SleeveToBypass2023

I have BCBS of Illinois. I had to have the clearance letter from my PCP, bariatric bloodwork, an ECG, 1 dietician appt, the psych eval and either have a bmi of 35 with at least 2 comorbidities or 40 and up with none (I am 40 and up with 2, so I definitely qualified). From the time I started the process on Feb 28th to the time I completed everything and it was submitted to BCBS it was 1 month. They approved it in 48 hours and my surgery is scheduled for May 3rd. I don't think they will approve it if you are under 40 bmi and have no comorbidities at all. I was told the acceptable ones are diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, and osteoarthritis.

So I have BCBS of Illinois (PPO) and I had my normal $25 copay for the psych eval, my $40 copay for the surgeon visit, the dietician visit was covered, and my only out of pocket was the $500 deductible and $1000 out of pocket cost. I also didn't have many hoops to jump through. I had already tried a number of diets so my PCP was more than happy to do the clearance letter. I had to have the clearance letter from my PCP, bariatric bloodwork, an ECG, 1 dietician appt, the psych eval and either have a bmi of 35 with at least 2 co-morbidities or 40 and up with none (I am 40 and up with 2, so I definitely qualified). From the time I started the process on Feb 28th to the time I completed everything and it was submitted to BCBS it was 1 month. They approved it in 48 hours and my surgery is scheduled for May 3rd.

Before my company switched to BCBS of Illinois I had Cigna. They are FANTASTIC about approving things as long as it's medically necessary. For example, I have MS. I take 4 medications for it. ONE of them (Tecfidera) is $8,900 per MONTH. As soon as they had the docs on file that I have MS, they covered it no questions asked with just a $10 copay. My other 3 meds total $3300 per month. Same thing. They also covered my 6 x-rays (3 with and 3 without contrast) every 6 months, no questions asked, because they are needed for my MS. So if your surgeon submits everything to them and lets them know it's medically necessary, I can almost guarantee it'll be covered no problem.

I'm getting a sleeve on May 3rd.

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That's why I got variety packs of everything. I don't know what I'll like afterwards, so I wanted lots of options.

So I'm hoping to hear from anyone with a high BMI that got the sleeve and had a lot of success. My current BMI is 63. My goal weight is 200 pounds, which means I need to lose 190 pounds. For various reasons I chose the sleeve over the bypass, and I know bypass patients lose more than sleeve patients do. BUT...I have no issues following the diet, and once I lose some weight I will start working out again (I did keto and lost almost 100 pounds over 7 months, but then it just started creeping back up and no matter how much I restricted my carbs and worked out, I couldn't keep the weight down and I got frustrated and quit), but I worry that I won't be able to hit my goal even if I stick to the diet and work out. I have MS, so strengthening my muscles and losing the weight is a must to keep my mobility and reduce the pain. I also desperately want to get rid of my diabetes and high blood pressure. And I'm hoping losing the weight will help my asthma a little. BUT... is this possible with the sleeve? I'm so excited about the surgery, but is it really possible to lose that kind of weight with the sleeve? Has ANYONE on here done it, or even come close? This just has to work. I wasn't always overweight. I used to be a size 6, but when I had my son back in 98, my PCOS jump started and I put on close to 100 pounds and only lost maybe 25. No matter what i did, I couldn't lose it. Then I had my daughter and gained close to the same amount, and was never able to lose any of it. Then I did keto, succeeded for a while, then it failed and I gave up. And now here I am. Do I have any hope at all of hitting my goal weight?

I just got one. I got a tall. It's soooooo goooood!!!!! Thanks for the info about it!!!!

What size do you get? Is it sweet at all?

Hey surgery twin!!! Mine is the 3rd too!!!

Matcha lemonade? I've never heard of it. Is it good? Have you tried iced coffee? Maybe that would be less acidic.

I've seen that a few times on here, so I'm thinking....maybe? LOL Sorry, I know that's not super helpful.

YAY!!! Hi surgery twin!!!! We can be excited together

Awesome, thanks!!

Posting in a few places in hopes of getting more responses. I have MS and I'm set for surgery on May 3rd. My neuro cleared me, but I only just found out that wls can actually aggravate MS and bring on a flare. I had no clue. Now I'm really nervous about the surgery. I wasn't until I read the articles online this morning. I was hoping that having the sleeve would present far less issues with taking my pills (I'm on Tecfidera, Baclofen, Celebrex, and Gabapentin) but then I read about people who had a harder time with the nausea and keeping anythng down and struggling with their pills. I think I'm in a bit of a panic now. Hoping there's others on here with MS and wls that can gie me their honest opinions and experiences.

Are you guys nervous about going to Mexico for your procedures? How does that work with follow up care? Will doctors here in the US take you on if there's complications? Or do you have to go to Mexico again?

What makes the malabsorption so different between them? Why is the DS's so much bigger than RNY?

What is the main difference between a RNY and a DS?

I didn't know you could be resleeved. I thought it was a one-and-done thing and if a revision was needed, you go to RNY or DS.

If you do that, not only will you make yourself sick, you will have wasted all that time, energy, pain, money. Maybe it would be better for you to work your food plan, get some therapy and grief counseling, and focus on making all the parts of you better. I don't even think you can stretch your stomach out to be the size it was. And hurting yourself trying isn't going to solve anything.

I do this a lot. I think how lucky and blessed I am to have good insurance that approved me right away, a wonderful support system, and doctors that really listen and want what's best for me and advocate for me. Any time even a sliver of worry creeps in, I remind myself of that, and I think about how healthy I used to be and how I'm a heartbeat away from getting my life back, and everything disappears. I'm left with excitement, joy, and gratitude. I know there are so many that want to be where I am and can't be. I'll never take that for granted.

Same. My dietician said to eat higher levels of protein, but other than that, watch my portion sizes and how often I eat and make sure my meals are balanced (so so many fruits and vegs aren't allowed with keto, and I'm excited to learn how to "properly" eat balanced meals again)

THIS!!! I did keto for nearly 8 months. Had REALLY good success...at first. But you can't live like that forever, and if you have a slip up...oh boy. It's like all the weight you lost finds its way back WITH A QUICKNESS!!! And you have to have some carbs, some fats, some calories in your diet to be healthy. Has to be balanced and in moderation, but trying to live on keto forever just isn't feasible.

My dietician said specifically that there's nothing wrong with caffeine as long as it's in moderation. Funny how every surgeon, and dietician, says something different lol

He would rather I smoke weed lol But when I refused, he said he could put me on a pain management regimen that happened to include Tramadol, which is a huge no no in my book. There's always pain, but when I'm in an active flare it's almost unbearable. I will be calling about the Celebrex tomorrow. I've been thinking about CBD oil for a while but there's so many different kinds and strengths out there that I get overwhelmed and forget it.