I had my initial consult this morning with Karen Baumann, Dr. Schwartz's RN/Clinical Coordinator. I had read good things about her kindness and helpfulness on another WLS forum and had heard many more good things from Dr. Schwartz's patients at the WLS support group I attended last Saturday, so I had pretty high expectations. Karen lived up to the hype - she was great! Plus, she's an inspiration - she herself had a gastric bypass in 2000 and has lost and kept off 150 pounds!
We took a baseline weight (485 = BMI 59.0) and reviewed my medical history, particularly my co-morbidities. Karen quizzed me on what I knew about the RNY already and answed my other questions. We went through PacifiCare's requirements for WLS and discussed the delightfully ambiguous language that patients "
may be required" to participate in a six-month medically supervised weight loss program before receiving approval for surgery. Karen will call PacifiCare to find out exactly what their guidelines are regarding who "may be required", but we both hope that someone with a BMI of 59 and multiple co-morbidities would
not be required. I'll do the six-month program if I have to - I'll do
whatever I have to, but it would be great not to have to jump through that series of hoops...
I definitely must undergo a three-part psychological assessment before Dr. Schwartz will even see me personally and submit my case for insurance approval. Karen gave me the instructions for setting up the first of the three appointments, and I was able to get approved by PacifiCare with no real difficulty.
The psychotherapist Karen recommended, who does the assessments for many of their patients, will see me on February 23 for about 45 minutes, then have me take two multiple choice tests, one approximately 500 questions in length, the other 150, that will last another two hours or so. I will schedule my second and third appointments with him when I complete the first one. PacifiCare will cover unlimited outpatient sessions with him (for a $30 copay), so I may continue to see him as a therapist for my eating disorder and other issues if we "click" during the evaluation process.
So, things are progressing slowly, but they are still progressing. This is a great opportunity for me to practice patience and tolerance, and also to start "training" for surgery and post-surgery by practicing good eating habits such as eating slowly, chewing my food (what a novel idea!), and making low-fat, low-carb, starch- and sugar-free choices, as well as getting back to walking and stretching every day. Thank you to everyone on this forum who has set such a great example for me to follow, especially the patience part!
