Just a general Census....

BCBS of Oregon just started approving WLS in March as many of you may know. When i went to my seminar at the end of March, i was amazed that well over half of the people worked for the State. I have met a couple of people at the clinic that work in the same field as i do and i'm wondering, how many people on here work for the state, and in what department. I myself work in SOCP as an HTT2. I am just wondering how many more are out there. Of course the names of site locations Will not be mentioned, im just curious how many of us are out there, going through this together.... ~Peace~ Amy

Actually BCBS started paying for RNY on Jan. ist. I work for the Department of Human Services. My RNY was August 1st and I have lost 20 pounds since that day! I'm thrilled. I really have not had any problems after the first week and I'm returning to work on Monday. Good luck to everybody!

oops, my mistake, maybe i just didnt get my info packet till march or something, i dont know where i got that it started coverage in March. Well anyhow, congrats!!!! I cant wait to be a loser too! Keep posting on the progress. ~Peace~ Amy

I'm not sure what SOCP is, or an HTT2. I work for the state police as a dispatcher but when I was seeking out the surgery over 2 years ago, it wasn't covered unless you lived in the metro area and had Kaiser. Pure geographical discrimination IMO. Anyway, I hauled my butt off to Mexico and paid out of pocket. Best thing I ever did for myself! I know of 2 folks in the Salem area who had theirs done recently and I've been talking to a couple of folks at work about it but I don't believe any of them have gone through any of the processes. Dina

That is so cool that all of these state employees are now getting the coverage they deserve! I have to think that some of the efforts I know you went through to get your's covered did some good towards the eventual change in policy. Your support of people wanting and getting WLS is so great! Plus, I always love seeing your name and face. Your latest picture is it girl!!! You are flat out stunning. Ain't life great? It continues to be the best thing I ever did for myself and my family. Patty

Amy, I work for DHS/ Child Welfare in Eugene/Springfield. I was curious about the MRSA infection on your arm. What does that look like? My daughter has something on her arm we can't figure out what it is. Looks like it may be some kind of staph infection. Diane

mine started on last Wed. It looked like a little bug bite, or pimple. I tried to pop it to no avail. By wed. night it was red and swollen about the size of a quarter, it felt like someone had punched me in the arm. It was stiff and hot to the touch. I could only bend my arm about half way. The next day it was way more swollen, even hotter and couldnt hardly bend it at all. If i held my arm out it litterally looked like a popeye forearm. I went to the doctors and they said it was an infection, drained it, cultured it and put me on antibiotics. They marked out the red swollen area so i could watch for spreading. The culture came back as MRSA. Over the next 2 days, it spread more, hurt worse, had a high fever in my arm, though no where else in general really, well 2 days later i was running a low grade but not too bad. I was in the er 2xs back at urgent care 3xs and again 2 more times later. On 2 differnt antibiotics and had an IV antibiotic. If any of this sounds close i would definately have it checked out. This has been no fun and has kept me out of work for well, 11 days now, and i cant go back till monday. theres too much risk of spreading it till the incision is closed. Keep in mind, initially i thought it was a spider bite. It itched a little, however once it started swelling it no longer itched, it physically hurt, and even burned at times. Later in the stages it felt like someone was pin *****ing me occasionally around the outer perimiter of the infection, and other times it felt as if someone was holding a cigarette just above my skin. Like isolated heat. And to top everything off, i went back for a follow up 2 days ago and the doctor removed the band-aid, one of those huge ones, ( i had been using them between cleaning, the wraps are soooo bulky, i prefer the sleekness of the bandaid) anyhow, due to my skin having been so hot from infection, and swollen so bad, on the inner part of my arm, just below the inner elbow, the bandaid took my skin with it. It bled like crazy. So now im healing up 2 wounds and have to use this crazy uncomfortable ace bandage type things in this heat! Sorry its sooooo drawn out, but i hope for your kids sake, its not MRSA! ~Peace~Amy

Amy, wow, sorry for what you've been through. sounds very painful. This does not sound like what's on my daughter's arm. I've never heard of MRSA until recently and now I am hearing about it more and more. hope your feeling better soon. Diane

Thanks, im just ready to get back to work. The last 5 and a half days have been with out pay, i ran out of paid time off, so this will definately hit us next month. Well, at least i wont really be eating much next month so we should actually be okay....~Peace~ Amy

Amy, I am a case manager with DHS Self-Sufficiency in Salem. I just attended my informational meeting on August 16th and am "patiently" waiting to hear back to see if I was approved or not. Leslie