I have been pondering last night's show. I can't begin to tell you how mad & frustrated I have been that her insurance wouldn't cover it. I have never been on one of these type forums. I am happy to hear that at least her tummy would be taken care of. Obesity is one of the nations biggest medical medical problems. With diabetes and other problems insurance companys should not only applaud those who lose their weight, but there should be some future thoughts about what to do with that extra flab. People are going to keep on the weight if they know that the extra skin will not be covered. You Go Girl!

Thanks, hgoehl, for your support! While I understand that insurance companies don't want to fund every surgical procedure that crosses their desks, I do not understand how something with such an obvious medical necessity gets denied hands down. Very frustrating. In my honest opinion, I think that a lot of people will get the first no and back down, never pursuing an appeal, which is what the insurance company counts on.

I've learned a lot about insurance approval through this process, and I'm happy to share what I'm learning with anyone who wants to know. My email is kimvalera@hotmail.com

Thanks again for the support!!!

Hi Kim, I found you inspirational and was so impressed with your strong will and candor. Much luck to you and congrats on the approval.

My question is, can you pursue the pro-bono offer of Dr. Davis and the plastic surgeon so you can have everything taken care of at once? I know you mentioned that you have to pay for the hospital services and the anaesthesia. I am not sure if you get paid by the network for letting them televise your journey, but maybe you could have them pay your out of pocket expenses so you only have to have anesthesia and in-patient hospitalization in September once and take care of everything, not only the abdomen. It is certainly in your best medical interest not to have to come back for additional hospitalizations/anaesthesia. And your TV audience would make it pay for them by the big ratings you're sure to get.

I hope everything works out for you!!

poogaly,

My plastic surgeon will not do everything at one time. While it could be done, it significantly increases the amount of time under anesthesia, which increases the risks involved in the procedures. My surgeon would rather err on the side of caution than do a bunch of work at once and take the added risk. Honestly, how can I argue with that?

While I would love to get everything done at the same time, I also have a lot of respect for my plastic surgeon and completely trust his decision to do just the belly this round. I know it means another round of fighting with the insurance company to get the rest done (the arms and breasts will make me particularly nuts!), and I will fight. I know that the next round will be harder, but I'll keep going after what is needed for my physical well-being.

Thank you for your post! I know I've said it a lot in my posts to this discussion board, but the support I've felt from Big Medicine viewers has been amazing, and it helps me get through this part of the journey.

And the show doesn't pay us anything for sharing our story...I chose to do it so that someone who is in the same spot I am in now or was in before might see my story and realize that they are not alone and that they, too, can get healthy.

Ok, I wrote up a reply post, but it apparently had "trigger words" and has to be reviewed...I hope it gets approved! I should post it to my OH blog site....