NickelChip

Before you assume that the testing will take your full deductible, I would make some calls to your insurance. I have a 3k deductible and my portion of the bloodwork was nowhere close to that even though I assumed it would be. I think my copays ended up being around $1k or less for all the preliminary tests. And remember, you will have extensive bloodwork multiple times after surgery, so there may be no way to get it all into one calendar year. Also, you might look into financing options through your hospital. Mine allowed me to put the $3k I owed after the surgery (because yeah, that did max out my deductible for this year) on a 24-month no-interest payment plan. Depending on your options, it may be affordable enough that you can book your appointment sooner and get this whole thing going instead of having to wait almost a full year to have your surgery.

Once it was submitted, not long at all. Just a few days, I think. But my surgeon's office didn't submit it until all my requirements were met, which included psych eval, dietician meetings, a certain number of visits, bloodwork, etc. As long as you've checked all the right "boxes" they require, the approval process should be very standard and easy. Your surgeon's office should know exactly what you need to get approved.

I hope it goes well! Sending positive thoughts for a speedy recovery!

You can hit quote to reply to someone, or you can use the "at" symbol and their name to tag without quoting. To update your details, you want to go to your profile and go to the My Surgery tab. I've heard this can be hard to do on a phone, so try it on a laptop if you can. It'll let you fill in your starting weight, current weight, surgery date, etc. Also, you can create tickers under the My Tickers section.

I actually watched cooking shows during my pre-op, like Great British Baking Show. It was a little bizarre, but didn't make me hungry. I think it was also soothing in a way.

Well, there is actually a formula for "Ideal Body Weight" and you can use a calculator to figure it out for you. This one also does an adjusted weight for a person who starts out overweight or obese. https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/68/ideal-body-weight-adjusted-body-weight
I would use that as a starting point, and then just see how you feel as you lose. How you look and feel is more important than a number.

That's fantastic!

Wow, congratulations! That has to be the best doctor's visit ever!

Those non-scale victories really mean a lot 💪

I'm glad your father did agree to respect your privacy by not sharing with your family. And I guess I should be glad my mom keeps the dramatic flair off of the socials!
I'm both lucky and unlucky that my brother had VGS 15 years ago. On the one hand, my mom understands the concept and has seen my brother's good results from it, (we inherited the obesity from my father's side, and Mom has never dealt with more than those pesky 10 lbs average weight people always want to lose). On the other hand, my brother took exactly the opposite approach from me. He didn't live near family and told no one, had no support. He went to Mexico as self-pay and didn't say a word until about 4 weeks after when he was having some serious emotional struggles, living alone, and compounded by the fear of realizing that to get family support, he had to "confess." So his recovery was very different than what I anticipate for me. But because of all that, my mom definitely sees this as a "REALLY BIG DEAL." Which it is, but not the level she's at with it. Like, it's not an open heart surgery being performed in 1982, or experimental cancer treatment. I've also noticed that as my mom ages, she takes change a lot harder. She doesn't have the mental flexibility anymore to make an instant change of plans and roll with it, whereas I do that probably a dozen times a day.
I'm grateful for their help, but it comes at a price.

Congratulations!