ahillig

I started this process back in March. My insurance required 3 months of a supervised diet with my primary and she was a total pain in my ass, she rescheduled two of my appointments then took forever to get paperwork to my surgeons office despite me asking her to send it to my surgeon at the conclusion of my final appointment. Then the surgeons office had someone, who is "no longer there", that misplaced more of my paperwork so they had to request that stuff again too. Everywhere I looked the typical turn around time for approval with my insurance is about 3 working days, it's been a week and they're still reviewing it. They say it could take 15-30 days but I can feel free to call every day while waiting but the approval (or denial) letter would come via snail mail. I'm just starting to feel so discouraged. with this whole process.

9 hours ago, Bari_KS said:

3 working days for me. However no official call or confirmation letter. I called insurance rep after 2 weeks of waiting and learned the good news.

That's awesome, hopefully mine is that quick!

9 hours ago, WeeDee said:

I have FEPBLUE. I started this process a year ago. They told me then that I would have to stop smoking but did get not give me a timeline. Then after seeing the psychiatrist they mention they would have to quit smoking for six months which brought me to June. They approve the surgery July 1 and I will go in and August 29

I don't have the smoking issue to deal with which is nice. But I'm glad you got your approval!

I was told a week from the date of my EGD for results. It ended up being closer to two weeks because I had completely forgotten about it!

Just wondering if anyone had any experience with getting an approval through FEP Blue. I have finished all of the requirements and my surgeons office is going to submit the request and curious as to what the turn around time is for the approval.

Thanks!

2 minutes ago, GradyCat said:

I took a cruise two months post-op surgery and I also have a Carnival cruise in June of 2020. Are we doing on the same one? LOL! I made sure to purchase bottled Water onboard the ship to take with me on excursions. I also had packed almonds, Protein Bars, and Protein chips and took them on excursions with me to have something healthy and Protein to eat if I got hungry. I also took Protein Powder to mix with Water in case I needed a Protein Shake one day, but I never ended up using it. I had thought about the premade Protein Shakes and packing them, but they're so heavy and I have to fly to the cruise port, so I couldn't take that weight in my luggage.

We'll be on the Magic leaving June 28 from Miami! And we fly Southwest exclusively so with their two bags fly free I'm not super concerned about luggage weight. Glad to know you didn't end up needing the shakes. I'm just thinking of a 4 pack to stuff in my luggage.

It is just about a year out from surgery, correct. I'm just more concerned about the port days where there will be lots of activity and walking. I feel it might be better to have one of those on hand because you can't bring ship food off the ship in ports and the restaurants in port typically are not the best nutrition wise.

I'm hopefully (fingers crossed) having the sleeve in early July and we have a cruise booked for the end of next June. I love all the fresh options that cruises offer and often eat my weight in fresh fruit while on the ship 😂. Has anyone successfully carried on pre-mixed Protein Shakes to a ship? We're sailing on Carnival and I know they have certain restrictions about pop and wine but there is no mention about Protein shakes. I'll call the cruise line once I have the surgery to figure it all out but I was just curious what experience others might have had. I'm not so worried about sea days, it's the days we're in port and walking around doing all the fun stuff!

I have a surgeon's copay of $200, a $100 per night copay with a max of $500, and no anesthesia copay. I have already paid $40 for my consult, $116 for the EGD, $196 for my surgeon copay for the EGD, $30 for one nutrition appointment, and $30 for my psych eval. You should be able to find the costs of everything in your insurance benefits booklet.

I still have another appointment with my primary for my final nutrition visit then I have to do the nutrition consult with my surgeons office. I'm going to call them next week and see if I can do that between now and my final nutrition appointment so they can submit everything.

Depends on what exactly is abnormal with the EKG. Some abnormalities can be a normal variant for you, some might indicate an electrolyte imbalance, some might be a congenital defect, and some can be abnormal due to lead placement. I do EKGs all the time and can tell you that ONE improperly placed electrode can screw the whole thing up, they need to be placed between ribs and not over bone. Also, it's more difficult to find the proper landmarks to place the EKG leads on busty women and the obese. Even being obese myself I was not blessed up top and still have difficulty finding the landmarks on me without extra breast tissue.

I'd check with the hospital, they usually have specific rules regarding how you're able to get home. When I had my EGD it had to be someone over 18 and NOT an uber or taxi. It might be different a few days after surgery but as long as you are taking narcotic pain killers you cannot drive, period. Hospitals almost always contract with private ambulance companies and they might have medicar or service car options that can get you home. The company I work for has very reasonable rates for this service with our contracted facilities, it's not usually covered by insurance and payment is typically required up front. Our rate includes a base rate plus per mile rate. This could be an option for you!

I'm tired of being fat and tired. I'm tired of not being able to do all the things I want to do like ride roller coasters. I work at an amusement park and can only ride a handful of coasters in my park due to my size and I love roller coasters! I stand at most parties because I'm afraid those folding cloth camp chairs will break. I'm tired of not being able to find cute clothes that look good on me. I just want my life back. When I was in high school I was athletic, I played tennis, marched in the marching band, played pick up soccer, and was very active, now mustering the energy to go to the store is challenging some days.

I've tried to lose weight on my own and have lost and gained the same 40lbs more times than I can count. I have never tried programs or fad diets, always eating healthy and calorie counting but I always get to a point where the amount of calories I eat in a day cannot be increased unless I workout HARD for 2-3 hours a day and that's unrealistic. I need that tool to help me get past the 40lb barrier and beyond to be successful long term. It's always been something I've had in the back of my mind but I never let myself explore it in the past because I've always lost the weight. I was so nervous about it and calling to make an appointment for a consult but the staff at my surgeons office is so nice and my surgeon is a really down to earth guy whom I feel totally comfortable with.

The reasoning behind this is that shaving creates micro Knicks in the skin that can get infected. Also, many hospitals give you chlorhexidine wipes to wipe your entire body down with before surgery and that stuff is not supposed to be applied to any open wounds.

That being said, when I had my gallbladder out I showered the night before washed with the hibiclens (same ingredient as the cloths), showered the next morning as instructed, shaved my legs, then used the hibiclens. When I got to the hospital they had me use the wipes and I about clawed my damn legs off. Ended up getting Benadryl because I was so itchy. I'll be using Nair next time 😂

My doc just said that I need to come in, get weighed, and talk about nutrition. For my first visit she put that I stopped drinking pop and energy drinks and started eating more grilled chicken vs fried chicken. Next time it'll be that I cut down on sodium as that's what we identified to work on for the next visit.

I had knee surgery 2 years ago and was diagnosed with arthritis then, I also have grade 3 chondromalacia which is basically where the cartilage in my knee looks like crab meat because it's so thin and inflamed. I was also diagnosed with non-erosive reflux after my EGD along with intestinal metaplasia at the stomach and duodenal junction. Hoping that will help even though my BMI is at 42 right now so I qualify based on that.

So happy you had your surgery!!

That's what mine says as well. I had some gyne issues over the past year so my weight record is pretty rock solid there. My only questions are the nutrition assessment and the physician supervised diet. My PCP said that I'll go see her for 3 mos, get weighed and talk about what I've been eating and how to improve that then give those notes to my surgeon. My surgeons office has a dietician on staff and they require a meeting with her before surgery so I guess that'll count, at least that's what my surgeon said. My PCP said that most of her patients who have had WLS have been successful and she seemed supportive so I don't think I'll have any problems getting the medical necessity from her.

So I got the results of my EGD and apparently I have a non-erosive form of acid reflux. Also, biopsy showed questionable Barrett's esophagus which means I might have to have the bypass over the sleeve. I'm trying to come to terms with that possibility but my surgeon put me on protonix to help reduce the acid production of my stomach. I've been on a steady diet of ibuprofen due to some uterine issues and my love of spicy foods may not have worked in my favor for that. Hopefully, he can do the sleeve still, I'm still weirded out by the whole rearranging of organs.

On 4/27/2019 at 5:30 AM, cubyblue6 said:

I decided to go with the sleeve. One because I just kinda didnt like the idea of having my insides rearranged (but removing them is ok ). And 2, I have a friend that had bypass and she kind of wishes she had the sleeve.

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I totally agree with this! I also have a friend who had the bypass and wishes she could've had the sleeve, she had a lot of problems after her bypass where her esophagus had to be dilated twice due to it closing off. She had a bunch of stomach ulcers and acid reflux which is why she couldn't do the sleeve.

Curious if you got approved before your surgery date! I have the same insurance and I have this sinking feeling that I'm going to get denied. I might just call them and ask for clarification as to what exactly they're looking for in regards to approving it.

My doctor told me he wants me off for 4 weeks only because I'm a paramedic. Honestly, I don't plan on taking that much time off because I can easily go to my part time medic job and do a lot of other things that don't require lifting. After I had my gallbladder out I was ready to go back after 2 weeks but my doc wouldn't release me until 6 weeks.

I am tired of being obese. I'm tired of having zero energy, tired of my knees hurting, and just tired of losing the same 40lbs over and over. I also want to avoid any obesity related issues like diabetes and hypertension. I just want to live again.

6 hours ago, GradyCat said:

I don't know why, but I thought about what if I had a medical emergency and they had to take me on a stretcher to the hospital in an ambulance and they couldn't lift me because I was so fat? That motivated me to want to lose weight.

As a paramedic, you don't have anything to worry about with your current weight! I've had all ranges of ages and weights. Average weight of the patients I transport is about 250lbs. Our standard stretcher is rated to 750lbs and our bariatric stretcher is rated to 1600lbs. We can, and will, lift you!

I had my scope on Thursday and it was a breeze. They did start oxygen before the procedure by nasal cannula but they also monitored my end tidal CO2 which is a measure of how well you're ventilating on your own. I was only given propofol (the milky white stuff) and had zero issues. During the procedure you lie on your left side so the weight of your body isn't really affecting your chest. The surgeon who will be doing my surgery is also the one who did my scope so if that's your case ask if you should bring your CPAP. From the time I was taken back to the endoscopy room to the time I was in recovery was less than an hour and I was asleep for maybe half of it.

According to the FEP BCBS benefits guide this is what is required for revisions:

Had my first "supervised nutrition" appointment Monday of this week and my EGD today. My PCP said that I just have to come in and get weighed once a month for 3 months and talk about any dietary changes I made so the first one is done, also did a physical while I was there and my BP is elevated but the past two weeks have been hell in my personal life so that is probably the cause. EGD showed nothing, no reflux, no ulcers, no hernias, no esophagitis. He did take a biopsy and I'll know in a week what those results are. Feels good to check off the appointments, two more "nutrition" visits and a dietician visit then insurance submission!