ribearty

Bigbeaz, Congratulations on your surgery date. Mine is the next day. This thread is a good start. There are others out in the forums as well. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/10081-the-official-what-you-will-need-for-your-gastric-sleeve-surgery-thread/ Good luck with your surgery.

Hello everyone, It has been a while since I have checked in. I haven't been as active as I hoped but getting in some exercise. Work is the main culprit, followed by watching my favorite baseball team in the NLCS, and getting ready for surgery in 9 days. I am at 32.4 miles. I hope to hit 50 before surgery. Have a great day and keep moving.

Hi everyone, First off, I apologize if this question has been asked and answered previously. I did a search and did not find one that matched my question. I was not sure of the forum to post this question between revisions or insurance. I currently have a lap band in and found out it has prolapsed. My insurance company (UHC) does cover revision surgery. I have met their criteria as far as BMI, comorbodity and psych evaluation. They also have a 6 month medically supervised diet criteria. Has anyone with UHC been able to have this criteria waived with an early submission of a device failure? Thank you for your replies.

Carbonated beverages are a big "no no". It isn't a food but a lot of peoplel drank them before surgery.

UHC didn't view it that way since the surgery for the band was performed under my husband's coverage and my sleeve is under my policy. We each have a different employer. UHC received the paper work from my doctor documenting the issues with my band on 9/11 and they approved my claim on 9/18. I am having my surgery later in October due to work obligations. You never know how they will rule. They could have said take the band out and continue with the six month diet. You never know how they see things. I have never had a problem with UHC coverage. I believe they are one of the most reasonable insurance companies.

My insurance company (UHC) goes by the initial weight when you first meet with the doctor. They do not penalize you if you lose weight. Your insurance may be different. Even if you have the same insurance as another person, a lot of the criteria is determined by the contract your employer negotiated for their benefit coverage. I know another person with UHC in Missouri, different employer, we both had a 6 month diet, but she had to visit a physical therapist and I did not. Based on your height and weight, I doubt the insurance company will disqualify you. At 5'5" you could drop to 210 and have a BMI of 35. Some insurance companies require one or two comorbidities below a BMI of 40.

My insurance company requires a six month medically supervised diet. I was able to get a "waiver" not a skip of this process only because I currently have a lap band and it is causing problems that are bad enough that the insurnace company reviewed my claim and approved surgery early. I had completed three of the six visits when the decision was made. You should use this time period to learn about food and what you will need to eat before and after. Start keeping a food diary and identifying times and emotions occurring when you ate something that wasn't the best choice. I find when you write things down, it is easier to see patterns. This allows you to come up with a plan for the next time you face this situation or a similar one. This is also the perfect opportunity to begin buying some different Protein samples to see what you like as well as Vitamins. These products can be expensive if you have to buy it alll at the same time. This as a journey make the most out of it. You will have times where the scale does not move when you want it to do so. Measure yourself prior to surgery, take pictures so you have benchmarks to measure against when the scale is not moving. Don't rush the process and wish it were later. It will be here before you know it, and you will be glad you had time to prepare for it.

Jatherley, I agree with itsMe2033. The weight gain is most likely fluid retention and the amount you ate was much smaller than what you ate before you had surgery. Eating correctly after surgery is one of my biggest concerns. It is going to take a lot of planning on my part. I have been working a lot of hours lately and have to be prepared. I will need to make sure I have some Protein drinks at work in case I don't get out on time. I come home some evenings and am so tired so I know how cooking can sometimes be a chore. I plan to have items that cook up quickly such as grilled chicken breasts so all I have to do is heat them up. A good idea is to have some hard boiled eggs ready. You can eat them alone, in salad or put into tuna salad. You've got this. You have recognized you are not making good choices and getting back on track. Good luck. I know you can do this.

Gluten Free Single Mom, it doesn't matter when someone else is allowed to add it to their diet, you should go by the recommendations your nutritonist or doctor gave you. A lot of doctors have different post-op diets and introduce foods at different times. For me I can have thinned watery oatmeal at 3 weeks.

Karen, Can your doctor submit your claim to the insurance company as a failed device? My doctor ran a couple of tests to see if the prolapse was effecting my esophagus. The results came back positive. Based on this information he submitted the claim early to the insurance company. My case was reviewed and approved due to these complications waiving the six month medically supervised diet. If you don't try, you won't know. Good luck. If you have to wait the six months use that time to examine eating patterns and learn techniques to help you avoid food traps you have fallen into in the past. It also gives you time to stock up on Protein and items you will need immediately after surgery and also possibly for your pre-op diet if you doctor requires one.

There is another option that says block private chats and then you won't see any messages people send to you privately during a chat session. There is an icon in the lower right area that says hide chat and you won't see chat when you go to threads on the site.

I am at 16.8 miles total. Not as far as I had hoped. I have 17 days left for serious workouts. Of those 17 remaining calendar days, 13 are realistic due to evening work and my last date night prior to surgery.

Has your weight loss clinic confirmed that you have insurance coverage for your surgery? Have you checked to see if it is covered by your employer? You should be able to find this out from the web site of your insurance company and by logging in with your credentials. I have UHC and my employer goes through Optum. I contacted Optum as well as the insurance coordinator at my doctor's office. I received in writing the criteria they use to determine weight loss so there were no surprises. If your insurance company requires a medically supervised diet for a certain period of time, find out if the appointments have to be consecutive. The more you know up front, the less likely you are to have a surprise down the road. Good luck. It would be a shame to start the process and think you are close to find out you have a six month med sup diet or something else.

Has your weight loss clinic confirmed that you have insurance coverage for your surgery? Have you checked to see if it is covered by your employer? You should be able to find this out from the web site of your insurance company and by logging in with your credentials. I have UHC and my employer goes through Optum. I contacted Optum as well as the insurance coordinator at my doctor's office. I received in writing the criteria they use to determine weight loss so there were no surprises. If your insurance company requires a medically supervised diet for a certain period of time, find out if the appointments have to be consecutive. The more you know up front, the less likely you are to have a surprise down the road. Good luck. It would be a shame to start the process and think you are close to find out you have a six month med sup diet or something else.