sunny2day

Just a quick follow up - it took BCBS fed 2 days to get my paperwork loaded in their system and 24 hrs to approve it. Surgery date set.

I have federal bcbs and found out today I was approved. Took 1 day!! Surgery scheduled for November 18th!!

Told to insurance today. They received my paperwork yesterday. The rep said turn around time is 15 days but normally less than that!

I have not been sleeved yet, but my pre-op appt. is October 4th. Here is a list of questions I have compiled so far that I am interested in:
Gas after surgery: Some people complain a lot about this. Does this have to do with the person or the surgeon's technique? What can I expect after surgery?
Do you make everyone's stomach the same size or is it based on the size of my original stomach?
Is there anything you might find during surgery that would cause me to wake up and not be sleeved?
Straws: What is your "policy" on straws? I have heard different things online. Can you explain the theroy behind not using a straw?
Weight gain from/after surgery: Some people online report gaining weight after surgery. Is this normal? What causes it? and what can I expect?
Fluid Vs Protein: I am worried about getting all my Fluid in. I don't drink that much liquid now. What is most important fluid or Protein?
Blood tests: What are you testing for and what might show up that would cause concern or to have to postpone the surgery?
Thats all I have for now, but I may be adding some after I read the replies to this post
Bonnie

Thank you for sharing. You look fantastic, and I am sure you feel even better than you look. Keep up the great work, you are definitely an inspiration for us newbies.

Different branches of BCBS have different rules. My dr office told me yesterday that most approvals are valid for either 6 or 12 months.
Call up your ins and ask them. They will be able to answer that, it's usually in the notes of the approval when it was given.

Oh why didn't I know about this??? It is a brilliant suggestion.

There is Always going to be an excuse not to do it. I have 4 children all in travel sports and could use them as one every time. If you feel that the surgery is going to change your life for the better, then take the leap. But it sounds like you want people to say wait. So if there really is all that conflict and you know your insurance is going to cover it come the new year, then by all means wait. But what if you really do want the surgery and wait for all the other little things to work out and your insurance changes and you will no longer have the surgery covered?
That to me would be worse case scenario.

I would think you should be good for a couple of months. Most people want their surgery done YESTERDAY, but my surgeon had some that wanted to wait a couple of months due to school, vacations, ect. I would think waiting til January would be pushing it, but why not err on the side of caution,call BCBS, and ask?

My advice -- just do it. Your benefits change on January 1 -- so if you have deductible, etc, that starts over. If you have a medical FSA and planned to spend your copays, etc. from the FSA, that starts over.
If you are not mentally ready to have your surgery after you complete your requirements, then wait to start your requirements. There will always be reasons to put this off -- if you are committed to making these changes for yourself -- go for it.
I had my surgery exactly one week before Thanksgiving -- and traveled to NC from MD three days after I got out of the hospital (5 days after surgery) -- we did stop every hour to walk around (wanted to avoid blood clots!).
This surgery is a big commitment -- and if you aren't ready to make that commitment, it's better to postpone it until you are certain that you can make the lifestyle changes necessary for success. And if you are ready to make that commitment, then putting your health needs first in order to achieve your goals is something that you'll have to figure out. It's not easy, so giving it some serious consideration now, and developing a plan is critical.
The holidays are not that hard -- if you don't want to tell people about the surgery, you can just say that you are just getting over some "stomach thing".
Maybe make a list of the pros and cons of putting off surgery, and see if that list help clarify. Or ask the group for some possible solutions to cope with your cons.
You have to do what's going to work best for you, and at a time that you feel you can put your best effort forth! Best of luck on your journey!

Im with MuttLover, you dont know if your insurance will have drastic changes after the first of the year. There is no time like the present to get it done. A lot of surgeons do take holiday time off so I say get it done as soon as you can.

I also have BCBS Federal and after completing all of my requirements I was approved within a week and a half. I was actually approved sooner but my surgeons office was busy and didnt call me for a few days. From what Ive read on here, BCBS approves very fast. I hope it comes quick. I cried tears of joy when I got my approval

I lost 19 pounds in two weeks doing low carb and then liquids for the last two days before surgery- I was also shocked! BUT, I had really good motivation to stay focused on my diet and I didn't cheat at all. I wanted my liver to be as small as possible to give myself the best shot at no surgical complications. Previously, when I had done low carb (or any other diet) it was a miracle for me to go three days without cheating on my diet.

I was STARVING week 2 and also weak and very tired. I was supposed to hold off on Liquid Protein until day 15, but I couldn't do it so I added very watered down Premier Protein shake -2 oz 3 times per day and this made me feel WAY better. I was missing the Protein. I was not one of the lucky ones that got my hunger removed with my stomach, but 3 months out and a cheese stick is enough for hours so that is AWESOME! It changes a lot once you move to mushies because once you are getting some real food there is definitely more satisfaction.

I have not been sleeved yet, but my main reason for wanting the sleeve is because I constantly feel hungry. I am hoping the sleeve will help curve this craving, but luckily my doc is making me really work on what I am eating now so that after the sleeve I have a foundation to work with. Good Luck, I really hope this is a phase for you and it will slowly dissipate. I can really relate to hunger issues.

Had my sleeve sept 10 and I feel like I can eat anything I'm hungry. Help!