MzFree-Spirited Vsg

I got a call from my case manager at UHC I have been approved. I will have my pre op on Nov 7th with a tenative surgery date of Nov 15th or the 16th. Happy and nervous at the same time.

Has anyone been denied by UHC and if so why? Just curious, I am on the last month of my six month supervied diet and they will be submitting me for approval.
Besides losing the 5 lbs they want me to lose this month wondering if there will be anything else standing in my way.

I called UHC everyday and they were very nice about giving me the status, less annoyed then my surgeons office. So try calling them. They were pretty quick about decision they say they have 2 weeks to decide but mine took about 4 days after my docs office finally turned in all paperwork. They even told me what they were still waiting that was delaying response. UHC was great!

My UHC policy had Bariatric Resources through Optum:
The most effective treatment to date for significant, sustained weight loss for morbidly obese patients is bariatric surgery.2 Because clinical outcomes of bariatric surgery vary widely, receiving services at an OptumHealth Bariatric Resource Services (BRS) Center of Excellence (COE) facility can help ensure that bariatric surgery and care are delivered in a manner that meets strict standards and increases the likelihood of superior outcomes and ultimately reduces costs.
Our BRS clinical team works to help individuals understand and manage the conditions associated with morbid obesity before and after surgery and have reduced inappropriate surgeries by 5 percent.3 Successful weight loss is achieved through:
Guidance to Centers of Excellence network facilities, helping to better control the disparity of care and variability of surgical outcomes.
Multi-disciplinary bariatric clinical team approach.
Case management 6-months post-surgery to assess for complications and to reinforce lifestyle changes.
Behavioral support to reinforce lifestyle changes, nutrition, exercise, and encouragement to participate in bariatric support groups. Behavioral health support is coordinated with the client?s behavioral health vendor.

I was freakin approved today. BCBS nj. First try. Woot woot

I have UHC choice plus. It all depends on your particular plain and what your employer chooses to cover. I have a bmi of 40 no co morbities. They required 2 years if weight history. I did the whole phsyc thing and dietitian as my Dr requested. I was approved in 24 hours for the surgery. Have them email you the exact requirements and deductible amount then you will know what you gotta do.
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Hi Lizy, I have United Health Care, Choice Plus PPO. My plan required a BMI over 40 but what they didn't tell me up front was that they required a BMI over 40 for the past 5 years, or a BMI over 35 for the past 5 years with 2 co-morbidities. Since I didn't qualify my doctor fixed my hernia and at the same time did the sleeve and I self paid just for the sleeve.
I have read on here that UHC has another plan that doesn't require 5 years weight history, and instead requires you to go thru 6 months of weigh ins supervised by your doctor...I wish I had that plan, lol. Oh welll the $5,000 out of pocket was soooo worth it!
Good luck with your journey, and I hope you are approved! :-)

Like everyone else said.. a lot of questions on a scan-tron. she asked me questions like, how has weight hindered my life and what will losing weight do for me. it is basically a test to see if you are ready for the life style change, really hindered by being overweight -- but not to depressed about it, if that makes sense. i got the impression that if i were to sad about being overweight that it wasn't a good look.. hope this makes sense

I had 2 wisdom teeth pulled last year...that was a little bit worse than this. I've had hangovers that were comparable. Of course, I haven't always lived right.

My wife is an RN and ER director, so yeah, we were prepared for the worst as well. Being that she only sees sick people, we really never imagined my recovery. I have not taken any pain meds since being discharged, was walking right after surgery and have never gotten sick. The only discomfort I had was quickly cured by gasX strips the first week.
Congrats and good luck.
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I had a really easy, uncomplicated recovery. I left the hospital the day after my VSG/hernia repair. My surgery was 9 am and I was off all pain meds by 11 am the next morning. I really attribute my successful recovery to my activity level prior to surgery. I was in the gym every day for a minimum of an hour. I will say, though, even though my physical recovery was great, I did hit some emotional bumps along the way that I wasn't so prepared for. I'm now 5.5 weeks out and the emotional bumps seem to have leveled out.
Good luck to you in your journey to a better you.
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I went into surgery expecting to die, and accepting the gamble because of all my health complications. I woke up and went "What?" because I truly didn't expect to wake up. When they wheeled me into my room, I got up off the recovery bed, walked around the hospital bed, and sat in the chair. I never did get in that hospital bed. My only pain was in my thighs from trying to use my leg muscled instead of my tummy muscles, but that went away quickly. I took pain meds three times after surgery, then refused any more pain meds.
I drove myself home the day after surgery, about a 40 minute drive. I started walking up and down my hallway the next day and I've been high energy ever since. In 10 months I've lost 110 pounds, plus I feel amazing!!!
This is the third best gamble I've ever taken (having my boys were #1 and #2).

I expected all the worst, and got all the best! The first 24 hrs. after surgery was rough because I was STRICT NPO, not even a single ice chip! That made me gag a few times. After that it was all uphill. They want us to sip an oz. of Fluid every 15 minutes after that first 24 hrs. Well, in a couple of days I was doing FOUR oz. every 15 minutes, and my pain was well managed by the meds prescribed. (I had a pretty good sized hernia repaired, so that caused some discomfort.) My healing progressed in a textbook fashion and I've not had a single complication (Thank you GOD!!) And I can eat any and all foods without problem or pain, and I've not thrown up once since surgery, and I've never "slimed." This could not have gone any better. I'm just amazed every day. I've lost almost 85 lbs. since February. I've got absolutely nothing to complain about.
One thing I've noticed around here- aside from the "NSVs" we never really report when we "feel good." It doesn't seem that interesting or require a response. Most people post when there is trouble, or can wear a smaller size pants. We just don't think to say, "hey, by the way, I had a really non-complicated surgery." And maybe we should, just so all you noobs can see that it's not just doom and gloom in your future. I think there are a great number of us who had a terrific experience. Hopefully you'll hear from more....

I just looked it up...it is! :-)
Purified Water, Whey Protein Isolate, Phosphoric Acid, Natural Punch Flavor, Sucralose, Potassium Benzoate, FD&C Red No. 40.

Mine consisted of an interview with the dr and then a bunch of scantron type tests. The questions are SO repetitive, they're really just looking to see if you answer consistantly. One of the questions was are you actually reading these questions LOL
Just answer consistantly!

I think its cuz being GLBT has so little to do with our journey on this site. I know for me, this thread is an afterthought. Im usually looking at others more specific to the surgery. But it's nice to pop in here from time to time and see how everyone here is doing.

It's because all those breeders keep invading our thread. ;P

This thread seems to fizzle out pretty often! Which is surprising since gay people are usually talkative lol

Hello Ms free spirited! !!!! Welcome

Hi folks,
Relatively new here, but thrilled to see support for glbt folks. i post to the obesity help vsg forum a lot but have hesitated to come out to anyone so haven't yet.
i'm ann, i live in arlington, va with my partner of 30 years (in november!) whose name is also ann (i know!) and our two kitties -- no kids.
i'm excited to finally almost be at the ins submission stage and hopeful that things will got thru!!!
i'd love to hear from other friendly folks. everyone is so nice here!!!
do you find issues related to your glbt-hood and the forum or reaction from friends???
so happy to be here!!!!!! xoxoxoxo Ann

Lesbian, married (legally in Iowa), getting sleeved 12/14/12! Soooooo happy to see this group. We should keep the discussions going!
People who think WLS is selfish or somehow doing it the "easy" way have no idea how much work it actually is (and I'm pre-op!). Don't let any of them wreck your feelings. They need a different sort of help. I have been very please that the vast majority of people I have discussed this with have been extremely supportive. My coworkers have been great!

WELL... as of this morning I was able to secure a December date with another doctor (Sheilendra Suresh Mehta, M.D.) he works with now my old doctor (Erik B. Wilson, M.D.). As a matter of fact I met him before I met with Dr. Wilson – what a strange twist of fate. Now I just need to steady my nerves and take it one day at a time. I know God is in control and everything works just the way He planned, not as I planned...
THANKS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND SUGGESTIONS, YOU GUYS ROCK :wub:

Yes. Tell your surgeon your that 12/31 your insurance runs out. Not it switches over... they will try to squeeze you in...

Have you talked to your surgeon and scheduler about the insurance changes? You might be surprised what they can accomplish when it means payment in December or lost patient & no payment in January.

yes it is diva time!!!!