elizabeth105

So, I spoke with my surgeon's office yesterday. She said, patients receiving insurance approval today were being scheduled for surgery in March. My last nutrition appointment is Feb 8th; which also happens to be my very last requirement for surgery. At that point, they will submit to insurance for approval. At that rate, I'm looking at an April surgery. I was upset, but that gives me time to make sure I'm in a good place emotionally, mentally, physically. I'm currently 325 lbs at 5'8", so I figure even though my surgeon and insurance don't require weight loss right now, any amount will help me heal faster and get through the process a little bit healthier. Anyone else looking at April/May surgery date? Sounds soo far away, but 3-4 months will fly by!

Hi Tamika, welcome! I'm a newbie like yourself. You bring up a great point about expediting due to a high bmi. My bmi is currently just a hair under 51. I'm going to double check the medical policy and talk to my surgeon, but so far I have been told I still need to follow the same requirements for both. I initially started my journey in March 2015. Surgery will finally most likely be April. But I had newly discovered endocrine issues that had to be addressed in the summer before I could proceed. Excited for you that you don't need to wait! Good luck on your journey

Thank you so much for your responses! I didn't mean to be rude, I couldn't find this thread to get back to you! So, according to BCBSIL, it will go through them for approval. Just the billing will be handled by my local insurance. But you go by the benefit of the actual insurance you carry, so I only have to follow the requirements for BCBSIL's medical policy. Which I am so excited for, because the requirements aren't as strict as Excellus BCBS (in Western NY)

LF1971 wrote exactly what I was going to say! And honestly, I've decided my path, it isn't worth fighting an uninformed person about it. I ignore and remove myself from the conversation. I know it will be hard to do that with friends/co-workers. Somehow my sister found out and decided I needed to hear that a low carb lifestyle is better and there are people out there losing hundreds of pounds without surgery.. I let her ramble for a few minutes and told her I've already made my decision, and it's a personal one. You deserve to make our own decision and feel good about yourself. Good luck on your journey!

Unfortunately, all of my siblings are very fit, active, and at a healthy weight. They're not supportive of surgery and have made rude comments about how it's really not difficult to do on your own (ugh!) So I am definitely not telling them. However, my mother-in-law had her sleeve done March 2015, and my husband is meeting the surgeon for the first time in 3 weeks, so we will all support each other. I agree, co-workers don't need to know, it's a personal decision.

My surgeon highly recommended the full gastric bypass for me. I have a very high BMI, I've lost 25 lbs prepping for surgery and my BMI is still over 50. I also have terrible acid reflux and a complication from it, Barrett's Esophagus. She explained that the reflux would not go away with the other procedures. My mother-in-law had the gastric sleeve last year and that's been perfect for her, but I'm a whole lot heavier.

Hi! I'm a newbie to the forum. Two more nutrition appointments to go, everything else has been done. We have BCBS of IL insurance through my husband's employer, but we live in NY. Can anyone tell me, will the approval process go through our local Excellus BCBS or IL? Does anyone have experience with either? Just wondering how long it takes on avg to get approved from the time everything is submitted. Thanks!