I went back for the second part of the sleep study and they attached me to all the wires again but this time the tech brought in a sleep apnea machine called a CPAP for me to use. The sleep doctor thought that I didn’t need a CPAP mask for my nose and mouth, and recommended a nasal only. The CPAP mask attached to a tube that was connected to a machine which forced air down my throat. After this visit they sent me home with my own CPAP to use. It was hard to get used to because I like to sleep on my side and stomach. It’s difficult to get comfortable sleeping with the mask on when you are used to sleeping in any position that isn’t on your back. hard with a cpap to sleep how i am used to sleeping. After a week of wearing it every night I started to get used to it and it did help me sleep better. I didn’t feel as tired like I did when I was waking up a hundred times a night.
Month seven comes and goes. I’ve completed all the required steps and turned in all the paperwork. Now it’s a waiting game to see if my surgery will be approved. My advocate Sunny sends everything off to the insurance company for review and told me that it could take a month to receive a confirmation that they were paying for it. Once it was confirmed she would call to schedule a time for my food class and surgery. At this point in time I met my now husband, Scott, and I didn’t waste any time telling him I was having the surgery. I was actually surprised he was interested in a relationship after I told him because my life was a hot mess but he became my hero. Scott was there for me through the hardest parts.
Well another month goes by, and I still haven’t heard from Dr. Schmitt’s office. I waited another week and then I called them. Sunny said she hadn’t heard anything but would check on it and call me back. Just my luck, she calls back and has bad news. My insurance apparently never received all of the paperwork that was sent. I did my part but I was mad and tired of waiting to have it approved. A couple more weeks go by and I get a letter from insurance saying sorry but we’ve denied the surgery. I called Dr. Schmitt’s office after crying my eyes out. Sunny said this is something that insurance companies do but she was still continue working to get it approved. That made me feel some what better and I waited again.
I am still not sure why insurance sent me that letter telling me that they weren’t paying for it because Sunny worked her magic and three weeks after that first letter, I received another saying that my surgery has been approved! Less than a day later I got a call to schedule my nutrition class and surgery. The nutrition class is required and usually scheduled a month before the surgery to give you info on how and what to eat before and after the surgery. They also walk you through the type of procedure that was selected.
At this point, I was excited. Scared and excited. My surgery was scheduled for September 30th 2015, the date that would change my life.
Full on Figure 