Need Some Hints to Qualify...

Hello, I am feeling disappointed and am looking for some advice. I was supposed to go to Columbia for the seminar today, only yesterday afternoon the dr. office called and the lady told me that I would be a candidate for the lap rny that I am trying for, only that my insurance, MC+ medicaide, wouldn't cover it since there was no co-morbidities. She went on to say that those were hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea and heart disease. I told her I had none of those. She said "Well, I'm quite sure at your weight you have sleep apnea at least. You may feel tired all the time, get frequent headaches, wake often in the night and not know why..." Was she trying to give me a clue??? I told her, to be honest, I don't have a pcp, I am basically healthy and don't go. She said, "You don't have to give up, we can work you up here, or you can go to a doctor where you live and have tests done. However, if we find out you need medication to treat you, we will have to make sure you are actively taking it, in order to be safe for surgery." I said, Well, I can go to a doctor here unless you think it would be better with you all. She said it didn't matter and if so, to fax the info to her afterwards. My question is this...do you feel it would be beneficial to have testing done at their hospital instead of a doctor here in town? I know this may sound fishy, I just want this SOOO bad, like all of you. I need all the help I can get. Thanks for any input. Kelly P.

In my opinion I dont think it matters . where you go . she was just suggesting maybe you have it , alot of people do and dont know it . When they hook you up to those machines the results is what they are gonna go by and both doctors will get smae results . they are not gonna medicate you for something you dont have .. do you have any co morb... like incocnience(sp) , loss of breath , depression,arthritis,back pain , etc... and going to a pcp might be in your best inbtrest maybe you have some of these and you dont even know .. good luck

Don't forget that things like heartburn (I think they call it GERD in the paperwork) and low self-esteem are also co-morbids. Also, if you don't regularly see a doctor, you might want to get in to see one. You might have high bloodpressure now, or your cholesterol/triglycerides/liver enzymes/blood sugar may all be off kilter. All of that stuff can be considered a co-morbid. It never hurts to know EXACTLY what your body is up to, and the more you know, the better chance you have of getting approved for surgery. As for sleep apnea testing...my PCP has a contract with an at-home company. You take the recording machine home and use it one night, and a lab interprets the results. It was Snap Labarotories, I think. Some insurances don't cover it, but the deal with my Dr. was that I would only have to pay 10% of the cost...out of pocket, it was $89. So if you're interested in going that route, ask around to see if you can find a doc that uses that. Pamela -101

Hi Kelly, sleep apnea does help your chance's. I went to Dr. Scott and he said medicaid is more likely to pay if you have sleep apnea, so I did a sleep study and they found that I do have sleep apnea and I have to be put on cpap and oxygen. I am still waiting to get all my info in to medicaid, OH friend, SherryWhite

Thanks for your quick responses. Yep, I know that I need my own pcp, I just have a bad habit of avoiding Dr.s office's. I have the mind-set, if it's not broke, why fix it... Oh boy, I DO have extreme shortness of breath when I go any distance, which is REALLY embarassing!!! I also suffer from heartburn and low self-esteem. Arthritis is a big issue along with lots of lower back pain. Plus now, I have alot of problems with my feet. It really feels like my arches are falling. Ouch! BUT, I guess those types of things aren't considered co-morbidities, according to Medicaide...? Anyway, I've listed those on my papers, but she still said I needed to be diagnosed with those original four that I stated on my last post, or my insurance wouldn't cover it. BOY, I'm trying not to getted bummed by this! Okay, so, now I am going to make an appointment with a doctor's office here in town for ASAP to get checked for diabetes and see if they can get me into a sleep clinic or ask about the machine I can take home. I AM curious about the diabetes though. Although my mom, dad and brother have it and treat it with insulin and I'm bigger than my mother by quite a bit, I have tested on their machines several times for curiosity sake in the past and it was always normal...around 90-100. So, I wonder if the testing hospital's perform can catch it in more accurate ways..perhaps catch PRE-diabetes before a normal glucose monitor would detect it? Hmmm. Okay guys, thanks a bunch for your answers.