Morgandobes

Good news, I can do "full liquids" fri,sat and sun. Which includes cream soups, tomato Soup, v8, etc. Clear liquids only Monday and Tuesday. Yay! Lisa

Thanks Everyone for the suggestions! I work so staying pretty much busy wont be an issue, but I guess its really about distracting yourself to not think about it. As far as I can tell my clear liquid diet is just that. Clear liquids. broth, juice, etc. Getting nervous, have just over one week until the deed. Good thing is my surgery is at 730 so I am the first procedure of the day and dont have to wait and be nervous over delays. Thanks guys, Lisa

Hi all Finally have a date of the 23rd a week from Wednesday. I start Clear liquids on Friday and was looking for some help from you veterans on how to stave off the clear liquid diet hungries. Probably not entirely possible, but I am hoping for something that might help! Thanks, Lisa

Thanks for the well wishes everyone, here's hoping for a quiet two weeks until my date! Lisa

Hi all For those of you who havent read my posts, I had the lap-band in '05, had it removed April of this year and with my doc's help, decided on the sleeve. When I talked to him he said he used a 48fr size. After some talking around I decided that was larger than I wanted, so I started checking into other surgeons and called my docs office to cancel. They called back the next day and said I could come talk to the doc about my sleeve size and when I went we agreed on a 34fr. When I originally called and talked to my insurance, they said that the sleeve would be covered. However when the Doc's nurse called to talk to them about insurance coverage..oops!..no, they considered it investigational. I also have insurance coverage thru my husbands insurance, Federal Blue Cross Blue Sheild. They approved the surgery upon denial from my first carrier, Anthem. So, once again everything appears to be in order, so my new date is 6/23. Soooooo looking foward to getting thin again!! Thank for listening :-) Lisa

You look Fahbulous Dahling!!! Congrats on the 1 year anniversary! You are an inspiration to everyone on this board. Good luck on the baby making, nothing in life makes you happier, this comes from a reluctant mom who decided she should have started earlier! Have a Fahbulous weekend! Lisa

Thanks for the additional info Tiffykins..what is springerlink? I have never heard of that. Lisa

Hi all While I was waiting for my insurance approval I was perusing the sleeve surgeries on youtube. My surgeon told me that the sleeve wont stretch, but I found this video by Dr Jossart in San Francisco that shows a newly made sleeve and the size of the sleeve after 4 years. Here is the link [nomedia=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRBKdTjY2Rg]YouTube- Vertical sleeve gastrectomy procedure from www.lapsf.com[/nomedia] Drag the movie to 8min 30 seconds and you can see a barium swallow showing the difference in immediately post-op and 4 years out. It appears to double in size. Just a thought, Lisa

Yay!!! Federal Blue Cross Blue Sheild for Colorado approved me for the sleeve!!! Yippee!! Just got off the phone for them, and checked twice that it was for the sleeve, and not the bypass. Even got an Auth# I am so excited! Now I have to wait for the docs office to give me a new surgery date. Whew, all this talk, I thought I wasnt going to get it approved. Even the pre-cert nurse that I briefly chatted with last week didnt think it would go thru. Lisa

You need to get a copy of your policy and look it over. In my Anthem Policy thru my employer it specifically states that the VSG is investigational. When I go through the federal b/c b/s it does not specifically state it. Get a copy of your policy and read the section on bariatric surgery well. Lisa

Thanks Jeannie Its good to have that information. I talked to Federal originally, and they told me that they cover it, but when my case nurse looked at it, she said it likely wouldent be approved unless I had a very high bmi and it was part of a two part procedure. So, my docs office let it go at that, and I got approval for the RNY. But, like you, thats not what I want. So, on Wednesday, I had my docs office submit the paperwork for the sleeve. I havent technically gotten a denial yet, just what the case nurse said. Maybe with a little luck, I will get it approved. Thanks, and good luck to all of us! Lisa

Thank you SO much! You just made a fat lady very happy! :thumbup: I pm'd you for that additional info, so my doc sent the request up, if it gets denied, I will have AMMUNITION! This will be a life saver for me.. Lisa

Hey!...thats not fair! lol Do you know who the nurse was for your pre-cert? I talked to Darla there yesterday. I am currently at a 44 bmi, but if I gain 5 lbs I will be at a 45 bmi! This sucks, huh? Did you have to do an appeal or anything? How long did your pre-cert take to go thru? Thanks, Lisa

This has turned out to be not true. I was told by the customer service rep that it was approved, but when my case nurse looked at it, she said it was still considered investigational. Looking at the appeals process

I am being denied by both Anthem B/C B/S and Federal B/C B/S Anthem is saying it is investigational and federal is saying they will only do it as a stage procedure with people with high BMI's I am trying to figure out what to do next.

Yay Christie! you go girl! I was worried when we didnt hear from you. According to the videos on youtube, the big one hurts because they have to stitch the muscles closed to avoid a hernia. The doc in the video I watched even said that that one would hurt more. Keep walking, and soon you will be up and around and making your hubby jealous!! Lisa

Thanks everyone!!..sooooo excited!

My costs are going to be whatever I have left for my max out of pocket for the year which is 3,000. But I used that up removing my band, so I dont expect to pay anything out of pocket and my doc does it as outpatient, so I wont be responsible for a hospital bill. Good luck!

Yay Christie! Cant wait to hear reports of what to expect!

Ok, talked to the doc, he said he would do a 32, we chatted about strictures, and I decided on a 34. He said it is a big deal of one-up-manship among bariatric docs since it is a fairly competitive business, and everyone wants to brag about how small they do their bougies..lol Anyway, good news is surgery is on the 2nd. One week of clears before surgery. Thanks to everyone who responded with info and good wishes! Lisa :001_tongue::thumbup:

Thanks to everyone for the replies! I have some knowledge now to go in armed with. My appt is tuesday, wish me luck! Lisa

Shoot..I left 38 off the list..sorry! I am just so thrilled that he may change his mind up a bit that I cant think straight..lol

My 'old' doc has agreed to discuss sleeve size with me(he wants to do a 48 and I want something in the mid 30's), I had told them I was changing docs yesterday, and his nurse called me today and said he would like for me to come talk to him about it. Thing is, they already have my insurance approval and everything in place and I had a surgery date with them for the 27th. My new doc search isnt going well, and it looks like I may have to go out of state. Would it be possible to do a little poll here about what everyone has for a sleeve size so I have some ammunition to take with me? If you could give me just your sleeve size that would be awesome and I would be gratefull. Thanks, Lisa

I had my band out three weeks ago. My doc would not do the band and the sleeve in the same surgery. He said that he wants where the remove the band to heal up to make it clearer when they cut to do the sleeve. But, I have since decided he is very conservative. I know a couple of people on board had the band out and the sleeve done on the same day. I think I would prefer that option, have the pain and get it over with. My doc wanted to go witha 48fr and I decided that was way, way too big for me. Many of the docs on this board go with a 32fr. My new doc I have picked does a 36 and although I wish he would go to a 32, I am comfortable with that size. But I have about 130 lbs to lose. Good luck to you with your decision, Lisa

Now that thar's funny..any other time we would be offended, eh? :-) Congrats!