CMaxwell331

Good luck! You'll do great!

Band buddy! I was banded yesterday as well and am feeling quite sore. Had some Isaura while in the hospital last night. Couldn't pee for the life of me and ended up making my port incision bleed while trying. I was so frustrated because I could feel that i had to go! So they ended up cathetering me to make me take it easy for the night, and I managed to tinkle this.morning which got me a one-way ticket OUT! As much as I miss the adjustable hospital bed, I'm glad to be home.

My paperwork should have gotten submitted to my insurance company Sept. 4, but I still haven't heard anything yet Now I'm beginning to wonder if 1) the mean girl at my surgeon's office didn't submit it, or 2) I'm doomed to denial. Help!!!

Congrats Matt!

I'm going to stay up as late as possible tonight to be at the hospital at noon so I won't be looking at the clock either

Thanks! Doing last minute grocery shopping tonight thinking happy, skinny thoughts!

I took 2 weeks because I have to take 5 days before my sick time kicks in, and I figured why the heck not take 2 weeks to get most of my liquid diet out of the way so I won't have to bring half of my kitchen in with me lol 2 more days I can't wait!!!!

I just got my date yesterday, October 2!!! Very excited! Only sucky thing is that my surgery is at 1:30pm, so no food or liquids after midnight... Now I know why that date and time were open lol

I got my approval yesterday!!! Surgery is this Tuesday October 2... Wish me luck!

So I feel like an ass just a little bit, but not entirely... I heard back from the supervisor at the surgeon's office, and she told me that the girl that submits the paperwork was on an unexpected medical leave. The reasons I don't feel bad are because I spoke with the girl the day i asked for my stuff to be submitted before she transferred me to the other girl at the office that gave me an attitude. Second, it's a SURGEONS office, and they do general surgery as well, so you're telling me that no one is covering anyone when they're out?!? I find that a little hard to believe. Anyway, the girl was expected to return from her leave on Tuesday, so my stuff should go to the insurance company by the end of this week. I made sure to send every little detail to the surgeon's office to help my case as much as possible. My PCP was not cooperative in the least, but I made sure to get a copy of my visit notes with him to (hopefully) prove to my insurance that I'm trying. Wish me luck!!!

So I called my health insurance this morning to find out what the hold up was... Turns out the paperwork was never submitted... I left a message at my surgeon's office to speak with the office manager because there's NO excuse for the girl to have given me attitude then to not submit the paperwork. More to come...

Thanks so much! I'm already having a heart attack because the snotty girl kept telling me I was going to get denied, even though I'd been in touch with a supervisor from my insurance company and did everything she told me to. I just want this so bad and have had a lot of obstacles along the way, I feel like this may be another hurdle, but I hope I'm wrong!

I'm so frustrated! I got the FMLA paperwork from my employer, but the surgeon's office won't fill it out until I get approval from my insurance company AND have a tentative surgery date! I feel like it's going to be a last minute thing trying to get my paperwork in. I may end up being a September bander if this keeps up

I'll have to look into that! Thanks so much! I know I babbled on FOREVER, I have to see my PCP for my 6th consecutive month of nutrition counseling, then I have to have a follow up visit with the surgeon to mark 6 months since I first saw him, THEN my paperwork can get submitted for authorization, then (hopefully) not too long after, surgery!

As far as the FMLA topic goes, at my job I have earned time, which is my vacation time, and SCEPI time, which is like short term illness (maternity leave, etc.). I've decided to take 2 weeks off to get through most of the liquid diet and adjust to my new eating habits, so I have to take 1 week of vacation time before I can take 1 week of SCEPI time, although I'm not sure if the FMLA will change any of that. My HR dept also told me that since I'll be out for 14 days, I can apply for short term disability through Cigna which she gave me the phone number for, but that will only pay 60% of my weekly pay, so I have no interest in it especially since I've got 6 weeks worth of SCEPI time. Keep fighting the good fight!

I told my employer last Monday finally. My boss is really awesome and flexible so it definitely takes a load off. My HR department is sending me FMLA paperwork as well. I've had a lap band weekend from hell though. I got a call from my surgeon's office on Friday because my next appointment with the nutritionist (appointment #5) is tomorrow and my health insurance only covers 4 visits so my last 2 I'd have to pay for my last 2 visits out of pocket. I called my insurance company right after and, after holding while the rep talked to various supervisors and their health services department, I was told that my last 2 visits would be covered without any need for prior authorization. Awesome! So I called the surgeon's office back to let them know that I'd be all set. As soon as I got off the phone, then I got a call from my health insurance informing me that they were wrong and I wouldn't be covered. So I wrote an e-mail that could have doubled as a novel to my insurance company. I told them that if they wanted me to have six visits then they should cover six visits, and if they'll only cover four visits, then the requirement should be four visits. I got a call back later in the day from a representative at Health New England apologizing for all of the confusion. She told me that the surgeon's office has misinterpreted the requirements and that four visits were required over the course of six months. She assured me that she was working on contacting the local surgeons' offices to correct the problem, and that since I had already fulfilled my four visits, I would be able to submit my request for authorization, and she would personally deal with the person who handles my surgeon's authorizations to make sure everything went okay. So I had an amazing weekend with that off my back, only to get a call this morning from a supervisor at Health New England telling me that, yet again, I've been misinformed and, yet again, I wouldn't be covered. So now I'm back to square one. My insurance told me that I can see my PCP for the last 2 visits, which I made appointments for because my co-pay is certainly less expensive than an out of pocket visit. I got to thinking, and realized that I saw a peri-surgical weight loss doctor who referred me to the surgeon, and that would give me 5 consecutive monthly visits, so now I only need one PCP visit, then my 6 month follow-up with the surgeon. Sorry for the novella, but I had to get my frustration out!!!

I'm hoping for late August... I have 2 appointments left with the nutritionist, 1 on the 17th of this month, and the next is August 7. Health New England should take no more than a week for approval, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! When did everyone notify their employer of surgery? I'm planning on taking 2 weeks to adjust to my new diet, one will be vacation time, and the other will be sick time (we have a bank that goes toward short term illness, maternity leave, etc), I just have no idea if I should wait for a surgery date or if I should give them a heads up first. So glad to have found this forum!