tshine01

Same thing happened yesterday to me. I got a call after breakfast and the bariatric clinic called and said they were moving my surgery up to Dec 4 from January 14. Day 1.5 of liquid diet. Thanksgiving will be tough but next Thanksgiving will be much better!!! Good luck everyone on your surgery.

New here surgery is Dec 15

I am interested. 12/18 is my surgery date.

Congratulations on getting a date! Mine is in December, not too much earlier.

I FINALLY got a surgery date today for January the 8th. I am pretty excited about that. Anyone else with a January surgery?

Yes hello and congratulations. I am scheduled for Jan 6 here in Ohio.

Hi Suze.
Please don't get me wrong. I totally agree with the insurance company wanting to make sure someone is committed to this new lifestyle. I think I was prepared for it to be 6 months. A year just seems like a long time to wait and I don't like thinking about another year of struggling

I would never want to categorize anyone here- I'm so happy for every one of us here who's decided to take this journey toward bettering their health! What I seem to find though, is a high level of discouragement from folks who, while they may indeed have that lifetime of attempts to lose weight, their attempts were made independently (even though possibly with accredited weight loss companies like Jenny Craig or WW). When they do decide to have WLS and begin all of their scheduled clearances, they contact their insurance only to find out that there's a period of physician supervised weight loss/documentation that has to be attained.
It's true that insurance company reps read off of a script, and that they're not perfect. In fact, I was told multiple times by multiple reps that my particular policy didn't require physician supervised prior weight loss attempts. I got to where my surgery date was scheduled, and was then informed that in the interim, the policy had changed and I did now have to have 6 months of documented weight loss- talking about running a race to be tripped at the finish line! Fortunately, as part of my "am I really sure I want to do this" preparation, I had worked with my physician & dietician for well over a year before deciding on WLS. My surgery date remained what it was, and everything turned out fine...but that was a terrible week or so when I was scrambling to get the paperwork turned in- stress no one needs to have!
Everyone should make decisions in their own way, but to toss my proverbial 2 cents in- I would recommend going through the physician supervised weight loss attempt before diving headfirst into the WLS surgery world. Most insurance policies will require it anyway, doing it first may save you some heartache in the long run, and who knows- following a diet plan that's been tailored to what you need may be enough to lose the weight without surgery.

@@tshine01,
Hey, my diet was supposed to be monitored by my primary physician who had very loose suggestions and not a real plan. So, for half that time I did Protein smoothies with a Protein Drink,with added frozen banana and berries for Breakfast and lunch and a regular dinner. And I ate whatever I wanted during the weekend but tried to steer clear of carbs and sugars. This stabilized my weight and allowed me to not gain which is was was going on prior. I think I lost 5 pounds the whole time which isn't remarkable but it met the requirement of weight loss, if you think about how much I was gaining prior, I consider it success. You could always ask or pay for separately to see a nutritionist for pointers toward weight loss. They are just hoops, a means to a end. Yes any healthy eating and healthier choices is good practice, but insurance companies seem heartless but it just so happens that investing in your success and compliance have a shared benefit of our ultimate success and their bottom line...its rare that they coincide.

I was single when I had my surgery, I started dating about 3 months post op, about 100 lbs down at the time. I didn't tell any of the guys I had gone out with during this time, until I met my current boyfriend. We were talking over coffee and I felt comfortable enough with him to just tell him about it. and we've been together for three months now.
My point is, tell them if you are comfortable with them, and if you want the relationship to continue, otherwise they get all head up about 'oh my god you're losing so much weight so fast are you anorexic?! I never see you eat." Like my boyfriend's friend's have been doing until I told them. Lol.

I'm a very private person so I really didn't want anyone to know unless it was necessary. I don't blame you for not telling, it's no ones business really.

My doctor said no mini pill for the first three months because it cause blood clots.I researched online and Webmd states that it is the pill with the hormone that can cause blood clots. IUD is out the question for me because of my blood pressure. But I can wait to play it safe.

My Dr said it can't be used at all after surgery due to absorption issues. It's just not reliable enough.

I had to do the 6 months supervised diet too. I was wondering did you eat a certain way during that time? I do here and there but I still eat pretty bad I'm trying to work on changing that My last appt. visit is December 16th. then I have to go to a 4 hour pre-op class after they will submit for authorization to my insurance company. BTW congratulations on your surgery date it's like I wish it was now but at the same time I know when it comes i'm going to be so nervous lol

My surgeon's office arranged a "dummy date"- a time when both the surgeon was available and operating room were held for me in advance of my insurance approval. Once I got my clearances, submitted to the insurance company & got approval back (about a week to hear from them after the paperwork was submitted) my date was already reserved for surgery. Took a lot of stress off, knowing when my surgery would be all along.

My HR department didn't even want to know what the surgery was for. I'd say just do the FMLA.

This also varies greatly by surgeon. Mine only required 1 day of liquids preop, but I think that's pretty rare. Others here have had much longer ones before and after surgery. Ask you doctor's office what his requirements are.

I underwent RNY surgery 18 months ago. Prior to surgery I was diabetic, had high blood pressure, sleep apnea, a problem with profuse sweating and a problem with frequent urination. All these problems went into remission within 2 weeks after surgery.
I personally would not take diet pills.

Final approval came through from insurance! It's a GO!! Woohoo!

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forums here, I've been lurking for a few months reading everyone's stories and ups and downs. I'll definitely post my story in the introduction section, but for right now I have a question.
How did you prepare for your surgery? Not talking about the pre-op diet, more like did you take pictures in a certain outfit or buck naked or anything of that nature? How did you prepare your house/bedroom/where you'd be spending your few days recouping when you're on pain meds still? I've got 3 kids, 3 8 and 12, and hubby will be home with me for a few days, so I'm not absolutely stressed about minding the kids, more about taking care of me!
Thanks!
~tara

I'm nearing the end/beginning of my journey! I made it through the 6 month medically supervised diet, saw the NUT, had the psych eval, and attended a support group. My surgeon is submitting a letter of medical necessity and my date is tentatively set for 1/15/2015!! I'll start my pre-op diet on 1/1/2015. I was so scared at the beginning of this process, but now that I've done my research and read SO MANY posts on this site I am confident I am making the right decision for myself and my future!!!!! :)

A little info about me!
I'm 18, I live in Pennsylvania and my surgeon is Dr Teasun Moon of Wimber,Pa. I've been overweight from early childhood to now. My starting weight was 282 and I'm now down to 265.5. I start my liquid diet on December 29! If your on a similar time frame, I'd love to talk to you and share our experiences. My only requirement for my bypass buddy is that they be committed to getting healthy. I'm doing to to live longer and be healthier but I'm also doing it in honor of my mother, she passed away in 2011 due to heart attack related to morbid obesity.

Wahoo!!! My date was just set yesterday Dec 29th

Congratulations! Mine is December 4th

Dec 22nd yeah!!