alicia3138

So my surgery was finally approved and now it seems so real! My surgery date is December 28 and I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I'm actually more nervous about the 2-week pre-op diet. Yikes! Who else has a December surgery date?

I did my sleep study last night and it wasnt so bad. it was uncomfortable to sleep but i was able to. the people there were GREAT which made it easier to deal with. they put the sensors on my head which means i had all kinds of pasty stuff in my hair. but they had a shower. in the middle of the night if you have sleep apnea they come in and put a mask on you, but they didnt do it to me so im guessing i dont have it. waste of time, but one more hoop to jump through for the surgery! good luck!

i have my sleep study tonight. they told me i needed it because i have daytime sleepiness, and i explained to the doctor i'm tired during the day b/c i dont sleep a lot at night, because i work full time and i'm a graduate student - everyone in my program is tired during the day, we dont all have sleep apnea. so he told me i didnt need the sleep study. then when they reviewed my file they told me i DID need it. so inconvenient. i had to make my appt asap b/c the nurse told me i wouldnt see the surgeon until it was done - which was the WRONG informaton, but it was too late to reschedule and i have a midterm tomorrow. i am NOT looking forward to tonight at ALL. at least they have a tv but i am not happy about this.

My program only requires a 10lb weight loss. Mostly to shrink your liver for surgery.

You definitely should NOT be drinking coffee. No caffeine at least 2 months after surgery, especially coffee because it irritates the stomach lining.

Wow you got approved by BCBS fast! I hope I get approved as fast!

How long did it take the get the approval from BCBS?

hey. do they make you sign in at the info sessions? how do they know you've gone?

well it depends on what you have and how you answer the questions in the packet. and i think it all needs to get done through the bariatric department. but the tests i had was a full blood/urine test, a PFT for asthma, dietician, social worker, and gallbladder ultrasound (my last test, next week!!). if you have sleep apnea you'll need to get a sleep study done. and there are a number of other tests too. so, it depends on what you have. well they have a list of comorbs that you would need if your BMI is below 40...here is a link to the BCMS medical policy good luck! http://www.bluecrossma.com/common/en_US/medical_policies/379_Medical_and_Surgical_Management_of_Obesity_including_Anorexiants_prn.pdf#page=1

hello. this is good news for me too! i'm almost done with my tests and once i get approved into the program i meet with the surgeons and set a date, then hopefully get approval from BCBS HMO. Someone told me BCBS of MA is pretty good at approvals - I'm hoping this is true for me!