Getting Closer

Well, I'm not officially scheduled yet, but the letter was faxed (never came in the mail for some reason) to the surgeon's office today and it was confirmed that Dr. Mel has an opening for me on the 8th. I just need the official surgery scheduler to call, hopefully tomorrow to schedule the surgery.

Tomorrow I'm going to Dr. Daise (my PCP) for a physical. I'll also have bloodwork done and an EKG. They want to make sure I'm healthy enough for this surgery. I have had some anemia in the past, so I'm hoping that's no longer an issue.

Date adjustment

Well, it's still tentative, but Dr. Melniczek emailed and said they're planning on the surgery being on February 8th. He has a couple other surgeries that day. I was thinking I should go last, then he'll have at least a couple more surgeries under his belt! Hee hee.

I will go to Denver on the 7th for some pre-op counseling and then have the surgery on the 8th. I'm guessing I'll be released on the 9th and home that evening. Unfortunately, Brad won't be able to get the full 10 days off of work like he would have earlier in the week. It'll be more like 7 or so.

Now I'm researching protein powders and probably going to order them online. Unjury.com is one source that a lot of bariatric patients use pre and post surgery. I need to get on some good vitamins too. Proteins and vitamins are essential for energy and to prevent muscle and hair loss.

I'm excited, but getting more and more nervous as the realities of these changes I'm going to be making are sinking in.

I'm approved!

I got a call from BCBS today and they said my preauthorization has been approved! My surgeon called and once they get the official letter from the insurance we'll schedule the date. It's tentatively for February 4th or February 5th! I'm so excited, I hardly feel like this is real. I've got a lot of stuff to figure out for logistics and everything, but Yay! Brad will be able to get 10 days off to help me out and be with me through everything. More info to come.

Surgeon called today

Dr. Melniczek called today. He wanted to let me know that the insurance had called, asking for an estimated surgery cost and that he'd submitted that. He basically wanted to let me know that things are still in the works and just kind of touch base with me. I assured him I'm still excited about it and planning on it.

Not much to report

Not much has happened in the surgery category, so that's why I haven't posted anything. I did call the insurance a couple of days ago to check on the status of my claim. The claim was submitted on December 26th and they have 30 days to review it. I'm hoping it's faster than that, but in any case, we should know by the end of January if it will be covered (I'm very confident that it will be.) and hopefully have a date set for surgery.

I did find out that the cost of fills and any complications that arise is also covered on my plan. That's good to know because fills are $150 and I don't want to end up putting off getting a necessary fill because of money reasons. I've seen posts by people who have done exactly that and ended up gaining unnecessary weight because of it.

I'm getting a little nervous about my eating habits and especially coming off of the holidays, I've not been eating a healthy diet. I got an email from my nutritionist who was reminding me of her suggestion to try to eat the post-surgery diet for a little while to see if I can do it. That scares me, especially without the restriction of the band. Eeek. That's a good place for me to start though, and I know I need to do so before too long.

Sure did enjoy having the Elliotts here for a few days. Love you guys!