vdunn87

I have to do 21 days pre op diet starting this past wednesday. I also added 4 days so started last saturday. I added the days to "practice." I haven't messed up yet other than eating a salad for lunch instead of dinner. What really helped me was making motivational signs to remind me not to eat because of head hunger. I placed one sign on my fridge and one on my pantry door, since that's where I get most of my food from. I also stopped bringing junk food in. My husband likes different kinds of snacks than myself so I wasn't tempted to eat his popcorn and pretzels. the other thing that really helps is watching youtube videos. I think i've watched almost all the vsg videos on there lol. Whether what the person says is good or bad it really helps to feel informed and get a good idea of what to expect. I also watch supersize vs superskinny. That show really helps to put eating habits into perspective. Anyways hope this helps and if you need a dieting buddy I'm always around

just wanted to advise people to do research on surgeons before they commit. I committed to a surgeons office only to have the patient co-ordinator mismanage my case. Then when I decide to go through a different surgeons office calls me the day after notifying the first office to harass me. I don't tolerate harassment and I dont think its very professional on her part. Her actions make the surgeon look bad and thats a huge mistake on her part. I'm furious!!! houston sleevers be warned! Their not always as great as they seem. *this on no way reflects on the surgeon himself

nope the last person was the office manager. She was telling me when things went wrong I was imagining it. So I imagined them losing my paperwork, wasting over a month before telling me it wasnt there, not taking the time to look through my records to find my weight, lying about whether I can obtain my medical records, etc.. I must have been imagining that they even existed. Geez Maybe this whole world is my imagination. REALLY! I highly doubt that. I would try to contact the doctor but I bet by now they filled his head with negative thoughts about me. Of course before she was done trying to scare me she lied one last time. She told me that they had already sent the appeal to the insurance company. No doubt I called the insurance company after I got off the phone with that wench, only to find out she lied. Good riddence. Luckily the doctor I found now has a great staff. I'll meed him on monday and I hope he's as wonderful as he seems.

wow! agreed about it reflecting poorly. The way I see it if anyone ever asks me about his office I'm going to tell them what honestly happened through my end.I'm not slandering them if I'm allowed to give my opinion and honest account to what happened. As far as my referral I'm not going to recommend anyone to him. Scare tactics should be out the window in that situation. Here you have a patient who is already nervous and frustrated by the whole situation and you turn around and say " oh by the way good luck surviving the surgery if you go to another "under qualified" surgeon" Really? I honestly thought they would have more couth than that. How do they even know what this other surgeon is qualified to do? I never gave them the name so they have no clue. Not only that but then I find out they were submitting me for the wrong surgery. They were submitting me for DS when I clearly stated VSG. The irony of it all was last year when I was considering surgery I did not want to go to Dr. F because I didnt feel comfortable. I should have trusted my gut.

Noo, I called Dr. Ferrari's office on Tuesday to let them know I was no longer a patient. Also on Tuesday I signed up with a different doctor. I posted a review on google.com about Dr. Ferrari's office. The staff there read the review and decided to confront me. I actually hung up the first time, and they waited 20 min later and had Dr. Ferrari's office manager call and harass me talking about how they did nothing wrong and I should be afraid to go to any other doctor because I'm risking my life in the hands of someone who is not Dr. Ferrari. She never let me speak and when I tried to explain how I felt she just interrupted me and kept saying I basically lost my chance to live through the procedure by not sticking with Dr. Ferrari.

Omg not only did one person from the surgeons office call to harass me but two of them called! I HATE DR. CARLOS FERRARI'S OFFICE!!!!!!!!!

I was denied by cigna because the Memorial hermann hospital I chose didn't renew their contract to be a Bariatric center of excellence. How dumb is that? Then I'm told anyone who applys in the houston area through cigna will get denied if they dont go to two hospitals in northwest houston. There is a huge selection of surgeons in houston that accept cigna. To me this doesnt make sense. Then conveniently one would think the surgeons office had prepared for something like this but no. Okay so then I called all the doctors that work at the two hospitals mentioned. None of those doctors have openings till sept/oct. I know there are going to be road blocks but I can honestly say the last few days I was being positive till this came up. I really feel like after a total of 2.5yrs trying to get this done, I want to give up. The average person will have "road blocks" I'm sure but not this many. *then i get a call from the surgeons office saying it was a misunderstanding and they will correct it and submit for reconsideration. I'm so confused. I hate cigna

thanks for the input. Actually yesterday I signed up with a different surgeon. The Lady at Dr. Ferrari's office (Lara) was always lying to me and losing my paperwork. At one point she told me my medical records weren't good because they didnt have my weight recorded. I in turn went to the original doctors office and got a copy. Sat at home and went through it all to find my weight was recorded 24 times. Before doing such a drastic decision I did call Dr. Ferrari's office to ask Lara what the status was. She of course lied again and said the hospital corrected the status and I needed to call my insurance to expedite the response. I called and Cigna had no record of anything being corrected and nothing submitted. I know sometimes it takes a few days to show submitted paperwork however I was done with the lies Lara continued to tell me. She wasn't even an actual patient co-ordinator. She is also a secretary and Medical assistant. Then I go to this new doctor Ata Ahmad''s office to fill out a release form to request my records. They have an actual Patient Co-ordinator who was completely willing to help me with everything. She went over alot of information Lara never went over with me. I haven't had the consult yet but I'm already feeling 100 times more positive about this new surgeon than I was about dealing with Lara. Its a shame too because I really wanted to go through Dr. Ferrari. Lara ruined my experience and caused her doctor to lose a patient. I would never recommend anyone going through them unless Lara is fired. I'm already more than 3 months behind because of her uncoordinated irresponsibility.

I had spoke with the insurance company and their the ones who told me why I was denied. I specifically asked them "there are alot of people covered by cigna and alot of surgeons that accept cigna, are you telling me their all going to be denied based on the hospital their going to?" the guy said yes. Also as far as Memorial hermann, I contacted the doctors office who had to contact the hospital to correct the mistake. Despite everything else being the surgeons office' mistake, this was actually out of their controll. I however don't approve of how they handled it. This happened on Tuesday. I called her and she told me it should be fixed in a few days. I called back Wednesday and she gave me a surgery date then told me it was going to be fixed the next day. I called Thursday and she basically stated the only reason she gave me a surgery date was to make me feel "comfortable" with how long it was taking. In other words to shut me up. Being that its almost a week since I was denied I'm alot calmer than I was. At this point I dont expect anything and take what I can get. The mistake has not been corrected even though it should have been. Btw if any doctors office ever tells you they cannot release any part of your medical records because of HIPPA this is a lie. The only way they can refuse to release your records to you is if it poses a threat to you or someone around you. Unfortunetly I'm on a roll at the moment so while I'm not freaking out I still intend to call her every day untill I get resubmitted.

Regarding obamacare if I turn 26 in April can I still have coverage from January till April? Sorry I wasn't sure where to ask. I'm also wondering if this means my dad would have to still pay the premium for the all of 2013 or just the three months leading up to my 26th bday.

I'm wondering how many women who had PCOS before VSG had it go away after surgery. Also I was wondering how many were successful at getting pregnant after surgery. were periods normal and did you have to take any extra hormones in order to conceive? any info helps, and thanks in advance

PCOS does go away in women who have RNY and DS as does insulin resistance and diabetes. I don't know if that applies to VSG. I'm certain of that, but based on this being a different surgery I wasn't sure. thanks for the advice btw I will ask my gyn for more info.

thank you for posting this its very helpful

I'm about an hour or more away from the other hospitals. But the coordinater said M.Hermann is correcting the mistake and that it will take a few days then she will resubmitt. I just dont see why it should be so hard. Cigna would save tons on medical expenses if obese people were not red flagged on the surgery process. They have to pay so much more for us if we remain obese.

I hope so, and good luck on your surgery thats my husbands birthday as well. I will pray for a safe swift recovery

I dunno why but watching drop dead diva has really calmed me, just made such an impact on how people view eachother.

thank you

If BMI is lower than 40 you need two comorbitities. 3month diet one nutritionist visit and psych eval. Google bariatric surgery requirements Cigna and it will give you their actual requirement page. Also 2yrs of weight history. That one snuck up on me. Good luck and never give up. Be determined and don't worry when road blocks come. You will do great.

Our reasons for eating. Our emotional balance is being corrected and tested which can be a good thing

Not too offend but I don't think the family thinks of it as being inconsiderate. They shouldn't have to walk on egg shells for us when its the way they have been eating for years as welll. I usually cook all the meals for my husband and I to make less temptation. But sometimes its unavoidable. I'm doing a low carb diet as practice to change my eating habits. We went to a burger place yesterday and I had to order without the bun. Knowing I just did that he still asks me if I wanted jalapeno poppers or soda. It's not because he's being inconsiderate. I think its just not something everyone thinks about unless they are considering wls or on a diet. It's just hurtful to us because we are having to deal with out

Also has to do with the sensor they put in your mouth. At least for me it was very uncomfortable. I slept a total of 2hrs but it felt like 30min. Appharently the average person stops breathing 7 times. Some doctors will try to pass that as sleep apnea. Or maybe I was just rambling lol

I just wanted to wish u the best of luck. I'm going to find out if I'm approved on Tuesday.

I'm 25 and waiting two more days before I get the yes or no from the insurance company.

My father had RNY. I have been consulting him on the changes I'll go through and how life might be after. He was the heartiest of eaters before surgery. He seemed to always be eating and alot of it. He was like any of us emotionally eating. I had asked him what changed after surgery that made it to where he didn't do that anymore. He said its a mental change after surgery that everyone experiences. I'm wondering is this true? Has anyone else had this change? How has surgery affected your mindset?

I gained during the diet as well. But the last 1.5 week while my paperwork was in limbo, i started atkins. I dunno why but it's so much easier this time around. I have already lost 10lbs. I knowing not for everyone but we have to eat more protein right? I started Drinking water. Occasionally i may drink half cup chocolate almond milk. Mostly eat meat some veggies. Breyers makes low carb fudge pops. 9 grams per pop. The other day i had a double meat whopper no bun. I'm not perfect but it's working for me. I also cut out sweets over a month ago. Besides the mentioned and sugar free pudding. I just started glucerna snack bars. But their kinda gritty and have 12 carbs per bar. I wish u all the luck and will be praying for u.