BlackHeart80

Hey!
I unfortunately was in the same situation. I didn’t have any comorbidities and was told not to lose any weight. I had to be in a 6 month program for my insurance and they used the final months weight. So definitely call your insurance company to double check so there are no surprises. Even though mine was odd, it really wasn’t too bad to maintain and get through the program. I would gain a couple pounds, then lose a couple pounds so it all evened out. You probably just won’t have to do a pre-op diet. I had normal food up until my surgery. Good luck.

Agreed. Call your insurance. Have specific questions and write down both the answers, the time, the person you spoke too. If you feel insecure, call again. I did that with my surgery, just to make sure the bills will be covered. Don't be afraid to pester the insurance company because you don't want a huge surprise after surgery.

Good luck!

I have BCBS. I too was at 40 BMI. I was not allowed to lose or gain any weight during my six month medically supervised visits. I was weighed in every month. I started the process in March, approval for surgery was not submitted until September for October VSG. If I was not the same exact weight they could have denied me (and have done so with other patients previously according to my dr). I had no pro op diet at all just liquids only the day before surger.
Every insurance plan is different even within the same provider. Call your insurance directly and get the answer from them directly since they will be the ones to approve the bills when everything is said and done. Good luck ihwith your process!

I have Aetna and started with a 40 BMI, and had the same fears. My nurse said that it's only my initial weight that's needed to qualify for BMI, and that I could lose lots of weight and it won't disqualify me, and that losing weight prior to surgery is actually a very good thing for insurance approval.

Ware ankle weights and heavy clothing . Kidding

@LadyVS Thank you. I've heard about these different weigh ins and how people can become disqualified because of their BMI dropping below the minimum. Especially if you have to follow a supervised diet plan for 6 months, I would lose weight doing it, but I wouldn't be able to maintain it without the surgery. Am I just reading it wrong?

it depends on the insurance company. It seems most use your initial weight, but some use whatever you weigh when the surgeon submits the documents to insurance for approval. All you can really do is ask...

Getting started here in KS and have Anthem BC/BS-CA. Current BMI is 44- no co morbities. My question is- if during the Doctor monitored diet & exercise 6 month period, my weight dips under the qualifying 40 BMT; is it possible that I'll become disqualified? Just wondering... Thanks in advance for any input!

I'm now 15 months out from VSG and down 107 lbs. When I started I had so many questions, concerns, worries, and doubt. Now I absolutely love life and the new me.
I thought it might be helpful to come back here and offer the ability to answer questions people have. So ask me absolutely anything and I'll give you an answer. Just hoping to make the pre and post surgery journeys a bit less stressful for others.
This is my before and after pic - Caribbean style. St Lucia at 250lbs and Jamaica at 145lbs.

Hi everyone,
Its early in the morning on Thanksgiving, four days before surgery and I wanted to check in because I owe it to myself to be honest about how I am feeling. I am struggling, not with the decision I made to have surgery, but the truth about the challenges I am facing moving forward. I started to ask if anyone had challenges with their pre-op diet, but I know the answer to that question does not matter because I am. I feel a little silenced or maybe ashamed because if I admit to my family I am scared and self-sabotaging then I will be forced to ask myself if I am doing the right thing.
I was doing well with the pre-op diet until two days ago...Tuesday. I have a form of anemia that makes it difficult for me to absorb Iron through food. I noticed I have increasingly more tired and I found out Saturday my iron levels are low again, 6 months after my last iron infusion, and a part of me feared that I would need to post-pone surgery for another round or go in early for blood transfusions. In meeting with me hematologist late Tuesday afternoon, he told me I did not have to do either and since they draw blood every day in the hospital, they could do a blood transfusion there if necessary.
I have been through a lot Healthwise, many surgeries (8), including a gastric sleeve six years ago. The irony is I stepped on the scale and I was the exact weight I was, 368 lbs before surgery in 2013 and although I had a great deal of success the first time, but then as I said in my story life happened. Even though the weight itself was shocking because I felt like I failed in only losing 4 pounds during the first week of my pre-op diet, I don't think panic really set in until I met with the check out receptionist. We were talking and laughing about my relief of not needing to delay my surgery....then without knowing it, she dropped a bomb on me that I did not really recognize how much it affected me until this morning.
When I said I was having a second sleeve, which I had gotten over the embarrassment of admitting, she told me that she had a friend who had her third sleeve some time ago, and she had not seen or heard from her since. My gut reaction was - hell no, no way I am doing this a third time, but in the back of my mind, I began to wonder. Am I ready...will I be successful...is this worth it to go back a third time....then finally, maybe her friend died after her last surgery. The reality is the cavalier way Miss 'size 10' talked about her struggles in what she described as ballooning due to a medication, my guess is that her friend decided she was not the right person to share her struggles with. I cannot even remember he name but I already regret sharing mine.
I am aware of how desperately I battled depression, how I came back from the brink after two suicide attempts after surviving a horrifying violet attack, and I was grateful to be at the point ready to have surgery. Then I came home and started self-sabotaging. I am not sure it was intentional, but I was extremely exhausted and had two doctors appointments that day and had missed two of my shakes. I had larger meal, not like before, but enough to make me horribly sick. I had not eaten any basic carbs in more than a week. Yesterday I was so fatigued, had burning pain in my knee from an old injury, but since it is too late to take NSAIDS, I used flexeril, which made me feel even more out of it.
Yesterday, I still felt out of control and had half of hoagie, which then made me feel worse about myself. My normal unconscious reaction was to head for my go-to foods, SUGAR, thankfully not an ounce of it existed in the house, except for fruit. I took two (non-benzo) anxiety pills and took a nap. I reached out to my surgeon and asked if I now had to change my surgery schedule. He calmly told me no and to just use the pre-op diet to get back on track.
This morning (well technically middle of the night) I woke up and realized all week I have been looking for signs I was making the wrong decision. My nutritionist had given me this negative self-talk wheel that I really forgot about even though it is stuck to my bulletin. When I looked at it, my behavior patterns started to make sense.
The truth is I am scared, and I need to give myself permission to feel that and grieve. Its Thanksgiving and fortunately, I am not cooking and will not be around a lot of food. For the past few years, I have been a part of big Thanksgiving celebrations, due to emotional struggles, but my adult daughter usually brings me something from her dad and his family celebrations.
This morning I woke up and realized how much of my life I have missed out on living in a prison that I not only created, but am the warden who locked away the key to release myself. I want to start living again and not just existing. I know what to expect and that having the surgery will not take away my problems. It is just one tool in my journey to health and better living. Today, I am thankful for the opportunity to begin losing the pounds of pain I have carried for far too long. I needed the last two days to remind that this journey is not going to be easy, but it will take a conscious effort every day to choose to strive for a healthier life for me.
Hopefully, this time next year I can look back on how I feel today and we thankful I made it to the other side.
Thank you for sharing this journey with me,
Mya

When I got my lap band 10 years ago my husband was in good health and supportive of my decision. Now I need to revise it and he has some major health issues and I think he's afraid something will happen to me and then he won't have anyone to care for him. It's giving me some guilt, but being obese there's no assurance nothing will happen if I DON'T get the surgery. If I die from obesity issues he still doesn't have his help, so I'm going to get the bypass.
Like all the other posters said in their wisdom, it's YOUR journey and you do it for you.

Yes.... 99.99% of the time. I truly believe this. I know i went into the Band with the hopes that the weight loss would make my marriage better. It did not.... but at the time i didn't see all the "other" things that was wrong. I didn't see the extremely controlling person he was. I didn't see the negative, self-centered, heartless person he was/is. I made excuses for him all the time. After the WL he wanted me to gain the weight back. He would say things like...... You know you were prettier when you were fat because i couldn't see all those wrinkles in your face...... or Your too skinny you look like a bag of bones. Finally, i started gaining my confidence back and all the things started to surface. He was no longer controlling me and he hated it..... So he just stopped being present in our marriage. I told him we needed to get counseling and he said no, that there was nothing wrong with him and that if he were to go with me i would have to pay for it. I told him, things needed to change and if it didn't that come the first of the year i was filing.... That was in July 2015... January 2016 .... then he was trying to "fix" things. But it was too late for me, i was done.
I started dating and in Oct 2016 to the most wonderful man EVER.... He supports me in any decisions i make. 2017 i had to have the band removed due to a slip. Between then and Julyish... i put on 30lbs. He never said a word except that i was beautiful and sexy... all the time. But i saw my weight was going up and nothing i did was stopping it. So i got sleeved Aug 28th. And he still tells me every day how beautiful and sexy i am....
We got married Sept. 26th after meeting on Match.com..... hehe

Been said a million times before here - You are not the first,
You can not do it without the surgery, Sure you have tried, The surgery is only a tool and you use this tool to get healthy and happy. I will be brutally honest it is not his decision, You have decided to do this and the views and opinions of others is irrelevant. You have a long journey but the Head games are hard to deal with.
I shut out all the views and opinion and just did it! This is only the beginning you will have issues with friends, co workers people etc. But when its all said and done you will be happy and healthy.
Explain to him this, What i told my X wife but we are still friends.
As you progress thru the stages he will see you happy and most likely support you, But I can tell you this is individual journey and is not easy, so dont let others sidetrack you
Best decision i ever made

Just have to stop by and Give Glory to God for what he has brought me from and has been faithful to never leave me where I've been, Can I testify!!!   
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