MaureenVA

This was a punch to my (soon to be smaller) gut. I knew that I'd have to lose 3% per insurance guidelines....but in reality, I need to lose like 17%. That seems overwhelming at this point.

http://www.people.com/article/e-j-johnson-undergoes-weight-loss-surgery?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_279468&xid=partner_zergnet

There's a lot to be done before surgery anyway....medical testing, surgery appointments, pre op diet...and those are just the required things!

Or with an otherwise really high BMI? I'd love to hear your story...either here or in a PM.

You know what makes me mental? Insurance companies pay for inpatient treatment, counseling, etc for drug abuse. Drug abuse! For drugs that are (mostly) illegal to be on in the first place. I'm not saying that drug addicts don't need or shouldn't get help....I'm just saying, our addiction is just as strong and we broke no laws to get tothe point of needing help...and yet we're denied. I'm an insurance agent...if you have a meth lab in your garage and it blows up...your home insurance will not cover it. If you have a DUI or DWi and cause injury or damage....your car insurance may not cover it (this varies state to state), but if you use drugs and need medical assistance, you get help. I guess I surname companies think fat people are lower than drug addicts on the risk scale?

Please know I'm not 'hating' on anyone...just venting my own frustrations. My college roommate was average sized...10 or 12 and would look at herself in the mirror daily crying about how fat and disgusting she was. All I could think was 'if she thinks that of herself...what does she think of me?' I never felt held back by my weight until my oldest started kindergarten and the kids started giving her a hard time because of her fat mother. My heart broke into a million pieces and while -yes- kids are jerks...I can't help but feel that I did that to my child.

When in doubt, drink some water!

Any other upates from Dr. Cantor patients? It's been a couple years since this post started and I know they have a second surgeon on board now....

I created the group but haven't customized it yet...please join and share the link even though it's not pretty yet! http://www.bariatricpal.com/groups/423-bbmi-60-or-400-wls-patients/

Please follow your doctors orders to the letter! You worked hard to get to this point, you don't want to fall behind now! Remember...you didn't gain the weight overnight, so it won't come off overnight. Stay away from the scale. Drink your Water. Take whatever meds/supplements you're supposed to. Get enough rest. Get some exercise. You'll get there!

You guys hit the nail on the head. My last WLS information meeting bc every patient who stood up to tell her story talked about how awful they were at, say, 240 lbs and their life sucked. I'm starting my journey at 403lbs and dream of the day I'm 240! The lowest weight I ever remember being was 272. Though the struggle is real for us all, we "BBMI" folks have further challenges. Exercise is a challenge...bc movement is SO restricted. Machines weren't built for bodies like ours. Unless their names are Bob and Jillian, trainers have little experience with people of my size. It makes me feel like even more of an outcast. Like I'm too fat to be with the fat folks. I'm glad y'all spoke up. I feel less alone. I'm going to attempt to start a group/area just for us. If you're interested (even if you didn't/haven't replied to this post) message me and I'll invite you when it's all set up.

An employer clause means that while the insurance company (Cigna, BCBS, Aetna) has WLS coverage available, the employer providing the coverage opted to exclude the coverage. Generally this is a cost savings to the employer, and therefore the employees. Open enrollment for Obamacare is soon. Try to get a plan through them. That's what I ended up doing.

Not on a program...but when I hear you say healthy purees, I think veggie based Soups. Roasted Butternut Squash, Carrot/Parsnip. But it depends on what you're looking for. Tomato is great for Vitamin c...but is high acid. Peas are yummy, but high in sugar. Anything with an added green vegetable would be very healthy.

I don't need GPS or anything. The Loop will track steps, calories, amount of time active, and will prompt you to move if you've been sedentary too long. It will even track your sleep time. restless sleep vs deep sleep. The HR monitor will obviously give a clearer picture as to how 'hard' my body is working for workouts and which workouts work best for me. Since I'm pre-op, i want to be able to provide the powers that be all the information they need about what I'm doing at home. I don't want ANY questions about whether or not I'm doing the work needed to qualify for surgery. Obviously, after surgery, the tracker will be a whole new toy!

Great news, everyone! I'm an idiot! My insurance company has 2 surgeons in this area. An older, more established surgeon (with a longer wait list) and a younger, newer surgeon (with quicker surgery dates). Turns out, that only the younger surgeon has a BMI restriction. I happened to be at her info session...asked the question...got her answer....freaked out. Then I called the Bariatric Nutritionist to discuss another matter and asked her to explain the policy to me. She, of course, confirmed I'm an idiot. Surgeon 1 has no restriction! Of course, I still plan to lose weight....hopefully more than the 3% (or is it 5%?) that is required by my insurance company. But that's WAY less than the 17% I thought I was facing!

I'm Maureen. Mom of 3ish...house full of love and chaos. I'm kaiser insured and have about a 6mo process and I'm ticking things off. Already had my sleep study...failed that sucker. I pick up my CPAP in a couple of weeks! So...what do I need to know? What did you wish you knew at the beginning of your journey? What features/board of this site do you think are the best? I'm a lump of clay...mold me!

17% of my current weight to get down to a BMI that our surgeons are comfortable operating on. Reality=just how out of control I have become. I'm honestly ashamed.

I'm torn between gastric bypass and gastric sleeve...which is good because those are my only options. I change my mind every day. Everything I talk to someone who has one or the other, they sway me to their direction. I don't plan to make a decision right away. Closer to the 'time' I think. How did you choose which surgery to have?

Look at many things: copays, out of pocket expenses, waiting period, approval requirements. I'm in VA and just went through this process myself. I chose to be a kaiser patient bc I feel that the kaiser plan I chose had flat fees for everything and made the financing easiest to figure out....which was most important to me. The trade off is that kaiser has a longer approval process for this plan...6+ months. But I'm okay with that. Figure out what's important to you. Prioritize. Read all of the small print.