VSGandMe2011 (DisneyMomma)

For those of you who used insurance, did you pay anything up front before your surgery or did they bill you after? My deductible will be met after my sleep study in January, and then my insurance pays 80% until I meet my maximum out of pocket. How did this work for you? (Anyone not using Dr. Nick, feel free to share your experience as well!) I'm just trying to get all my ducks in a row!!

Wow. I think Jillian has some great ideas on weight loss and she's been super sucessful with her contestants on BL, but just like surgery isn't the best option for everyone....just dieting and working out isn't the best option for everyone! Sorry, but I just can't believe her skinny-self when she says "diet, self-exploration and exercise" are the only way. I'm so excited about getting sleeved in February!! Happy Valentines Day to me and my hubby!!! <3

Anyone?????

Ok, I called and got my NUT appt, psych eval and sleep study scheduled for the first 2 weeks in January!! I'll be ready to submit everything to my insurance company very soon after January 12th! WOW!! I'm so excited! AND here's the AWESOME part.......(drum roll please...) Empire BCBS now covers the sleeve!!!! "Medically Necessary: Gastric bypass and gastric restrictive procedures with a Roux-en-Y procedure up to 150 cm, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (for example, the Lap-Band® System or the REALIZE™ Adjustable Gastric Band), vertical banded gastroplasty, biliopancreatic bypass with duodenal switch, and sleeve gastrectomy (open or laparoscopic) are considered medically necessary for the treatment of clinically severe obesity for selected adults (18 years and older) who meet ALL the following criteria:........" YAY!!!!! Can I do a happy dance?!?!!!!!!! WooHooo!!!!! Just had to share!! :bananapartyhat: :bananapartyhat: :bananapartyhat: :bananapartyhat: :bananapartyhat: :bananapartyhat: :bananapartyhat: :bananapartyhat: Merry Christmas to me!!!

Thank you, Leslie! I was gearing up for a fight with my insuarnce company and am so glad I'm not going to need to!! I was looking at the lap band too, but really wanted something more permanent and something without foreign objects being left inside me! Thanks for celebrating with me!!

I can really see a huge difference!! Way to go!! Can't wait to join you as a sleeved sister!!

Hi, Gina! Welcome! Congrats on your surgery date! This site is wonderful! A wealth of information and such friendly people! I'm excited for you!! GL!

Ok, I called and got my NUT appt and psych eval scheduled!! I'll be ready to submit everything to my insurance company very soon after January 12th! WOW!! I'm so excited! AND here's the AWESOME part.......(drum roll please...) Empire BCBS now covers the sleeve!!!! "Medically Necessary: Gastric bypass and gastric restrictive procedures with a Roux-en-Y procedure up to 150 cm, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (for example, the Lap-Band® System or the REALIZE™ Adjustable Gastric Band), vertical banded gastroplasty, biliopancreatic bypass with duodenal switch, and sleeve gastrectomy (open or laparoscopic) are considered medically necessary for the treatment of clinically severe obesity for selected adults (18 years and older) who meet ALL the following criteria:" YAY!!!!! Can I do a happy dance?!?!!!!!!! WooHooo!!!!! Just had to share!!

Caramel - That's awesome!!!! Congrats!! AFM - I scheduled my sleep study for the beginning of January and that will take care of my deductible, then I just need to look at getting my NUT appt and psych eval scheduled!! YAY! The ball is rolling!! Yippee!!!

I just got my letter from my Dr's office and I have 3 documentation requirements before they will submit my request for approval. 1. Psychiatric evaluation 2. One-time diet consultation 3. A pre-operative sleep study Does anyone know how much these things will cost me?? I'm really excited that this is all they need! Pretty simple! I won't be able to do these things until January (Christmas is taking all our extra $$), but I'm so excited that it seems to be pretty simple!! WooHoo!!!! (If anyone has any experience with these things and Dr. Nicholson's office, I'd appreciate the insight!)

Ok, I figure I won't be the only one wondering about Empire BCBS (my hubby works for Sears Holding) so I thought I'd just keep updating this thread with how the process works for me! I just got my letter from my Dr's office and I have 3 documentation requirements before they will submit my request for approval. 1. Psychiatric evaluation 2. One-time diet consultation 3. A pre-operative sleep study Does anyone know how much these things will cost me?? I'm really excited that this is all they need! Pretty simple! I won't be able to do these things until January (Christmas is taking all our extra $$), but I'm so excited that it seems to be pretty simple!! WooHoo!!!!

Anyone else????

Congratulations!!! GL tomorrow!!!

Absolutely wonderful!!! I can't WAIT to have mine done! Thank you for sharing!!

Wow!!! That's WONDERFUL!!! I'm waiting to hear back from my dr's offce and I won't be financially ready until February 2011, so I'll have plenty of time to get the extras done! Thanks for the good news, Caramel!

My first seminar is tonight....I've made plans to attend a couple in the past, but ended up not going (just wasn't ready). But tonight, DH & I are having a "seminar date"! I have a friend that's watching my kiddos and I'm EXCITED!! Nervous but way more excited!! I can't wait to get this ball rolling!! Just had to share!

The seminar last night was GREAT! I really enjoyed hearing Dr. Nick talk about all 3 surgeries and he is SO nice. He's only had 3 deaths in 7500 WLS, and that made me feel pretty good! DH went with me and we both agree that the sleeve is still the preferred surgery, but if our insurance just totally refuses to do it then gastric bypass is what I'll go with. Now I'm waiting to see what the insurance ladies tell me about my insurance coverage! I'm ready to get this ball rolling!!

Thank you, Deb! For the first time I have hope!!

Hi, Plannergirl! I'm going to use Dr. Nick....so probably Baylor at Plano. What dr are you using? Our maximum out of pocket is going up in January (new insurance year) and I can't remember what it is....somewhere around $3000, So I'm expecting to pay about $4000 since my deductible is $630. Thanks so much!!

I'm trying to get my finances in order so I can have VSG done in Feb/Mar 2011. I'm seeing cash prices listed, but it's as if the price if you have insurance is a BIG secret!! LOL! Maybe that isn't the case, but can anyone tell me what to expect price-wise? I'm hoping to use Dr. Nick in Dallas and I've BCBS Select PPO. Individual deductible of $630 and a family maximum at about $3500, plus an in-patient co-pay of $250. Then they cover 80% for bariatric surgeries. Also, what does that cover? I know I'll get more info from Dr. Nick's office soon, but I'm an info junkie! LOL! Thanks so much!! Dana

Thank y'all so much! I've struggled SO much over the last 3 years in believing that God would bless any WLS that I thought I needed. I know that struggle wasn't from the Lord, but from Satan. I'm glad to say that it is a struggle no longer. Has food been an addiction for me? Yes. Will I defeat it? YES. I just need some help! I love what Tiffykins said in one of her many helpful posts... (paraphrase by me, since I can't find the post!) Would we criticize a breast cancer patient for having a masectomy? No way! ....So why would I criticize myself for using the wisdom that God has given WLS surgeon's to help me? It's the same thing. My stomach is killing me, just like that lump in a cancer patients breast. I'm not saying that WLS is right for every obese person....but it is right for me. I'm so excited and I'm looking forward to the freedom that God is holding out to me....truly a second chance. Thanks again and God bless us all as we strive to live long, healthy, productive lives for Him!!

That is so wonderful!!! I have PCOS too and although I do have 2 girls, we haven't been able to conceive baby #3 for the past 5 years. I'm so excited for you!! Hoping your cycle becomes "normal" and that you get preggers really soon!!! Congrats! Any advice you might have for a fellow "cyster" would be so welcome!!

I'm 34 and am hoping to have my VSG in Feb/March 2011. I've told my DH (obviously!), my BFF and her hubby. That's IT. I won't be telling anyone else until the night before my surgery, then we'll tell our parents and siblings. I have a really rocky relationship with my parents and I know they won't be supportive. I've been above 200 lbs since 1999....it's been long enough. I want to see my kids grow up, get married, enjoy my grandkids......I want to enjoy my kid's childhoods and a much more active life with my hubby! I'd love to play volleyball with him in our church league, but I'm just too fat!! And I want the weight gone FOREVER. Not just for 6 months. After I have surgery and when people start asking me about how I'm losing so much weight, here's what I plan on telling them.... "It wasn't the "easy" option to have surgery, it was the "best" option for me. I've tried for many years to lose the weight and KEEP it off....nothing else has worked! I'm not saying that surgery is the best option for everyone but it was for me and I only have myself to worry about!" If I have anyone that decides to be negative and give me their opinion about how wrong I was.....i will politely ask them to stop and if they don't, I will walk away. I'm a grown up and I don't have to take negativity from anyone! Anyway! GL to you!!!

That is so wonderful!!!! Congratulations!!!