Coykoi

1. I went with some friends to go horseback riding, only to have the woman almost refuse to let me ride a horse because of my weight. She ended up putting me on a giant horse. So my friends were on horses that looked like ponies next to mine and I was so mortified. 2. Having an ill-behaved man call me "fatty". I know that it was his problem but it still hurt, even in my 50's I havent learned that Sticks & Stones.... 3. Losing my period and not knowing if it was menopause or the weight. 4. Having no idea who the person in the mirror is. 5. Not being able to tie my shoes without taking a break so I could breathe. 6. Stopping for road-trip Snacks only to have people shout out "dont do it". 7. Finding out that my friend who is 6'5" weighs less than me at 5'8". 8. Worried about my heart all of the time. 9. Not being able to do the things that my friends do. 10. Knowing that I'm not as old as I feel.

I havent gotten my pre-op instructions yet. I had tried a few years ago and got turned down by insurance at the last minute, that pre-op diet was 3 shakes a day for 2 weeks.

We're sleeve sisters! Mine's in Torrance, CA, how about you?

My coach has to work that day so I said drop me off "whenever" and I'll keep myself entertained. As long as I have my phone charged and can access this site, I'll be fine. All the support here will keep me busy. If there's a delay getting you into pre-op, bring something light to read if you don't have a smart phone, or go look at the newborns, that always makes me smile.

Congratulations! I also had a similar experience 8 years ago, and now I got approved right away. It's a change in the attitudes in the medical and insurance communities that this isn't just a "quick fix". For us, it's as necessary to save our lives or stop all of the disease associated with obesity as any other surgery.

Hooray! Dec 6 for me!

Dec 6!

Dec 6!

I just found out an hour ago that mine is Dec 6 at 12:30!

Its so frustrating, but don't give up. Maybe a call to insurance to explain that it was accredited when you started and never informed that the accreditation had been taken away will help. They might make an exception or be able to direct you to a hospital or doctor that is. Last night i was ready to call it quits, but today i got my date and the world is all sunny again. Ill cross my fingers and toes for you!

Another day, a whole lot better answer. They found a date for me on Dec 6 at 12:30!

First they build you up, then they tear you down...so excited to get approved, then when I called to get my date, the first date available is mid-January! Besides a new deductible, I've got a second job that starts in January. Either I get it done in Nov-Dec or I wait until May 2013. They can't even book me that far out, but in order to be on the cancellation list I have to be booked. They also won't book me for a date that I have no intention in keeping. If I change doctors in the same practice, I have to start many things over again. The scheduler is going to check with someone else to see if there's a date that she doesn't see, but I suspect that I'm going to hear the same news whenever they get back to me. I'm frustrated (and voiced it) that if the package had been sent to insurance back when it was supposed to be, that I'd have a date that will work. All along, everyone there had said that the lead time was only a couple of weeks. Now the question is, do I look for another practice that can get me in at this late date?

Im not as tactful, I would have said that since you heard it from someone other than me, you should share your opinion with that person, not me. I also had someone who cant keep things to himself. When I was planning on the surgery several years ago, people that I didn't tell did the same thing. This time he's been warned, but I expect that the same thing will happen.

Two months, that's so fast! And I thought that I was going to brag that mine only took 5 months. I get to call tomorrow to set a date, I'm crossing my fingers for you that the insurance approval goes through without any problems!

I just got approval yesterday, I'm hoping for about the same date. I'm in CA but I have property in Holland.

It took forever for the surgeon to submit my info to Anthem BC, but yay, it was approved the same day!!! Now I won't sleep until Monday when I call to schedule my date!

Has anyone who is using a busy doctor's office experience a similar experience? I didn't expect that the file was ready to go in the fax machine the minute that the decision to submit was made, but nearly a month later sounds a little problematic. If it had been submitted by the time that the submission person said that it would be, I could have been close to a surgery date by now. Trying to be patient...

Oct 16: got the ok to submit to insurance....today I found out that the package has still not been submitted. I've been trying to be nice to the person that submits to insurance and have explained my timing concerns (I don't want my file to go to the bottom of the pile out of spite), but this is frustrating!

I also picked a weight that was comfortable for my body before the weight, 155. At 5'8",the doctor felt that it was reasonable. My secret goal is 145, which would be exactly 100 lbs from my heaviest and is a weight that would put me in the "hot" category . If I dont make that weight I wont be disappointed, I have the "reasonable" goal to still shoot for.

My thyroid is way worse than borderline & my doctor is not at all concerned. I do take meds but follow up woth the doc for sure.

I HATE those! Mine aren't just weird, they're nightmares about things that normally wouldn't be scary, but on Lortab it's pure terror. I'll have to see what the doctor prescribes, no Lortab or codine for me!

That's wonderful!

Mine was submitted to Anthem BC on 10/29/12. I wish it had been that fast, but I'll be happy as long as it is approved. Congratulations!

To minimize infection, only the areas being accessed (incisions) are exposed. Everything else is draped with sterile cloth. That being said, the reason that the patient is usually "commando" is in an emergency you don't want anything slowing down access to where ever the doctors needs to go. Plus, the clothing is not sterile as well. I'm all for modesty, but in an emergency I don't want my dignity to get in the way. Having gone thru a post-op infection in the past, I want everything as sterile as possible, including my "naughty bits".

I've told my supervisor that I'll be having surgery, but she is required to not inquire why and doesn't want me to volunteer the information, (I guess out of fear that I'll then claim that I was coerced into telling---gotta love a government job). She's supportive and eager to help with the FMLA paperwork. She brought it up in a supervisor's meeting that I'll be out and one of the other supervisors keeps trying to find out what kind of surgery it is. That same person has also told me in the past that I need to lose weight, so no way in heck that I'd tell her anything. I've told a few people at work that I'll be out, but not why. I feel the less that they know before surgery, the better. I'm not sure if I'll tell anyone afterwards, work is work and I don't need a bunch of people watching and making uninformed comments.