educationrulz

Just thought I'd bump this up in case anyone new has some relevant information on the final insurance approval process. I saw a blog on OH about someone who got approved through UHC in 3 days, so I hope it won't be too painful. I've been checking in with the surgeon's office and as of yet they haven't received the records we put in requests for. I'll have to follow up on this again in a couple of weeks so my insurance approval isn't delayed due to missing records.

Hmmmm...this is a very interesting topic that's probably been danced around somewhat. Here are my reasons for deciding to stick with both sites. VST is WAAAYYY more organized to me in terms of the forum messages. I can usually find the type of info that I'm seeking by going to the appropriate thread, although some people do post off topic messages under certain threads. When I go to the OH forums, it seems freestyle and I have to be in the mood for wading through random messages and by chance coming across something that interests me. I guess that has something to do with the fact that the site covers different surgical procedures. However, OH has some great generic info on different surgical procedures and doctors. This may be available somewhat on VST but it's so easy to find on OH that I haven't even tried to find it here. I actually made a decision about choosing a doctor based on the info on OH. In general, VST seems more family like to me than OH and I gravitate here; When I go to OH, I rarely even log in the way I ALWAYS do on VST. As others said, there is good and bad everywhere and you have to learn to wade through the BS to find and use what you need the most. I think if you have a problem with a particular person or persons you should address them directly through PM, send the info about the problem to the moderator, AND/OR choose to ignore them. Clearly from the responses to your thread, most of us would hate to see anyone leave this site with a bad taste in your mouth. Maybe this is good opportunity for people to post things that concern them about VST (as OregonDaisy did) if they are comformtable with that. Maybe some things can be addressed by the moderator if people are more specific about their concerns. I stopped clicking on the hyperlinks once I figured out what they are for, so that's not a problem for me anymore. Sometimes, some of the adds bother me a teeny bit, but I filter that stuff out pretty quickly and move on to what I WANT to read, which is the experiences of the sleevers. Without the type of personal info that I have read on THIS site, I would never have been able to comfortably come to the decision to get this life-altering surgery. But, at the end of the day, we all have to do what's best for us mentally, physically, and emotionally. In some cases, that involves moving on. Good luck and best wishes!

Do you mind telling us what happened with your surgeon? (You may have posted this in another thread but I haven't seen it.) I guess I"m just wondering what might happen to cause a problem with the surgeon...

Hi sweetie. I haven't been sleeved yet but I thought I'd bump this up for you because I'm curious about it too. It does seem like the general opinion is that the people who are considered "lightweights" at the time of surgery tend to lose weight more slowly. I think you'd probably fit into that category since your starting BMI was under 40. Congratulations on your progress so far!

Thanks for the clarification guys. What you said makes sense and I feel better knowing that I probably won't have to curtail my drinking too much before meals. Waiting 30 minutes or so after eating to take a drink doesn't seem too bad, but I'm sure it'll take some getting used to, especially for people like me who can't enjoy a meal without drinking throughout. But, it seems like a small sacrifice in the big picture.

I'm confused...I thought drinking during meals meant stuffing yourself on liquids and not getting in enough food nutrients, or overstuffing your sleeve and vomiting. I don't recall hearing anything before about liquids washing the food down faster and causing you to eat more. Can you'll give some more details on this and how you space things out with the drinking? It seems like you'd never get any fluids in if you don't drink before or after meals. :confused1:

That's great! Do you have a surgery date yet?

Count me in on this one too! It's been about the last month that I got out of control - oh lord the soda drinking has been outrageous and that's my biggest food problem. I've been trying to slow it down the last couple of days and starting to feel some control coming back. It doesn't feel like a last supper thing for me because I've read enough posts from others who eat normally down the road after being sleeved. I feel pretty ok that I'll be able to eat many of my favorites - especially after reading Tiffy say she can eat ribs! Yay! I LOVE me some BBQ ribs.:wink0: I think I"ve just been overly stressed from work and family stuff and it's taking it's toll on me. Logging on here is a big stress reliever for me right now and I haven't been able too log on as much as I've wanted to for the past few weeks. Now that some things are leveling off for me in terms of stress inducers, I hope to get an exercise routine going and just start there. Maybe then I won't have to stress AS MUCH about what I'm putting in my mouth. I just need to maintain for two more months. They'll have to roll me to the psych ward if my surgery is cancelled because I gained weight. :sad0:

hmmm...maybe ankle weights wouldn't work but something around the waist might do the trick. :wink0: I wish I had thought to do that at my first consult weigh in and I wouldn't be stressing so much now about how I'm going to keep my weight down while still eating everything in sight.:sad0: I would have just been able to leave the ankle weights at home for my pre-surgical weigh in. But, I'm going to make it if I have to starve myself before that next weigh in... I've never heard anything about having to be on medication for co-morbidities. Joint pain/arthritis is one of mine but I don't really take anything for it except ibuprofen as needed.

Hey Slim. Reading your story makes me think of myself in a lot of ways. I too am an educator in the Atlanta area for the last 10+ years. I have one child and a few close girlfriends. But, I'm not married and my mother has never said anything about my weight - although I can tell she probably wonders what's wrong with me and why I can't be a halfway normal size. :sad0: I've been struggling quite a bit with whether to tell people about my surgery (after - definitely not before). I've pretty much decided to tell just to avoid half-truths, rumors, guessing games, etc. But, I also had decided that I would only tell the bare minimum, not all the gory details or personal issues. I tend to be a pretty private person. But I've also been wondering if that's the best decision. Reading about how you learned about this exciting surgery really makes me think that I might be an inspriration for someone if I could just step out of my comfort zone and reveal more to someone who has a valid interest or might benefit from the surgery. Thanks for sharing that great moment that changed your life. I'm going to keep that in mind in the future when I get my panties in a wad because someone has asked me about my weight loss. I've got two months left of my 6 month insurance requirements and I'm about to bust at the seams with anticipation. Were you not able to meet the requirements for insurance approval? I've been tempted to run off to Mexico every day since l learned about this surgery, but decided to be patient since I meet the basic requirements.

Tabitha, I think that the positive aspect of all of this is that it sounds like you don't have a leak or anything like that. Your body is tolerating food, which should be a good thing. I know I would feel exactly like you if I were in your position so I don't mean to sound righteous or anything. I guess I'm saying that if you have to try to find something positive in this situation, a revision to make your stomach smaller wouldn't be the worst thing you could have to deal with. But, I hope for your sake it's not anything that requires surgery. I do remember reading a post about someone who had developed a little pouch off to the side of her sleeve that was holding extra food. I believe she was having some other symptoms though. She did have to have a revision surgery. Can anyone remember where that post was so that Tabitha could PM that poster to compare notes?

That's great news! I hope your weight loss journey is much smoother from here on out. Maybe now you can actually begin to enjoy losing weight. Please keep us up to date.

I'm so excited for you! I know you can't wait to get back to your little girl, even though children have an unintentional way of spoiling the rest we need. But, all those free hugs are priceless.

Hey fellow Hotlantan VV! I hate that you're having to go through this when so many others have hardly any preop diet at all and do fine with the surgery. I'm sure doctors have their reasons for these things, but it seems kind of rough. I hope you're able to take it one day at a time and get through your pre-op stuff without too much stress. I think if we're all being honest with ourselves, your doctor knows that most people aren't going to make it through 21 days on liquids. They don't even require that AFTER the surgery...

Please contact your doctor to be sure you are back on track. If you're dehydrated you might need an IV to build your Fluid levels up. Going back to work might push you over the edge. You don't want to fall out and be taken off in an ambulance when you could just drive yourself to doctor's office if necessary. Take care of yourself and let us know how you're doing.

Hey Mick. Some of my thoughts on this issue are personal opinion, but there are some things you probably need to do for sure. I would definitely call the insurance company and ask them if their 6 month plan requires weight loss. If it does, as mb said, they probably would have to use your starting BM as the qualifier and it wouldn't matter how much you lose. If their 6 month plan does not require weight loss, then they probably would use your weight at the time of the official insurance request for approval. This is how my plan operates. I had these same concerns as you when I started my 6 month process. From my perspective, I'm just trying to maintain. I do have more wiggle room than you to lose some weight, but if I got too gung ho, I could diet myself out of qualifying for surgery. When I asked someone on the insurance end what would happen if I went under a BMI of 40 after 6 months of dieting, I was told flat out that the surgery request would be denied. So, I went on to question the point of the 6 month plan if I couldn't lose enough to really lower my BMI. I was told something to the effect of "it's more about you following through with the 6 months of monitoring than it is about losing weight." I guess this makes sense because they want to be sure that you are going to follow through after surgery with the appointments, diet, support groups, etc. So, they put you through the ringer for 6 months to see if you've got what it takes to stick with it. You miss one month of your appointments and you start from scratch. :sad0: The other thing you need to do is get your surgeon's specific requirements about weight loss. Some require that you lose a certain amount, others may have no requirements in this area. My surgeon requires that his patients not gain anything after their 1st consult with him. That's one of the reasons I wasn't in too much of a hurry to go for my 1st consult after the seminar. It's less time for me to at least maintain. Since my weight tends to go up and down alot, I've got to monitor myself when I get closer to surgery and I may have to do a liquid diet to drop a few pounds. This may sound like I'm being lazy to some people, but I've got a lot going on right now, and stressing about my weight is low on the list. I've arranged my schedule so that the two months after surgery will be my time to focus on my diet and healing. This 6 month thing is definitely do-able, but you have to work it. Get the specifics on EXACTLY what is expected of you over the 6 months and write it down. Map out a plan for how you will meet your requirements each month and leave some wiggle room for getting your appointments in each month; definitely don't schedule your appointments in the last week of the month because something may come up and you might need to reschudule. Good luck and keep us up to date on how it's going.

I am also thinking this is going to be very weird, but I'm sooo excited about all the time and MONEY I"m going to save. No more driving around to three different places to put together the perfect meal with all my favorites and no more spending the bulk of my disposable income on food. I'm planning to spend my extra duckies on a great new wardrobe and adding to my savings.

It never ceases to amaze me how different policies under the same insurer can be. That's great that you don't have to do the whole 6 month song and dance. The timing actually worked out for me but I don't like this "counting the days" feeling that I'm having just to get myself through the 6 months. It's all I think about sometimes. :001_smile: I haven't heard anything about needing to do a pre-determination request with my policy, but I guess I'd better call and ask about it just in case. Thanks for letting us know what you found out Krystal. Hopefully all of us UHCers will be getting good news soon.

Wow breekahouse! What a topic! I have cried my way through this entire thread. I too am a single mom and worry about things like this all the time - especially now that I'm planning on this surgery. I don't plan to tell my daughter about the surgery because I'm afraid it will scare her. It may not, since kids tend to handle these things better than we think they will. I guess I just don't want to deal with all the curious little kid questions. I know this is going to really hit me as I get close to my surgery. Hopefully, I will be able to find this thread again when I need it most. Everyone who posted has presented compelling arguments for getting the surgery and some comforting thoughts about putting fear aside. If you haven't already planned it, maybe you can do something really special with your daughter this weekend before your surgery. It will be great bonding time and you probably won't feel up to much of anything after surgery. I hope that you are able to go into surgery fairly calm on Monday. But, if not, don't be ashamed to ask for something to help you calm down while you wait to go in the OR. Those last few minutes before they wheel you in are pure HELL :001_smile: and I think that I am going to ask for something in the old IV before I even get a chance to let a tear drop down my face. Please let us know how you are doing after surgery as soon as you feel up to posting. I'll be thinking about you...and your precious little one.

I actually had a pretty quick turn around time with those initial phone calls. I think I got a person the first time I called. Then, the next person called me back within a couple of days. That second call is when you answer some very basic questions and schedule your intake type call with the case manager. I had to wait about a week and half for this last step because I called around Thanksgiving. Be careful to schedule your call with the case manager at a time you know you can pick up the phone and talk uninterrupted for about 20 to 30 minutes or you will end up playing phone tag. I left my cell as my call back number and kept it in my pocket at the time my call was due. She called to the minute of our appointment time. kkandrod - I think you should definitely call the BRC center before going to any appointments. That's how they want you to do it, so why rock the boat. I too have heard that the approval process is effortless if you follow the steps. I've also heard from a couple of sources that they don't care if you loose an ounce during your six months. Now, your doctor may have some requirements in this area, but not UHC. My doctor only requires that his patients not gain anything once he has seen them for a consult. He doesn't require any loss before surgery. Thank goodness for this bit of sanity in the process! :001_smile:

WOW! Bondage...Now that's an interesting (NOT!) way to lose weight. Glad you got yourself straight about that phone number. :001_smile:

Hey txaggiemom, Do you mind me asking why you're checking in to the hospital at midnight? Just curious...

Congratulations! I'm a year behind you and looking forward to similar victories. I have my eye on some possible career changes that I just don't have the balls to go for at my current weight. But in about a year, IT'S ON!!!! :tongue_smilie:

Hey 2muchfluff! It sounds like you and I are in pretty much the same boat. It also sounds like we have the same insurance plan. March is month 4 of my 6 month supervised plan with UHC and it's going smoothly so far. I can't believe how quickly time is passing and I am so excited about getting this surgery. I can't find anything else out there that I'm interested in. If UHC didn't pay for the sleeve, I'd find a way to finance the surgery myself. I was initially irritated about the 6 month process, but I decided early on to use it to my advantage. I decided on individual counseling instead of support groups because I don't open up well in front of strangers. This forum has been a great support group. In my counseling sessions, I actually process alot of the things I have read about here on the forum and how I might handle similar issues. I've learned a lot of great questions here to ask my surgeon that I would never have come up with on my own. I feel like I will be REALLY well prepared by the time my 6 months is up. I put off my initial consult with my surgeon for a couple of months because of scheduling conflicts, but I'm glad I went sooner rather than later. The main reason is because I had already started requesting medical records to be sent to his office but none of them had arrived at the time of my consult. I went ahead and filled out release of info forms for all of my relavent doctors so that the surgeon's office could assist me with getting all of that documentation collected ahead of time. I don't want any delays when it's time to submit my request to UHC. :crying: If you need to research potential surgeons, check out the patient reviews on the OH (ObesityHelp) website. There's some great info there. Good luck.