NewMe2Bee

who is your surgeon? my surgeon is Dr.Zorn and my date is December 30th. You will be leaving as I will be coming in. Prayers be with you...

I also experienced this when I had blue cross PPO. my out of pocket was $5000 when I was considering the lap band that was 5 yrs ago. I absolutely couldnt afford it. Then I switched jobs they offered a PPO and kaiser and I heard Kaiser was passing out authorization for WLS like candy after you take a mandatory class soo I went with Kaiser because I knew the process of PPO 6months monitored weight loss and 20% out of pocket. Kaiser out of pocket is $10.00 copay. just continue to hang on your opportunity will come.

Hello and welcome to the sleeve family, 5 year history sure sounds like a lot of data to gather. This is probably a determent so people will give up and not want to jump through all the hoops to get the surgery , that they will have to pay the cost to provide. The most that I have heard of with BC is 6 months, before I switched to Kaiser and was pursuing the lap band. BC wanted me to have 6 months of MD documentation to say that I was aggressively trying to lose weight with an nutritionist and medical doctor. The upside is that if you have been with the company for at least 5 years and have progress notes that your provider documented in the plan of care with obesity and/or overweight written in the context you should be okay. Good luck with everything and keeps us informed on your journey. You will find as you go through the post that everyone besides the out of pockets sleevers ( I assume) had to jump through some type of hoops in order to get approved through the insurance companies. If you are determined to to get the procedure and lose the weight you will do whatever it takes because this to shall pass....

Okay so I received my surgery date today of January 17th. I know this year is almost over but I am more concerned about gaining weight. I placed myself on the cancellation list just in case someone changes their mind before the year is up. It's not like I am in a rush to go under the knife but I just really, really don't want to gain back the 38lbs that I have lost thus far. I know that I have made life style changes and I have to stick to them , but we all know the yo-yo of weight loss and weight gain. I was so hoping for something sooner just so I won't fail and gain weight and the doctor tells me that I haven't learned a thing since I gain all the weight back..... It's a bittersweet feeling right now So frustrated...

CONGRATULATIONS, SO WONDERFUL TO HEAR. I AM NOT SCHEDULED UNTIL NEXT YEAR, BUT I AM EXCITED TO TELL MY STORY ONE DAY. THANKS FOR THE INSPIRATION.

I am not sure why the kaisers are functioning in different ways. I really don't think they prepared themselves for the 12wk change and the overwhelming number of people that would be going through these classes. My bellflower location allowed us to choose between them and Pacific. I haven't even heard of crown. It takes time but it will all come together. they push all these Kaiser patients to Pacific and they weren't prepared either. We just all want to be safe and get the surgeries with success. Best wishes to you

I called Pacific Bariatric today to follow up on scheduling my date. I was informed that my chart was still sitting on my surgeon desk waiting to be signed off. The surgeon has been out for the past week. They also informed me that the longer it sits there , the longer it will be for my surgery, he is due to return tomorrow. Anyway, after holding on for 30 minutes and then finding out my chart still isn't signed off after a month they hit me with the hardest hit. I asked so are you still booking for November and December , they said no it's all booked up were now booking for2011- January. I was like whooo... So I have been done since end of July and chose Pacific Bariatric thinking it would be a shorter wait time then Kaiser which at the time the options nurse said Kaiser was 5-6 months at West LA and 8 months at South Bay or whatever other one that does the bariatric procedures and Pacific was 4-6 weeks of course I wanted it to happen sooner than later. But I truly feel like I have been duped. Was Kaiser just pumping PB up so that all of us would opt of waiting for Kaiser. I could have stayed within the local area instead of trying to figure out who's going to take me 3 hours away and who's going to stay, take off work to stay with me and then take me home upon discharge. I am a little disappointed. I truly thought that this was going to go a lot smoother , a lot quicker. But at the end of the day , I have to get over it and continue to work on me and the changes I am making right now. It's nothing I can do to change it, so I have to let it be. But for today I am disappointed.

thanks for the tips , I will take all the positive thoughts that are given to me and move forward. Drew Carey did really well with his weight loss and he looks great.

I hear you Kim and I am not complaining, the process is over and the date if made. I just thought because I started this process back in April that I would at least get date before the new year is up so the weight would least likely to return. But I will stay focused and put the worries behind me. I have been taking the biotin for a couple of months now . I was truly surprised how cheap they were at Sam's Club , I know where I will go from here on out. I even have my 3 daughters taking one each day along with our vitamins, this helps to keep mommy on track daily. I still haven't explain it to them just yet but I did tell them I have to get my gall bladder removed. They are 12,10,8 and I know they will understand, I just don't know how to say it. Really I just don't want them to worry about mommy..... thank you for all your support and blessings for the future and your sleeve date and new body.

I hope that you get your New Year's wish as well. You have everything in place , just stay focused and the the time will be here before you know it.

congratulations on your new year date, I don't know how to add the ticker. I don't have one either. I think you should book your flight as soon as possible to try to get the best prices before the holidays raise the prices. where are you getting your surgery done?

thank you so much for the support from you and everyone here. As I stated it is a bitter sweet, it really hasn't hit me yet but Im working on it. Happy Birthday/Sleeve day is what I will be celebrating for you and for me. I don't think my surgeon will turn me down. He didn't seem to be that strict, I am probably being more strict on myself trying to prove to myself that I can move forward. I am not that concerned with the holidays, Im not a turkey girl anyway and after a plate of the sides on thanksgiving , I usually am satisfied no left overs for me. I usually go out to family and don't even cook at my house so I don't have to eat it over and over again. So I will watch what I eat, continue with my exercise regimen, dont drink to much for the holidays and get my mind, body and soul ready for the transformation that is to come. I will keep you posted. congratulations on your weight loss as well.

How did you do it ryansgirl? what was daily regimen to lose and your daily regimen to maintain? I have about the same amount of weight to lose as you have and I honestly keep wondering if it is truly possible. But after reading from you that it is it gives me hope. I look forward to hearing about this journey. I will also check some of your previous post, I am sure someone else has asked the same question.

Hey BlaqBeary, I am not unhappy, I am good it's just the wait game is just that the wait game. I will just keep touching basis with them and go from there, I know I will have a date soon and I will just go from there. Yes you are right we are farther then others and at least that' all I am waiting for is a surgery date. The forum is very helpful. I have already began to think about the things I will be stocking up on like sugar free popsicles, my Protein drinks, etc. I am going to stay on the liquid diet for a month it looks like that is key as well as help with quicker weight loss starting off. Keep me informed on your progress as I will do the same. Thanks for all the support

Glad to here you have it all set up, It goes so quickly my 21 days have come and gone and I am still waiting. My surgeon was out for a week so my chart is just sitting on his desk for review. Once he gives it to the coordinator then we can get a date going. when I called today to check the status and confirm everything is booked up for the year. I asked to be placed on a cancellation waiting list just in case someone changes their mind before the year is up, I am trying to coordinate with my job as well. We will see what happens, I will call back again tomorrow since we are going on over a month and I would just like to get a date so this can stop being a thought. I have to wait no matter what, I am not in control of that part but I can't get on the list until I actually get a date so hopefully tomorrow. Have fun on your consult day and don't spend to much at the Cno.

I know I am going to get hate mail for saying this but the doctor at my clinic that I manage said their is no true effect of smoking right before surgery because your lungs are already compromised and it takes at least 6 months of no smoking to start true reversal of compromise although after smoking they will never be 100%. My suggestion is that you do the best that you can and if you find yourself still smoking up until surgery just try not to smoke as least 24 hours before going under. You know there are risk with anesthesia no matter what but try to stop you don't want this habit to create more compromising with your respiratory system. you could need more oxygen for a much longer time because the lungs are compromised which by the way can happen to even a non smoker It is also possible that it may be harder to bring you back from under the anesthesia which also can happen to a non smoker , it is just that because as stated smoker lungs are more compromised as compared to healthier non smoking lungs. Also smoking also slows down the healing process because of it's restricting reaction to our vessels. Wish you the best in your journey. Hope this helps.

How exciting, keep up the good work..

when you go they will give you a information packet, it will be a CD of what to expect and what to start doing to prepare for the surgery. Along with that it's a letter that states although you are eager to get your surgery , we are working hard to get all your paperwork together. Please don't call it slows down our process, give us 21 days to collect all the consultation information from each doctor and allow the time for the surgeon to review. If you must contact us please email us and they give a email address. after the 21 days the goal is for them to call with some dates to choose your surgery date. That funny you named the exact place that I went to right off of Friar but I couldn't think of the place. I went to see Inception it was excellent. Keep me updated on how it all goes

I haven't had the sleeve yet but have already prepared myself for any side effects that may come along with it. My aunt who is on chemo once a month has major nausea we got of book of home remedies because medications weren't working. some of the options were ginger tea, ginger candy and peppermint water. We bought her all of these things and it helps her get through those bad days. the peppermint water is peppermint extract dropped in warm water it is very tasty and soothing to the stomach. I don't know if this information will help. But I already have my supply of all of it so that I won't suffer to much. I have to be well within 2wks to return to work so i am going to do all I can to get well and ready to get back on the floor at work. we know that all these side effects are temporary and the weight lost is worth it all because of all our family that we see on this site that got through as well.