EnchantedRuby

Lonestar, I wish you all the luck in the world on getting approved. My only advise to you is to call EVERYDAY!!! you need to contact the pre-certification number. That take you right to it and they are more helpful than the regular customer service reps. Be sure your doc's office FAXES the documents. I actually had to call to verify it was faxed and not mailed. Once I knew it was faxed over I called daily to double check the status. They'll tell you if it is still pending review or pending approval. I got my approval on the 16th of this month. The office submitted the papers on the 7th (not the 4th as I was originally told,boy was I upset) so not including weekends I was approved in 8 days. Now once the insurance informs you or the approval (fingers crossed), call the dr's office ASAP. The office can confirm over the phone the approval with the insurance company. Aetna sends approval letters to the dr and one to you. Unless you want to wait for the dr to get the letter, confirm the approval, and then call you to let you know (which could probably be ANOTHER 1-2 weeks) you should definitely call!! GOOD LUCK!!. and PLEASE let us know when you get approved!

ok so the day after my insurance approved me the dr's office called and scheduled my surgery.. So with in the next 3 weeks I will be running around like crazy getting my pre-op testings and other stuff that needs to be taken care of. I start my shakes this Thursday (01/24). I'm ready for that. I bought 2 cases of Slim-fast Optima. One's Dark chocolate Royal and the other is Cappuccino Delight. I was wondering since they said I can have tomato juice does that mean I can have some V-8?? hum.. I have a question (other than the one I just asked).. I take birth control pills and Vitamins daily.. now I've heard we can't take pills cause they could be hard to digest. Does anyone have any ideas or alternatives??? Thanks!!

Thank you I just got my surgery date yesterday.. it is scheduled for the 7th of February.

Congrats 4jin!!.. I've been scheduled for surgery! I start my shakes on Thursday.. I get my pre-op stuff done on the 31st and on the 1st I meet with the Dr for the last time before the surgery.. I'm so excited but I'm still a little scared!!

that's exactly what my surgeon said. I've lost alittle over 30 lbs since I started this journey.. I was approved today.. so now I'm just waiting for a surgery date.. YAY!!

My PCP has me on Meridia to help me loose the weight I needed for the surgery. My surgeon's ok with it. Not to mention he put me on a 1500 cal diet the first month and increased it to 2000 the following 5 months. I also TRIED to exercise as much as possible. Trust me it's not will-power as much as hubby-power. My DH is very supportive although I think it's more because of all the money we have invested into this..hehe..

Congrats!!.. I got approved today too!!.. soon we will start our lives.. good luck to you on your journey!!

I just got approved by Aetna today.. It wasn't very hard. It took me calling everyday to be sure it was being worked on. Aetna got my claim on the 9th and I got approved today so although it felt like forever it really wasn't. I have Aetna Choice POS II.

I've been approved!!!! Calling everyday paid off.. the insurance rep said the approval letter was MAILED to Dr's office. Can you believe that?? That means I would have had to wait another 7 or so days to hear from the Dr's office that I was approved!.. Man I called the financial/billing person at the Dr's office, told her I was approved and she said "ok, let me call them directly and I'll call you right back".. She called back congratulated me on my approval and said the coordinator will call to schedule the appointment..Guess what I said??? "That's ok.. if you can just transfer me now I'll talk to her directly".. hehe Well the coordinator of course was not in but I left a message on the voicemail, and I'll call every day till I speak to her!!! ..hehe!! I'm sooooo excited!!.. (doing the happy dance!!):smile:

Well nothing much has changed... I've called the insurance company every day this week and all they have said is that it shows the claim is still under review. oh well.. I'll just keep calling everyday till a get the approval. I'm not waiting for the doctor's office to call me with it. I did receive a letter in the mail from the Dr's office. It was a copy of the letter sent to the insurance company along with the letter from my PCP stating the reasons why I'm a good candidate for this procedure. Honestly it was pretty good.. I work with medical billing I come across letters like this a lot. I'm hoping the insurance company thinks it's good too!.. Oh well I sit and wait a little longer.. still continuing to call everyday...

I've been calling everyday since submitting the paper work. I haven't got approved yet but I know it's a matter of time!.....I hope:wink:.

Hi!.. 35 years old Houston, Texas I have 1 son whose turning 17 in Feb. Married for 2 years to a man who fell in love with me at my heaviest and supports any choice I make.(he's awesome!) I'm currently waiting for insurance approval! (any good vibes you can spare please send them this way.thank you) Good luck to you all!!

I've told everyone who needs to know. I'm not keeping it from anyone, if someone asked I tell. Most people at work know since everyone loves to gossip so much. They all want to when the surgery is scheduled for and if the insurance is covering it. As it turns out there are a lot of people at work that are considering the surgery themselves but I so scared. I tell them of my process and how this is safer than the bypass cause it's reversible IF there are any complications. So let everyone know I don't care it's not their life I'm changing it's MINE!!

OK .. I called the insurance company this morning.. they said they have received all my paper work and it's in the process of being assigned to a nurse for review.. My responce to the insurance rep. "ok thank you so much for all your help.. I'll call tomorrow for the approval".. Hey I figured be positive and I might get what I want.. So I'll call and let you all know.. hehe!

I'm addicted I'll admit it. My Hubby says I'm obsessed! sue me.... :-P

Curious... My coordinator just called and said she submitted all my information to my insurance company (aenta)... I'm curious to know how long some of you waited for your approval.. but most of all ... how did you deal with the wait???????? I'm so excited and nervous all wrapped up in one!!! I can't wait to get approved.. but at the same time it's like ... "what if I don't??" GOING NUTS HERE!!:help:

How long did it take for Cigna to approve you? Did you have to do the 6 month thing with your PCP?

I'm done with my process now it's just time to wait for the approval. good luck to you !

Hello Everyone! I'm Ruby, 35 years-old, weigh 225lbs & 5' tall. I've been married for 2 years now & although he loves me for me he still supports MY decision on this new journey . My start weight at the beginning of all this was 253lbs. My highest history weight was at 267 lbs about 6 years ago. I've always been overweight. As a baby it was "oh she's so cute" as child it was "it's baby fat she'll grow out of it" well as a teenager it turned into "she needs to get on a diet". Well by the time I was 15 I was in a major self hate state, & developed very bad eating habits. Between binging & purging I became an emotional eater. At 18 I got pregnant and had a beautiful baby boy. He was a gift for someone who felt so alone (although you would never know it by the guys I hung out with :phanvan ). I gained so much weight & I suddenly felt like there was no hope :think. I jumped from 187lbs to 240lbs at full term & only lost 20lbs after that. That was 1991 & I've been over 200lbs since. I have been dieting all my life. Tried it Lap-band: Someone suggested having my thyroids checked to see if this was the cause of my weight. After reading about it on line as a possibility, I made an appointment to see a Neurologist on July 3,07. Dr.T took tests & everything came back normal. He mentioned the surgery & recommended I make an appointment to meet with the specialists (Dr.Sherman) at the Baylor Clinic. I managed to get into a seminar the following week. The start of my life changed from that moment on. Once I talked to my insurance I was at it hard and started following everything Dr.T & Dr.Sherman asked of me. Well now it's 6 months later, I have all the documentation Aetna requires. Dr.Sherman's office is reviewing everything & hopefully I will get a response soon. I've already started drinking the Protein shakes for Breakfast so it won't be a shock when I have to drink it as my only meal! I'm so excited but at the same time I'm VERY scared! Any suggestions or advise for someone who is pre-op?? GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!!!

Hey I just got done with my 6 months insurance requirements. The coordinator at the dr's office is looking over all the paperwork and will be submitting all the info soon(I hope). I'm scared and excited all wrapped up. I'm hoping to have the surgery by mid-month in February. Good Luck and please let me know how you're progress goes...BTW I'm in Northwest Houston (610/290 area)

Good to know..thanks !!

Congratulations!!! you are definitely an inspiration to those of us who are still pre-op!!!

wow.. I never stopped to think of all the money I've spent so far to just get me to this point. (I'm done with all my requirements that Aenta is asking for my request should be submitted any day) Now that I read your post I calculated every penny and holy cow! God I hope they approve this. Good Luck to you and have faith! I know in my heart this is all worth it.

I'm a newbie too.. just joined yesterday.. but I've been preparing for this for over 6 month now.. (although it feels like I'm been waiting all my life). I have Aetna and I followed all their requirements now I sit and wait for my coordinator to tell me she's ready to submit the request for approval. Like JDUB414 my dr. also put down all the monthly report that I did a 15 -20 minutes treadmill workout 3-4 times a week. He also but down that I was on diet pills and a low cal diet. (1500-2000) a day. What bothers me so much about Aetna is that they require you see a dietitian but they wouldn't cover the charge unless I paid my medical deductible first. ... Oh well right now I'm just preparing myself mentally for the surgery (being optimistic that they WILL approve) & reading all I can on this site to help me out!!.. good luck to you and i hope for the best !!