ChristyAZ

I myself ditched my policy from work and bought an individual policy through BCBS. Its a gold plan and covered the surgery. My advise .... if your company offers multiple options, check each one over to see if WLS is a covered benefit. If not, call an insurance broker. That's what I did. I was never asked about my weight or any preexisting conditions (not sure but I think due to Obamacare, they are no longer allowed), just if I was a smoker and my age (smokers pay more). I advised I was looking for a policy that covered WLS and that's all the plans they sent me. I chose the best one for me. This was in December 2013. My new policy went into effect in Jan 2014 and I am scheduled for RNY in August. Its been a stressful 6 months but it can be done. One thing you absolutely should do is start a supervised weight loss plan NOW. Don't wait until you find a policy and then find out you need 6 months of supervised weight loss (WW was not good enough for my insurance. It had to be Dr supervised) before you can be approved. Most if not all insurance companies require it. I know my doctors/program has one through the hospital they are affiliated with. Don't throw in the towel just yet .... you're worth spending the time researching and finding a way to get the surgery. Good luck!

Wecome! I am a fairly new newbie too .... and will be having RNY in August 2014 ..... so it will be nice to have another bypasser to share their story

I'm in the East Valley but I am interested ..... very much so ...........

My good friend had her WLS (RNY) over a year ago so she is my "little font of information" and she shared what she thought was the reason behind her continued success (or one of them anyway). food prep. She swears by it and continues to this day to prepare as many (or as much) of her meals as she can way in advance. She basically cooks her dishes twice monthly and freezes in individual pre measured portions. This way she has a perfect well loved meal whenever she wants/needs. She can prepare her families favorite (WLS unfriendly) meals for them, warm her own for herself and sit down to dinner with everyone and still stay on track. I plan on doing the same (I am 7 weeks pre op today) and have started to work on my own possible menus as well as modify hers to my tastes. Some of her favorites include Turkey Chili, chicken and Cauliflower Spagetti and Loaded Turkey Meatballs. She even goes so far as to prep chicken salad in advance leaving out the mayo and then adds that when the time comes. Pretty ingenious I thought ...anyway, I was wondering if anyone else does this or a version of this? Any freezer friendly protien rich recipes or ideas? I know I will be on liquids then mushies following my procedure and I also understand my tastes will probably alter some so I do not plan on doing too much before I learn my new boundries but when once I do, watch out lol .... I love to cook and this seems like a big stress reducer ....

No pre op liquid diet here either. Just a light breakfast the day prior then clear liquids from noon on ...ave surgery at 8am so it will be fairly easy to handle considering some others pre op diets. I would never make it!

Mine took 4 days from date of submission. I have BCBS

I am still pre op but I seem to like the Pure Protein Frosty Chocolate 35 grm pre mixed one the best. I tend to mix it with a small amount of coconut water and a spoonful of natutal peanut butter and blend smooth. I will be ordering the Unjury trial packs this week ..... my "plan" (fingers crossed) is to just use the unflavored in things post op ...... or the chicken soup one. I am a salty more then sweet kind of girl and the thought of all those sweet shakes and bars kind of puts me off .... but as everyone says, who knows whati will like after surgery .....

OMG Ginger ..... you have definitley given me reason to be thankful lol ...... you poor thing, I would have just DIED of embaressment ..... If you can get thru THAT, I can do this lol ....... thanks for the clarity!

I love this list ..... ok, here are my ten: 1. Going to a restaurant and not having anxiety over fitting into the booth/chair 2. Walking into a room and not fearing I am the biggest one there 3. Crossing my legs when I sit 4. Being able to by clothes from anywhere ... and not from the big girl section at plus sized stores 5. Being able to buy PRETTY clothes and not just what fits/hides the fat from the clearance rack 6. Taking the stairs instead of elevators 7. Having ENERGY. 8. Buying pretty panties and bra sets, not forced to wear grandma undies and Just My Size bras 9. Not feeling guilty for nibbling a sweet treat once in a while 10. The feeling of being trim and healthy for the first time since high school ** I'm sneaking in an extra one .... #11. Pictures. Taking pictures with my husband. With my daughter. With my friends and co-workers and not feeling shame when someone posts one on FB or Instagram. I have so few pictures with my daughter growing up because I was so ashamed of my size .... I regret that now .....

A few weeks ago I was hospitalized for diverticulitis. Yay me. A new diagnosis to add to the pool. The worst part is that my bariatric surgeon has not only postponed my gastric bypass surgery (scheduled for June 17th) for 3 months from the date of my hospitalization (healing time for the lower intestines) but now I get to follow up with a colon-rectal specialist and I can almost guarantee I have a lovely scope in my future ... and my WLS now depends on a surgical clearance from him as well. So not happy .... I know that telling my surgeon was the right thing to do but boy do I hate the outcome. Anyone ever have a diverticulitis and still get clearance for WLS? Now I am panicking and thinking all the effort I put in to get to this point will be for nothing

I am still 6 weeks from surgery however my agreement when scheduling the procedure was for a post op 4 hour class the week after my surgery, a 2 week follow up with dr, a 4 week follow up, additional blood work at some point, a 6? 8? week follow up and then a 6 month followed by a 1 year follow up. I also have the option to attend group support meetings held monthly.

Will your surgeon even do they surgery with nicotine in your system? Mine tests for it and will not go through with it if I were to test positive... just a thought .....

I may be wrong but if your insurance pays 70% that mans the procedure is a covered benefit so you are only obligated to pay 30% of the ALLOWED amount. The hospital/surgeon can bill any amount they want but the insurance will only pay their contracted rates. Before you pay anything, call the billing office at your surgeons office and get the billing codes they will use....same with the hospital .... then contact your insurance and ask them what they allow as payment on the codes. The amount will be drastically different them what the doc and facility bill. A few years back, my daughter had surgery and thru her father she had an 80%-20% plan. The hospital and the doctor tried to make me pay like $8000 up front and they advised they would "reimburse me the difference after they received payment from the insurance" but I got the billing codes in writing from the ins company and hospital, did the calculations and with the proof in hand went to the hospital billing office. I ended up paying about $1300. Do not think you have to pay 30% of the inflated costs the doc and facility are asking for. Make some calls and question your insurance company .... they will help you .... Good luck ....

My mom would tell me to gargle with warm salted water hourly and drink hoy tea with lemon and honey ..... I hope you feel better and your surgery is right on schedule ..... good luck

I know this is an old post but while browsing the forums I saw this and it peaked my interest enough to go search the Zinger. I absolutely love the concept and I have ordered the Citrus and Aqua Zinger. Thank you so much for possibly giving me a way to get my water without me have to choke down plain old boring water or pay tons for flavored water in bottles that are bad for the environment!

Never heard of it but with the need for protein following the surgery, I will definitely be checking into it. Thanks for the information!

Katy Perry ... "Roar" lol .......silly but seems to fit me

jtickle ... you might try talking with the office manager at your surgeons office and explaining the run around you have received. They just might be able to get things done a bit more to your satisfaction. Also, at your appointment with the dr, advise him/her about the situation, wether it has been resolved or not. A dr only knows so much about the issues in his office as they are BUSY .... seeing patients .... and often are shocked at the problems going on without their knowledge. Now of course I dont mean be all yellie and screamie but a simple "hey, I thought you should be aware" would maybe save someone else the anxiety you have been dealing with ..... Good luck

I have BCBS as well .... annnnd I did the psych test ...... 250+ questions if I remember right ...... I had to laugh at some of them but it was simple and over fairly quick .......

I am scheduled for 6/17/14 ..... and it still feels unbelievable and like a dream ..... when the surical scheduler actually called me I was shocked ... like all the hard work, the decision making, the scramble to get everything together for the insurance ... it all just cam together then and said.... you really ARE having this surgery .... soon .... lol

I am pre op myself and this topic has hit a sore spot for me. I am not the "strict" and "diciplined" type and I worry that will cause me to fail. I plan to follow my nutritionist and surgeons advise as close to the letter as I can however I know me .... that is where I am hoping my new "tool" comes into play ..... it will hopefully keep it to a slip and not a full slide into a fat and sugar induced coma! Its hard to think of a life w/o a yummy nibble of pizza or a sweet and creamy sip or two of coffee .... and I hope it won't come to that .... <did I even make any sense? lol> ........

I have a $1000 bariatric surgical fee but thats it. My deductable has been met so I am pretty darn happy ......

OMG ..... I am still pre op and this, I have never even considered ...... nor did I want to lol ..........

I have told anyone and everyone who asks or should know. All my coworkers, family and friends are aware ..... soon enough, it wiil become obvious anyway and I absolutly refuse to be ashamed about the decision I made to have the WLS (not to compare shame to others desire for privavcy) .... I have just never been a super private person and holding back is really not in my nature so i either had to own it or alter who I am and that just was not an option ...... So bring it all you "my friend/my cousin/my sisters brother aunt horror story tellers" and all those with the "easy ways out" mentality ...... I will educate you, I will prove you wrong and I will succeed ...... <wow, I sound so fierce lol> ............ With that said however, the decision to share the information is as personal as the decision to have the procedure in the first place and I respect everyones choice. Its definitaly not an easy one.

I am so sorry ..... don't give up though ....... fight ....... for your future and your present ........ I know I have read a few posts about a advocate group that (for a fee) helps you fight and appeal ..... maybe someone can post the name of that company? Good luck to you ......