Margie14

After bawling my eyes out last night (and a week and a half wait that felt like a month and a half) I finally got the courage up to get my husband to call Aetna (I'm such a wimpy chichensh#t). I was worrying after reading people getting disapproved for minor inconsistancies like height at the surgeons office (barefoot measuring) different from height at the pcp's office (they just ask) and other problems like 3 days short on supervised diet, not being over 40 bmi for 2 years, etc... I just knew I would not get approval. Hubby called for me this morning and I'm approved! Now I can start to prepare...buy the Protein, gas strips, etc. Yay! I'm jumping through the roof! Gonna go buy some new comfy jammies and celebrate! Gonna call my surgeons office and drive them nuts later this morning as well! Of course...reality will set in and I will start to worry about the actual surgery, complication, etc,...oh well, that's just me( I have to have something to worry about). But...for now I am elated! Thank you God for blessing me!

I don't go out much anymore because I'm tired of people being so rude, but my daughter is in college and suffers with PCOS. She is overweight, but a pretty, smart (she is a honors student), and talented child. She wanted to join the music club as she is a talented percussionist and was actually the captain of her high school drumline in her senior year. She asked a guy who was in the club when the club met and he was really nice to her and made her feel welcome to join. She went to one meeting, missed the next one, and on the third one she slipped in with a group and heard one of the guys asking where the "obese" drummer chic was plus a couple of fat comments. A few people who saw her there tried to hint to them that she was actually there. Too late! The nice guy (so she thought) was one of the ones in the group laughing at the comments. She slipped out and refuses to go back now. She was in a lot of pain that day to say the least. Her pain is my pain and I felt every word. All I could do was hold her and cry with her. She is lonely and I don't know what to do for her. The world is so cruel. You know, I can take it as I know I'm fat, but I can't bare it when my children are hurt. I'm tearing up just writing this down! Anyway, she is on metformin and a strict diet now and if that doesn't help her lose we are setting her up with my surgeon and starting the process. I'm the guinea pig to see how it goes and if it goes well she will be next. If she can't get approval through our insurance I'm looking at Dr. Alvarez in Mexico. One way or another I'm going to help her have a normal life. She has had enough mental damage and cruelty over this. She put on 30 lbs. in six months her junior year for no reason and I new at that point it was more than just diet and exercise (she actually was eating like a bird and complaining about her friends eating like pigs and being so skinny! Damn PCOS!). She was extremely active too.

Praying for you. Hope you get better soon.

I'm going to call Aetna tomorrow and see where I stand. I hate, absolutely hate, the waiting game! My husband is deploying to Afghanistan the end of March and I wanted to be done and healed by the time he left! I'm praying it goes fast.

I'm in Georgia and my surgeon will (hopefully) be Dr. Rashid in Decatur. I'm still waiting on insurance approval. Minutes seem like hours at this point!

OMG! I am youtube obsessed as well! As far as the cigarettes, I gave those up years ago. I used the nicorette gum and it helped with the horrible cravings. I then started using really strong mints (altoids) whenever I craved a cigarette. I hope that helps. I know how hard it is to quit. My prayers are with you and know that you can kick the habit! I was a 2.5 pack a day smoker! The worst are the first two weeks and then it gets easier and easier. But do NOT fall into the trap of...well, I've been doing so well I think I'll try one to see how it goes. You'll sabotage yourself. I'm still waiting to hear from the insurance and boy, the closer I get it seems the longer it takes! I'm going for the sleeve and was concerned about the daily Vitamins, but we should be taking them anyway and I have already been trying to do that ahead of schedule in order to get healthy for surgery.

I did give it up pre surgery and went with decaf so as to avoid the cafeine headache. My surgeon said one cup a day was okay after surgery (when you can tolerate it) but because of the diuretic effect and the need to keep hydration up you should not have more than that. The first stages of healing are very critical and you are really forcing yourself to sip liquids all day to take in as close to 64 oz as you can. From what I have been told dehydration is not fun and will put you back into the hospital. You probably won't want it for a few weeks after surgery anyway. I think every surgeon is different, but just like raising kids, listen to all and do what makes the most common sense for you. I plan on having my cup as soon as I can! I did give up sodas though, not good for you at all after surgery. Diet or regular.

Here is the mmpi2 test I think everyone has to take... http://geisel.narod.ru/mmpi2.htm They can tell if you lie by the inconsistency of your answers. They can tell if you have other issues as well. You also can't come across as too perfect as according to all psychologists, we all have issues. There are also online evaluators to help you somewhat understand your score. I don't have a link to any of those but you can google them up. This test takes about 2 hours. I stressed over the stupid thing for two weeks but evidently passed because the psychologist didn't call me back in to recommend further analysis. The main thing that will keep you from surgery is pre existing eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia. They are a definite "no go". Anywho, my family took it online just for fun. The scoring is kept as an average of the answers of a control population. It's very indicative of a test that can be misinterpreted easily. For instance if you are very religious you can score high on the lie scale because everyone lies according to the chosen test population and if you say you don't on so many questions it gives you a higher than normal average. That is why they have to talk to you ahead of time to get a feel for the type of person you are. Whatever you do, don't say one thing to the shrink and another on the test. Just be yourself and don't let the test trip you up. I obsessed over it to the point I researched the heck out of it and I passed, I think? At least I got approval for surgery! I hope this helps.

Ha ha,,, I love that! "like buying a small car, but instead I am buying a small body". That made me smile. I'm still waiting to see if I'm approved (seems like it's taking longer to wait a couple of weeks for approval than the whole precert thing took). I also like to hear good stories about surgery time. The nausea is not something I look forward too though. Did they give you anything for it or was it a quickly passing thing?

While I can't answer your question, I would like to let you know my 18 year old daughter has just recently been diagnosed with PCOS. Please let me know how the sleeve works for you. We are thinking that if the metformin, with diet and exercise, does not work that the sleeve will be and option for her. I wish you good luck, and I have read many women with PCOS have surgery, get pregnant, and do just fine.

Thanks for the kind words Mitz! I was working really hard and gave up soda, caffeine, and sugar. It seems that I've been back peddling a bit on the sweets (guess I'm in a bit of a funk). I've actually gained a couple pounds. I've even tried to not drink during meals...that is going to be the hardest thing for me to get over I think. I have suffered from depression in the past and it seems like lately I'm heading back into it. My coordinator kind of tee'd me off by waiting over a week and a half before filing my paperwork, which did not help. I hear the surgery can put you down in the dumps for a while too and I'm worried about that. Plus, the end of March my husband is deplying to Afghanistan for a year so I kinda wanted to get it done before he left and at least be feeling better. But, I do love to see everyone's success and it gives me so much hope. I'm hoping to be a new woman when I see him again...that is if the insurance approves me!

I'm 55 and still waiting (severe frustration) to hear from my insurance company. I've done all my precerts and it seems like this last bit is taking forever. I hoping to have the sleeve soon.

I just called the insurance company and they told me where to find the coverage, precertifications, and what the benefits were. Do you have a customer service number on your insurance card?