Hiraeth

Oh, goodie! I love coffee! Thanks so much!

I got the call today from my patient advocate that my insurance approved my surgery! I don't have a surgery date yet. But I am SO EXCITED!!! Apparently, my surgeon has had many conferences with BCBS, and they have all denied approval to do the surgery without the requirements. So I am the first case to be approved right away!

Are you allowed to take big sips? I heard using a straw really helps.

Thank you for your thorough, kind response! May I ask, what do you usually drink besides water?

Congrats!!! I can't wait until I can post an approval post. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I honestly did not see myself posting this for a while. But, here I am! You'll get there! <3

Not yet. They haven't gotten a surgery date scheduled yet. That will be the hardest part, I think, since my stomach will still be empty since I still have a lot of room. I'm mostly worried about migraines. But... no pain, no gain.

That's weird that they do that to you. Protein shakes always go right through me!

I just got the call today that my insurance approved me! I would like to thank Dr. Les Miles and his patient advocate, Bridgette, for all the hard work they did to make this happen. I am so excited!

Did you tell the cardiologist that you weren't told to see one? So sorry you feel this way. Please don't give up. Keep us updated.

I'm so sorry they're being this way with you. Is there any way you can self pay?

Did they make you see a doctor for 4 months on a diet and make you do all the other stuff? How long did it take you to get the surgery approved after your consultation? I do not have HPB. It's either low or perfect most of the time. I used to be Pre-Diabetic, but it went away somehow. I do, however, have PCOS.

So my doctor has set up a conference with my insurance (BCBS Federal) to see if they will approve the Gastric Sleeve without the usual requirements. The reason is because I have Pseudotumor cerebri and my vision is getting worse each month. He's worried I will go blind, and it has been proven that losing weight will most likely send my Pseudotumor into remission. So my question is... Has anyone here been approved right away by insurance because of health reasons?

I don't have much advice from myself, since I've never had heart issues. But my aunt is over 300 lbs and has congestive heart failure because of her weight. She told me that she takes a diuretic and is able to pee out 15 lbs in a day. Her doctor is trying to get her to have the surgery, but she is stubborn. This surgery will definitely help your heart. Let's just focus on getting your heart at a decent rhythm so they can perform the surgery. Then you're set! Try to stay away from anything salty. I know it's hard, but this is important. I just said a prayer for you. Prayer in numbers is a great thing! <3

Ok first of all, HOLY CRAP! I just viewed your profile (yes I'm a creeper sometimes >.>) and OH MY WORD. You don't even look like the same person... I had to look several times. I would have guessed your previous self was maybe 40 years old. Now, you look 25. That is crazy!!! O_O The skin looks uncomfortable more than anything. I actually doesn't look that bad... I love your positivity on how you're proud of it. You should be! So proud of you! I think it's so amazing that people look younger when they lose weight. I'm 24 and people always think I'm under the legal age. I can't imagine how young I'll look when I lose my weight. I hate always having to carry my I.D. But, I won't complain!

I'm so sorry to hear this. What insurance company do you use, if I may ask? If I were you, I would take out a loan. I have several health issues and my weight is the only thing making me unhappy. Money is definitely an issue with me, but there is no price on happiness and good health. I'm only telling you what I would do; not what you should do. I don't know what your full story is.

You do NOT look the same. You look at least 15 years younger than the first photo. When I saw how much you said you weigh now (170), I thought to myself "There's no way she weighs that", because to me, you look like you weigh no more than 140. You look amazing and so beautiful. I'm not just saying this to be nice. You truly look like a thin, pretty woman. Congrats! <3

Now that I think of it, Dr. Miles requested my Neuro-Opthamologist to fax him my records showing that I had a BMI over 40 from 2013 till now. He requested them himself because he's extremely anxious to do my surgery since I'm at a high risk of losing my vision because of the Pseudotumor cerebri. Bless his heart. So that's why they called to set up an appointment; because I had the records faxed pretty quickly. How are you doing on that, by the way?

Thank you so much for your kind, uplifting words! It's nice to see, especially when I'm a bit stressed about it all. I'm about to start college for the first time, plus I just had to sell my Jeep to Driver's Way because it blew a head gasket. So I have all of these things to stress over. But your post has really helped me. <3

I agree! Have they called you to set up your Cardiac Eval yet? They called me last week and I have mine on July 11th. I'm so anxious to get this all completed, lol.

This is too cool! You're going to love Grandview. Their rooms are very nice and almost have a hotel feel to them. The hospital isn't depressing like a lot are.

I didn't hear that about the PCOS. Wow, that makes me nervous, too. Though, I'm sure we will be fine. I know of someone who had it done, who also had PCOS, and she lost 80 pounds in 4 months. Hopefully, we have her luck, lol! I live in Helena, but I frequent Birmingham. They're both over an hour away from you. It'd be nice if we could be each others support system. I'm still ecstatic that we both are starting at the same time, while using the same doctor, lol!

Haha! Me too! He's so sweet. He's setting up a conference with BCBS to see if they'll go ahead and approve my surgery since I have pseudotumor cerebri. He seems very worried. I hope we get through this! I'm so anxious to get this done!

That is too cool! Did you have your appointment sometime in the afternoon? I walked into the office on the 28th to get a work excuse during the meeting with other patients. I was the short brunette in the red Alabama shirt, lol. I'm so excited to see that someone is starting their process at the same time as me! What do you think of Dr. Miles? I think he's so funny!

My doctor said these things are not required, except the sleep apnea test and the cardiac eval. He actually called me an hour after typing this and told me he was thinking about me since I left his office. He told me he is going to set up a direct conference with BCBS to see if they will cover my surgery without these requirements, since my vision is getting worse from the Pseudotumor cerebri. I really hope they approve it.

Welcome! I am so glad to hear your mom is on board. Having her support will be very helpful. As to point 7 about the nutritionist. You may want to think carefully about whether or not to stay with your current NUT if they are not supportive. You definitely need someone with Bariatric/WLS experience. It may seem like there are too many post-op requirements, but they really designed to help you succeed and to have the safest experience possible. The time goes fast and you can make the most of it to help you succeed long-term. Keep us posted on how you are doing. Thank you so much! Yeah, I'm thinking about seeing another Nutritionist. They told me they knew a woman who had the sleeve done and it didn't work. Well, she's probably the 10%, if it's true. They barely ever have customers when I come in. I'm pretty sure they aren't doing good business. They gave me natural Vitamins to help with hunger, and they did not work. I was always starving on their diet. I would get horrible migraines and feel completely drained. I really do hope the time goes by fast.