I went to the doctor today and I was told that my surgery will be on the 12th of this month. It has been a very long journey. I started off with the band back in Aug of 08 and in April of 09 It all went downhill. I had a fill done and I guess it was to much and I had left for vacation the next day and ended up in the ER after spending 3days vomiting. At that time they feel my band may have slipped but not enough to see it.... From that point on everytime I got a fill I eithier had to have the Fluid removed or I had eneded up vomiting the whole time. After every test under the sun my doctor finally gave me the option to eithier redo the band, do gastric bypass or do the sleeve.... After much research I picked the sleeve. I knew the bypass was not an option for me but I was open to the sleeve. When I first started my journey I was 298 and my lowest has been 201 in which now I weigh 221.... So now that I am approved I am ready to go. My dr office submitted everything to UHC on the 19th of April and i was approved on the 21st. I am thankful everything has gone through so quickly and now I am ready for the stage in my life.

(I just want to say as this is my first time writing on here I am thankful for having found this website as it gave me alot of great information)

Congratulations and welcome!

Do you have to do a pre-op diet?

There are several band to sleeve revisions here so you're in good company!

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Hi there and welcome. You'll love the sleeve just because of the no maintenance. That's the biggest plus for me. Well, the amazing weight loss, and the ability to actually eat without puking or salivating like a rabid animal are pretty awesome as well.

Many well wishes with your upcoming revision, and keep us posted on your progress ! ! !

Congratulations and good luck!

Thank you everyone for the repies.... I do not really have a preop diet to follow... He said my weight is low enough where I dont need to do it... All I have to do is be on liquids the day before but I think I will start it on Monday so that I can clear my system out.

I will keep everyone posted.

If you don't mind me asking..how much weight do you have to lose?

Do you have a goal weight in mind?

I only have 50 to 60lbs to go. My dr wants me around 150 to 170. I am ok with the amounts they have set for me. I dont want to be lower than 150 if possible.

cool! You're a lightweight! lol

How tall are you?

I'm only 5'2"....shorty.

Funny little story...today I was sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office waiting to be called back and I was chatting with the other people in there also waiting.

2 of us had been sleeved..one guy had the RNY, and one lady had the band. She was going on and on about how much she loves her band and has lost about 50 lbs. So then her phone rings and she answers it and she tells the person that she's at the doctor to get her band unfilled a bit because she's throwing up so much and just can't take it anymore. When she hung up she repeated that to all of us...so I was thinking. Are you SURE you really love that band? That doesn't sound like any fun to me! But then they called my name so I didn't get to hear the rest of the conversation.

Strange how some people define love...lol

Wow, I have UHC and when I talked to customer service they said weight loss surgery was not a covered benefit. Must be different between states!

I am 5'4... short....lol.... I remember when I once said I loved my band.... That was short lived though.... Really I didnt lose much with the band... I lost most of my weight before surgery. My first appt I was 298... When I got approved I was 275 and when I went in for surgery I was 254... and even though I got down to 201 that was only for a week or so while I was going through a two week period of not being able to hold anything down. and than I quickly put the weight back on and I have been between 215 and 221 for the last 7 months or so.

Thats to bad UHC wouldnt cover your surgery.... I guess I need to be thankful.... Both times they approved me with no problems and within a few days after paperwork was submitted.

Good luck with your surgery.

tsmith, welcome! I am pretty new here too and have found a lot of helpful info. Congrats on getting approved for the sleeve, I think it will be a much better tool and allow you to get where you want to be. I just wanted to take a moment though to recognize your accomplishment because you seem to be overlooking it - you have maintained 215-221 for 7 months? That is approx 80 lbs below your starting weight and you've been maintaining - I want you to realize that is a big deal!!! I'm impressed.

Congrats tsmith. The next week will go flying by! Come out here if you need any support while you wait. We will be looking forward to hearing your progress.

Very excited to hear your news! My surgery is on May 18th so please keep us updated! Can't wait to hear how well you're doing!!! ~smiles~ Sheryl

Wow, I have UHC and when I talked to customer service they said weight loss surgery was not a covered benefit. Must be different between states!

The policies do vary quite a bit from employer to employer. I don't think it has so much to do with the state you're in. It sounds like tsmith's policy has approved two instances of WLS. My policy clearly states that only one WLS will be covered - EVER!

Double check your coverage by logging on to myuhc.com and looking at the details of your individual policy. You'll need the member ID number from your insurance card to set up an account. Unfortunately, you can't always trust the word of the rep you get on the phone. When you log on, you should see an area called "other covered services" or "special services" (something like that) in the benefits section. This will tell you if your policy covers WLS.

Will be having surgery Monday morning at 8:00. I am so nervous and a little scared.