Getting Started . . . and the Blue Cards

The seminar I attended for the Bariatric Center of Kansas City was looonnnnnggg (three hours) BUT very informative. It starts off with a session on finances and insurance, which was really very helpful. Nola Bienhoff, the program coordinator, is an insurance company guru and pretty much knows which insurance companies cover bariatric surgery and which ones don't (and she'll tell you if she doesn't know, too). However, it's a really good idea for you to find out whether the type of surgery you're interested in is covered BEFORE you go to the seminar. And it might take some digging. I was able to find what I was looking for in the humongous book we got from our insurance company, but it's worth a phone call to them as well to confirm it.

The path to getting approved by your insurance company and the program is neither short nor easy. You have to get your medical records from EVERY doctor you've seen in the last five years. I was lucky because I'd only been to one doctor. It still took me several attempts before all the necessary records were collected. Because I was determined to push this process along as fast as I could, I personally obtained my medical records from my doctor and hand delivered them to the Bariatric Center. Generally they're mailed, but it can sometimes take a long time, especially if you have to get records from several doctors. If you can manage it, I think the hand delivery system is beneficial, if for no other reason than to give you peace of mind that the office has them. Nola told us that their office communicated with blue postcards . . . they send one every time they receive records or if they need other information. I cannot tell you how excited I was when I got my first blue postcard in the mail. I felt like Steve Martin in "The Jerk" when he first saw his name in the phone book . . . "The new phone books are here, the new phone books are here . . . I'm a somebody!" I knew I was on their radar and that things were progressing. Then the waiting began. More on that in future a future post.

After the insurance, finances and "how the program works" schpiels were over, Dr. Hitchcock took the stage and gave a rather technical and indepth look into both surgeries. He mentioned more than once that bariatric surgery is only a tool, not a cure for morbid obesity (it's not just obesity . . . it's morbid obesity . . . that word gives me the shivers!). By following the rules and putting in a good amount of exercise the tool will be more successful. If you don't follow the rules . . . well, the outcome is not so rosy.

I especially liked Hitchcock's graphic illustrations of what can happen if the rules aren't followed. If you drink soda, for instance, it basically comes back out your nose, mimicking the horse fountain on the Plaza. And, if you try and sneak a tiny little DQ cone, it will probably come back to visit you via an exit far from the site it entered your body . . . before you get home and without you having any control over it. So vivid. So compelling. So, so gross.

I was very interested in how the Center deals with the psychological aspects of morbid obesity. Because, if we're honest, we don't always eat just because we're hungry. There are usually deeper psychological factors that have played a part in our lives and I think it's really important to come to some sort of reconciliation with all of that stuff. For us, food is not just sustenance. It's comfort, it's release, it's reward, it's celebration . . . it's, well . . . sometimes it's everything. The psych guy, Dr. Sabapathy (I love saying his name!), gave a brief overview of why it's important to be psychologically ready for the surgery, which answered a lot of my questions and concerns.

There was a fairly lengthy Q&A period, followed by testimonies of former and current patients, both of which were informative and illuminating. By all accounts, the success stories far outweigh (no pun intended, heh heh) the failures, although there are people who are not successful in maintaining their weight loss. The biggest lesson I learned that night was that this was a significant - really significant - lifestyle change and it would take continued commitment for the rest of my life. Was I ready to take that on?

Yeah. I was. I am.

Next on The Egg and Eye . . . How I Got To This Point