BlueBongo

Congrats on getting everything done! It seems like the waiting is the longest part... I can understand that! After my doctor's office submitted ALL of my stuff, I called my insurance company every day (BCBS of TX) and after two days it was approved.. however, they are a bit archaic and send the approval letters to me and my doctor's office via the good ol' USPS... which really takes an extra week after approval! It was a little nerve wracking for me, I checked the mail box daily and bugged the insurance company to email me info... but they didn't, lol. It's fantastic that you've come so far and that you are making this amazing lifestyle change, I am so excited for you and will send all the positive juju I can to help that insurance wait along a little bit quicker. I wish you the best in your journey and hope you'll keep us all updated of your progress on the way!

That's awesome, for all of you!!! I am wishing you all the very best in your journeys... I will be behind you on Jan 27th! lol.

I have BCBS of TX and luckily had no trouble. I think they prefer you go throught a center of excellence... my surgery is on the 27th and I was given two discounts from BCBS; one for going through a center of excellence and one for using that hospital's wls program. Luckily my deductible is super low. It was approved after 2 days, but they don't send it electronically/fax....they mail it. That took about a week. I wish you the best with your journey!

Just got my date today. 1/27. woot woot. Doing my pre-surgery tests tomorrow... then back to working like crazy until my surgery since I will be off for 2-3 months.

I work for American Airlines telling people how to load luggages on to the planes. It has a lot of perks that I take advantage of fully.

Just waiting for my doctor's office to get my approval letter... I'm not sure why BCBS of TX is so ancient when it comes to technology these days, lol. I should be having mine in a few weeks though, I bought everything I need pre-op and am ready to do this liquid diet. Even got my post-op meds/nutrients ready to go. I'm so ready to do this. Good luck everyone!!!

I thought I could find a form from my insurance company that would allow me to setup whatever it is I might need for my surgery, but I can't find a thing on their website under their forms. I was wondering if anyone had any advice or information on what I might be able to do to set this up? I totally forgot I needed this and imagine I am making more of it than it is, but any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Thank you so much! Now to get them notarized and done, I think I've got everything set... now to just get my way through the two week diet and pre-op testing, then I am set. Thank you so much!

So I just got my approval today, but have to wait via snail mail for it to get to me and my doctor's office....anyway, they require a two week pre-op liquid diet before surgery that I will likely have to start next week. As I'm lactose intolerant the only option for me of the 3 required options, they say no deviations, is the Bariatric Advantage brand ready made shakes. I know it would be bad to deviate from their requirements, but I was wondering if anyone knew of any other bariatric specialized brand ready made shakes that I might be able to find locally (Phoenix, AZ)? I know I can use the premiere Protein ones AFTER surgery, but they were not recommended before because they want to shrink the liver and I'm sure there are other good reasons as well. Just wanted to sell some advice!!

So I have had some ups and downs switching from a weird program to a better WLS program, met with my Surgeon (initial consult) last Monday... that went well. I have my 4 month diet check up/appt with my nutritionist next week and other than finishing my diet and getting the letter from my PCP, I've met all of the other requirements that my current insurance BCBS of Anthem needs. What I didn't really think about until today is that my company moved it's headquarters from Phoenix to Dallas this year, thanks silly Airline!.... but in doing so we will be having some small changes in out benefits next year... I will still have the same BCBS PPO 100/80 etc... except, instead of being BCBS of Anthem it is switching to BCBS of Texas. I'm wondering if that will hinder my progress at all? As it stands now, my 6 month diet will be monitored through February and I'm guessing my Surgery will be in February or March (given everything is turned in and approved by then...).. going by Anthem BCBS requirements. I can't seem to find any recent information about BCBS of Texas about their coverage for gastric bypass and what their requirements are. I don't know if they also require the 6 month diet or how that plays out. I imagine the requirements are about the same??? I was wondering if anyone might know or have any advice on what BCBS of Texas may require for their approval process for surgery? Everyone seems to be closed today, which makes sense with the Holidays and all. I am just hoping changing from one BCBS carrier to the other (though it's the same plan) won't throw too much of a wrench in my progress at all. This Pseudo-tumor cerebri will literally be the death of me if I can't get this all together soon, I'm definitely tired of being so sick and tired and absolutely sick of lumbar punctures every few weeks..... I know all the ER nurses and doctors on a first name basis, lol! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! I won't have my new ID cards and info until the end of the month and it's going to dive me nuts over the next few weeks if I can't figure all of this out.

Thank you soooo very much, maybe that can speed the process up a few months for me. I truly don't know how much more of this pressure in my skull I can take. Ugh. I am being patient though. Whether it is January, February, or March... I've got ALL of my other requirements done except getting the letter from my PCP and finishing up the last couple of months of my 6 month diet. I'm just really looking forward to moving on to the healing process.

(The original post didn't make sense as I wrote it when it was late and I was half asleep... so I copied and pasted what I wrote in the comments that should've been the ORIGINAL post!) I am 33 (turning 34 on Thursday!), live in Phoenix, and have dealt with weight issues more significantly the past 8 years. In 2013 I was diagnosed with Pseudo tumor cerebri (inter cranial hypertension) with serve papilledema. There are several WLS programs in Phoenix attached to various hospitals. My insurance covers either Dignity Health (St Joe's Hospital) or Bridges (St Luke's Hospital). I had already made a plan to have the bypass in August 2015 after a stay in the ER from my brain almost exploding when I flew to Hawaii (I work for an airline...all my favorite hobbies are at high elevations and altitudes . I made my initial appt with a bariatric specialist/doctor...not a surgeon, on Sept 2 through the dignity health program. She is the one who put me on a lean and green diet. No fruit, no sugar, no carbs, no Beans, no dairy, etc, etc. 2 Protein shakes a day. Advised me not to follow what ANY nutritionist told me because they were not properly trained (ie...they were taught using the food pyramid and she believes that is incorrect). I'm 3.5 months into the program with Dignity Health, but they are not helpful in letting me know when I might expect to meet the surgeon or all of that. I've given them all of my documents except the letter from my PCP. Before my initial appt with my current program, a close friend of mine decided she also wanted to consider gastric bypass. So we went to a seminar hosted by the Bridges program that was helpful, informative, and answered sooooooo many questions as she has pcos. Sooo... I've been with her to some of her classes and support groups. My program isn't so user friendly, and Bridges has a central "patient advocate" that you give everything to paperwork wise and they deal with the insurance. I've got nothing like this with Dignity Health, but am to understand that somehow it is a better "program"... As for my isurance.. it pays 100% minus my $225 deductible via bcbs.. requires a 6 month diet, and that's about it. I don't know if it's worth changing programs, but my bariatric "specialist" seems like a bit loony and doesn't seem to have my best interests in mind. She irks my soul. Both programs use the same nutritionists and psychiatrists, as I just did both of those appts recently it shouldn't be an issue if I did switch. I should also mention when I saw my nutritionist, who I will be following up with about once a month through this process... she has told me that the bariatric specialist I have been seeing for Dignity Health has patients that often fake their fitness pal accounts because she has us on these starvation diets for months on end, and it isn't safe. It just seems weird to me.

I'm hoping I won't run into this issue. I had a sleep study last year, but my sleep apnea is mild (6 episodes per hour) and I actually feel like my sleep has improved. I guess I will find out... still waiting to here back from my patient advocate, but this Holiday stuff is in the way, lol. Likely next week... I wonder if I will have to do another sleep study. :x

Good luck with your approval and getting all of that done! I know it is a long and stressful process! Keep on 'em!

I am a Crew Chief and do weight/balance for flights which means I get to throw 50-90lbs bags on a belt loader to my team/agents up in the bins in planes so they can stack them in whichever place I tell them to put 'em. It sounds a lot fancier than it is... but I'm a glorified baggage handler. My surgeon said he would be pretty concerned about me going back to work within the first two months, likely re-evaluate after two months mainly because I have to lift such heavy loads and work with such heavy equipment and I'm in charge... so I've gotta be on top of things. I need to be at 100 percent on the tarmac otherwise I'd be unsafe and pretty useless, I (nor my surgeon) want to risk any internal damage from the healing of the bypass. Working the ramp is extremely physical... running up and down stairs, in and out of plane bins, loading luggage and heavy freight, in and out of epuiment all day, bending/lifting heavy stuff.... just too much possibility to cause some damage. I'm hoping it won't be too long, but we'll see.

So three months into my six-month diet I had to change bariatric programs, which was a GREAT thing. Just started that this week and met my Surgeon, who is AWESOME, and am figuring things out regarding the changes in my diet regimen (going from dealing with the bariatric specialist to now just seeing my nutritionist once a month). Changing from one program to the other has been a change, as well as the health problems I'm going through, and a multitude of other things going on..... but in talking to the Suregon, I found out that because I'm doing the bypass and my job in very physical I will likely be out of work for at least three months. SO I need to start planning for that now, upping my short term disability (ensuring that will cover me... which it has a no questions asked clause and will pay out 60 percent of my income regardless of what it being done). I also need to get things paid off, caught up, and try to squirrel away as much as I can in the next three months so that things will be okay...... I guess I am just stressed, I don't stress eat and I don't use food as a mechanism, but I do forget to eat a lot and don't feel hungry quite often. I set alarms on my phone to remind me. I am feeling a bit more pressure now to be sure I get all of this caught up and ready, I was wondering if anyone could offer advice as to better ways to manage stress to ensure staying on track with weight loss and remembering to eat 5-6 small meals a day? Seems hard enough to get 2-3 in sometimes. On the bright side, I'm really low risk and I do still have a few more months to get all of this stuff settled and caught up so I can focus on relaxing and healing (and get some use out of my flight benefits too) post op!

I'm am on the same wave length with you. I started this process almost four months ago with a program that I recently found out had no Surgeons, though they kept taking on new patients..... and I was lost without any info other than the diet and no support. So my stress and anxiety went up a bit, but I was able to switch to a much MUCH better program, just met my amazing surgeon this past Monday and should hear from my patient advocate again likely Friday or Monday on what else I will need to.... but I am still a little anxious since I'm coming into a new program mid-(6 month) diet. But I've completed ALL of the other requirements for my insurance... so hopefully this will go by quickly. I still find myself with lots of up and downs and feeling the same way....... I know this is where I need to be and it is ALL for the better. I am tired of being sick and tired and I can't wait to get back to being my happy, awesome, fun, and quirky self after my surgery next year... just gotta get through these next few months!!! Can't wait to get the approval and final surgery dates... though because of my crazy airline gig I'll have to take a few extra months to heal afterward...... it seems so far away, but I've got so much to get together and catch up on before that happens. Stay positive and keep looking forward!

Switched programs and it was the best thing I could do. Found out that the one I had been in actually had no surgeons.. hadn't had surgeons for over six months yet the doctors were still seeing new patients. Things are good. Thanks for all the advice!

I have not yet, hoping to get it scheduled soon... but I don't have a lot of faith in my bariatrician, she doesn't fill me in on things nor answer my questions and I'm almost 3.5 months in to the 6 months my insurance requires. I'm a little disappointed, but hoping to get some sort of answers from her or I will change things up completely this week... I've come too far to let things go now. Definitely stay positive!

It will happen!!! At least you know!! I feel so out of the loop in my own situation it is driving me bonkers. Just stay positive and keep on losing, it sounds like it'll come together sooner than you think!

I knew from step one I was going to do the full by pass for the long term benefits, my close friend wanted to do the sleeve... but she has PCOS. I had done a great deal of research and been to a few classes/talked to some surgeons... but I went with her to a WLS program's open seminar and another woman in the audience actually asked about having PCOS and the surgeon's opinions of the sleeve.... needless to say, my friend changed to her mind and decided that the bypass was the better option. Hopefully she'll feel better after. Always hoping for the best. I hope you feel better too and I'm rooting for ya!

Thank you!

I will just do it as a reply to my original while still on the clock. I am 33 (turning 34 on Thursday!), live in Phoenix, and have dealt with weight issues more significantly the past 8 years. In 2013 I was diagnosed with Pseudo tumor cerebri (inter cranial hypertension) with serve papilledema. There are several WLS programs in Phoenix attached to various hospitals. My insurances covers either Dignity Health (St Joe's Hospital) or Bridges (I don't remember exactly which hospital they are affiliated with). I had already made a plan to have the bypass in August 2015 after a stay in the ER from my brain almost exploding when I flew to Hawaii (I work for an airline...all my favorite hobbies are at high elevations I made my initial appt with a bariatric specialist/doctor...not a surgeon, on Sept 2 through the dignity health program. She is the one who put me on a lean and green diet. No fruit, no sugar, no carbs, no Beans, no dairy, etc, etc. 2 Protein shakes a day. Advised me not to follow what aNY nutritionist told me because they were not properly trained (ie...they were taught using the food pyramid and she believes that is incorrect). I'm 3.5 months into the program with Dignity Health, but they are not helpful in letting me know when I might expect to meet the surgeon or all of that. I've given them all of my documents except the letter from my PCP. Before my initial appt with my current program, a close friend of mine decided she also wanted to consider gastric bypass. So we went to a seminar hosted by the Bridges program that was helpful, informative, and answered sooooooo many questions as she has pcos. Sooo... I've been with her to some of her classes and support groups. My program isn't so user friendly, and Bridges has a central "patient advocate" that you give everything to paperwork wise and they deal with the insurance. I've got nothing like this with Dignity Health, but am to understand that somehow it is a better "program"... As for my isurance.. it pays 100% minus my $225 deductible via bcbs.. requires a 6 month diet, and that's about it. I don't know if it's worth changing programs, but my bariatric "specialist" seems like a bit loony and doesn't seem to have my best interests in mind. She irks my soul. Both programs use the same nutritionists and psychiatrists, as I just did both of those appts recently it shouldn't be an issue if I did switch. Just looking for advice.

I wrote that last night and in re-reading what I wrote.. I realize it makes little to no sense. I will be editing and re- posting in a more alert state of mind after work this morning.