I have jumped through the last insurance hoop and all the paperwork should be set to submit to insurance this week. Now we wait. I have a tentative surgery date of 7/8 if the approval comes through as expected. I'm supposed to start my 2 week prep diet on Wednesday which is no carbs. I don't really have a problem with that except it does bug me to start a prep diet before I know insurance will approve. That leads me to something else I find odd. No one in my doc's office seems worried about that. They keep referring to the insurance approval as if it's a foregone conclusion…everyone from the patient advocate to the surgery scheduler to the doctor. They told me they've only had a patient declined once and that they check everything out at the beginning so they don't waste their time bringing a patient through if they won't be approved. As someone who was previously denied weight loss surgery despite jumping through all these hoops, having appropriate coverage and doing everything they told me to do, this surprises me. I guess we shall see.
Either way, the time of waiting is done. I'm looking at the "preop" diet as just a diet and a way to kickstart my weight loss. I'm done eating like there's no tomorrow or consequences for my actions. I've hit several new lows (remember when they used to be a number on the scale?) such as:
- I had to shop at Avenue because regular stores are out of the question again.
- I weighed in at 228.2 - Just 2 lbs shy of my highest non pregnancy weight EVER.
- I'm getting winded just walking around the block.
- I don't want to go places just because I can't find anything to wear and don't like the idea of people looking at me.
- I'm nervous as all get out about a presentation I have to give via video conference tomorrow because of how I look.
These are not good things. These are things I thought I had moved past but obviously haven't. So surgery or no, it's time to turn things around. I can't just sit back and be a bystander anymore. Fingers crossed an approval or denial comes quickly…just so I know where I stand.
