CherylA

Oh, I agree with cbd that you get more with honey than with vinegar (my grandma used to say), however, I have also experienced being LIED to by the insurance company repeatedly in the beginning of this quest. When I got them to FINALLY admit that - under certain circumstances they will cover it, I asked for a printed out list of guidelines to follow. For example,
100+ lbs overweight
80+ lbs overweight with 2 or more qualifying medical conditions that will improve or be eliminated through this surgery
And then the rules I must follow to get it all approved, such as,
6 months Nutritional Counseling
Maintain a food journal
Psych Evaluation by a Psychiatrist, etc .....
They refused to give me anything in writing to use as a checklist to make sure I did everything ACCORDING TO THEIR RULES.
It's at this point that being nice, saying ma'am, and thank you are NOT enough. They have been trained to NOT be cooperative with the 'nice' people. They figure if they resist enough, the nice ones will give up and stop calling.
I documented every call, email, etc. After 2 months, I called again, and was told they had no record I had ever contacted them on this subject - EVER. When I sent my DETAILED documentation of every contact made, including their name, date, and time of contact, they FINALLY started cooperating with me.
If you can get there with kindness, GREAT! But, make it clear that they shouldn't confuse a kindness with weakness.
Good luck!

My prayers are with you during this very stressful time for you. you could start caling your insurance co every few days. Some one on this site had recommended that to me when I had a crunch time date due to my work. It did help. Always talk to them with the utmost respect. Use a lot of please and thank yous....even explain the situation. Use their names while you talk. and.....follow up with another call. When you do get the approval, ask them to fax it to your surgeons office instead of mailing it. Good luck!

I live in Anacoco and that is about 5 hours from New Orleans. There is one that I have not met and that is to loose 10% of my body weight. I have heard that they will approve even without that one being met. Thank you all for the prayers and the thoughts. It means so much knowing that I can come here and have a support group any time! You guys are amazing!

My primary insurance resisted for a LONG time. Honey, do what I did. Take that bull by the balls. Call the Insurance Company and ask for either the Medical Director or their Nurse. These are the actual people who rubber stamp the approval. Don't hang up til you get them. If you hit a brick wall, tell them you expect a call back by 5 pm today or you will be contacting both your Congressman and the local news media outlet.
When you get the MD or their Nurse on the phone, tell them what you need done. Tell them, "i believe i have been patient enough waiting for your company to do your job on my surgical request. my secondary approved it long ago. In a perfect world, I would be able to schedule surgery as soon as I hang up this phone. But I know this isn't a perfect world. So, YOU tell ME when the authorization will be approved. I NEED this surgery no later than May XX." Pick the date that works best for you.
Don't say 'approved or denied.'. In your brain, denial IS NOT an option. Lay it out. Remind them of what THEIR rules are for approval. Go over each rule step-by-step confirming you have completed each task. Then, hold their feet to the fire on getting the approval in the next 24 hours.
It's quite simple. Its THEIR game. And, if YOU have played it by THEIR RULES, you WILL WIN because they HAVE to play by their rules, too.
Everyone where I work told me our insurance doesn't cover it. I got approval (cuz I can be a bit of a b***h... With documentation to support my bitchiness.) and had my surgery last Wednesday.
Don't be discouraged if you find you have to do Nutritional Counseling for 6 months or a year. Even if your husband is not there to help with the kids, YOU can line up the support you need. I am the caregiver to my severely disabled sister who is at home with me on life-support. If I can line up people to take care of her for a couple of weeks, ANYONE can. You just have to find the burning desire in your heart to demand doing something FOR YOU. In the long run, it's for them too. And, I believe your husband can still play a big role in the support you need even from halfway around the world. ((HUGS)) to you. Please stay in touch. I am here to help you find the words you need.

Prayers are sent your way. I know the waiting is hard.

I am pre-op, approved and waiting, chugging down liquid protein shakes. Can't offer much in the way of experience talking, but I wanted you to know that others are thinking of you and wanting this journey for you to be successful.
Think positive. How much easier it is going to be to walk, take care of the kids, and just move around in general. I can understand the tension. Have you tried the breathing techniques for relaxation? Have you been able to do anything just fun and relaxing for yourself? I took up knitting so that I would have something new to concentrate on, and that also keeps my hands busy.
You are in my thoughts, La mom!

Thank you, you are so kind. I live in Louisiana. I have talked to the nurse in my doc's office. She is wonderful and is trying her best to help me out! Most of my circle of family and friends work and the kids can take the bus to and from school. For me it is mainly just the wait of finding out that is driving me insane!

Good luck. I am facing the same of being patient. I am waiting approval from my insurance company. My surgery is set for April 9th!

I have BCBS of AZ and they approved it 1 week to the day after it was sent in. They told me they had 30 days to review it. If all of your papers were in order, they'll approve it. I was freaking out because my surgery is scheduled for March 28th and the papers were sent in on March 1st approved March 8th. Good luck to you!!

You will be amazed at what your able to do when you drop your first 25-50 lbs. And I hope you share with us all your experience and how it feels once you do!!
I wish you well with your surgery!

I never buy sugar and when my skinny boyfriend asks for sugar, I just hand him the Splenda and he can't even tell the difference. If he thinks it would be good with sugar, just hand him the Splenda.

Sorry you're having frustration with your co-worker, that sucks. I can tell you are trying so hard, and you don't need his temptations! But....I just wanted to throw this out there, from a third person perspective: I could be way off base but it sounds to me like this person just plain likes you. Could be romantic, but maybe not, maybe even just as a friend. Either way, the way he always was able to connect with you was through food. And now that's gone and he misses you..... but that's the only way he knows.
Like I said, I could be totally wrong, or I just always want to see the good in people. But perhaps his motives aren't to try to sabotage you (although it seems that way). And just remember, it's challenges like these that make us stronger!

I haven't told a lot of people that I had a sleeve done. I just didn't want the negative. This is the new normal. Go out with your friends.. you can be the designated driver. And there is nothing wrong with talking 2/3 of a restaurant meal home in a box. You can eat it later..... and you can still have fun.. and be a healthy weight.

What you are discovering now is something I discovered years ago. I had to go through chemotherapy at age 31, it wasn't something I wanted to do but the choice was to do it or die. I felt powerless and I would complain all the time to my Dr "when would I feel normal again". I was so tired of being tired. He told me that I would have a new "normal" and frankly I was not happy about it. In fact, I really did end up in a deep depression and it was more about the fact that I felt my life was out of control. I'm saying this because you will find a new normal and it will be great! I'm trying to cope with needing to have this surgery (scheduled June 4) and knowing that I will have to again find a new "normal" but in the end, it will be so worth it.
Just try to stay away from those people who are negative... I think that's why I haven't choosen to tell anyone other than just my husband and two of my children - I just don't want to hear the negativity that can come when choosing this option to help with loosing weight.
Just know that there are people who read your blog and care about you!

Hello Cheryla, I understand that your are having problems right now with things not working out and can put you down in the dumps, but I believe everything happens for a reason. We as people always try to control things that we cannot control and we worry way more than we should. Only thing worring does is cause us to be upset and discourage and maybe becoming ill for NO reason.Keep the faith and your head up. BLESSINGS

I'm so sorry you are having so many issues. My best suggestion for you is to give it a week or two without weighing yourself. Give yourself time to heal, you have been through a whole lot more than so many people here. Your priority should be trying to get your fluids in, your protein in, and healing from surgery and healing from everything else. The weight will come off, but the stress you are under because of the complications are too overwhelming than to sit and worry about the scale right now. It will turn around eventually, right now getting healthy in your body and your mind is important. Eat and drink right and leave the scale alone until the clotting issues and the water retention issues are out of the way. Sending prayers your way.

Congrats! I am so happy for you that your date is so near. Stay positive.

iam praying your insurance company contacts you soon with a yes letter. Good luck you will get there!

Call the insurance company. I did, three times. First time they said it wasn't in their system yet. I called two days later, they just received it, I waited two more days and called back and it was approved.
Why wait for the mail, call them, the number should be on the back of your card.

One day at a time... that's all I can do. And when he starts his fussing, I just kill him with kindness. Dr Phil said, one person has to stand up and say I will make enough changes for the both of us. When the changes no longer help then.. well then it is time to rethink the relationship. So my change, not fussing back at him. I will just be me...

You are right about what kids say...over the years I've been embarrased more than a few times by school aged kids who have commented on my weight - and one of my children has made some rude comments from time time that were hurtful. I let him know and I don't think he will be so crude anytime soon.
Losing weight was MY choice and that is why I underwent WLS and not because of the rude comments of kids.
This is my journey and I'm taking ownership.

Good luck Cheryl.