reallyrosy

Can non professional add their comments or is this open only to medical personnel?

My plan is the same and that is wht I am going to do...pay whatever bcbs doesn't cover. Its less than 29,000. I was going to pay that, myself. I absolutely cannot afford to wait any longer. As I told Monty, I'm a stroke wating to happen. My lungs and my heeart cannot tolerate the obese conditions much longer. I've lost 6# and (thanks to the incompetence of the first surgeon's office from 2010) a full year of my life. I'm praying for no complications and to emulate some of the success stories we read about in these forums. I'm 66. I don'tfeel that I have the luxury of time to mess around. Yes, I'll ask the surgeon pertinent questions @ the sise of the bougie he uses, but I think I would consent to a pickax and scissors and just get this over with, n o w! Good luck with your decision as well.

I must've misread u because I thought u were telling me and Monty to get the advantage plan. So your supplement will pay what medicare doesn't cover????

What a lovely message and great inspirational post to those of us still worried and dithering re our surgeries. I hope I have some of your good fortune and I hope yours and your husband's will continue. Thanks

Which is why comparing wt alone is silly. Age is a huge factor, too. Amt of energy expended daily is huge, amt consumed is a factor. Fagedaboud it. You know what? You didn't gain 77 lbs did ya? Go do a happy dance and keep on pluggin

Thanks, monty. Medicare is a federal program. The states got nothing to do with it. The supplemental medicare programs are state controlled. That's what I understand. But the fed gov't sets what medicare covers on a national level so if I can get it here thru medicare, you can get it there thru medicare. Promise

Initially I was quoted 24,000 but just before they gave up trying to convince me to do rny or an approved surgery. They told me it had gone up another 5,000 to 29,000. I was going to go for it anyway. Then I called bcbs and relayed to the hosp what they'd told me: if the doc pre certifies it as medically necessary then bcbs will pay what medicare doesn't. So this hospital is kindly running with that. The first hosp I tried a year ago, that surgeons office refused to follow thru on the information about bcbs paying wht medicare turns down. It has made me paranoid. I am worried, I'll wake up with a sleeve and a hole in my pocket. I can be prepared to py or I can be prepared to be covered but I don't like surprises and I have an instinctive distrust of all insurance coverages. They lie. They tell providers one thing and consumers something else. For what reason would medicare have a code for a procedure if they don't cover it? Bah obama, bah the u.s. health care system...if it is soooo wonderful as obama preaches, why are he and michelle and the kiddies exempt from it? Why isn't congress part of it? Hah????? Oh well. Going to get busy here. We're not quite opposite ends of the country, monty, but its a lovely fall day here. Whould u like me to send you some red and gold leaves???? <grin>

Hi Monty. I'm in CT. I read recently that cms is going to decide whethr to approve vsg b y oct 30. Might be a nice halloween trick or treat! Sigh.

What causes the nausea? Is this heartburn? Are u on a med for that, too? And, if I may ask, what size bougie did your doctor use? Congrats on being "ahead of the game".

As did my doctor's office as well but it ain't approved til it is approved and medicare is notriously slow to move in any direction. (Except up in fees) I'm cleared to go for the surgery, I'm told but I am hoping to have somethin in writing from an insurance co

Hey, me, too. I'm not as excited as you are. I thought I would be bouncing off the walls but, instead just find it difficult to focus on the everyday stuff and keep my 'secret'. Wondering why I'm not sharing with everyone. Reading some of the latest horror stories and hoping for better results. Knowing I can't do anything different at this point unless someone will kidnap me and wire my jaws shut for 8 weeks.... I do believe I've reached the end of my rope. Either I do this surgery or I resolve to live a life of consequences of obesity. Going for surgery and different living. Good luck to you.

I got a date for 11/7. Medicare won't cover but mysecondary will cover what medicare rejects. So at least I won't pay 100%. As for petitions...ain't gonna help nobody now. Your date is rapidly approaching, Ruthie, how are you doing with that? Monty? How is your sleeve working for you?

Care to share? I haven't had my preop yet but the surgeons offi,ce called with a date of 11/7 Do I ask questions? I never even met the doc

Good luck, Felicia. I hope I can share the sense that things are moving rapidly.

Thanks again for the response. Is asking my surgeon how he will attempt to minimize th complication a reasonable question? I don't want hi to kick me out of his office....

Thanks so much for that clarification! Makes sense, too. But why does the size of the bougie determine the acid reflux complication?

Well, now I'm confused, too. 15 cc is the volume tht your sleeve will hold. I was under the impression that bougie size referred to the size of the opening of the new stomach. Please clarify. I meet my surgeon on the first and want to 'look' like I know bwhat I'm talking about....

Wow. Were u able to walk before the sleeve?

What @ nuts?

Wow that is close! Is this your first surgery? How did u find him and did u ask how many vsg he'd done? How many times do u meet before he sets a date? I'm concerned why they are doing pre op testing before we even eyeball each other...heck, I'm terrified

I'm in CT and will meet surgeon 11/1 and have pre op testing on same day. There's been hardly any messages on this mentors list after the first few. What does that mean? No room for new requests or no interest?

I have my first meeting with my second surgeon 11/1. About 10 yrs ago I was 428. I developed pulmonary hypertension and couldn't walk from one room in the house to another. If I was carrying something and I dropped it, it stayed there. I started on phentermine and over the course of several years I lost 128#. Then I fell a couple times, broke a bone in each instance. Stopped working out doing Water aerobics and walking and started to gain. Also phentermine and zoloft made me sweat and lose bladder control. I stopped. I maintained my weight at just under 300 for acouple years. Now went back up to 320 and panicked. Don't want phen but did restart gym. Looked for surgeon for vsg last year and they strung me along hoping I would switch to band. Finally they said the insurance won't pay (it would have). So now I'm up to 320. Found hospital that will pursue insurance. Lost 6 lbs without phen just exercising 5 or 6 days a week. Hope pre tests yield no surprises. Hope to get thru this. Wonder who would take the meanest dog in the world if I don't make it thru. Wonder if I can "go with the flow" and learn to live since I have no experience with that. Wonder what it will be like to look human for more than a few weeks at a time and if I will know how to behave similarly. Otherwise, I plan to hide under a bridge and be the troll I was intended to be. Good luck to you and lemme know how u fare and wht you decide.

Interesting....how many vsg surgeries had your doc done? Did u have a reflux pblm?

Whew. Hugs.

Please...take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Easy. I know the panic feeling. You are breathing. This is temporary and you aren't killing yourself. That having been said, did u try to eat some mushy protrein? Maybe u can.