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Now I'm just waiting on the Nurse to call and schedule things.. Sent from my SM-G991U using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi, I'm new here. I joined this forum with the expectation that my surgery was going to be about 10 months from now. I went to the surgeon today and I'm looking at two to three months from now. Which yay?!? I don't have to think about the what if's as long, but now I'm overly anxious about "holy crap, it's so soon I don't have time to prepare". I'm having the bypass which is what I went into the appointment expecting him to say I would need. I'm just nervous and jumping in head first reading all the posts. Thanks for sharing your stories, I didn't want to read them while being a creeper and not sharing mine.

I have BCBS of Illinois and they covered everything but $1500, and my secondary covered $1200 of that. So I only had $300 out of pocket. They approved my surgery within 48 hours of my surgeon's office submitting everything. From my 1st appt to my surgery date was 2 1/2 months. BCBS only required 1 pre op and 1 post op nutritionist appt, 1 psych eval, approval letter from my neurologist (because I have MS), approval letter from my PCP, having tried at least 2 methods of weight loss in the past (my PCP knew about me doing keto and also low/no calorie and put that in the approval letter). So it was a fast and painless process. My surgeon's office wanted the blood work and EKG before surgery. BCBS approved every test with no issues.

Do the INTERNAL work first, and don't stop. Counseling, books, support groups. Do whatever you need to so that you are in a healthy place mentally and emotionally BEFORE surgery and then keep going because you WILL need it after. I did a ton of work before surgery and felt like I was in a really good place, but I didn't keep up with most of it post-op and really struggled for a while. The hormonal changes, body changes, and lifestyle changes all add up and suddenly I didn't recognize myself or my life anymore. this is a lifelong process, you will be a WLS patient for the rest of your life, and making sure you are taking care of your WHOLE self is so, so important.

So I called them, and it took 3 different calls, but they were able to tell me a little (they confirmed I have the coverage, and because I have the diamond plan, it has the absolute most coverage). SO then when I had my first appt with my bariatric surgeon, I was able to speak with the person who handles the insurance and she pulled up my coverage and was really able to give me more clarity on what's covered (basically, all 3 major bariatric surgeries, all the testing, the psych eval, and the 2 nutritionist appts). It really depends on the level of coverage you choose. The higher the plan, the more coverage you get. I have MS and I have had every medication, every MRI, every specialist, every EVERYTHING covered no questions asked. Same with my bariatric surgery, same with PCP, same with pretty much everything. Lower plans (and this goes for any insurance) cover less. Higher plans cover more.

Really interesting thread. The calculator is way out for me (thankfully!) but again most interesting to see it and play around with it.

Happy to report since my surgery date on 8/1, it’s 8/15 and I’m down 22lbs. First night in the hospital was brutal getting woken up every couple of hours for vitals and blood work. Not a whole lot of rest. Luckily, I was able to come the next day. Started my liquid diet and haven’t had any issues with any of my “meals”. On week 3 now and introduced an egg and still no issues. Toughest part is still getting in all the water that’s recommended. I hope all you other August surgery buddies are doing well!!

Great analysis, thanks! Very helpful indeed.

So, one more question on this. Allowing for the fact that everyone is different, does losing more weight pre-op indicate faster or slower loss post-op?

I would add start as soon as possible. The longer you are free from the habit the better. You will be going through more changes during the pre op and post op diets and ideally you will be over the vaping thing totally by then.