*slim*

I sometimes wonder if it depends on the surgeon, when I had my tubes tied, my scars didn't give me any problems at all. My surgeon was a woman of color, and I wonder if she took more care. When I had my gall bladder taken out a year later, every scar is keloid.:biggrin: He used tape to hold my incisions together (I didn't think tape was going to hold my fat together). They spread very rapidly. I even asked about it and he said that everything would be fine.:tt2: I am hoping this surgeon will reuse some of the same points and possibly remove some of the scar tissue.

I was luck enough to be approved on the first try (which shocked the heck out of me). I will pay 10% of the doctors charges and nothing on the hospital and pre-op testing. :biggrin:

Congrats to all of you banded ladies!

I have been in a constant state of nerves since the day my insurance paperwork was sent in. I was scared that I wouldn't get an approval. Once I got the approval, then my nerves started about the pre-op diet and pending surgery. I think it would be better if they called me unexpectantly and said that they have moved my date up from October. That way, I wouldn't have as much time to dwell on the what ifs. IMHO that is what makes it worse.

In the beginning, I only told one person. She is a family member that has had gastric bypass. I wasn't going to tell anyway one else. I was separated at the time that I decided, so I didn't tell my husband. I later told one friend who has been somewhat supportive. I finally told my mother and husband. I have to be truthful and say that I wish I hadn't told either one of them. My mom can't keep a secret to save her life. I told her that I wasn't planning to tell anyone and she said, "well, I won't tell anyone else." WTF!!! I don't want everyone watching everything that I put in my mouth! I don't want people asking me if I can have that?

10/2/08!!! WOOHOO!:biggrin:

Basically you are waiting to find out what hoops the insurance company wants you to jump through for approval. Some are easy and only require that you be over weight and have a doctor say you need the surgery or will benefit from the surgery. Others (like mine) require that you have a supervised weight loss plan for 6 months in the last 2 year, plus 5 year history of obesity, and some type of comorbidity (i.e. sleep apnea, diabeties, high blood pressure, etc). Thankfully, I had been going to my doctor quite a bit the last couple of years. They were able to document my weight and also document over a 6 month period that we discussed my weight, diet, and exercise. Since she said that yours is easier than most, maybe you won't have to wait a long time. Good luck to you!

Thanks for the information. I have decided to stick with the doctor that I have. He is the more qualified of the two I was thinking about. He is more expensive, but I will get a little more with his office.

How funny!:biggrin:

I need to know if you can switch doctors after getting insurance approval? If you can, was it hard to do?

Good luck to all of you today!

Today is your surgery day! I will be thinking of you and any others having surgery. Way to go!:crying:

Thanks for the info. I got my flag yesterday.:smile2:

I sure hope so because I have the same problem! I can't stand for my legs to even touch in bed because it just seems to make me even hotter. I freeze my family because I have the AC blasting at about 65 degrees while still having my ceiling fan and a portable fan blowing at me constantly. I wish you and everyone else the best of luck!

Since you can't get them on the phone, if they are not too far from you, I would just drop by with the boxes in hand. I don't think they could ask you to call back then. Just a thought.

Hi both of you are being banded tomorrow! Congrats and good luck!

Hi. First, I so understand about the out of state insurance. I live and work in TN, but my insurance is BCBS of Illinois. :confused2: To answer your insurance question, it really depends on who provides your insurance (your employer). My employer is a self pay through BCBS so my employer actually determines what is covered and how. If the provider of your insurance does cover it, they still will determine what the qualifications are. The standard qualifications seem to be a BMI of 35-40 with comorbidities (i.e. sleep apnea, hypertension,etc) or BMI over 40 with no comorbidities. Also there is sometimes a supervised diet plan usually through a doctor or sometimes even Weight Watchers is accepted. Then lastly a history of obesity (just doctor's visits showing your weight that can be calculated into your BMI). I hope this helps.

I would call that surgeons office and ask if that doctor is covered either with full benifits or out-of-network benefits on your insurance plan. Some surgeons will accept the out-of-network benefits as full pay. Otherwise, I would check into the 4 clinics that are listed under your insurance plan. I have BCBS of Illinois (I live in TN) and I was able to go on their website and find my surgeon's name even though I couldn't find his clinic's name listed. I hope this helps. Good luck on your journey!

Way to go! There are some really nice people on here that can answer just about any question that you might have. If you read through some of the threads, you will find the answer to some of your questions before you even think to ask it. Good luck to you!

Way to go! :thumbup:

Joint pain was one of the things that my surgeon's office asked about. I think it does count. If its documented in any of your medical records, you could be able to use that. Good luck with your insurance!

I would contact the insurance company myself to ask what their requirements are. Sometines, the requirements are controlled by the company (employer) providing the insurance. It can't hurt to check. Good luck!

I have told my husband (wish I hadn't:mellow:), my mom (really wish I hadn't:angry:), one friend, and my boss (who is also a friend). I have told 2 too many people.:thumbup:

My surgery is 10/02/08! Can I be a smashing pumkin too?

WooHoo! 10/02/08 is my surgery date!:thumbup::thumbup: