Dana36

If you look on Cigna's website at the bariatric surgery info, it no longer says anything about having to have 2/5 years documentation. When I first started this process, it said 2 years. Several of the customer service reps that I spoke to said that I needed 5 years.. so my surgeon and I decided to get together 5 years of history just in case.

I have Cigna and am waiting to see if I have been approved. Erika, First call you insurance company and make sure that your policy covers weight loss surgery. Just because Cigna covers it, it doesn't mean that all policies have it included. If it is covered, then you need to go get several things done. They require 6 months of monitored attempted weight loss by a physician. They require a letter of medical necessity from a physician who is NOT doing the surgery (I had my pcp monitor me for 6 months and write the letter). They will also require you to see a nutritionist (my surgeon made this appointment for me), and you will need to be cleared by a mental health provider (again, my surgeon put me in touch). Then you will need to provide medical records of morbid obesity and any information about any comorbitities that you might have. I have been told two different things on this, 2 years of records, and 5 years of records. I gathered 5 years of records just to be safe. You surgeon and his/her office should walk you through every step of this. Good Luck!

I go for my final consultation with the surgeon tomorrow and am 100% a diet pepsi addict. I ran out on Wednesday evening, and have not had one yet. I'm drinking tea for the caffeine, and I like tea, but I swear, I'm still have psychological withdrawals! I miss it, but I've decided that I'm going to leave it in the past and not go back.

Thanks for replying. I've finished my insurance requirements, so i am following up with Dr. Sass on Monday to see about getting the papers submitted to the insurance. I have to say, I've been impressed with his office and how often they have checked on me to see if I needed anything. As far as I know, I don't have any hernias. I'll discuss it with him though!

Yep! Switch to another Surgeon. I'm just now finishing up my requirements (6 month diet, nutrition classes, etc..) and all along the way, the surgeon's office has called and checked up on me, directed me, and assisted me with any questions that I have. I want an office/surgeon that will be there when I need them to be there.

I just got a pair of these today from Avon and am already loving them!!!!

Go to this site: Adjustable gastric banding, LapBand, Lap Band, Lap-Band, Swedish Band,Weight Loss Surgery, WLS, laparoscopic bariatric surgery, keyhole surgery, band aid surgery, affordable, minimally invasive treatment of severe obesity in Bangkok, Thailand That will show your husband how the band is stitched to your stomach. It is not simply put around your stomach, but your stomach sewn around the band to hold it in place.

If you are a single mother going to school, could you possibly qualify for medicaid?

I've not been banded yet, but have has several laproscopic surgeries and this pain is VERY common. The best advise I was ever given was to lay on my back with my feet higher than my heart. That will help push the gas out of your shoulders. I always said that the gas pains feel like I was burnt really bad, scalded with boiling water.

:blushing: OMG, I'm so jealous of you!!! I would love to be able to get great deals like that! OP, that story is so funny!!!

Congratulations! I have Cigna also and in my 3rd month of my 6th month dr monitored weight loss. Now I'm going to ask you all of the nosy questions LOL! Did you have to lose any weight in the 6 month supervised diet? (I'm struggling to just keep steady at this point) What was your beginning BMI? How long did it take Cigna to approve you after you submitted your paperwork?

I'm preband and have a stupid question.. how many almonds are in a serving. My container says one ounce is a serving.. well, how many almonds is that?

I think this is a wonderful idea.. let him know that you support him while he is fighting his battle (protecting the US), but you can't do the fighting for him. Tell him that is the same thing that you need from him. You are starting out of a war against your obesity, you need him to be supporting you, not fighting it for you.

If you insurance requires the 6 month weight loss program/classes/monitoring, then I don't think there is any real way to get out of it and them still pay. I started this in March, so I am halfway through my 6 months now. When I first started, it seemed like 6 months was a lifetime, now it is passing by pretty quickly. Just keep your chin up and it will pass pretty fast!!!

LOL!I want to do that too! I even have the pair of pants picked out!

I'm still preband, but years ago when I had my gall bladder taken out, the dr told me that the gas would cause my shoulders to hurt and burn.. to me if felt like boiling water had been poured on my shoulders. He told me to lay on my back, prop my feet up higher than my head and put a heating pad on my shoulders. It worked wonderfully! He said having your feet propped up would 'push' the gas out of your shoulders faster.

My seminar was presented by a surgeon who explained different weight loss surgery options. He showed a power point presentation on each procedure. There was then a question and answer time. There were also some people there who work with insurance to answer questions.

My husband is very supportive, but my brother was not supportive when I first mentioned the surgery. I am extremely close to my family, and feel that I need my immediate relatives on board as they are my support system. I want them to be informed when I have this surgery and know what is going on. So, I went to his home to spend the night with him and his family. I sat and talked with him at length. I showed him my research, talked with him about my medical issues, and told him that I understood that he was scared for me.. I'm his little sister, but that I need a tool to help me. I explained as a tool, not a miracle cure, but rather something that would help me with an addiction. He is still not 100% in favor of surgery, but he is 100% supportive of me.. if that makes any sense.

Oh, I agree! I have a small daughter and HATE when I go in someplace to buy her something, the clerks just assume that I am looking for me and they have nothing in my size. I had one clerk in an upscale store tell me the other day that they were 'light' on my size. :crying:

I look forward to not having so much back fat that my bra rolls up!

I've decided on my own. I have thought about it on and off for a while, but earlier this year, it just kind of felt like the right time to seriously start looking into it.

I visited my pcp first, got the okay from them that they would support me. Then I went to an informational seminar. Next I went to a consultation with the surgeon. He will refer me to the counselor and nutritionist when I get closer to having my 6 month diet completed.

I also live in TN, and am going to go through Dr. Sass in Chattanooga. I also have Cigna Point of Service. Right now, I'm in the 6 month diet and monitoring phase. I scheduled a consultation with Dr. Sass about a month ago to get a feeling for him and what his requirements were. I know who when to call him back, what all he needs done, etc..

My husband was 100% supportive AFTER going to an information seminar with me. That really helped him see where I was coming from and what brought me to this decision. My brother, on the other hand, has struggled with my decision. He is really worried about me having any surgical procedure and was telling me to just use will power and portion control. I went to see him the other day and he and I were talking about it, and I asked him, "If I were a drug addict, and the drug was killing me, would you support a surgery that could help me gain control of the drug?" He said yes, I then explained that food was like a drug to me and it was killing me. He then mentioned that he and I both had quit smoking several years ago, and had enough willpower to kick our habit.. I then said to him, yes, but what if you still have to smoke 3 cigarettes a day to survive? I have to eat 3 meals a day... that, as silly as it sounds, was his moment of clarity. I had to equate this surgery with an addiction that he had felt and knew that difficulty of dealing with.

Only my close family, one friend and my supervisor knows what I am doing. The only reason that my supervisor knows is because we are super close and she is extremely supportive of me and my choices. I'm not telling anyone else because I don't want to be criticized all the time.. I don't want them staring at everything I put in my mouth and talking about me behind my back.. which I think a lot of people will do. I'm in month 3 of my 6 month pre op diet before submitting to the insurance company, and I'm missing, on average 1-2 days a month from work. My coworkers know that I am missing, and some have had questions about why I'm going to the dr so much, is something wrong? I just tell people that I am fine, healthy, but that I am very private about my health. If anything is wrong, I'll let them know, but right now, I'm just doing some preventative maintenance.