Sonja

I got approval for the surgery from BCBS North Carolina!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SO FREAKING EXCITED!! This is ALL going to be REAL now & not just "if insurance approves me". I called my insurance company directly & they told me that I was approved. I haven't heard from Dr. Pirrello's office, so not sure about my date... but I am hoping for Nov. 23rd. (day before Thanksgiving... how symbolic!) SO glad I found this site! I think I am a lot less anxious than I was a few weeks ago, before reading all of your stories. Now I am just ready to get going on the rest of my life!

I am curious to see who watched a video of an actual VSG before you had the procedure? I am a nursing student & have had one surgery prior to this when I had my gallbladder out 10 years ago. I wasn't afraid of surgery & the procedure went fine. Since then, I have been in the OR a few times in nursing school & have seen open heart surgery while I was 2 ft from the patient's open chest. Now that I am (hopefully) getting the VSG, I found myself feeling nervous about the procedure in a way I had not before. I went back and forth with the idea of watching a video of the procedure to take the mystery away. We fear the unknown & all that I finally decided to watch one last night & I am SO GLAD that I did. I already feel better! AM I NUTS!? The consensus among my friends was to NOT watch it. They all thought it would be scarier. What do you guys think??

I have an IUD, so I should be good! I had it put in last month because I know that I do NOT want to get pregnant for at least 18 months after my surgery. Have you considered trying the IUD? Forgot to mention that most women have an extremely light period or no period at all! It lasts for up to 5 years but you can take it out earlier than that.

Yep! Same here. I am waiting for insurance approval & I am reading the site daily

So, this whole concept of goal weight has me baffled. According to BMI charts, I believe they estimate that I should weight less than 179 to have a BMI of 25. That seems really low to me!! I am 347 right now, but my thinnest as an adult was 260 & I felt OK there, although there was a definite want to lose more weight. I am tall & I do have a large bone structure. My feet are a size 12. My fingers are longer than my husbands. I know that when I get sleeved (come on insurance!! ) I will gauge my success on lots of other factors besides weight.... but it is nice to know what you are aiming for!! How did you guys pick your goal weight??

Hi everyone! I heard from my surgeon's office (Dr. Pirrello) that they are submitting my packet to insurance for pre-approval TODAY! I am so excited & nervous! I don't see many posts about bcbs- North Carolina, so I am hoping somebody will step up & share their experiences with getting approved. The assistant said that it normally only takes 2-3 days to get approval from them, SO HERE IS HOPING FOR GOOD NEWS MIDWAY THROUGH NEXT WEEK!! Is there any reason that you WON'T get approved if you meet the requirements ( & have for the last 5 years) & it is a covered surgery on your policy? I am just curious if they can deny you even if you meet the requirements & are in good health to have the surgery. THANKS!!

I just had my psych evaluation with Jeff Lorence in Charlotte last week. He was great! I hope you get this straightened out.