VivvyScott
I think my story is pretty much like all the rest of the stories you read on here. I have lived half of my life overweight. As a child, I never had this problem. I can recall being the last one at the table when I was 9 or 10 years old, I love fried chicken. And anything that tasted good, I would overindulge myself in it. It was not until I gained so much weight I could barely walk that I began to realize I had a serious problem and it was not going to get better. The most I weighed was 444.5, and that was in 2002. One of my niece's had the surgery and she suggested I give it a try. And this is why I have been thinking about having it. I know it's what I want. But it seems like every time I get closer to having it or finding out more about it, something happens or something changes and I am unable to have it done.
It's like, I find a doctor who accepts my form of payment, and by the time I get to the part where I make an appointment, they have stopped taking Alabama Medicaid. My first attempt was with True Results, I drove all the way to Atlanta, Ga to meet with the staff at True Results and discuss the surgery. I found out that the $15,000 it would cost only covered the surgery and hospital expense, but it did not cover any of the pre-op testing, etc. This was a set back because I was attempting, at that time, to use self-pay options.
I found a different surgeon after the trip to Atlanta to meet with the staff at True Results, and ultimately deciding that the Lap Band was not really what I wanted. I found a 2nd doctor and met with him, he was out of Anniston, AL. Dr Crawford. Going to Crawford was a disaster, and a total nightmare. After I had already spent just over $1,000 in gas, nutritionalist's expenses, psych-evaluations, and numerous trips to Anniston, I was turned down for the surgery. According to Dr Crawford, it was due to the psych evaluation. I failed the evaluation because I had just been through a horrible place in my life; the death of my mother, the [bad] ending of a 5 year relationship with a man that I loved very much, and then the sudden death of my best friend--at the age of 32.
There was just too much going on in my life at that time, emotionally. I could see his point to a certain degree, but I was ready for the surgery. I felt more ready than I had ever been. When he turned me down, I went in to an emotional spiral. I felt hopeless and helpless, and I felt like nobody gave a 'you-know-what' about me, my super mobid-obesity, or the impending death it is going to bring me if I don't get help--SOON! I try to maintain as much as I can now, so I don't have to work that much harder later, but I have days where I eat more than I should. Most of my eating is emotional.
To make a long story short, I found a doctor but now they are telling me I need to see a cardiologist first, and get him/her to fax them something to say I am okay for surgery. Well, here we are at another stepping stone, coupled by the fact that the doctor I found is 300+ miles away. But if I can get the help I need, if I can get the surgery, the trip will be more than worth it. What I would like to know is, how do I get a cardiologist to sign off on me to have the surgery. Is there a cardiologist who takes Alabama Medicaid? Do I need to go to my regular doctor and ask him for a referral.
Well, that's my story...so far. Tune in later for some more. :)
