SugarFreeMe

Holy Crappers!!!!!! I haven't even finished my requirements for my surgeon and I received my insurance approval letter in the mail today. I don't know how that happened, I was told they wouldn't submit for approval until I completed everything. Not that I'm going to complain. At least I know I'm not doing all this for nothing. I've read it over and over and it says "Approved procedure - Gastric Bypass", it has my hospitals name, my surgeons name, everything. Has this happened to anyone else before?

I have BCBS Il thru my husbands union. We've always had very good luck with them, I just never expected this to be approved so quickly.

It sounds to me also like your doing great. Don't give up on yourself, keep working your program and it will keep coming off.

Congratulations on the decision. Read, research and ask questions. The more I read and learn, the more I feel I'm ready for this.

Welcome. As far a support, this is the place. Sounds to me like you've done some research. Have you had a conversation with your PCP about surgery. He/she can recommend a good surgeon in your area who specialized in bariatrics, they will also have to give medical clearance after you've done all your pre-requisites. Gastric Bypass is what I'll be having due to my medical history. RNY is good for obese people with conditions such as Diabetes, HPB and high cholesterol, all of which I have. According to research I should be off meds shortly after surgery - looking forward to that. Good luck to you, ask all the questions you have, the people here are awesome and very supportive.

Welcome to the group Jenny and good luck on your journey. Remember to check in often, there's great information here.

You can always unscrew the boards in the spring and look then if you don't find it before then. Good luck finding it.

Well, I had my sleep study last night. It was by far the most sleepless night I've had in ages. Besides having wires stuck all over my body I was in a room that was surrounded by LOUDLY snoring people. Don't get me wrong, I do snore but according to my hubby it's not earth shattering or anything that comes close to waking him up or keeping him from falling to sleep. Knowing someone is listening to and watching me is way out of my comfort zone, I was very creeped out. Add to that the opening and closing doors, the employees heating their meals in a microwave at 3am - not a good experience. Then there was the re-calibrating of someones monitors after they went to the bathroom (look to the left, look to the right, look up..........) I actually came home and slept for 4 hours. Glad it's over and hoping I never have to go thru that again.

My friends daughter had Gastric Bypass about 10 years ago and she now has 2 beautiful children ages 5 and 3. She had no problem getting pregnant and had very uneventful pregnancies. Trust your surgeon, I'm sure the stories you've heard about not being able to get pregnant have more to do with underlying issues, not just the surgery. We all know that obesity causes untold stresses on our bodies, I'm certain it's does damage we don't even know about.

With the full liquid diet you can add non-flavored Protein powder to things to boost your intake. Our dietitian suggested adding it to Soups and broths. She warned against adding it to Protein shakes, it doesn't dissolve well, but any other liquid is fine.

Not sure if your aware, but another thread the other day touched on getting Protein shakes thru Insure Nutrition and they may be paid by your insurance. You can to go thier website and fill out an application with your prescription insurance information, that's it, they do the rest. They will contact your insurance to check coverage, if your covered, they send a scrip to your surgeon for signature and then fill said scrip. From there they send you the Protein Shakes for the next 7 months automatically. After that you can reapply. All of this at no cost to you if your approved. What's to loose right?http://insurenutrition.com/

Call your surgeons office and explain your dilemma. They can tell you best what they would prefer you do. I just hope you don't cheat yourself - You want to start your new life being honest and accountable to yourself. Good Luck.

I get to do a 15 day Meal Replacement plan, yeah me, but if I cheat on that I'm again allowing myself to loose control which is something I promised myself I wouldn't do again. That's what got me where I am. Don't do it...... Be honest with yourself, you have to start now if you want to succeed.

Misty - I haven't exercised in a month and a half, I'm so close on the BMI and I don't want to count on my comorbids for approval. I haven't decided on a tracker yet although I've heard good things about the fitbit force.

Just applied with EnvisionRxOptions. I'll keep you posted

I haven't had my surgery yet, but I started Biotin already. Went thru menopause a couple of years ago and started loosing my hair with that, the Biotin definitely helped. My surgeon says Protein and Biotin are your best option to minimize loss. It does take a bit of time to start helping, that's why I'm starting now.

Good Luck and congratulations on your journey so far.

Congratulations and good luck.

Nerva, don't feel like a failure, physically some of us just aren't able to metabolize and maintain a healthy weight on our own. Honestly, if I were you I'd thank your doctor for pushing you to do what you knew you had to do for your health. Nobody wants to admit to ourselves that we need help, he was handing you a lifeline so grab hold of it. Everyone on this board is great so ask anything and read as much as you can. Good luck on your journey.

Welcome and congratulations on your decision. You definitely sound like you're well on your way to a healthier you. I've not had my surgery yet either, mid-March is my target time. I have a NUT meeting tomorrow, sleep study on Saturday, pulmonary on the 17th and with that clearance, my surgeon will schedule me. Insurance has already been contacted, everything is order with them, I just need to satisfy the doctor before he submits for final approval from them. Very exciting, nervous and anxious times for us all. Good luck on your journey, keep us updated.

I originally had my sleep study scheduled for next Saturday. I received a call last night that they had a cancellation for tonight and did I want it. I said sure, wanting to get things moving. You can't imagine how upset I was to have them call at 2:00 today to cancel the appointment due to weather. There wasn't even 2 inches of snow fall last night - what the crap!!!! So I call to reschedule only to find that my originally scheduled time next weekend was already filled. Now I have to wait until the 15th of February, setting me back 2 weeks because this now means I have to also reschedule with the pulmonary Dr. GRRRRRR!!!!!! Not a happy girl right now. :s

My insurance actually has less requirements then my surgeon. Insurance required 40+ BMI without comorbids, 35+ with comorbids, history of weight loss attempts, pcp approval, that's it. No pre-diets or extensive testing. My surgeon however requires the above, sleep study, pulmonary clearance, nutritional counselling and an EKG. The surgeon has contacted the insurance once already to inquire about requirements, they will submit the request for approval one I complete the surgeons requirements. My surgeons practice is considered to be a "Center of Excellence" so they tend to have higher restrictions however because of this they get quicker approvals from insurance. If I were you Katt, I'd double check to make sure, better to be safe. Good luck.

What exactly are you afraid of, the anesthesia, the pain, etc...... You need to narrow it down and address it with the surgeons office. I've had two operations in the last 3 months and I had very good experiences with both because I drilled my doctor so I understood everything she was going to do. I asked about different scenario's and options until I was comfortable and felt like I had control. I did know from a prior procedure that I would have a bad reaction to a specific anesthesia, so I made sure everyone and their brother was aware of that. Take control, ask questions.....knowledge should help you Pepper. Good Luck.

Did the surgeon give you solid reasons for his preference? I know I wanted the lap-band because it was reversible, but that's the only reason I wanted it. Deep down inside I knew that it would be easy for me to "back" out of the program by somehow figuring out how to get it adjusted to where it didn't function. I know the gastric bypass is my best option because of me comorbids. Request the the surgeon give you articles to read and have him substantiate is opinion, you need to be comfortable with your final decision, not him.