Sleevie WonderLand

I'm so sorry to hear this! Isnt there an appeals process? Do you have any co-morbidities? Isnt there something your surgeon/hospital can send to the insurance co to show that you need this surgery to save your life? I cant imagine what you're going through. Some of these insurance companies are really unfair to it's customers. I'm with Brian; dont give up. Maybe you can switch insurance companies? I'm not sure if you're insured through your employer, but open enrollment season is usually in November; if your employer is offering different plans research all of them to see who covers WLS and what the stipulations are and then make the switch if possible.

I dont plan to tell anyone besides my husband who is very supportive. I dont tell people when I'm wearing a girdle which is supposed to make me look thinner, so I'm not telling them about my WLS that will make me look thinner too. If I'm asked, I'll definitely mentioned that I made a drastic change in my eating habits and modified my lifestyle.

Awesome! Hope all goes well. I think I'm leaning towards Roth. I spoke with the Nurse Practitioner and she told me that Silva is booked through September and Roth's availability is alot more flexible. I hope to go through the process quickly enough that I can have a september surgery date as well. Lawrence is a nice, quaint hospital which is definitely up my alley. Please be sure to keep in touch! We can definitely share notes.

I'm going through alot of emotions right now because this surgery thing isnt looking so definite for me. According to my doc, I'm 100 pounds overweight, but according to the BMI calculator and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield (EPO), I'm not big enough to qualify for VSG. I dont quite meet the 40 requirement and because I have no co-morbidities (blood tests show that I'm "pre-diabetic", I'm not a viable candidate, unless i'm slowly dying in my sleep. So now in addition to world peace, I have to pray that my sleep apnea study will be so horrible that I'll qualify for surgery. I'm pissed off because the whole point of losing this weight is to get more healthy, but yet the insurance co isnt willing to let me have access to this tool that has proven to be the best method for someone like me to get the weight off and possibly keep it off for a long time. So now after 2 years of retraining my fat brain to make healthier choices (which helped me to lose a little weight, but nothing significant) I have to go back to eating junk and lots of crap so that in six months time I can have a 40+ BMI and therefore qualify for surgery. I dont go for my apnea consult until July 5th; they will then schedule the actual study which I hope will be sometime soon after. I've only been on this quest for WLS for about a six weeks, but already Im tired and getting increasingly discouraged. Anyone have any advice? Apnea tips/tricks that'll help qualify me (lol)? Suggestions?

Hey Diane! Sorry to hear about your complications, but happy to hear you're on your way to Wellville. I hate to be nosey, but would you mind sharing with us what your complications were? It may help some of us pre-ops out in the long run. Welcome to the group! Boogie Down in the building!

This is an awesome thread, it would be even better if there was a way to sort the information by state or country.

Yup, we sure are!

Hey Ladies! I have no idea what I'm doing with this group. I just wanted a place for the NY Sleevesters to get together and cyber mingle, exchange info, etc. If you have any ideas, suggestions, tips, whatever that you think would enhance the NY Sleevers experience, please share. If you'd like to take the reigns and be the "leader" let me know, I will humbly step aside. Thanks for joining, and dont be a stranger! Please share a post or two; we should all be prepared to put our NY two cents in!

I initially started in the 38 range (before I saw the PCP). When I went in for my appt with the PCP that sucker dropped down to a 36.6.

i'm falling in love with my VST people more and more everyday. Thanks for all the suggestions/tips/tricks and mostly encouragement. If I didnt have you guys I probably would have already given up hope. Now to recap for someone else who may be considering WLS with a low BMI: Drink lots of Water before your appt with your PCP - dont pee until after the appt to get that weight up! Eat like you have no idea what a "smart" calorie is the day/nite before your pcp appt so your levels may show some cholesterol or other possible co-morb Invest in some weights - tuck them suckers in places only you or your significant other can find! If you're gonna wear ankle weights, be sure to where clothing to disguise them. Slump during the height check in. The shorter you are the higher your bmi goes in conjuction with your weight. Most important - consult with the witty and clever folks on VST for support, encouragement and lots of laughs!

Girl you're a mess! Weighted panty liners...too funny!

The title was "The OFFICIAL what you will need for surgery" list or something like that. Maybe you can try to find it in the search box above. (that's what I did). The author's name is LilMissDiva. Good luck!

I saw a list on this forum some time ago, I think it was created by LilMissDiva.

I'm gonna "weight" it out and take my chances with the sleep apnea test. Hopefully my weight will increase and/or I'll be diagnosed with apnea severe enough to qualify me.

The funny thing is that I wanna eat all that stuff you mentioned and I'm not even near the pre or post op stage! I LOVE trader Joe's!

Thanks for the tip...however, I dont think I'll need it. I'm sleep deprived as it is with 4 kids; one with severe asthma and allergies, so I usually dont sleep much anyway because I'm up alot of the times with him making sure he can breathe. Gosh, I sound like such a loser with all these issues, but despite it all, I'm able to find the time to smile. I'm grateful to my VST peeps. Thanks to all who replied.