Luvin_Life125

I have almost met my out of pocket max for the year and want to be certain I can get my surgery done before the end of the year. I have spent a lot of time on the phone with Cigna and reading the summary plan description. I am not taking any chance of missing something or doing something incorrectly. I have questioned the Cigna reps up and down to make sure I am covering all of my bases. You are more than welcome. I am happy to share what I have learned!

I am not sure about the weight Cigna uses. My plan is to lose what I can preoperatively until I get to 40 BMI. If I make it down to a 40 BMi, I will maintain that weight just to be on the safe side. As for the Cigna Center of Excellence- the hospital has to be a Cigna Center of Excellence in. Bariatric surgery if your plan requires the Center of Excellence. To check if it is a bariatric center of excellence, On mycigna.com search "center of excellence" and choose facility When the list of facilities comes up; click on the center of excellence hyper link in each hospital that comes up They will have different specialties listed. You will need to find one with bariatric surgery listed in the center of excellence hyperlink.

You look amazing! I will have to stock up on the Jergins and hope it helps me some. I have had 2 kids and was huge with each pregnancy so it is more of a pipe dream, but a girl can dream. Pilates is supposed to be amazing for strengthening the core and is on my list to try. Thank you so much for being open and honest. You give me hope I may be able to avoid a TT.

Thanks! I love shoes and love a good deal on cute shoes!

Congratulations!! You both have a wonderful and happy life ahead of you!

I LOVE those shoes! Do you mind sharing the details on them?

You look great! I have to ask if your stomach returned to that shape alone? I am worried about all of the extra skin I will have to contend with. I hope my skin will return to a tolerable level of jiggle.

I have just started my 90 day medically managed diet with Cigna. The most important thing you need to do is schedule 4 appointments with your primary care provider. They must each be at least 30 days apart. At each appointment your doctor MUST document: -your weight -your current dietary program AnD -your current physical activity program or exercise program For the current dietary program you must be specific ie: weight watchers or 1500 calorie diet or whatever your program is. It is very important you keep track of you daily food intake (either an app on your phone or even a written food diary). Cigna can request your documentation of your diet before they approve your surgery. For your exercise program you must also make sure your doctor documents it in detail. My doctor has it noted that I am walking 1.5- 2 blocks 2-3 times a day at least 4 days a week. I document my daily physically activity in with my food. I use my fitness pal app and that works well for me. You must make sure to do 4 appointments too. The Cigna policy states 3 appointments at least 30 days apart (>89 days) but you also need to consider that you have to have an initial appointment to start the process. Make sure you look up the Cigna Coverage Policy 0051. This will outline all of the Cigna requirements for approval. I printed the policy out and put it right in the front of my binder for easy referral and to check off as I complete the requirements. You also want to make sure you get a copy of the summary plan description from HR at work. This will outline coverage and any additional requirements your specific policy requires. If your summary plan description has different requirements than the Cigna Coverage Policy 0051, the summary plan description makes the rules! There is one additional thing to watch for with Cigna. My summary plan description requires my surgery be performed at a Cigna designated Center of Excellence. When I first searched for in network bariatric surgeons I found a list of 20 providers within 75 miles of me. (I live in the middle of nowhere) I scheduled an appointment with a surgeon an hour away and was thrilled to get a surgeon that close to home. However, despite all of the in network surgeons in my area, the closest Cigna designated Center of Excellence is a little over 3 hours away. If your summary plan description requires a center of excellence please pm me and I will walk you through finding one because it isn't easy to find. I hope I didn't overwhelm you. If something is not clear, please let me know. I spent many years working in medical billing so this is second nature to me. Keep in touch! You and I will be having surgery close to the same time.

I am looking at the same time frame for my surgery and I agree it seems like forever! I have started my medically supervised diet and have scheduled my psych evaluation, physical therapy evaluation, and my meeting with the surgeon. I am hoping since I have to do all of my waiting over the summer while the kids are out of school, it will go by faster. With 2 boys (7 & 10) home all day, every day, they will definitely occupy my time!

I have just started the 3 month medically supervised pre-op diet required by my insurance. I have started to make lifestyle changes now so the post surgery lifestyle won't be such a shock to the system. I have given up my beloved diet coke for 10 days and finally don't crave it anymore. I walk twice a day. I have now changed out my lunch to a protein shake. I make it with skim milk and 6 ice cubes in my blender and I have a milkshake for lunch every day! I use different extracts for different flavors and also mix in frozen fruit and ground flax seed. I LOVE my lunch treat every day an really look forward to it. I thought I would feel deprived but it is the exact opposite. In 2 weeks I plan on cutting out refined carbs (pasta, refined sugar, white flour based products). And I will regularly be changing my diet and habits as I get closer to surgery. So back to my question, am I the odd person who looks forward to their protein shakes? I love experimenting with flavors and combinations. It will be a long time before I run out of flavor ideas and blending it with ice makes it a real treat!

Thanks for the tips! I just emailed the coordinator to see about moving my surgeons appointment to a day or the day before either of my NUT and Psych appointments. My in laws live about 70 miles from the office and it will be easier to stay overnight there than drive all the way home for appointments one day apart. I am really glad I am not doing the band because that would suck making that trip for fills.

I have 2 things in mind for when I get to my goal. The first is a budoir photo shoot for my hubby to thank him for putting up with my craziness followed by a family photo. I have no pictures of myself because I am so self conscious. It helps my sister is a professional photographer and the most non judge mental person I have ever met. She loves doing budoir shoots for all women of any shape and size because she thinks every woman should feel beautiful no matter what! I love that about her. My second reward will be a family trip that is outdoor activities based! I haven't been able to do much with my children because of my weight and chronic back pain. Once my weight is down I want to go canoeing, horseback riding, hiking, rock climbing, and anything else that looks fun. We love to camp so we will find somewhere great to camp with many activities in the area. My surgery will be in late September or early October. I am hoping we will be planning our trip for late summer 2015! Everyone should reward themselves somehow!

Congratulations!

Congratulations!! I can't wait until I am actually not afraid to have my picture taken! Absolutely inspirational.

Great question! I am very interested in the answers because I am undecided also!

I have the same concerns for my sons (7&10). It is something we work for everyday. We discuss the importance of healthy food choices and exercise. Treats aren't labelled as bad, but as something we have occasionally. My youngest has life threatening food allergies which has made us read ingredient labels for every item we buy. We have turned label reading into a teachable moment and they are learning the difference between natural food and chemical "food". I also use their school lessons in our house to broaden their understanding. All we can do is try. Nobody is perfect but the fact that you worry about their nutrition says a lot! Hang in their and know that just by trying to find out how to help them is the biggest and most difficult first step!

Congratulations!

Congrats!! How exciting!!

I started getting acne when I was in my 30's after I got an IUD. I also have very sensitive skin and dry skin. I also worked in a dermatologist office for over 7 years. The combination I found that works for me is Neutrogena acne wash (the orange liquid wash) twice a day. I use a good moisturizer with sunscreen in the morning after washing my face (DML SPF 25, The packaging looks like a relic from the 70's but it is a good thick moisturizer that really helps with my dry, sensitive face without making me break out.) at night I wash again and use an over the counter product called zap zit. This combination helps keep my face under control. You have to find what works for you. Try over the counter things first and see if it helps. You have to give anything you try a good 4-6 weeks before you can judge if it is truly working. Good luck!

Please, please, please take your pain medication if you need it! Pain is much easier to manage if you take the medication regularly and keep the pain at a fairly stable low level. If you wait to take the pain meds until the pain is to the point you can't stand it, and keep repeating that process your pain control will be less effective. Why torture yourself if you don't have to? Nobody gets an award for suffering through all of that pain and taking minimal pain medication. Nobody will know but you if you needed the medication and how much you needed. I hope your recovery gets better and you will see the upside to the surgery soon!

I am so glad your recovery is back on track. I hope you are feeling back to your usual self soon!

Typically once you meet your deductible, your insurance will start covering a certain % of future claims allowed amount and the rest is due from you until you meet your out of pocket max. For example, my policy has a $3000 deductible and then they cover claims at 80% (meaning I am responsible for the remaining 20%) until I meet my out of pocket max of $5000. So I am responsible for all claims up to the first $3000 of my medical expenses for the year. Now that I have met that $3000, the insurance pays my medical claims at 80%. Once my 20% reaches $5000, my insurance pays all claims after the $5000 in full with no payment due from me. Does that help?

Absolutely! My main motivation is my health, but I would also like to feel attractive again too. I would like to have confidence in myself again and not try to hide my body because I am ashamed of how much weight I have gained.

I would like to join and this will be my first challenge! I am starting to change my diet and increase my exercise in preparation for future surgery. CW: 260 GW: 252 Thanks!

Congratulations! Amazing results after only 90 days!