Butterflylegacy

Just out of curiosity..... is the sensation after the surgery similar to c-section? For some reason, that's what I keep comparing it to in my mind.

Yes ma'am! I have to be there at 7:30, and surgery is scheduled for 9:30. What time is yours?? We can high five each other in the hall later when we're doing our walking!!

My surgeon (Dr. David Kim) requires a sleep study for all of his patients, regardless of if you show symptoms of sleep apnea. I am not certain he requires this for self-pay patients, but I know he requires it for insurance pay patients. I was so happy he required it of me! Not only did I find out that I DO have sleep apnea (stopped breathing 148x during my study!), but the cost of doing the sleep study helped to reduce my deductible and out of pocket max, creating a situation where having my surgery essentially is costing me little to no money. I do have to bring my cpap with me to the hospital when I have my surgery. I also have to spend the night, but I don't think it has anything to do with my apnea, as it is a requirement to have an Upper GI the following day to check for leaks. If you are using insurance to go through this process, I would suggest asking your surgeon for a sleep study referral. If you are diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, it may be just the push your insurance needs to qualify you for the surgery under medical neccesity. I know I felt a lot more confident that I would be approved once I was diagnosed, and hopefully you will be as well! Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do!

Surely, you are aware of the support groups provided by your surgeon or even possibly by your hospital or surgery center. What support groups (if any) exist for the pre-op period? I am currently in my liquid diet phase (day 4 of 14). I have found tremendous support here on Vertical Sleeve Talk. I'd love to get to know some local people who may be going through the same challenges as me, or are preparing to go through them. I know no matter what I am not going to be able to do this successfully without support. Before I can ask for it, though I feel I need to offer it as well. If you are in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex, I am here for you! Let's kick some obesity butt!!

I am on UHC, and I was approved 1st letter. I think it depends on the employer who you have insurance through and whether or not they have subscribed and/or allowed their employees to utilize the bariatric services provided by UHC. Thankfully, my husband's employer subsribed to it, and therefore the option was mine. UHC is pretty specific however in what capacity they will approve you, or at least that's my experience. They require that your surgery be performed in a COE (Center of Excellence), which for me is over an hour away. I thought this was extreme, until I met other people at my surgeon's office who have travelled upwards of 5+ hours just to get to his office, much less the hospital the surgery will be peformed at! Thankfully, my surgeon is extremely aware of what it takes to be approved by insurance companies, and he seems to have figured out the "system" so to speak. He requires specific tests that help prove his case to the insurance company that the surgery is of medical necessity. The very first visit, he did an x-ray of my abdomen, and diagnosed me with Acid Reflux. He also requires all patients to do a sleep Study (I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea), and a Cardiac Stress test (I never heard anything back about this, so I am assuming I did ok). These tests serve two purposes from what I can tell. 1, as I mentioned, they assist the surgeon with proving to the insurance company that the surgery is medically necessary. 2, it helps to reduce your deductible and out of pocket max. For me - I have a BMI of 55, so I immediately met UHC's qualification. Having a BMI so high, also meant that I didn't have to prove continued weight loss attempts, etc. My only insurance requirement with my BMI was the psych eval. I have never experienced this process with any other insurance company, but I have to admit that I preferred UHC's method. They assigned an RN to me, as a case manager. She has kept in contact with me through out the process, and kept me informed as to where my case file was. She was eventually the person who reviewed all of the information provided by the surgeon and others (Sleep Study, etc.) and she called me to let me know that I was approved, before I even got the letter from them stating it. Good luck with this process!! I don't know if UHC treats their bariatric patients the same across the board, or if it varies by insurance plan, state, employer, etc. All I can say is that my experience with UHC has been exceptional. I have been very impressed!

Skane, I have a desk job too so I'm hoping to not be too wiped out when I return. My surgery is scheduled for a Thursday and I've only taken the day of and the day after off. The following week I will be working from home. (I'm thinking me, the laptop and my cell phone nestled comfortably in my bed). My job is mostly support and troubleshooting so I'm figuring if I would've taken the time off I would've ended up working anyway. Thankfully my coworkers and boss have been so super supportive. I think even when I do go back to work they'll go easy on me

June 7th Dr. Kim Decatur, TX woot woot!!

I'm on day 3 of my all liquid diet. My doctor requires only BariEssentials brand of Protein Meal Replacement shakes. I can have unlimited calorie free non-carbonated drinks as well as sugar free jell-o and popsicles. I've been able to trick up the chocolate flavor to taste similar to a Frosty. I have not been able to do as well with the vanilla. The shakes are just too thin and loose. I don't really care for them. I've been peeing like crazy, and I have lost 7 lbs so I'm really excited about that! I was really worried about the weekend and holiday but so far so good. I really haven't been hungry much at all. I'm hoping that means I'm getting used to it but something tells me this is going to get tougher not easier. My surgery is scheduled for June 7th. I have 10 days to go after today. Its so crazy to me that its almost here!! Good luck to everyone! I hope you're as excited as I am!