mom2five

I called my surgeon's office yesterday and she said that they hadn't heard anything from my insurance and they are all booked up for December, so my surgery won't be until January. She also said it was taking way too long for the insurance to respond, so she called them and they said they didn't know what was going on with it and why it was taking so long, so she resubmitted it. I hope to hear something soon, but I know it will be January before anything happens. :-( I'm sorry your insurance has such difficult requirements. I don't blame you... it is hard to go on this way! I hope they approve you anyway.

Yes, it was 3 days ago! But my surgeon said it was a "dummy date" just so they could submit it to the insurance. I was kind of hoping for Dec. 30 but it's getting close and I don't know if it is going to happen before the end of the year.... trying to be patient.

Congratulations!! I was told I have to wait until the 21st to find out.. so I'm trying to be patient.

My surgeon said that if the hernia is small, he usually doesn't repair it when he does the VSG because once you lose weight, the hernia shrinks and you don't usually need it repaired, so he feels that it isn't necessary. My hernia is large, though. So, he will be repairing mine during my VSG surgery.

OMG! Does that mean that you have to start over? My doctor told me that weight watchers was acceptable.... I didn't do weight watchers though. I'm so sorry!

Thank you! And congrats on a hopeful surgery date! Good luck!!

My surgery has finally been submitted to the insurance today. I was told I will know something next week. I'm excited.. and can hardly believe I'm at this stage. A little nervous too.

I called the surgeon's office again today... they still don't have the report from the pulmonologist or the psychologist. She said that they may have received them but just haven't scanned them into the computer yet. It is frustrating to me that I have completed everything I'm supposed to do and I'm still having to wait for this stuff. I know I'm being impatient. I guess this will give me a little more time to lose a few more pounds before surgery... I haven't really done too well in that aspect..

I have finished all my pre-op testing and had all my appointments... It's been about 2 weeks since I finished everything so I called my surgeon's office to see if they have all my results so that they can submit it to the insurance. They don't have results from my pulmonologist or the psych eval.... So I called each of those offices. The pulmonologist is faxing the results today, and the psychologist mailed the letter yesterday releasing me for surgery... So, I'm guessing my surgeon's office will receive that this week and submit it to the insurance. My surgery is supposed to be in December, if we can get everything approved in time. It's tough trying to plan family activities for Christmas, not knowing when my surgery date will be, so most things are up in the air right now.. LOL But, thats ok. I'm glad I am inching forward and surgery will be soon! :-)

Well, I have now completed all my pre-op testing. I had my psych eval today and that was the last one. I'm so glad to have all that over with. I had to travel 2 to 2.5 hours for each test! Now, my surgeon just has to get all my results and submit it to the insurance and I will get my surgery date. I'm so excited!

I have terrible symptoms. I told my doc I had a hernia before he did the endoscopy. He said he normally doesn't do the repair at the same time as the vsg because usually losing weight will improve the hernia. But, after doing my endoscopy, he told me my hernia is large and he will be repairing it when he does the vsg. I tried to tell him it was big! LOL I'm glad to hear that others have had the same thing without problems... one less thing for me to worry about.

My doctor says I will have it in December. Don't have a date yet though... he said I can choose, so it will be around Christmas, either right before or right after.

I will be having both at the same time in December. I'm wondering if the hernia repair will cause a longer or more painful recovery. I know everyone is different, but I'd just like to have an idea of what to expect. Anyone have experience with this?

Awesome!! Great job!

My hernia doesn't hurt at all unless I try to eat or drink something... food (and drinks) get stuck and won't go down.. while its stuck there, it hurts... and its really uncomfortable. I knew mine had gotten a lot bigger because pretty much everything gets stuck now... in the past, it only happened sometimes and never when I was drinking fluids. Now everything gets stuck and its very uncomfortable. I'll be glad when he repairs it!

LOL.. I've had a lot of tests done the past couple days! I'm pre-op.. I'm hopefully having surgery in December. Yesterday and today, I had a pulmonary function test, sleep study test, and upper endoscopy. All at a hospital almost 3 hours away. My husband and kids and I spent the night at a hotel so that we wouldn't have to do so much traveling. Whew! I think the only test I have left now is just the psych eval. That will be next week. My sleep study was one of those that you take home with you... so I did it in the hotel. I hope it turns out ok, because I don't wanna have sleep apnea, even though I think I do. My pulmonary function test was really good they said. And the upper endoscopy went really well too... no problems except a large hiatal hernia but I already knew that. I tried to tell my dr that it was really big but he didn't believe me. He had told me that he won't repair it while he is doing the VSG because he likes to see if they will improve on their own with weight loss.... but after seeing mine today, he says he is going to repair it while doing the VSG... I had a feeling he would say that. LOL

I'm pre-op and currently going through all the testing and stuff that we have to do. I've been struggling with not eating everything in sight too. Last night, I dreamed that it was the morning of my surgery and I was in the waiting room and I suddenly realized that I had eaten 2 sausage biscuits and gravy for breakfast! I was sitting there thinking "OH NO! I shouldn't have eaten that! I'm going to have to reschedule my surgery!!" It was a crazy dream. I hope I don't really do something stupid like that! LOL

This is probably good advice for someone who hasn't been having problems already. I have been having marital problems for years. If I only had to worry about him not being supportive of my surgery, I definitely wouldn't be thinking about divorce. We have a LOT of other issues. I do NOT want a divorce. I love him and this is very painful for me... He, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care and seems pretty darn happy that I want a divorce... so I'm feeling depressed but I feel like I'm doing what is best for me and the kids. I WISH he would get counseling and fix his issues so that we could be happy, but after 10 years of waiting and hoping, I don't think he is going to do it.

My husband is the same way... unfortunately we have other issues that have been going on for a while. I've come to the point that I can't take it anymore and I'm not waiting around for it to get worse after surgery. I told him I want a divorce today.

I'm right there with you....and I told myself I wouldn't do this! I'm not drinking alcohol though... I'm not really a drinker so its not something I will miss. But, I've been eating so much! I cannot wait til surgery!

I'm trying to reschedule the endoscopy to the same day as the pulmonary function test since they are both at the same hospital. I hope they can do it.

Same as you. Scary stuff.

Thank you!

In August, I made the decision to have the sleeve. I had my first consult with the surgeon on Sept. 11. My insurance doesn't require a doctor supervised diet at all, but my surgeon requires a 3 month supervised diet, so that started on Sept. 11. They basically need to weigh me for 3 months. I had all my blood work and my EKG in Sept. and met with the NUT as well. On November 2, I have my endoscopy. November 6, 3rd appt with surgeon to be weighed, etc. November 8, I have the Pulmonary Function test. November 13, I have the psych eval. And all those appointments are 2.5 hours away! I think the only test that is not scheduled yet is the sleep study. Once all these tests are done, I can get my surgery date! I'm very excited, nervous, and scared at the same time. I dread all these appointments because they are all close together and 2.5 hours away. But, I will deal with that. I could be having surgery by the end of November or in December!

I am not in NC now, but I lived in the Statesville/Stony Point area for 20 years... just moved back to WV 2 years ago. Good luck y'all!