life after surgery. She told me before the end of our conversation that in her opinion she feels that I am the perfect candidate for VSG. #cleared














2/24/2016 Second meeting with the nutritionist. Very quick appointment. Went over meal plan, asked if I had met or starting working on goals from last meeting. Which for me meant eating throughout the day , and not calorie loading when I get off work, right before bed. Goal accomplished.


3/23/2016 Weight management class. Quick class on the importance of staying hydrated and moving. Had a worksheet to complete and as always the dreaded weigh in.#216


4/5/2016 Sleep study. First this was not what I expected. I know this is going to sound super silly but in my mind I was going to be in a big plexi glass room surrounded my men in white coats with clipboards. HAHAHA!!! That was not the case, I was in a very cute room that looked like someone shrunk a hotel room. The staff was nice, it took about 30 min to get me all hooked up. Thankfully I was exhausted , so even with all the wires and gadgets I fell asleep without much effort. They provided a cute little breakfast in the morning , which I had to eat on the Hwy. I had this done on a Tuesday, which meant I had to drive like a crazy person to get back to Georgia and on the clock at work by 8:30 am.





4/19/2016 Follow up to review my sleep study results. Asked a few quick questions, went over the results, advised that he would clear me for surgery....YAYE!!!! (apparently my snoring is just snoring)


To be honest I wasn't going to post until after I was approved by my insurance, but as am I confident that this is my time I will share my journey up until today. In 3 days (4/29/2016) I have my last set of appointments and my last weigh in. Hopefully the office will be able to submit to insurance the same day. Once approved I will be back with an update.

4/29/2016 LAST VISIT!!!!! So today was my last visit with the nutritionist. We went over pre surgery diet and was given a written plan. She also discussed keeping my bmi steady until surgery. Apparently surgery can and will be cancelled on the day of surgery if your bmi drops to low. I was also given a list of protein shakes (most of which I have tried). She wrote up my letter and we are just waiting on the surgeon to attach his letter, and submit to Aetna for pre –authorization. And so the wait begins......
I was hoping for a May surgery, but based on the calendar unless I'm approved instantly(72 hours), the best I can hope for is early June. I may asked to be put on standby in case of a cancellation.#214lbs

5/3/2016 Not sure if I mentioned this before by I am an impatient person. So as I'm sure this process is hard on all that go through it, it's driving me batty!!! I told myself that I wasn’t going to check anything until at least Wednesday. Yeah that didn’t work out. This morning a girl that I met on FB who happens to be going to the same surgical group, messaged me and asked"Any word yet?". Those 3 word sent my mind into overdrive. So I started with Aetna , my remaining oop was the same so I started to log out....but then I saw my last office visit claim date. After further review I noticed that all my Visits for the 90day program were processed and paid...fast huh? So that got me to thinking, if they sent in my claims, I'm sure they sent in my Pre-authorization request. I then looked up the number for member services and gave them a call. I wanted to know about the process and notification. Apparently they do not notify the patient(crazy since its my money being spent monthly), but call the surgeon's office to give the decision. The only way I will know if im approved is when they call to schedule , I get the letter in the mail, or if I happen to call them. Well I will say I am glad that the office staff is quick , I've seen people wait weeks just to get their request submitted. Now the part that I have dreaded since I started this process............my fate left in the hands of a stranger ...but I have faith so now I just WAIT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>