Re: A major bump in the road

[Guest guest]

Oh

You will be in our prayers. I know what a long hard road it is to get to

the surgery and have it snatched away. I want to give you a hug so here it

is ((((((( MARY)))))))))

WHEN THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY

If you want this badly enough you can make it happen

Good luck

Hugs

Tracey

A major bump in the road

Hi all,

I haven't posted in a long while, but I lurk and read every day.

I started my journey back at the beginning of this year when I first

started researching WLS. Along the way I found the DS website and

this list, read, read, read and decided DS was the way to go. I

called my insurance carrier, UHC and was told that this " may be " a

covered procedure provided it's medically necessary, blah, blah,

blah. I'm sure you've all heard the insurance company line.

I then found a surgeon here in West Michigan, Dr. Scholten, who not

only does the DS (although he primarily does RNY), but is also a

preferred provider in my PPO. In August I started the procedures his

office required before I could even get a consult with him. I jumped

through all Dr. Scholten's hoops; orientation meeting, extensive

questionnaire, psych evaluation, and support group attendance and

after I had met all their requirements got a consult date of December

6, which is now, finally, just around the corner.

I was so psyched! I thought that finally something was within my

grasp to help rid me of this extra person I've been carrying around

for the last 10 years, and the high blood pressure and the swollen

legs, and the shortness of breath, and, and, and... but I know I'm

preaching to the choir here.

Anyway, Wednesday afternoon (that's right, the day before

Thanksgiving), at 4:45 PM, I was told I'm laid off. No warning it

was coming, just BAM, 8 of us in my department, gone; 25 altogether

throughout the company (we only have 175, make that 150 now,

employees).

Now, you'd think being a single mom I'd be more upset about losing

the job, but no... right now I'm more upset about losing the chance

to finally get my weight and co-morbidities under control. But yes,

the thought of job-hunting at 43 and 240 pounds terrifies me, I've

had this job for 12 years!

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent, and thanks for all the

encouragement y'all so generously share with each other. You have

all been a big inspiration for me.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Grand Rapids, MI

Age 43, 5'1 " BMI 44

----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

I'm so sorry for you. I hope that you are able to

work this all out. How rotten of them to do this the

day before Thanksgiving! Try to take it one day at a

time. I really don't know what else to say. Good

Luck!

--- sasnchwnch@... wrote:

> Hi all,

>

> I haven't posted in a long while, but I lurk and

> read every day.

>

> I started my journey back at the beginning of this

> year when I first

> started researching WLS. Along the way I found the

> DS website and

> this list, read, read, read and decided DS was the

> way to go. I

> called my insurance carrier, UHC and was told that

> this " may be " a

> covered procedure provided it's medically necessary,

> blah, blah,

> blah. I'm sure you've all heard the insurance

> company line.

>

> I then found a surgeon here in West Michigan, Dr.

> Scholten, who not

> only does the DS (although he primarily does RNY),

> but is also a

> preferred provider in my PPO. In August I started

> the procedures his

> office required before I could even get a consult

> with him. I jumped

> through all Dr. Scholten's hoops; orientation

> meeting, extensive

> questionnaire, psych evaluation, and support group

> attendance and

> after I had met all their requirements got a consult

> date of December

> 6, which is now, finally, just around the corner.

>

> I was so psyched! I thought that finally something

> was within my

> grasp to help rid me of this extra person I've been

> carrying around

> for the last 10 years, and the high blood pressure

> and the swollen

> legs, and the shortness of breath, and, and, and...

> but I know I'm

> preaching to the choir here.

>

> Anyway, Wednesday afternoon (that's right, the day

> before

> Thanksgiving), at 4:45 PM, I was told I'm laid off.

> No warning it

> was coming, just BAM, 8 of us in my department,

> gone; 25 altogether

> throughout the company (we only have 175, make that

> 150 now,

> employees).

>

> Now, you'd think being a single mom I'd be more

> upset about losing

> the job, but no... right now I'm more upset about

> losing the chance

> to finally get my weight and co-morbidities under

> control. But yes,

> the thought of job-hunting at 43 and 240 pounds

> terrifies me, I've

> had this job for 12 years!

>

> Anyway, thanks for letting me vent, and thanks for

> all the

> encouragement y'all so generously share with each

> other. You have

> all been a big inspiration for me.

>

> I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

>

>

> Grand Rapids, MI

> Age 43, 5'1 " BMI 44

>

>

>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

>

[Guest guest]

,

Check with your HR dept. Sometimes when there are

layoffs, you can get a benefits package at separation.

You may also be able to carry the ins until your next

job kicks in. Unfortunately, this is usually at a

high price. Good luck!

=====

Debi-NH

Consult NYC 11/29/01

Dr Herron/Mt Sinai

BMI 63

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

mary,

please don't up just yet.

i lost my job a year ago..and i was allowed to sign up for COBRA

insurance..for 18 months. it is not cheap, by any means..but at least

i have insurance. good luck and i will keep you in my prayers.

cathy

[Guest guest]

Im sorry about your job.. but PLEASE make sure you COBRA your

insurance.. I had UHC too and got my surgery done on COBRA because I

too had been laid off.. im just now going back to work (only for

financial reasons, not because I wanted to..lol) and Im all recovered

with a nice vacation! Good luck!!

Love, Sue

post-op 9/11/01 -65#

Dr. Warden

Ocean Sps, MS

> Hi all,

>

> I haven't posted in a long while, but I lurk and read every day.

>

> I started my journey back at the beginning of this year when I

first

> started researching WLS. Along the way I found the DS website and

> this list, read, read, read and decided DS was the way to go. I

> called my insurance carrier, UHC and was told that this " may be " a

> covered procedure provided it's medically necessary, blah, blah,

> blah. I'm sure you've all heard the insurance company line.

>

> I then found a surgeon here in West Michigan, Dr. Scholten, who not

> only does the DS (although he primarily does RNY), but is also a

> preferred provider in my PPO. In August I started the procedures

his

> office required before I could even get a consult with him. I

jumped

> through all Dr. Scholten's hoops; orientation meeting, extensive

> questionnaire, psych evaluation, and support group attendance and

> after I had met all their requirements got a consult date of

December

> 6, which is now, finally, just around the corner.

>

> I was so psyched! I thought that finally something was within my

> grasp to help rid me of this extra person I've been carrying around

> for the last 10 years, and the high blood pressure and the swollen

> legs, and the shortness of breath, and, and, and... but I know I'm

> preaching to the choir here.

>

> Anyway, Wednesday afternoon (that's right, the day before

> Thanksgiving), at 4:45 PM, I was told I'm laid off. No warning it

> was coming, just BAM, 8 of us in my department, gone; 25 altogether

> throughout the company (we only have 175, make that 150 now,

> employees).

>

> Now, you'd think being a single mom I'd be more upset about losing

> the job, but no... right now I'm more upset about losing the chance

> to finally get my weight and co-morbidities under control. But

yes,

> the thought of job-hunting at 43 and 240 pounds terrifies me, I've

> had this job for 12 years!

>

> Anyway, thanks for letting me vent, and thanks for all the

> encouragement y'all so generously share with each other. You have

> all been a big inspiration for me.

>

> I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

>

>

> Grand Rapids, MI

> Age 43, 5'1 " BMI 44

[Guest guest]

---

Being laid off is different than fired. You can get unemployment,

and wait for the the eventual call back. ALso, you should be able to

keep your insurance under cobra. You can keep your insurance for

upto 18 months. You may only need it for just a few--until the

surgery. It will be worth the extra money for it. Because 9 times

out of 10 any new insurance at a new job won't cover wls.

Call the Doc. right away and see if there is any way that he can give

you a surgery date ASAP. You may be able to get this surgery done

and recover on unemployment, and be ready to go when things pick back

up and they call you back. Or at the very least have coverage for

the surgery, and you can recover to look for a new job. You actually

have a window of opportunity here--if you move quickly!!!

Pammi

[Guest guest]

Oh .. I'm so sorry.

What creeps to do it the day before Thanksgiving! File for

unemployment, get COBRA if you can afford it, and pray- I just know

that this is not meant to stop you! I wish I had some wonderful

pointers to help, but I don't. Did you have seniority over any not

laid off? Was a reason given for this action? Oh .. I am so sorry.

If you need to vent, I'm here.

big gentle hugs,

Liane

[Guest guest]

,

I can certainly empathize with you. I too have been laid off and am a

single mom of a handicapped son. You should be able to continue your

insurance coverage through Cobra. It's usually expensive, but since your

consult is in early December so maybe the doctor can expedite your surgery

date given your situation. You should also be eligible for unemployment to

help in the interim. I am trying to get all of this done before I begin my

job hunt because you really don't know what your new insurance will cover,

and I'm also very concerned about discrimination because of my weight when

interviewing for a new position. (Even if things did work out, and I was

covered for the surgery with my new insurance coverage, what would the

consequences of my having to take an extended medical leave when I've just

started a new job?) My consult is scheduled for Jan 7th and I'm hoping that

things will move along quickly.

Good luck and don't give up yet.

ann

A major bump in the road

Hi all,

I haven't posted in a long while, but I lurk and read every day.

I started my journey back at the beginning of this year when I first

started researching WLS. Along the way I found the DS website and

this list, read, read, read and decided DS was the way to go. I

called my insurance carrier, UHC and was told that this " may be " a

covered procedure provided it's medically necessary, blah, blah,

blah. I'm sure you've all heard the insurance company line.

I then found a surgeon here in West Michigan, Dr. Scholten, who not

only does the DS (although he primarily does RNY), but is also a

preferred provider in my PPO. In August I started the procedures his

office required before I could even get a consult with him. I jumped

through all Dr. Scholten's hoops; orientation meeting, extensive

questionnaire, psych evaluation, and support group attendance and

after I had met all their requirements got a consult date of December

6, which is now, finally, just around the corner.

I was so psyched! I thought that finally something was within my

grasp to help rid me of this extra person I've been carrying around

for the last 10 years, and the high blood pressure and the swollen

legs, and the shortness of breath, and, and, and... but I know I'm

preaching to the choir here.

Anyway, Wednesday afternoon (that's right, the day before

Thanksgiving), at 4:45 PM, I was told I'm laid off. No warning it

was coming, just BAM, 8 of us in my department, gone; 25 altogether

throughout the company (we only have 175, make that 150 now,

employees).

Now, you'd think being a single mom I'd be more upset about losing

the job, but no... right now I'm more upset about losing the chance

to finally get my weight and co-morbidities under control. But yes,

the thought of job-hunting at 43 and 240 pounds terrifies me, I've

had this job for 12 years!

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent, and thanks for all the

encouragement y'all so generously share with each other. You have

all been a big inspiration for me.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Grand Rapids, MI

Age 43, 5'1 " BMI 44

----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Hi all. Sorry I've taken so long to respond to all the wonderful

encouragement I've received from this group over the last week. I

kinda lost it for a while there and didn't do much of anything but

cry and sleep for the better part of a week. But I'm finally

bouncing back and I want to thank everyone who posted and e-mailed me

with encouragement and advice; you can't know how much it helped.

I won't know how much COBRA is going to set me back a month, or if I

can even afford to keep it up, until I get the COBRA information from

UHC sometime next week. But I am definitely keeping my consult

appointment on the 6th! Only 8 days away! Time is getting short, so I

really need to start putting together my " ask the doctor "

questions. ;o)

I think I'm going into this consult with a little more trepidation

than most because Dr. Scholten primarily does, and is very pro, RNY.

As it was explained to me, he does the DS " when the patient insists

on it. " Well, he's had 50+ patients " insist " on it in the last year

compared to just a handful the year before that... so the DS word is

getting out.

I know that doesn't sound like a lot of DS experience compared to

some of the other doctors out there, but this man is an excellent

surgeon with a slew of credentials and surgical experience and tons

of very happy patients, so once I get past the " I want the DS " hurdle

(I don't do confrontation well) -- and, please God, insurance

approval -- I have every confidence in his skills and a successful

surgery.

Now I'm off to catch up on all the posts I've missed. Y'all sure

have been busy while I've been off wallowing in my misery! ;o)

Thanks again.

> Oh .. I'm so sorry.

> What creeps to do it the day before Thanksgiving! File for

> unemployment, get COBRA if you can afford it, and pray- I just know

> that this is not meant to stop you! I wish I had some wonderful

> pointers to help, but I don't. Did you have seniority over any not

> laid off? Was a reason given for this action? Oh .. I am so

sorry.

> If you need to vent, I'm here.

> big gentle hugs,

> Liane