Andrew0929

Had my Upper GI this morning. Officially I'm clean but the Dr said they debated for a while as to whether or not I have a hiatal hernia. Meanwhile I'm telling everyone in my office that they found a HH which sets the stage for my cover up story. Andrew

One thing I'm having a rough time with is who to tell about my surgery. So far, I've told my wife, daughter, 2 siblings (out of 4) and 2 friends. One friend has been trying to talk me out of it since I told him but everyone else has been supportive. Still not sure what I'm going to tell my boss. I thought of saying I'm having hernia surgery, but then I'll have to lie when the weight loss starts. Also, I'm close friends with 2 people at work and hate to lie about all this, but still feel awkward talking about it. My boss is a busy-body and she told me about someone else having weight loss surgery (and she wasn't supposed to tell anyone). I thought of telling all 3 of them and telling them they are the only ones that know, so that they can talk amongst themselves instead of to others if they feel that need. I dunno ... Also, hesitant to tell my mother beforehand as she is so full of bad advice. I could picture her begging me not to do it and calling daily about it. She could go the other way, but just not sure. If I'm on the liquid diet on Thanksgiving, that will difficult to explain ... What's your plan? Andrew

Thanks! My pre-op appointment with the surgeon is 11/4 and they'll be scheduling a surgery date. I'm told they schedule out 2 - 6 weeks. Looks like it'll be happening something between Thanksgiving and Christmas ... Do you have a surgery date? -Andrew

My insurance co approved me yesterday. I think I'm excited. Actually pretty scared all of the sudden.

I'm pre-op but submitted to insurance one week ago and trying to prepare for surgery and beyond. I was thinking that a vitamix might be helpful during my mushy food stage as our blender is bad. Not sure if that is overkill given the tiny amounts of food ill be consuming. What do you think?

Thank You ...

Approved by Cigna yesterday 2 weeks after submitted. Andrew

Approved by Cigna yesterday. Only took 2 weeks

APPROVED!! Submitted to insurance 2 weeks ago. Have my pre-op appointment 11/4 and I'm told surgery being scheduled 2-6 weeks after appointment. I'm both excited and scared.

My info was submitted to CIGNA on 10/11/2013. I'm eagerly waiting for a response, but nothing yet.

My only reason for considering a Vitamix is that my surgeon's instructions for the mushy stage (for 3 -6 weeks after liquid stage) indicates that I should puree all my food. The blender I have now is lousy, but I do have an immersion hand-held blender. Just not sure if that would puree or end up leaving chunks. I don't mind spending the money on the Vitamix if it's something that makes my mushy stage easier to deal with.

My name is Andrew. I'm 5'4" and about 311 lbs. I've completed all required appointments and was submitted to insurance last Friday. So, now I wait .... Hoping to get a surgery date in December, as we've met our out-of-pocket for this year and our health insurance is not going to be as good next year. I'd lost about 10 lbs during my NUT visits, but have gained that back recently. Going through a food funeral stage now which is not good.

I share many of you feelings. Had my first surgeon appointment in June and just had my case submitted to the insurance company. Now, after this long haul and many appointment, I'm afraid of being approved by the insurance company because I'm freaked out about having this surgery. I know its the right thing to do, as I have many of the obvious co-morbidities and diets have short-lived effects for me. I know that my health issues, although controlled now, will eventually cause big problems for me and likely shorten my life. Still, I'm afraid about the complications possible with VSG ...

I was pleasantly surprised to get a call from my ins coordinator this morning. She said that Cigna automatically sends out that letter to everyone even though all their requested info was sent in. She said they have everything they asked for and it is in review. Let the waiting begin ...

I'm hesitant to threaten to go to another surgeon because I think that mine is the best in my area. I'm very comfortable with him and am confident that he'll do a good job. One reason why I'm in a hurry is that we've met our yearly insurance out-of-pocket amounts and I'd benefit greatly from getting this done before year-end. Also, our insurance is going to be worse next year (higher premium for worse coverage), so I really need to do this before year-end. I left a message for the insurance coord., mentioning all of that, and that if this doesn't happen until next year I may not go through with the surgery. Not true, but thought that might incent her to get moving ....

I'm still on the fence about whether to lie or not. I'm thinking of going with the hernia surgery story and when asked about my weight loss say that I lost my taste for everything after the surgery and am leveraging that for weight loss.. My surgery may be happening soon so I really need to deal with this.

Congratulations for the approvals !! I too have Cigna and my paperwork was supposed to have been submitted today. My surgeon is excellent but his insurance person sucks, so I'm not expecting a quick approval .

I would prefer to be completely open with everyone and may end up going route after surgery. But, 3 months ago after my initial surgeon consult I told one close friend that I was considering WLS. He is someone that continues to struggle with weight loss attempts (mostly unsuccessful). He pleaded with me not to get the surgery, calling daily with alternative ideas. He emailed me links to fad diets and supplements .... When I stopped talking about WLS he stopped all of the unsolitited advice. He's a close friend and really believes he's looking out for my best interests. But, I just don't want to hear his advice and I know that several people at work would be the same way -- always lots of advice and usually not good advice. That's the reason why I'm thinking of going with a cover-up story .... Andrew

Thanks for all the great responses and suggestions everyone. I genuinely appreciate all of the great advice. I think I'm going with the hernia repair story. Originally was going with the gallbladder but as someone mentioned, I may end up having gallbladder surgery at some point in the future. Hernia surgery is something that is very believable and something that, in theory, I could get multiple times. Then, I'll explain the weight loss as being due to better eating habits and exercising. Please keep the great ideas and suggestions coming .... Andrew

You make some good points and I do hate to get all caught up in a web of lies. One lie leads to another, when trying to cover-up the truth, and eventually it can all become apparent to everyone that I was lying. That turns into a lot of work for me (keeping track of all the lies) and for no net gain if everyone figures out the truth in the end. This is what I'm struggling with in trying to determine whether to attempt to cover up or just be (somewhat) honest with everyone from the start ...

You make some good points and I do hate to get all caught up in a web of lies. One lie leads to another, when trying to cover-up the truth, and eventually it can all become apparent to everyone that I was lying. That turns into a lot of work for me (keeping track of all the lies) and for no net gain if everyone figures out the truth in the end. This is what I'm struggling with in trying to determine whether to attempt to cover up or just be (somewhat) honest with everyone from the start ...