abuddingrose
Hello all, my name is Lori and look at myself as a budding rose because I am just beginning the journey of WLS. I am going through the preliminaries of the pre-op testing and nutritional counseling that is required. I have been struggling with my weight for more that 40 years. Most of the pictures of me growing up are of me overweight. There are a few during my adolescence that show me "thin" but that due to growth spurts. I now paying the price for being over weight. I have developed hypertension, hyperlipidemia,osteoarthritis, and sever anxiety; all of which will dissipate once the weight comes off. I also have been told that if I have the wls. that I may be able to delay the need for a total knee replacement for 10 years or more. At this time I can not walk very far, stand very long, house work, sex, and driving are all difficult due to knee pain and having to carry all the excess weight. I stand 5 feet and 5 1/2 inches tall and weigh 269 lbs.
I get embarrassed by my size, inability to keep up and having to set on the sidelines when my boyfriend and I go out to various social or business events. I can't share his love of motorcycle riding because I either weigh the back of the bike down, or i can't swing my leg over the bike. I love walking, horseback riding and being active but just can't it right now and this is not only frustrating for me but my boyfriend feels he can't /or shouldn't leave me alone thus he is denied his true enjoyment of life. I have gotten letters of medical necessity from my orthopedist, my family dr and asking my cardiologist for one as well as collecting as many medical records as can find to support the need for wls.
The only testing i have to do now are the sleep study and my psych work up and Finnish my nutritional counseling then all preliminaries will be complete. After all of this done the surgery date is set 2 months later.
I have United Health Care insurance through my employer and WLS is excluded on our coverage. I have done quite a bit of research and found the policy is written in California and governed by California state law and the California Insurance Commission offers Independent Medical Reviews for those that are denied the benefit. I also live in the state of Maryland ; one of the four states that requires group health plans to cover bariatric surgery. Now i am seeking a defintion of the terms " group heath insurnace delivered in the state of Maryland" any one out there have any idea what it really means?
I will be posting a pic soon, can't believe i am actually thinking about this. but why not. Its time for me to enjoy life and take an active roll; I am tired of being a wall flower and want to go on motorcycle trips, dancing, and horseback riding and what ever I feel like doing instead of setting on the sidelines and watching everyone else.
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