This article was originally published on JamieChasesButterflies.com on January 27, 2018.
January is almost over and I finally have some news to share after my first post about choosing to go towards weight loss surgery and how hard the decision was. The progress has taken a long time, but believe me I have made progress. Just to let you know here I start the process on February 27th when I see the doctor, not the surgeon but the doctor who will be monitoring my weight loss.
The first step for me was finding the right place, it was a roller coaster my primary doctor kept getting the faxes she sent out back saying they don’t take my insurance and I have to go here. Turns out, they were all wrong. I hate depending on others to do my research. I’m a researcher at heart and I like to gather the facts and information for myself. I don’t depend on someone else to feed the information to me. My dad taught me to be this way. Thank you Dad, I’m grateful you taught me how to think for myself. Anyway, I ended up calling my insurance companies to find out if bariatric surgery was covered. It was. I was clapping my hands in excitement. The next step was calling all the places that specialize in this surgery and seeing if they will take me. I found a place; a well known place to me since I have had a lot of my bronchial dilation surgeries there. I’m so happy about this because the doctors know me. I know, going in, that I am a high risk case and that is why it was a hard decision for me to make.
On January 3rd I went to an information seminar about bariatric surgery and the process. I also picked up my application. I did not go alone, a couple of my friends, my sister in law, and my caregiver all met me there for the seminar. Support is key when someone is going towards this type of surgery. I am blessed that I have the support that I have.
Now that my insurance was checked out and that the surgeons looked over my case and said that I could proceed on with the weight loss surgery process, I have all my appointments set. I have to do a 4 month weight loss plan for my insurance company. I also have to get a psychological evaluation and I have it all set up. In a packet I got a food log, which I have been keeping one since June of 2017 so this won’t be hard.
How do I feel? Now that all the grunt work is done, in getting it started, I feel relieved. At first, while I was waiting for the surgeons to make their decision about whether or not I would be able to continue, I had serious doubt about this whole thing. Now, I feel like I am being led to where I will be able to have a better life again. My process of Rebuild has started and so far it has been rough but it has been worth it. Until my next update be well.
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Jamie Holloway lives in the Portland, Oregon area. Since October 2011 she has been sharing her Journey Toward Health and Wellness with Vasculitis through her blog at JamieChasesButterflies.com. As most of her articles will be about Men’s Health, Jamie intends to write her articles as though she was sharing important information with her brother, nephews and friends. We hope you are as inspired as we are with the raw candor Jamie uses in her writing. If you would like to help support Jamie’s writing efforts please Donate now.
