Nancy Rivers

Welcome to the forums. I hope your insurance approval comes soon!

Congratulations on your success so far!

Congratulations on getting through the surgery! The weight will come back off. Just concentrate on getting your fluids in - the rest will take care of itself.

The thing is, since I have to have an individual policy, this is the ONLY insurance that I can get where I live. I checked before signing up for them a couple of years ago. The reason? Well, because I am morbidly obese, I am considered UNinsurable. Because BCBS is non-profit - they HAVE to accept everyone. Otherwise I would not have any health insurance.

Welcome to the forums. Keep looking around the site - you will find a LOT of advice and support here. Don't be afraid to ask questions either. The only stupid question is the UNASKED one.

There's a few people on the forums who are more than a year out - and are doing great. Look through the different forums and posts. You will find all kinds of information and advice from those who have had the surgery a "long time ago". That's one of the great things about this particular site - there are a lot of participants at each stage of the process who are more than willing to share information.

I have blue cross blue shield - and my policy specifically excludes WLS. However, a lot of other people who have BCBS do have coverage and insurance pays for it. Having an individual policy really stinks - but I don't have a job that has benefits (gotta love it when the company considers you as a contract employee so they can get away with giving NO benefits - NOT!).

There's a fair number of people on the boards who have seen Dr. Alvarez. If you look around on the different forums - there is one specifically about the various doctors and hospitals - I know there is at least a thread or two on him. Good luck.

Do not avoid the nutritionist. They will be able to help you learn how to eat better, proper portions, and give you some ideas on how to handle change in diet that the surgery requires. I'm very grateful that I get to see a dietician and she has told me to email her anytime with questions. I will be meeting with her on Monday again when I go through pre-op teaching and I have a huge list of questions for her that I know she will be able to answer.

The main difference in the length of time is due to insurance. Some insurances that cover the WLS require 3 months, some require 6 months, some longer - but the vast majority seem to require 6 months diet before hand. However, if the insurance will NOT cover the WLS, then the surgery can be completed much sooner if you have the funds available. For me, my insurance will not cover the surgery, so from the time that I met the surgeon to the time of my surgery it will be 2 months. The month prior I had attended the informational seminar.

Welcome to the forums! For me, it was just shy of 2 months from the first appointment with the surgeon to the surgery. However, I am self-pay so insurance has no say in it really. Your insurance may require longer, or the doctor might require more time. Also, if the surgeon is "popular" and has a very full schedule, it could be longer.

Mine is the 12th. I go for the pre-op teaching on Monday and start the 2 week diet on Tuesday. I can't believe it is so close!

On Friday I will have the EGD done. I know the doctor will "knock me out" for it, but what else should I expect? For some reason, I'm getting nervous about this. I think they will just stick a scope down my throat and take a look at things. It doesn't sound scary or any reason to be nervous, but yet, I'm getting that way. When I had my back surgery 4 years ago, I wasn't this nervous.

So I had the EGD done today and it was a piece of cake. (oops - bad analogy, can't have cake... lol) I got to the hospital and they did a urine test (pregnancy), blood test (glucose) and an EKG. Then I was taken back to prep for the surgery - get the saline IV and talk to the docs and nurses. They wheeled me into the room, the nurse anesthesiologist said "I just gave you something to relax". I know they put the oxygen thing on, but then the next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery 1/2 hour later. My throat isn't even sore from the scope. What really bugged me though was while I was sitting in the surgical waiting room before they took me back to prep, there were two people who came out of the surgical prep/recovery area. One was in a wheel chair, the other was pushing her. Both were very obese (each one was about 2 of me!) and were carrying McDonald's bags and large sodas. They proceeded to sit in the surgical waiting area and eat their large breakfasts. I was never so glad to be taken back into the prep area. It was a good reminder of WHY I am doing this surgery - I do NOT want to be like those 2 anymore.

Good luck on Monday!

So, I finally got the results of my bloodwork from May 27. My A1C and blood sugar were predictably high - although the A1C was the highest it has ever been it is still under 9. My cholesterol was within "normal" range for total, but HDL vs LDL is out of whack. Triglycerides are within normal range. Vitamins are all good except D is showing as low. I also received a letter from my surgeon's office - from the PA actually. She stated they received the results of the blood tests and gave me the A1C, sugar and cholesterol levels. Nothing about if those would delay my surgery - but I'm guessing not as everything else is proceeding apparently. She said nothing about the Vitamin D being low though. I have called the surgeon's office and had to leave a message. I am wondering if having low Vitamin D would delay the surgery. Or if the other results would delay the surgery - although if that was the case, I would think that something would have been said in the letter that I received. Or they would have called to let me know - but maybe not. I'm probably just over-reacting, but anyone have any insights on this?

Glad to hear you gals are doing great! I've been wondering as I hadn't seen posts, but I figured "life happened". Thank you for posting updates.

I think it is normal to be scared. After all, this is a major surgery leading to a major change in lifestyle. Change is always scary. But you can do it! Just remember the reasons why you are doing this. Good luck with the surgery!

I was told the only type of protein I should have is Whey Protein Isolate as that is what is best absorbed in the body.

Congratulations!

Congratulations! You're doing awesome!

I am having my EGD tomorrow. I don't have to do the sleep study because I was previously diagnosed with sleep apnea. I have already had an ultrasound of the gallbladder and a complete blood workup including Vitamin assay and an urine sample taken. I'm anticipating a couple more tests - like EKG and perhaps another round of blood tests shortly before the actual surgery - but I don't know that for sure. I hope to find out for sure on Monday. What tests each doctor orders is different and it is partially based on the patient's history too. It's not surprising that many of us have different tests. I know some on here have to have pulmonary and cardiac clearances - I didn't because I don't have any issues that way.