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Of course, now that I've made this momentous decision, and have actually begun inquiries regarding what needs to be done for the Roux-en-Y surgery, I find myself wading into the wonderful world of health insurance. Happy happy freakin' joy joy. It's so HEARTENING to have everyone I come in contact with say "Oh...you're with AETNA?" when I'm trying to get information, and then they follow it up with the information that Aetna is the worst when it comes to paperwork and red tape.

Great.

Thanks.

Just what I want to hear.

I'm shooting for June. I hope it happens then for a number of reasons:

1. I'll have nearly a full year to heal and drop weight before faire rolls around again.
2. I'll be able to eat 'regular' food during the 2005 season.
3. I won't have to worry about not being able to get enough water. When you
   first have the operation, your intake is VERY restricted, and I've been
   concerned that I wouldn't be able to get enough water into myself during
   faire. After almost a year's worth of healing, that shouldn't be a problem.
4. At the end of faire I'm in my best physical shape of the year, which
   would be the ideal time to have surgery.
5. You're required to lose some weight before the actual surgery, and I
   usually lose between 20-30 pounds during the faire season anyway.
6. At the end of faire I'm used to moving and being active. That will make
   it easier to stay active, as exercise is an important component of losing
   the weight.
7. June through September is our relaxation time, so I won't be pushing
   myself beyond my limits to try and meet an abundance of commitments while
   I'm still in the first stages of recovery.

So June seems to be the ideal time. Now if I can just wade through everything that Aetna wants, jump through all of the myriad of hoops, and slice through the walls of red tape, it might just happen. It pisses me off, though, to be honest. We pay all of this money in premiums, but when we want to actually use the insurance that we've been paying out of the nose for, it's like we're imposing on them or something. I'm sorry if they feel that way, but dammit! I've paid for this service, and they will do what I need to have done. I will kick, and scream, and cajole, and threaten. I will do whatever it takes to get this done.

I have all of the predeterminates for this surgery:

1. morbid obesity for a time period of longer than 5 years
2. GERDS or acid reflux
3. Sleep apnea
4. Arthritis
5. Diabetes

And each of these complications will do anything from lessen in severity to completely disappear when the excess weight is gone.

My ideal goal is 135-140 pounds. Realistically, I would be happy with 160-175. That's still overweight for my height, but it's a damned sight better than what I'm at now. It's funny, but it's been so long since I WAS a decent weight, that I have absolutely no memory of what it was like to be able to move freely.

Bah...work is over. I have more thoughts on this, but they'll have to keep for another time.