Paperwork Pressure

I had FOUR business days before my very first appointment with Emory University Bariatric Center to get my paperwork together!!!!

The biggest downside to getting an appointment much earlier than expected is trying to come up with all of the paperwork required for program and insurance approval. I have to say, I am really nervous about getting approved. I have two close friends who have the same insurance as my family (Aetna) and they were denied, even after multiple appeals. One of my friends is in desperate need of this surgery, and it could really save his life. Not cool. Sometimes, I really don't understand medical insurance. I want to make extra sure that I have the correct documentation submitted the first time around so that I don't need to go thru an appeal process.

Anyway, like I said, I have Aetna. Fortunately, Mr G's employer plan does not exclude bariatric surgery explicitly so it looks like I just need to play by Aetna's rules.

In short, here are the guidelines with which I must adhere (Aetna CPB 1057).

Keep in mind, I have a pretty large aversion to doctors. My personal philosophy is -- if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I haven't been very good at scheduling annual physicals, checkups, etc. In addition, over the past 10 years or so, we've moved a few times, so my medical history is not in one place. PLUS, most medical offices recently transitioned from a paper chart system to an electronic chart system. Can you see where I'm going with this? Paperwork nightmare!

I am mainly concerned with obtaining the official 5 year weight record (ie: documented by a physician) that Aetna requires. At this time, I am not dealing with any major co-morbidities that need to be recorded.

All in all, I was successful in piecing together the weight history. A few new grey hairs popped up on my head during the process. I know that my "lack of planning" does not constitute an emergency on the part of others, but hey, I was given a gift here (an appointment 2 months earlier than expected) and I was going to do my darndest to run with it!

Here are some issues that I encountered:

• Some doctor's offices claimed I was never a patient because I wasn't in their computer. Hmmm, funny, I have my child's birth certificate which says you were indeed the attending doctor at their birth. Why dontcha get your lazy butt off your chair and go find my paper chart in the back storage room????
• Other providers never bothered to record my weight in their charts!!!
• A few offices charged up to $50 for a copy of my chart.
• Many offices promised charts that would be processed ASAP so that they would reach me in time for my appointment the following week. Yeah right, I'm still waiting for those charts.

Just in the nick of time, I had an impressive 2 inch stack of paper to bring with me to my appointment.

Whew! Wish me luck!

-- OMG ---

I cannot believe it! I am really really not trying to get my hopes up, but the best thing happened today... Let me back up and give some background.

Emory provides 2 options for potential weight loss surgery candidates to attend informational seminars. The first option is the traditional in person information seminar that is held at various times and various locations around metro Atlanta. The second option is to view a series of online seminars. Given the logistics of trying to find a meeting time that would fit into our wacky family schedule, I opted for the online seminar.

It was very important for me that Mr G participate in these seminars as well. I've mentioned before that he is very wary of me taking this approach, and I figure that the more information we both had, the better our decisions will be.

We waited until the kids were all in bed and the house was quite, and fired up the old desktop so that we could watch the seminars together.

I have to say that Emory puts on a good program. You can check out their seminars here. After watching ALL of the online seminars, an online test must be taken to prove that you actually watched the videos. I have to say, the test was rather detailed and I don't think it could be passed w/o watching. Then you are eligible to register for a preliminary consultation and evaluation at the Emory Clinic. It was pretty late at this point, so we printed out my registration info and went to bed.

So, the next morning after Mr G went to work, I called the clinic to setup my appointment. The word on the street was that it would be 2-3 months before we could get in to see a doctor. As disappointing as that was, I figured the longer lead time would give my plenty of opportunity to get my documentation together. As luck would have it, a cancellation came in when I was on the phone with the appointment staff, and I GOT AN APPOINTMENT for the following Wednesday!!!!!

Is this fate? Divine Intervention? Plain old luck?

Don't really know, don't really care... I am just really really grateful to get the ball rolling. But -- now I only have 4 working days to get my paper work together. I've had so many doctors over the past 5 year, I don't know where to begin.

Weight = 197#

So the Summer Came and Went....

Sorry for not posting folks. The past 3 months just flew by!

Well, I spent the summer of 2010 fat and hot and miserable. Hopefully 2010 is the last summer that I spend as a morbidly obese person. I've made a huge decision to pursue weight loss surgery. We are fortunate enough to live in a suburb of Atlanta, which is home to Emory University Hospital. Emory has a wonderful bariatric program (both surgical and non-surgical). I figure that if they are good enough to teach it to other surgeons and doctors, I am probably seeking help from the right place.

You can check out Emory's program here.

My husband is not too sure about this. I'll delve into that in another post.

My weight is now 297. Down 11 pounds since starting this blog. Instead of focusing on how far I need to go, I guess I'll give myself a pat on the back for the 11 lbs. that I have already lost. Trying to stay positive!