Sign Me Up

I have been waiting for today. I had my pre-op appointment with the surgeon who will do my lapbanding. I first met Dr. Glatt in February when I was diagnosed with a large node on my thyroid and he was the recommended surgeon. I am a firm believer that God has a plan for us and late in January, Vince, my husband and I had attended an introductory seminar at Sanford Hospital on bariatric surgery. That seminar was conducted by Dr. O'Brien who also practices in the Surgical Tower at Sanford. Back to Dr. Glatt! When I met with him in February before my thyroid surgery, I told him I would see him again when I had insurance approval for banding. He said, "begin with Weight Watchers now, because it will take a year". Needless to say, we were both happy to be meeting today as it has only been EIGHT months. Today we talked about the choice I have made about lapband rather than the Roux-en-Y procedure. He explained how sweets (and that is my downfall) go through the pouch in both options. I must admit, the idea of becoming so sick that you decide sugars are not worth it, sounds tempting, but I really believe I am ready to make the commitment necessary to use the band as a tool and not a crutch. When I asked him when I had to make the final decision, he said "right now". I said, "the lapband is what I want to do". Now that I am scheduled for the 3 hour class next Wednesday with the Bariatric Coordinator, I have to say this whole thing is really becoming real. A year from now, I will look back and know that my belief in myself is the most important part of this whole experience. I am committed to being healthy and able to watch my children and their children grow older along with me.

In the beginning

In October, 2007, my General Practitioner wrote our first letter to the insurance company to apply for approval for the lapband surgery. It was denied, of course because even though I had a BMI of 49, I did not have any co-morbidity. As far as I was concerned that is a blessing, but the denial was disappointing. The insurance company wanted me to go through one full year of Weight Watchers before approval. We continued to pursue the insurance procedures and finally, on February 23, I testified before a review board of 3 physicians and tried to convey my needs. I am 61 years old and have struggled with weight all of my adult life. I have tried Weight Watchers, Optifast, NutriSystem, hypnosis, counting calories, etc. Two and a half years ago I made a genuine commitment to change my lifestyle. I began to exercise with a personal trainer. He, too, had tried various things to assist me with weight loss. On February 25th, I received a letter from the insurance with a real compromise in my opinion. I had to continue to exercise at least 3 times a week, see a nutritionist twice a month, have a psychiatric evaluation, and get approval from my endocrinologist and surgeon. All of this had to transpire over the next 6 months.