How I Decided: Part 3

It took about 7 seconds worth of conversation with my surgeon before I knew I trusted her. She made constant eye contact with me, which was a rarity at 315 pounds. She made me feel comfortable and safe and brave. She made me feel like a human being - again, a rarity at that point of my life.

1 month into my supervised diet

We talked about my medical history. We talked about my weight loss attempts. We talked about the moment I realized food turned from fuel to a coping mechanism. We talked about everything I wanted for my life - to be able to run and play with my nephews, to experience pregnancy, to not die before I hit 40. 

We talked about the realities of weight loss surgery. In a nut shell, they were:

1. It's not brain surgery. Losing weight will still be hard, still require work and isn't guaranteed.
2. Weight loss surgery will physically alter the size of my stomach, which is the vessel that holds and digests food. It would not resolve my addiction; the emotions I associate with food would still be there.
3. There was a chance that I would take all the steps required of me before surgery and I still wouldn't "get" to have surgery - if that made me want to throw in the towel before it even began, then I wasn't a candidate for surgery.

I said "I'm in." She said "Lets do this."

"Lets". Her, me and a team of other people who all committed to helping me be the best version of myself; a version I hadn't even met once in 30 years.

2 months into my supervised diet

I'm asked often "how can I get insurance to pay for this?!" The sad truth is that a majority of health insurance companies do not cover bariatric treatment, including weight loss surgery. They penalize us us (and can even tell us no!) for not being healthy enough, but they prevent so many from being able to achieve a healthy lifestyle in this way. It's wrong and something I hope to see changed in my lifetime. 

In my story, my insurance company would cover weight loss surgery, if I met a variety of requirements. The most extensive requirement would be that I undergo a physician supervised diet for six months. I needed to prove to the insurance company that I was committed to losing weight and willing to put in the work. Enter Dr. G., a phenomenal nutritionist within my surgeon's office who kick-started this journey for me. I met with her in early October 2016. Everything about Dr. G. made me feel like I was exactly where I was meant to be. She had been a practicing OBGYN, focusing on patients with PCOS-induced infertility. (Oh hey, that's me!) As I told her my own personal story about infertility & loss, she cried.

At the end of my appointment she said "Lets get you healthy and then get you pregnant!"

There's that "lets" again. Team Chelsey added another member. I don't know if I'll ever get to experience pregnancy, but they helped get me healthy and that is something I'll never take for granted!

And so, began my six months. I met with Dr. G. once a month. I began a low carbohydrate/high protein diet. I tracked everything I ate. I began to exercise. Over those six months {which just happened to happen during Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas - how fair is THAT?!} I lost 35 pounds. It was the most consistent weight loss I'd experienced in several years.

{on the left} 5 months into my supervised diet

Remember the awesome Patient Coordinator from my last post? She was a busy bee during these 6 months. I had lots of blood work done. I was officially diagnosed with Pre-Diabetes for the first time in my life. My blood sugar was insanely high, my thyroid was out of wack, my blood pressure was stupid. I was very, very unhealthy.

Another insurance requirement was an EKG. That came back clear!

Insurance also required a psychological evaluation. That's right - I had to convince a stranger that I wasn't crazy. Ha! Really, the main objective of the evaluation is to determine why I was a food addict (check!) and make sure I didn't have any tendencies to transfer my addiction to other harmful substances, such as drugs or alcohol, once my current addiction (food) was taken away from me.

I guess I passed the test, because a week later, my surgeon submitted an official request to my insurance company for weight loss surgery.

The wait made me second guess the "not crazy" diagnosis I'd just received.