Hi there,

I went to a seminar back in June in Orange, Ca. That was the hardest part, but once I left I felt better. I took the next few months to do some of my own research and soul searching. Went to my PCP on Thursday and after spending an hour with my new doctor he said it could be as early as a month or not more than 3 months to have surgery. They switched my medical group to one that will give a quicker approval process, they gave me all kinds of information to read and they were just wonderful. It was a nice experience.......how wonderful is that?? My authorization for the nutritional and psych eval will come next week and I will be off and running.

Anyways, I wanted to say I am excited I started this journey and can't wait for the next phase of my life.

Thanks,

Sungirl :smile2:

I hope everything continues to go well for you. I am just starting the process also. I am a little worried with having a BMI of only 40 that the insurance will not approve.

Good luck with everything going as planned. I will be reading about your progress.

Welcome! I am not that far from Orange - I live in Rowland Heights, which is just north of Brea. I'm glad this has gone so well for you so far! Who is your surgeon?

Anyway, my BMI is 40 and my insurance will very likely approve. I talked to them a couple of times last week, and all I need is one more document submitted, which they will get on Monday. I would expect approval shortly after that, like within the same day. It all depends on your insurance company, what is in the policy (e.g., what your company paid for when they set up the insurance), etc. Insurance companies are funny - I know someone whose BMI is over 40 and his regular doctor wouldn't refer him for surgery because he's not overweight enough. He is at least 100 pounds overweight, so I don't know what his doctor is thinking. Anyway, I think his situation is very unusual - 99.999% of doctors would refer him, unless they're getting incentives from the insurance company not to for some reason. So I'm hoping he'll change doctors! Anyway, there are lots of stories here about insurance and hoops people had to jump through. It just all seems to depend on what your specific policy covers and what your company paid for in the policy.

I have two different policies. I know that the district I work for has approved many surgeries in the past. I also have a second policy through bcbs federal. I am hoping that one will approve. I also worry that after my initial appointment and I lose a few pounds it will take me under the 40 BMI. I am one that is right on the edge. I can't lose it, but always on the brink of being at 40 BMI. I would hate to wait until I develope diabetes. I am sure that is in my future because of the family history.

Thanks for your help.