snowkitten

Do they approve u for alot? Surgery is so expensive..

I got my insurance approval today so i sucked it up and told my boss I needed to take 2 wks off for surgery. After I assured her that I was NOT quitting, She asked if I was ok, then said I didn't need to tell her details if it was personal. I was SO greatful. But the best part is that she was actually HAPPY that I planned the surgery for when I did (because right now we don't have enough work and about the time I get back we will get 3 new clinics and be swamped). I can't believe how nervous I was, I caused myself a panic attack!!! I'm very happy I didn't compromise my morals with lies. The guilt would have eaten at me Thank you all for the support. I really appreciate the help and getting to know all opinions.

I got my insurance approval today so i sucked it up and told my boss I needed to take 2 wks off for surgery. After I assured her that I was NOT quitting, She asked if I was ok, then said I didn't need to tell her details if it was personal. I was SO greatful. But the best part is that she was actually HAPPY that I planned the surgery for when I did (because right now we don't have enough work and about the time I get back we will get 3 new clinics and be swamped). I can't believe how nervous I was, I caused myself a panic attack!!! I'm very happy I didn't compromise my morals with lies. The guilt would have eaten at me Thank you all for the support. I really appreciate the help and getting to know all opinions.

I got my insurance approval today so i sucked it up and told my boss I needed to take 2 wks off for surgery. After I assured her that I was NOT quitting, She asked if I was ok, then said I didn't need to tell her details if it was personal. I was SO greatful. But the best part is that she was actually HAPPY that I planned the surgery for when I did (because right now we don't have enough work and about the time I get back we will get 3 new clinics and be swamped). I can't believe how nervous I was, I caused myself a panic attack!!! I'm very happy I didn't compromise my morals with lies. The guilt would have eaten at me Thank you all for the support. I really appreciate the help and getting to know all opinions.

Oh that's good at least. Was it hard to get approved with that? Do you have to have good credit? I was thinking about doing that in the future for arm/leg lifts

I lost my patience and called bcbs to find out if I have been approved and as of yesterday I AM!!! So i am oficially scheduled for aug 5th! Yay, I'm so excited. I feel like Christmas has come early!

I lost my patience and called bcbs to find out if I have been approved and as of yesterday I AM!!! So i am oficially scheduled for aug 5th! Yay, I'm so excited

I lost my patience and called bcbs to find out if I have been approved and as of yesterday I AM!!! So i am oficially scheduled for aug 5th! Yay, I'm so excited

I'm waiting for approval from them as well so I'm eager to know others experience. I submitted on July 30th and the surgeons office said to call on the 23rd to find out. I was just talking to my hubby that I should call the insurance.company myself tomorrow. If nothing else it will light a fire under them lol

I'm right there with ya. My surgery is "tentativly" scheduled for Aug 5th and I've been going nuts with the food funerals. Mainly soda because I know that's one thing I can never have again. I'm actually glad I'm doing it though because I'm seriously getting tired of the junk and am craving healthier foods. I think (for me) it will make the transition easier. I won't feel like I deprived myself and therefore won't have it constantly on my mind. BUT having said that, I still feel guilty.

I am "tentatively" scheduled for Aug 5th. I have so many emotions over this surgery I'm at the point i just want to get it done and over so I can be healthy. Mainly I'm nervous my insurance company won't approve me in time and I'll have to push up the surgery date.

Im curious to know what kind of exercise you all do? How often, how long, how intense?? I know your suppose to walk asap after surgery, but how long after surgery can you start exercising... or IS walking the exercise you do??

I had my psych eval a few weeks ago. I go to an IHS (indian health services) facility. While i have to pay/have insurance for the procedure I was promised all pre-op requirements would be covered. I scheduled a BHC eval through my PCP but when i got there i was told that he wasn't "allowed" to give me a psych eval. Its not that he wasnt able, its just that his manager said the company didn't allow it. I was pretty upset. It wasn't that i minded going to an outside facility and using my insurance (my insurance is awesome) but i was promised that my facility would do it all, and i didn't want to wait the extra time to talk to someone who had no idea about my medical history. Not one to give up, i called my psychiatrist (who also works for this IHS facility) and asked her if its true that they are unable to give a psych eval for bariatric surgery. I know I know, your wondering WHY i went first to the BHC and not straight to my psychiatrist. To answer that I need to explain a bit about the hospital i go to. So the medical clinic has behavioral health consultants within the practice. They are there for the patients who come into an appointment and need behavioral health help. Its separate from the mental health department but they often work together. So i called my pcp and asked WHO i should make the psych eval with and was told i could make it with the BHC. Anywho... so after I asked my psychiatrist she told me that i was due for my yearly eval anyways so we could just use that. Unfortunately when i gave it to the surgeons office i was told it wouldst work because there was no "bottom line" that said i was cleared for surgery. After talking to my psychiatrist, who talked to the surgeons office, we were able to have her write a letter stating i was mentally stable with a good understanding of the surgery and what it required. So to sum up my experience.... you can have a generic psych eval, but make sure who ever writes it up documents that your mentally capable to handle the surgery and you understand what it entails.

Good to know there similar. I was expecting to have to do some type of a liquid diet but my surgeon just wanted high protein. I'm releived, I get sick without eating meat so I was dreading an all liquid diet. What kind of post op diet is your surgeon requiring?

Haha I'm all too familiar with the food funerals lately. Oreos, doritoes, ice cream cake, and every type of carb centered big dinners. I'm already getting sick of the goodies. By the time my pre op diet is here I think my body will like it.

Im scheduled "tentatively" for the 5th. My paperwork was submitted to my insurance company on monday so hopefully ill hear back soon. I dont anticipate any problems though, my surgeons admin team is pretty thorough. I start my pre-op diet on july 22. My surgeon only requires a high Protein no carb diet for 2 weeks. What kind of pre-op diet are you doing?

I asked my surgeon and he said he doesn't do drains.

I have numerous reason for choosing the sleeve. 1. The risk for malabsorption was unacceptable. I have cvid which already causes a Protein deficiency. 2. Because of my cvid (common variable immune deficiency) I have a very high chance of stomach cancer. Having a left over stomach that isn't easily accessible to scope (think every couple months) would be asking for trouble. 3. because the RNY leaves the stomach in the body, it doesn't decrease the ghrelin hormone like the sleeve does. Decreasing my hunger is a big thing for me. Another side effect of cvid is stomach issues. I'm used to having diarrhea. I'm afraid that if I have the RNY I will still be constantly hungry, but because the pouch is so small I'll eat the WRONG things (like chocolate) and because I'm used to dumping syndrome it won't deter me. 4. Rerouting my whole system just freaks me out 5. The sleeve has nearly comparable weight loss stats (and if u look at the 2+ year studies it actually has more) 6. the sleeve also changes how the guts bile acids bind to a receptor called fxr. In the absence of fxr weight loss occurs. So aside from restrictive and hormonal changes the sleeve causes a change in your metabolism. That's huge for me! 7. I don't like the idea that I might not be able to absorb needed medications 8. If I find the sleeve doesn't help, I can revise it to add the malabsorption part. I suggest writing out a pro/cons list and going with what feels right to you. Good luck!!

I was planning to do the same thing! I was going to ask my mom to do a whole bunch of befores but she's really sick so i might have to suck it up and have my hubby do it.

Thank you all so much for your responses. I knew it would be varried because of height, body shape, etc... but the info does help.

I'm a big ball of emotions! Nervous (eek, what if I fail) excited (can't wait to have energy and no pain!), guilty (work), shocked (its really happening) etc... over all I'm more excited then anything. I've been planning this for 2 years and it's finally becoming reality!!

Im also tentatively scheduled for Aug 5. Just need the insurance approval.

I know every one is different but im hoping i can get a general idea to base my goal weight off of. How much did you weigh when you were a size 16?12? 10? 6??

My surgeon reviewed all my preop paperwork and approved me for surgery. The office staff sent it all off to the insurance company today and I was given a "tentative" surgery date of Aug 5th! Im so excited... and nervous. I didn't expect to get the surgery date untill the insurance company approved me but apparently they wanted a date first. so YAY! They were ALMOST unable to send my paperwork in though. I took an idea from this site to be proactive and highlight the important information so it would be easier to be reviewed. Unfortunately i used orange which faxes through with the highlighted areas as black. luckily i coppied all my records beforehand so i was able to replace them. So as a tip for anyone wanting to be proactive, ONLY use yellow highlighter !!

I'm so happy this thread can help other people. To tell or not to tell a boss is a really tough spot to be in. I think being general will work and I like your idea of telling them it's been in the works for awhile. Good luck and let us know how it goes. I'm waiting until I have a date to put in my notice. I'm still torn what to do too!