RNY4ME2020

I am still pre-op but so far I have had labs, nutritionist visits, upper endoscopy, exercise evaluation, psychiatric evaluation, I am scheduled for my pre-op class next week. It seems like every doctor is different just go with the flow and do what is needed. Some of my labs came back outside of the normal ranges but they were mostly Vitamin levels.

WOW that's nuts you are a whole new person.. Congrats man

14 hours ago, Unclechaz said:

I'm in South Florida. Where did you have your surgery?

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I am in Melbourne. I will be having it done up here.

On 11/11/2019 at 8:42 PM, amithistrose said:

if you get it done in Mexico and something goes wrong,, after you return home will you be covered by your reg insurance, or can they refuse to treat you?

I was told by two different insurance companies that if you have any complication from a procedure done outside the US that they will not pay for it. You would not be denied care but you would have to self pay.

17 hours ago, vdbarbie said:

I have tired so much Protein Shakes. And did not like any of them. Until now. Has anyone tired this one ?

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They are so yummy. But I am only able to find them at BJ's wholesale. The vanilla is good also.

21 minutes ago, smb123 said:

I have BCBS and I had to do the 6 months. They did say they have to give a decision within a 15 day period of receiving the paperwork from your doctor. In all honesty, I would not have been ready for this if i didn’t go through the 6 months of preparing myself. I am a week and half post op and it’s very hard even with the long preparation. I would suggest giving yourself a few months to prepare before going into surgery. However, do what’s best for you, you know your body and your mindset!

Thanks for your feedback. What has been the hardest part? How was the pain after surgery?

14 hours ago, mary77450 said:

I had my first appt in very early Dec and got my psych eval done, endoscopy, cardiac clearance, and surgery on the 18th of the same month. My insurance approved in less than 24 hours.

How was the endoscopy? I am really freaked out about it.

2 hours ago, ChrisXStitcher said:

I really hope that once they send it for approval it comes back fast. My plan has no requirements other than a BMI of over 40 or over 35 with health issues. All of these requirements are from the doctor I am going to. I really hope to have this done by the end of February or first part of March.

Wow! I have BCBS insurance too, but may not be the same plan as yours. One day was the turnaround time on approval for me. Wishing you the best!!

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If it is excluded there is no way to get it over turned. I would look at changing insurance or paying cash.

1 minute ago, danielleleigh90 said:

That's interesting, I just never heard of it. But anyway, the BEST of luck!

The hospital where I am having the procedure done has its own health club and you get a free membership after the Dr clears you for surgery.

15 hours ago, danielleleigh90 said:

Where are you from?

I am in Florida

I am not sure what the exercise evaluation is.

11 minutes ago, AJ Tylo said:

I did i paid cash and all done in less then 2 weeks! My insurance does not cover WLS

I am very thankful that my insurance will be paying a large part of it.

I have have been waiting for almost a year for this process to start. I had my first appointment with my surgeon on January 2nd and it went well. My doctor has scheduled the following appointments.

01/28/2020 Physiological Evaluation

02/03/2020 Endoscopy

02/06/2020 Nutrition Visit

02/06/2020 Diet Visit

02/12/2020 Exercise Evaluation

02/18/2019 Pre-Op Classes

The insurance coordinator said as soon as I am done with the Exercise Evaluation they will submit to insurance for approval they said this could take from a few hours to a few weeks to get it back. I have Blue Cross I hope the turn around time will be short. Once insurance approves me they said surgery would be scheduled for 3 weeks after the approval. Thankfully my insurance has no waiting time or mandated diet before surgery. Has anyone else had things move this fast? I am not going to lie I am getting nervous/excited at how fast its all going.

I just spoke to my Doctors office to provide them with my new insurance information. They said I will only have to do 3 appointments and that it all goes well I could join the looser bench by March.

25 minutes ago, Michael S said:

I have Blue Cross as well and I think the DR is trying to milk your insurance, I did the shrink and the nutritionist one visit each, Also I had to do a "sleep study" to prove I had sleep apnea. The nutritionist, was a joke. All she said was don't eat too fast, and don't drink liquids during meals. Then she tried to sell me all of her various products and Vitamins. No diet except the fast 48 hours prior to surgery

Thank you so much for your response.

11 minutes ago, RickM said:

It's great that you have insurance that doesn't require that particular hoop to jump through - they are getting more rare every day.

As to the surgeon's requirement for a six month diet, whether it is worthwhile depends upon what its intent is. If it is just to get you to lose X amount of weight before surgery and they are putting you through some kind of weight loss diet program, then it probably isn't worthwhile, and may even be detrimental, If you were starting at 500+ lb, then yes, you would need all the help that you can get, as the wLS only goes so far on its own. But at your weight, as a guy, you will likely be trying to slow things down by six months post-op (as I was, starting at about the same stats.) If, however, they are helping you to learn how to eat and maintain your weight in the long term via an overall healthy diet, then it can be quite valuable.

When I started this, in parallel with my wife going through it, we had to do the six month thing for insurance. They didn't have much in the way of requirements other than "medically supervised" so we studied up on nutrition and worked to improve our diet - what should it be five or ten years out - any short term weight loss was incidental (but in my case turned out to be about 50 lb, getting down to your level.) As it turned out, I delayed surgery for several years (it took a couple to get my wife on the table, after serial insurance denials) but I maintained that loss all that time, using the WLS to finish the job and get down to normal weight, which has likewise been maintained fairly well since then.

I have seen some good programs with some docs, that did a good job teaching and helping the patient transition to a better, more sustainable long term diet, and I have seen some pretty crummy ones that were little more than one short term fad diet or another, but did little other than promote yo-yo dieting long term. My inclination would be to ask more questions along with researching other programs to consider.

Good luck on this venture!

The surgeon's office says its so that you can learn how to eat properly and prepare your self for the life change that is coming. I am doing a consult with this doctor as well as another one. I am trying to find someone I am comfortable with.

I have my first consultation on January 2nd. I have spoken to my insurance company and they said there is no required diet period before I can be scheduled. They only requirement my insurance has is a BMI of over 35, 1 visit with a shrink, a visit with a nutritionist. My doctor is telling me I have to do a 6 month diet plan with his nutritionist that my insurance will not cover because they only cover 3 visits a year. Is this standard or do I need to look for a different DR. I feel like the doctors office is just trying to milk the insurance company. I have Blue Cross IBX.

That's great that you are feeling fine. I hope to be on the losers bench soon.

Sorry for all the ups and downs. But congrats on the approval

14 minutes ago, melmet42 said:

I had to attend a seminar, prior to being seen by the weight loss doctors, that detailed out what the different surgeries would involve, including pros and cons for each and expectations. A couple items stood out to me for the bypass surgery that I didn't like, which were dumping syndrome and no ibuprofen. I believe dumping can happen with either the bypass or the sleeve, but from what they described it was more common with the bypass.

The doctor I am going to offers an online seminar or in person, I did the online. I am open to either option but the bypass just seems so much more invasive.

I have my first appointment on January 2nd with a surgeon. My doctor recommended this last February but because of insurance I have had to wait. My questions is how did you decide between the sleeve or bypass? The doctors office told me the doctor will make a recommendation but its really up to the patient. Also what questions should I ask that you wish you would have asked at your first appointment?