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Lovely77

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Lovely77    5

Lovely77
Posted

Hi everyone. I'm new here. I'm considering either gastric bypass or sleeve. I have my very first appt with a surgeon on 10/5. I'm hoping my insurance will approve me. I have Empire bcbs. Does anyone else have this insurance? Any advice to get myself approved?

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

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Diana_in_Philly    1,426

Diana_in_Philly
Posted

The best way to find the requirements for your surgery is to go to the web site for your policy and search "bariatric" to see what comes up. There should be policy guidance which lists the requirements. Some require a history of trying to lose weight (doctor's records can be enough), others require a monitored weight loss plan - often your surgeon's office already knows the requirements because they do this.

Do make a list of questions you want to ask your surgeon. Consider bringing a trusted relative or friend with you to the appointment. My first consult was 3 hours and had to be done after attending an informational seminar at the hospital. There was a lot of information to digest (no pun intended) at that first meeting, so having another set of ears around doesn't hurt.

best of luck.

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ColleenErin1974    195

ColleenErin1974
Posted

57 minutes ago, Lovely77 said:

Hi everyone. I'm new here. I'm considering either gastric bypass or sleeve. I have my very first appt with a surgeon on 10/5. I'm hoping my insurance will approve me. I have Empire bcbs. Does anyone else have this insurance? Any advice to get myself approved?

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

I agree with Diana_in_Philly. You should go online or call to see if your policy covers the surgery. I called mine and when they said it was, I asked if there were any pre approval hoops to jump through. For me, I had to have 3 months of a supervised diet with my PCP. Most insurances require 3,6,or 12 month supervised diets. You will also have to have testing, lab work, and appointments with psych and a nutritionist. It usually winds up being a year long process.

Another good thing to do is research everything you can on both surgeries. This site sells 2 books I found helpful. One is all about the sleeve and the other is about bypass. They have a ton of information and helped me decide what to do. I had the gastric bypass and love it!

Its also a good thing to start weaning off soda or any carbonated beverages, junk food, sugar, Pasta and rice. This will help you start slowly into your new lifestyle change and may help start your weight loss.

Good luck on your journey! Keep us posted!

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Mhy12784    423

Mhy12784
Posted

I have empire bcbs and I'm expecting my approval any day now. 3 months of weights is all I was told I needed. I'm curious where were you looking at going?

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Lovely77    5

Lovely77
Posted

I'm probably going to have it done in Middletown. How about you? I hope all they will require of me is 3 months! I've heard of people having to wait 6 months or even a year!

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

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Go To Topic Listing PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

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    • Alisa_S

      Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Alisa_S

      Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • KimBaxleyWilson

      KimBaxleyWilson

      Three months and four days ago... I was in Costa Rica having a life changing surgery! Yesterday we had a followup visit with Dr. Esmeral via video chat and this morning my middle number changed.  I'm down 47lbs and two pants sizes. I can wear a Large tshirt for the first time in like... 14 years! Woot!! Everything is going great. I have zero regrets. I went down to the riverwalk with a friend and walked 2 miles on Monday without even getting fatigued. And no more snoring or chugging pickle juice for crazy leg cramps! I need to go to the gym more... I'm making new shirts next week so that will motivate me. LOL But I'm also just not as TIRED all the time! I have a LONG way to go...but seeing the progress on the scales and in the mirror is a huge motivator!! Thank you all for cheering me on and supporting me!!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • bellaamey

      bellaamey

      https://alluniqueguide.com/java-burn-coffee-reviews/
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.

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