CMTurner

I would go by your doctor's or nutritionist's advise but, I have a friend who had gastric bypass and ended up fighting for her life after having a perforated ulcer. They determined it was from the caffeine in a mocha whatever Protein drink she was drinking everyday. The place she used to get those drinks from even removed them from his shelves and refuses to order them for any of his customers. Not saying you should or shouldn't drink caffeine but it is something to think about and I have noticed I do seem to have more problems with acid reflux after drinking caffinated diet drinks or iced tea even. And I admit to still having to have one or the other every once in a while but since learning of my friends "hairy" experience with caffeine I have been cutting back as much as possible because I do not want that complication to possibly be a reason for being unsuccessful or delaying my surgery. Just my $0.02 worth. Good luck to all on their weightloss journey. Cindy

I am sooo happy for you both and can't wait to post the same thing. I have done my psych eval and am scheduled for the dietician on June 30th. That is where they take pics and measurements, schedule any pre-op tests needed (they already said upper gi and sleep apnea), and evaluate how close to be able to submit the request to insurance. After that have to do 2 nutrition classes prior to surgery. God I hope the approval process doesn't take long. Don't really wanna wait til winter/holidays to have surgery. I am reading all these posts and getting so educated and excited. My DH laughs at me sometimes cause it seems I bring up WLS and new eating/drinking habits all the time wherever we are. LOL Thank goodness he is behind me in whatever I do. Thanks to everyone for their insight and inspiration. Cindy

Thanks. I am excited for you too. We have some friends in Millington and sometimes go to a little bar up there with them. Small world. I also have Cigna and used to work in insurance so I was prepared to dig for the insurance details. LOL. I haven't even gotten an appt with Dr. Weaver yet. Just filled out the app and advised I met the guidelines. I have had my psych eval but as of today they haven't recieved it yet and see my pcp on Friday (follow up on current comorbidities and see how much of previous visits would be construed as weight loss since we have discussed that since my first visit with her. I am soo hoping to not have to wait til the end of year around the holidays to actually have the surgery. Well continued good luck and keep me posted too.

Hi all. I used to work in insurance. They base payments and agreed upon discounts on the average costs for specific procedure codes in each zip code or area at the percentage your insurance has agreed upon. So they take say the average cost for the actual surgery code in your area and then your insurance "agrees" to pay say 70%, 80% or if you are lucky 90% of that average ( they update this average usually a couple times a year by "polling" physicians, med ctrs, etc as to what they actually charge per procedure code). If the physicians, etc. continually increase what they charge for insurance covered patients they can increase what they actually get paid over time. They also get incentives obtaining or retaining patients from "in network" patients. The contracts for in network services are incredibly detail and complex. LOL. We used to have multiple books (along the lines of small set of encyclopedias) with the breakdowns per zip code and %'s to match up for "allowables" when we had to override the system to pay correct amounts to allow for multiple procedures or verify automated payments were processed correctly. I would definately contact your insurance if you feel they have processed your claims incorrectly. A lot of procedures are set to "automatically adjudicate" (big word for pay). Sometimes the programming doesn't take all the facts into consideration or they don't "pick up on" and authorization. Always watch that they don't exceed your maximum out of pocket amounts and that they pay auxillary services (eg. labs, radiology, anesthesiology) done in conjunction with in network services at the in network level because sometimes you cannot help that the lab, etc is done by out of network providers because you have no say so. Anesthesiology is a big one where this gets overlooked because you don't get to pick them. Hope this helps someone. And good luck to everyone on their weight loss.

Too funny. Are you sure we aren't related? LMAO Forgot to quote msg so you would not wtf I am talking about. LMAO. Don't ya wish that could happen? If I could laugh it off, I wouldn't be planning on having lapband surgery.

Too funny. Are you sure we aren't related? LMAO

Hi Gina. I am looking forward to hearing about your experiences. I have just started on the same path. I have been to my psych eval and have started the 6 mth of physician documented weightloss attempt. That has got to be the worst part of it all prior to surgery. Like you haven't been concerned about your weight up til now and haven't done anything about it? I mean I can't imagine anyone just thinking I'll just eat everything I want and then just run to the dr for weightloss surgery. Sheesh. LOL. I have only lived Memphis for a little over 2 yrs but have struggled with weight almost my whole life. I now have a wonderful husband to add to the rest of my wonderful family. I want to be around and be able to actively participate in my own and my family's lives. I would also be happy to hear more about Dr. Weaver and her staff. Thanks Cindy