BKMama

Yay! Congrats!!

YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!! Congratulations!!!

OMG I am a crying mess! My insurance has approved the procedure. It was so sweet, the customer service rep said "Brandi, I'm very happy to inform you that you've been approved. I wish you much success!!" I almost dropped the phone. It's happening. It's really happening. I can't stop crying. LOL

LOL likasulema! LOL nope. I literally was approved as of 7am this morning. I was stalking the insurance company because they kept requesting more information in the pre-cert package. I was honestly just calling to see what else they needed...wasn't prepared for this happy news AT ALL. The letter was sent out, so I should be getting a call in the next week or so to set up a date. <-----I can't believe I just typed that.

I agree with everyone else. If you really think you need to further warn him, maybe show him a couple YouTube videos where people show their loose skin. I do that the my husband now even though I'm still pre-op. :-)

Yep, in our last class "All About Protein", we were told that the you should typically stay away from the Ensure drinks. They do have one that is particularly high in protein but it's still borderline for carbs (not as bad as the others in the line, but still not "good"). The NUT said they were ok in a pinch, but not regularly at all.

Yep, this is what I thought too. I figured I'd be wearing an undergarment more often as I lost weight. I only wear them now under dresses. LOL

What a funny thread (most of it anyway)! I am snickering my butt off at work. "Biscuit to loaf of french bread" made me choke on my damn water! LOL!!!

You mean other than drive yourself nuts? LOL Oh, that's just me? I've been drinking Water 90% of the time (a few weak moments here and there) but I am having the darndest time with the no eating and drinking thing. Rather, I'm ok not drinking while I eat, but I want to guzzle my cup of water immediately afterwards. I'm also trying to up my exercise, but I'm struggling with that a bit with my schedule.

So I'm just wondering, during that first year when your weight loss is the most rapid, are you all buying clothes in each size you hit?? Or did you find that certain items didn't look crazy once they were too big? I was thinking maybe dresses (particularly wrap style) or something like that would probably be a good way to coast through a few sizes. I just know I won't have $$$ to buy clothes for every size hit, so I'm trying to think ahead. What did you all do? If I could wear yoga pants to work everyday, this wouldn't be an issue. LOL

Well, people wanted more original questions! LOL!!!

My surgeon also brought up a good point when I asked him about this. He said that the bougie is just a guide. Most surgeons are not leaving you with a stomach the exact size of the bougie, no matter what size it is. It's simply a guide to make sure they don't staple too close and risk stricture.

Other than the insurance coordinator, I've been extremely happy with the process. I'm so frustrated at this point though. Thankfully, I won't have to deal with her at all once this part is done. Yes, that's exactly why it's so frustrating.

Will do!

This is so awesome. I can't wait to follow your journey!

Hi! I'm in Chicagoland (western burbs). I'm waiting on approval from BCBS, but it's because the insurance coordinator is not great. They've had my pre-cert for 3 weeks now but it isn't ready for review because they keep finding things she missed, then she takes her time sending it in. I hope you get a speedy approval! I've heard as little as 2 days for some. :-)

I've resigned myself to the fact that when I lose my chubby cheeks, I'll likely have those laugh lines that look like a set of parenthesis around your mouth. LOL I have seen it over and over again with people who start with round, chubby faces. That said, it will likely make me look my age for once, so it's not a big deal to me. :-)

I'm in the west burbs, but I'm an old married lady LOL

Honestly, the amount of weight someone loses has more to do with that person (how they eat, how active they are, etc) than their surgeon. The success of a surgeon would be based on his mortality and serious complication rates. For every wildly successful patient of a surgeon, you may find someone struggling to lose and it had absolutely nothing to do with the surgeon.

I totally understand! Of course you are doing this for your health but it's a hard pill to swallow that you still may not like how you look. I know I think about it. There's a YouTube vlog, I'm going to look for it, where a young lady talked about this and it finally just clicked. She talked about altering your perception. While we were bigger, most of us still had days where we could look in the mirror and smile and feel like we were "working what we had". You will have to do the same with your now transforming body. Will it be "perfect"? Maybe not (for me, it's a probably not LOL). But it should be a hell of a lot easier to work what you have, flaws and all. Hang in there! :-)

I have a very mild case as well and my surgeon mandated I get the CPAP in order to have the surgery. I was annoyed at first, but once I read about how you may have issues with the anesthesia or recovery, I got over it. I want to remove as many possible issues that I have control over as possible. Hopefully, after I drop some pounds I won't have to worry about it. And honestly, it's nice to wake up refreshed for a change.

I plan to set up an album that only certain groups I have set up will be able to access. Right now, all of my friends can't see everything anyway. LOL

OMG I am SO SO SO annoyed with the insurance coordinator for my surgeon's office. 3 weeks ago, I thought that everything was at insurance for approval. Nope. She told me she had everything she needed, but neglected to tell me she wouldn't be submitting it for another nearly 2 weeks. So, at the end of last week, she said she had faxed everything over. I call BCBS to confirm and yep they got it. However, she didn't put a procedure code so they can't start reviewing. *sigh* Ok fine, call her, leave her a message, even the insurance company called and left her a message asking for the information. We are both still waiting for that phone call. (She has the nerve to have on her voicemail that she returns all calls within 24 hours...yeah right) Yesterday, I called to check if she had given them the information and the rep felt bad for me, did some digging, found the procedure code and sent it back to the review board. Yay, right? NO! The insurance coordinator didn't send everything they need (and is very clearly outlined in my policy). She didn't include documentation that I've been informed of the post-op regimen. So, the review is on hold again. GAH!! If your only job is to do this stuff, why is it so difficult?!?! *sigh* I hate being at the mercy of someone who refuses to simply return my phone calls. I understand you're busy, but come on. What really gets me is that everyone in the classes keep talking about how awesome and helpful she is. WTH. At this point, I'm just going to step back and wait I guess because this is stressing me out. /end vent *deep breath*