As everyone says, things seem like they take forever and then all of a sudden you get a date!

I began this process last May. The program I’m participating in is quite thorough and comprehensive so it took a couple months just to get in for the orientation session and then I’ve been formally participating since August. It’s been a combination of insurance and program requirements that have led to the progression to surgery take so long.

At first I was frustrated with how long the process would take-I just wanted to get going with the surgery. But having gone through the process, frankly I’m glad it’s structured as it is. It allowed me to make serious changes that I think will be vital to the long term success of this.

At this point my BMI has gone from 39.7 to 32.1, weight from 285 to 230.2. More important than the numbers though are the changes that led to getting here. I’ve totally changed how and what I eat. I feel like I’m set rrriessentially eating a diet in line with what I will have to do after surgery. I must say as someone who has gained and lost probably 500 lbs over time, I’m relieved that I have the surgery date. As my weight has gotten lower, I’ve been more tempted to return to old habits, and I think that drive to return to the set point weight is really kicking in. I’ve been able to resist falling back to old habits knowing surgery is imminent and using other tools I’ve gained since participating in this program.

Anyway just thought I’d share if this as at all helpful to someone who’s been in a similar situation to me or if anyone else has a shared March 11 date!

Congrads and welcome to the Club!

See, the pre-op stuff really helps put you in the right frame of mind for post-op, right? Good luck with your upcoming surgery.

I am also on March 11! But I am doing bypass. I hope we’ll be able to support each other, though! And my process has also been so, so slow. I started working on my requirements a year ago. Good luck!

Oh also funnily enough I am in Portland...Oregon.

So you were still able to get insurance approval even though your BMI dipped below 35? My BMI is currently at 44. But if I lose more than 20 lbs, it will place me at 40 BMI, and I'm scared insurance might reject me. I have 5 more months to go.

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On 01/27/2020 at 23:51, asnirak said:

I am also on March 11! But I am doing bypass. I hope we’ll be able to support each other, though! And my process has also been so, so slow. I started working on my requirements a year ago. Good luck!

I debated between sleeve and bypass-like most of us on here I suppose. The surgeon thought either would be reasonable but seemed to slightly favor sleeve, so I opted for that.

Regardless, yes let’s support each other! I wish you good luck over these next few weeks. In some ways, it feels long enough in the distance that it’s still not going to happen and in other ways it feels right around the corner!

On 01/28/2020 at 01:30, athea.lei said:

So you were still able to get insurance approval even though your BMI dipped below 35? My BMI is currently at 44. But if I lose more than 20 lbs, it will place me at 40 BMI, and I'm scared insurance might reject me. I have 5 more months to go.

Sent from my SM-N975U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Good point-I haven’t received official word yet on insurance approval. I had the very same concern you expressed. According to the administrator in my program, insurance looks at 2 BMIs-one at the time the PCP makes referral to the program and one at the first appointment with the program. Based on that, I would qualify. She said she was unaware of anybody who completed the program requirements ultimately being rejected by insurance for having a BMI too low and she was aware of people with BMIs close to 30 who qualified. So at this point I’m cautiously optimistic but certainly not out of the woods yet. Please wish me luck!

My sleeve is scheduled March 6th. Super excited and scared at the same time. I am doing the self pay thing in Las Vegas because WLS is excluded on my insurance. I tried doing the 6 month program with my insurance years ago just to be denied. It was a heat breaker for sure.

16 hours ago, MaineDoc said:

Good point-I haven’t received official word yet on insurance approval. I had the very same concern you expressed. According to the administrator in my program, insurance looks at 2 BMIs-one at the time the PCP makes referral to the program and one at the first appointment with the program. Based on that, I would qualify. She said she was unaware of anybody who completed the program requirements ultimately being rejected by insurance for having a BMI too low and she was aware of people with BMIs close to 30 who qualified. So at this point I’m cautiously optimistic but certainly not out of the woods yet. Please wish me luck!

Ahhh man good luck on that! Hopefully they approve you with no problems.

Thankfully, my surgeon didn't require me to lose weight.

On 01/28/2020 at 16:00, Pansypicker said:

My sleeve is scheduled March 6th. Super excited and scared at the same time. I am doing the self pay thing in Las Vegas because WLS is excluded on my insurance. I tried doing the 6 month program with my insurance years ago just to be denied. It was a heat breaker for sure.

Man that is a heart breaker. I give you credit for rebounding from that and committing again to the process, not to mention having to pay out of pocket. How are you feeling about things? Do you have a 2 week preop diet?

4 hours ago, Pansypicker said:

My sleeve is scheduled March 6th. Super excited and scared at the same time. I am doing the self pay thing in Las Vegas because WLS is excluded on my insurance. I tried doing the 6 month program with my insurance years ago just to be denied. It was a heat breaker for sure.

Oh wow, sorry to hear that they denied you years ago. How much are you paying for WLS in LV?

12 hours ago, MaineDoc said:

Man that is a heart breaker. I give you credit for rebounding from that and committing again to the process, not to mention having to pay out of pocket. How are you feeling about things? Do you have a 2 week preop diet?

Yes. Two week pre-op Diet. Consistes of two protein shakes a day and very lean dinner. Water in between.

12 hours ago, MaineDoc said:

Man that is a heart breaker. I give you credit for rebounding from that and committing again to the process, not to mention having to pay out of pocket. How are you feeling about things? Do you have a 2 week preop diet?

12 hours ago, athea.lei said:

Oh wow, sorry to hear that they denied you years ago. How much are you paying for WLS in LV?

Its costing me about 10K. Includes everything including hotel and testing prior to surgery. I pay for airfare though. They will even transport you to and from the airport and to appointments. Its Blossom Bariatrics. They will submit to my insurance and see if they will pay anything out of network.... Labs, other tests, etc. Was going to try Mexico for surgery but my husband forbid it....

14 hours ago, Pansypicker said:

Its costing me about 10K. Includes everything including hotel and testing prior to surgery. I pay for airfare though. They will even transport you to and from the airport and to appointments. Its Blossom Bariatrics. They will submit to my insurance and see if they will pay anything out of network.... Labs, other tests, etc. Was going to try Mexico for surgery but my husband forbid it....

Did the doctors themselves require you to complete anything prior to surgery? Like nutrition classes psych eval, etc...

9 hours ago, athea.lei said:

Did the doctors themselves require you to complete anything prior to surgery? Like nutrition classes psych eval, etc...

They have this fast track program. All the tests and classes are done there. It's a five day stay.