pindoctor

My approval finally came through today 2 days prior to surgery thanks to a diligent person from the insurance company who contacted the prior auth department. That's a far cry last Wednesday when the insurance company said they didn't know when they'd even have an answer. Argh! I had been biting my nails off for the past 5 days.

Thanks for all the well wishers! Having the insurance company which in the past has given decisions in 2 weeks take almost a month was not in my plans.

After all the hassles with the insurance company, they finally approved the surgery today. So I am a go for this Wednesday Sept 2! Now I can be nervous for the right reaaons.

Today I spent 45 min on the phone with my insurance company and fortunately got someone who seemed to want to help me. She recognized that the surgery was scheduled next Wednesday and she tried to reach the authorization people to try to get my case expedited. Unfortunately they were all gone for the weekend so she will dog this down on Monday and said she'd be able to tell me something by Monday afternoon. This is cutting it close but at least someone is trying to help me rather than just blow me off like they did on Wednesday. I'm still doing ok on the liquid diet and hopefully it will not be for nothing. Wish me luck.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to call the insurance today and keep insisting that I talk to someone's supervisor until I get a response. Their response on Wednesday was "we have no information for you when your case will be reviewed." Now I am on day 10 of the liquid diet and I'd really like an answer one way or the other. The insurance liason for the bariatric program says what is happening to me is quite unusual. They generally get responses from my insurance company in 1-2 weeks. So I don't understand the problem.

I am so frustrated right now. I have been planning my surgery since last

Oct and had my pre-op on July 17. On that date day I got my surgery date

of Sept 2. On Aug 5 they submitted all my stuff for preauthorization and

here I am Aug 26 1 week preop, halfway through the liquid diet. My

insurance company hasn't made a decision and furthermore they had no idea

when they would have an answer. I have taken the time off work and have

to request time off 30 days in advance. I feel like I am totally screwed

and all my carefully laid out plans are coming apart. Any suggestions?

Yes I spoke with the person at the insurance office and they say that my case is "under review" and cannot give me any additional information. The insurance company implied that they had an influx of requests and that they could give me no information as to when would be reviewed. The insurance liason at my surgeons office said that Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal general takes 10 days to review these cases and it has been 20 days. She also said that in general with my insurance company they have not had problems getting approvals.

I am so frustrated right now. I have been planning my surgery since last Oct and had my pre-op on July 17. On that date day I got my surgery date of Sept 2. On Aug 5 they submitted all my stuff for preauthorization and here I am Aug 26 1 week preop, halfway through the liquid diet. My insurance company hasn't made a decision and furthermore they had no idea when they would have an answer. I have taken the time off work and have to request time off 30 days in advance. I feel like I am totally screwed and all my carefully laid out plans are coming apart. Any suggestions?

I am scheduled for Sept 2 and am on the 7th day of 14 day liquid diet. The first few days were really hard but it's getting easier. My major concern is that my surgery is scheduled 1 week from tomorrow and I still do not have an answer from my insurance company! Arrgh!

Do you have your insurance approval yet? I'm scheduled for Spet 2 and I still don't have an answer from my insurance company.

I am preop but my understanding from my reading is that for the first few days shoot for at least 48 oz/day with a goal being at least 64 oz/day. That's 8 cups of liquid (counting Protein Drinks if you use these).

I'm still waiting for my approval from insurance. Don't know why it is taking so long!

I am all scheduled for Sept 2 and on Day 6 of 2 week liquid diet. I'm still waiting for my insurance approval. Don't know why it is taking so long. The lady who handles the approvals for my surgeon says that all others with my insurance have been approved. This makes me nervous!

Wow you guys are fast. I wasn't in a big rush and attended my first weight loss seminar last Oct 2014. My insurance company required 3 month preauth period which I decided to extend to 6 mo so I could make sure I was making the right decision and could attend all the pre-op classes. My surgery scheduled for Sept 2 but I'm still waiting for insurance preauth clearance. Hope to hear from you all.

I know a lot about Zyprexa and I think it shouldn't be a huge problem. On Zyprexa people tend to have a greater appetite and eat more. With he tiny sleeve there is a limit as to how much you can eat. My surgery is Sept 2 and I figure as long as I don't graze (which I generally don't) I'll be ok

My date is Sept 2, hope to hear from all of you 1 weekers ahead of me.

Although I have completed all the steps, my insurance company hasn't approved me yet. So I hope I'm not starving for nothing! My surgery is less than 2 weeks away!

I am scheduled for surgery on Sept 2 and am doing the preop liquid diet. I am hungry! I am slated to have pureed face Day 2-Week 4, soft week4-6 then regular high Protein after this.

Sept 2 for me. I am in the phase of the 2 week pre-op liquid diet and am quite hungry. But I'm early. My greatest fear is that I will awaken from my surgery and worry that I made a big mistake. Getting online here and reading people's stories makes me less afraid as most people seem to be happy with their decision to have WLS.

My last straw was when my husband lost his job secondary to disability and I gained 50 lbs in a year following a crazy hike where I tore my knee meniscus. Prior to this I had been doing weight watchers for 5 years and it is a great program. But I could never keep the weight off. always had to follow weight watchers to the T and work out to lose any weight. The problem with my knee got in the way. I like to be active and I try to ski 25 days/year. This past year secondary to my weight and my knee injury, I could barely ski. I pride myself on doing exciting things like ziplining, going on crazy amusement park rides and doing high wire challenge courses. At my current weight I cannot walk without getting winded and cannot do all the things I love to do. I had looked into WLS 2 years ago but was abou 10 pound shy of qualifying for it. I have struggled with my weight throughout my life despite the fact that I have been successful in most other aspects of my life. I am developing some comorbidities (borderline hypertension and I don't sleep as ell as I used to and think I might be developing sleep apnea. I have lost 50-70 lbs at least 10x in my life and it is time for me to do something different! My surgery is scheduled for Sept 2.

About 8 months ago I was in the same boat as you. My weight was in the range where my BMI was 41 and if I dropped below 40 I would be ineligible for surgery. I was really gung ho to make some changes but feared losing weight. People on this site recommended that I not drop below BMI 40 if that was the requirement for my insurance company. So for the past 8 months I have been mindful of not eating too much but not dieting either. I am a month away from my surgery date and gained 5 pounds over 7 months. Then I went on a cruise 2 weeks ago and gained another 5 pounds! So I guess my recommendation is to try to eat regularly and not diet and drop below your required BMI.

I am one month pre-op and giving up diet coke is probably the hardest thing I have had to deal with so far. But I'm working on it!

My date is Sept 2 although I am still waiting for the insurance approval. Still struggling with eliminating carbonated Diet Coke!

You won't get gandolium, that's for MRI scans. The barium will be fine. Not tasty, but fine.

Wow, thanks for all the great suggestions!! Since there is such a group of busy people here with great suggestions, how do/did you handle eating at restaurants? Did you just bring stuff with you?