The ticking of a clock never seems louder than when you are waiting on something. One of the things you get used to with the lapband surgery process is waiting. When you get started and you get to orientation, you’re thinking I’ve finally made it! I’m on my way. only to find out there is a lot of down time in the process. Once the requirements were completed, the letter requesting authorization from the insurance company was submitted, so I was waiting on the insurance company. Anyone who has ever dealt with an insurance company knows how that can go. The slower they approve you, the longer they hang on to the money. Ultimately I knew I would be approved because I met all of the requirements and had sufficient history to ensure approval.
So, what do you do while you’re waiting? Well, you can continue living your life, and wait for the doctors office to call you once your approved. You can hound the doctor’s office until they can’t stand your phone calls anymore and they push your insurance for the authorization just to get rid of you. You can use the time to educate yourself as much as possible about the surgery you are going to be having and make sure this is the direction you really want to go in. And you can start practicing some of the behaviors that you will need to incorporate into your life post surgery.
None of the above are mutually exclusive, and I think we all do a little of each during this phase of the process. I really focused on trying to wrap my head around what life after surgery was going to be like. The slowing down of the eating, the not drinking and eating at the same time, giving up sodas. . .if I found I couldn’t face these things pre-surgery, then how on earth would I survive afterwards.
Some people need to just jump in with both feet, eyes closed, and hope for the best. I am not built that way. I need to know I am going to be able to handle it, because otherwise I might sabotage myself, and that is not something I want. I don’t like living life with any regrets, so I strive to ensure I won’t have any by the choices I make.
Even though I was resolved to wait, as patiently as I could, I’ll admit I was a little antsy. I just wanted to get on the schedule and know when my date was scheduled, so I could put in for vacation time from work, and really start gearing up for the whole lifestyle change. Just when I was getting ready to start the hounding process, the authorization came through, and I was back on track and ready to continue on down the road.
<<Previous Article Next Article>>
