I haven't even been approved for surgery. But somehow I have convinced myself that it is all going to work out and 2006 will be the year of new beginnings for me.
Consequently, I've been eating most holiday meals like they are my last. It is a psychological battle, one that I loose more often than I win.
I know it is a much better idea to loose weight in preparation for surgery. I'll be glad when the holiday eating season is over.
Peace out!
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Christmas
It is Christmas. I am eating like a fiend. Not good.
Sleep schedule is way screwed up. I'm waking up at 4:30 AM for no apparent reason. Just awake, ready to solve the world's problems. Saw my MD about it this week, he upped my prozac and told me to find a counselor. All things I knew I needed to do.
I am more than ready to move ahead with WLS. It has been such a long fight. I am anxious about my 2nd - 1st meeting with my surgeon. I hope and pray that approval will come quickly.
Sleep schedule is way screwed up. I'm waking up at 4:30 AM for no apparent reason. Just awake, ready to solve the world's problems. Saw my MD about it this week, he upped my prozac and told me to find a counselor. All things I knew I needed to do.
I am more than ready to move ahead with WLS. It has been such a long fight. I am anxious about my 2nd - 1st meeting with my surgeon. I hope and pray that approval will come quickly.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Insurance Battle
Some back ground info. I work for a United Methodist Church (UMC). UMCs are organized into districts, usually city or county areas; and then districts are organized into conferences, which may be part of or even whole states.
As a lay employee of the church, our insurance in managed at the conference level. Our conference uses BC/BS for health insurance; however our conference is self insured and basically dictates the poicy it would like to use to BC/BS.
So, when I began the WLS process three years ago, I was hopeful because I knew BC/BS would cover the proceedure if deemed medically necessary. I jumped through all the hoops, had all the lab work done, a psych evaluation, and filled out the loads of paperwork. All to be denied and to find out that my UM conference had written WLS in as an exclusion in our policy.
It was at that time that I began a two years long letter writing campaign with our conference office to get them to change the policy. I was tenacious in my efforts. I provied them with valid scientic studies, heartfelt case studies, and even my own personal story. because of my efforts, the conference met with BC/BS to discuss the proceedures and new tecnologies. All ending in a vote of 6 to 5 against including the proceedures in our policies.
I was devistated, slipped into a destructive depression, and ate my way into more serious obesity.
This past summer I was diagnosed with diabetes - just another item to add to the list: sleep apnea, hypertension, arthritis, depression, skin condidtions, etc.
By the way, my wife also worked for our church, so we didn't have any options for other insurance and we are not independently wealthy.
Through a "series of unfortunate events" my wife found a new job. Which means we have new insurance. It is more expensive that what we were paying for, but it covers what I need it to. So, I made a new appontment with my Baratric Surgeon for the first of the year and will gladly jump through all the hoops once again.
As a lay employee of the church, our insurance in managed at the conference level. Our conference uses BC/BS for health insurance; however our conference is self insured and basically dictates the poicy it would like to use to BC/BS.
So, when I began the WLS process three years ago, I was hopeful because I knew BC/BS would cover the proceedure if deemed medically necessary. I jumped through all the hoops, had all the lab work done, a psych evaluation, and filled out the loads of paperwork. All to be denied and to find out that my UM conference had written WLS in as an exclusion in our policy.
It was at that time that I began a two years long letter writing campaign with our conference office to get them to change the policy. I was tenacious in my efforts. I provied them with valid scientic studies, heartfelt case studies, and even my own personal story. because of my efforts, the conference met with BC/BS to discuss the proceedures and new tecnologies. All ending in a vote of 6 to 5 against including the proceedures in our policies.
I was devistated, slipped into a destructive depression, and ate my way into more serious obesity.
This past summer I was diagnosed with diabetes - just another item to add to the list: sleep apnea, hypertension, arthritis, depression, skin condidtions, etc.
By the way, my wife also worked for our church, so we didn't have any options for other insurance and we are not independently wealthy.
Through a "series of unfortunate events" my wife found a new job. Which means we have new insurance. It is more expensive that what we were paying for, but it covers what I need it to. So, I made a new appontment with my Baratric Surgeon for the first of the year and will gladly jump through all the hoops once again.
I have been working towards WLS for over three years. I am not there yet, but I am closer.
I wanted to start this journal for several reasons: 1. It provides me with a forum to "release" as necessary; 2. I've benefited from the journals of others, hopefully my ramblings will help someone else; 3. I find very few accounts of men's jouneys with WLS, again hopefully this will help someone else down the road.
We'll see.
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