dlpfiff

Congratulations! You are doing a great job and give us pre-opers hope!

I am not judging you and I am sorry if you thought I was. I was just commenting based on what you said yourself. You said it could be a deal breaker. I felt that if something like that would be a deal breaker and you were not at a point where you would do whatever you needed to do, then you had commitment issues. I am glad you decided it was not a deal breaker afterall.

I agree with you. In order to be successful with this surgery, you have to be committed to do whatever it takes to make it work. If something like this is a deal breaker for someone, then they are not mentally committed enough to have the procedure done. Someone who is not fully committed, even if they have the surgery, is not likely to be successful after the surgery anyway.

They way I see it is that if I don't have the surgery, I am certain to have many, many problems in the near future. I will be lucky to be alive in 20 years. So, I figure it's a chance I have to take and if something goes wrong down the road, I will cross that bridge when I come to it. I think it's better to take the chance at a better, healthier life than continue down the road of a certain early death. There are many things that COULD happen but it's that way with anyone really, not just sleeers! Try not to think about all the"what if's?" and think about all the "I can's" in your future.

Every person on here will tell you something different because each surgeon and insurance company is different. It's possible you may need any number of the items on your list or maybe only one or two. Each insurance company and surgeon has different requirements. All my inusrance required was a three month diet, which could be doctor supervised or a diet plan such as Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig. My surgeon required two visits with a therapist, a meeting with his dietitian and attendance at a support group meeting. Your best bet would be to check with both insurance and the surgeon prior to making any appointments. It would be a waste of your time and money to go to all kinds of appointments that are not required.

I am also a March hopeful. Just waiting for the word. My surgeon is Dr. Eibes in Des Moines, IA.

Congratulations on your surgery date! It will be here in no time. I had tried quite a few different Protein drinks and wasn't crazy about any of them but then I heard about the Premiere Protein Drinks at costco. Tried them and LOVE them! For anyone who has a Costco membership, I highly recommend them! They are premade and contain 30 g of protein. They come in chocolate and vanilla and cost $24 for 18 premade drinks.

I have Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Illinois and wonder what others requirements were for approval. I have talked to the insurance company and have been dealing with the surgeon's office and getting different information. I believe they are on two different pages. When I spoke to the insurance company, they said I had to have three years of medical records showing I have been overweight and three months of either a doctor supervised diet or a weight loss program such as Weight Watchers. My surgeon's office is saying during the three years of medical records, I have to have discussed my weight with the doctor, which I did not do every year. I was not under that same impression. I thought I just had to have records showing my weight. I do know that the requirements for BCBS of Illinois seem to be a little less strict than other BCBS plans because they had initially told me I had to have other certain requirements done and then they found out that Illinois did not require those. I think we are all under different impressions about what is required. I am just curious as to what other people's requirements were. Thanks for any help you can give! Also, is it a possibility for me to tell the surgeon's office that I want them to submit the information they have and just see how it goes? I didn't know most surgeon's office would do it that way. I definitely have much more work to do! Thanks again.

I would love to have a copy. Thanks for taking the time to do this. My email address is DLPFIFF@GMAIL.COM

I decided to send an email to my insurance company. That way I will have their answer in writing and can show it to my surgeon's office. Hopefully I will hear back soon.

The only requirement of my surgeon's office is that you attend a support group meeting, which I did. BCBS IL requires a three month diet, which I actually did for five months. I have been overweight for most of my life so we could go back 25 years to prove I have been overweight and that has never changed. I don't know why they think weight has to be discussed each year. That is not the impression I was under from the insurance company. I know it was not discussed with my doctor each year. If I only went to the doctor a couple of times each year for a cough or something, why would it have been discussed? I am just frustrated right now. Is it possible to make the surgeon's office submit the paperwork even if they think I am wrong?

The requirements for BCBS Illinois are different than other BCBS plans. You do not have to have gastritis and do not have to have the scope done. My surgeon's office initially said I had to have it. I checked with the insurance company and they said I didn't. I told the surgeon's office this and they told me I was wrong but in the end, after they checked, they found out I was correct. It seems the BCBS Illinois requirements are not as strict as other BCBS plans.

Well, here I am. It's hard to believe that this may soon be a reality for me. Let me start out by telling you about myself. I am 38 years old, a wife and mother of a beautiful little girl who will turn four years old on Dec. 23rd. It sounds crazy, but I know some of you will understand this.....I have been on a diet for the better part of 30 years. I started to gain weight when I was about seven or eight years old and have gradually gone up and up and up my whole life. I am currently morbidly obese and am afraid I won't be around to watch my little girl grow up. For many years, I was very skeptical of wls. I thought people who had it done were weak and were just looking for the easy way out. Now I realize that is not the case at all and wish I had started the process much sooner. I just recently heard of the VSG and was really excited by the results I have seen. I began last January at one hospital in Iowa, considering Lap Band, but decided part way through the process that it was not the place for me. I waited a few months and then decided to start up again at another hospital. I love my new surgeon and am really excited to get this done. I am already part way through the process but have a few things I still need to get done. I am hoping to have everything completed during the first week of January and ready to send off to my insurance, which is Blue Cross, Blue Shield. I have no idea what to expect at that point. Hopefully everything will go well and insurance will approve my surgery quickly. My surgeon assures me that surgery will be approximately two weeks after the insurance approval. I am hoping for a surgery date in February but maybe I am being unrealistic in that timing. I guess it all depends on insurance. I am sure it is normal to be scared and excited at the same time, and I am both. I am scared of the surgery but feel confident everything will be fine with that. There are two other things that I am afraid of... #1...not succeeding. #2....succeeding. It's strange. I'm scared I will fail and not lose the amount of weight I want to lose but on the other hand, I am afraid of losing the weight. I have been significantly overweight since I was a child and I have no clue how to be a thin person. I think it is the fear of the unknown for me. I have never been there so I have no idea what to expect. I imagine that fear will fade and I will figure it out easily as the weight starts to come off but at this point, I just don't know what to expect. Thanks to everyone whose posts I have read and whose videos I have watched. You all have been very helpful and inspirational. Keep 'em coming. I love it. I have a very supportive family and group of friends, which I am very thankful for. I don't think I could go through the process without their support.