Fordgal88

Thanks for all the support!! LOL! Well I struggled through it last night. I put it on at 10 and woke up at 12am, 1am and 3am and at about 3:30 I pulled that sucker off and got in 1 hour of sleep without it. I had to be at work at 6 this morning. 1 down and 4 to go. I also sleep on my stomach or side and I have long hair and there is no way to put it up comfortably with the mask. But I am keeping those positive thoughts, it is worth the end result! I just love this group!

I agree the lack of attention in the office can be a bit discouraging and maybe it is time for a procedural overhaul. I think leaving the scheduling and insurance up to one person is a bit unreasonable. I also find the sleep study a bit much. I am still waiting on a letter of release from Dr. Kim Schmitt. I just feel that this is an un-needed step for every patient. I can see for some, but when I am asked to exagerate symptoms to have insurance approval for the study - then there is obviously something wrong. I found her to be rude and more of a salesperson than a Dr. I did find the nutrition class reassuring that I am doing the right thing. I loved it that Veronica has been where we are and discusses the personal side of our decision. I thought it was great that she mentioned that there is a higher divorce rate among bariatric surgery patients. It made me think about how my decision to do this is not only affecting me, but everyone around me. I plan on really making my husband a part of this and hopefully I can drag him to a support group meeting so he can really see the scope of what I am doing. It was very nice meeting you today Wendy! I cannot wait to see how everything goes for you. =) Shawna

May 6 here!!! Originally wanted to do it April 14, but I am going on a cruise the 21st, so I didn't think that would be too wise.... May is great considering I will be turning 35 on May 25!! What a present!

I would go ahead and get a visit in with your PCP to get the ball rolling. I had been seeing mine for 2 months before I had my initial appt with the surgeon. There that your PCP has to have the weight watchers documented in your medical record. You might want to call BCBS to find out their exact requirements on this. Good Luck!

I think the 6 month supervised diet is an insurance requirement. As far as the sleep study - that is a Dr. requirement. I believe it is a safety measure they take because of the risk with anesthesia. You should attend their seminar. It is very informative.

I know everytime I have tried to start a diet I would go through some serious withdrawels... Enough to make me say "forget this!" Probably not just the caffeine and cigs, but probably all the refined sugar too. These companies got us over a barrel with these "convenience" foods.

Oh Cool!! Makes this world even smaller!! lol

I haven't heard at all from the medical supply place. Honestly, I think they are a bunch of crooks. First of Dr. Kim Schmitt's office actually told me to exaggerate my symptoms so that the insurance company would pay for the sleep study. I did not have any symptoms of sleep apnea. Then when I had the sleep study the girl that observed me said that I didn't even stop enough to make bc/bs's requirements to use the cpap machine. Of course Dr. Schmitt said that I needed another study. Of course that time I had it. My numbers were 1 above normal. Plus she required that I sleep on my back which is not how I really sleep. I just think that it is a way for them to make more money. I know my sleep study cost over $6000. When the girl brought my machine to my house, I asked her how much this would cost me. She said that it was gonna be like $400, I told her that was too much and she said that we could lease it. Well yeah you know what it cost 2 times as much when you lease it. My first two payments were $150 and then it goes to $40 a month! I have a 200 major medical deductible on our health insurance but what really stinks is my husband's plant closed in February and we had to swap to my employer's insurance so I got stuck paying another $200 deductible. They bill $386 every month to my insurance. I would have been better off to buy it outright. The girl completely misrepresented the plan. Sorry just a rant! Now 2 more weeks of no sleep! LOL

The first date they gave me was April 14. But I am going on a cruise on the 21st and didnt think that would be too smart. Then they came back with May 6. I am going to the Nutrition class on the 9th and my pre-op appt is on the 29th. They must have a method to the way they schedule, but I havent figured it out yet. Neomi said that they didnt receive my release from Dr. Kim Schmitt from my sleep study. I called their office and they never received the download from that dumb card. They are supposed to be contacting the medical supply company about it, so now I am making sure I use that AWFUL cpap machine again in case they ask for another download. GEEZ what a nightmare! I cannot sleep at all with that thing!:scared2:

I use my cpap as a night light... I do love the ambiance that the little blue lights give! Like you I HATE that thing and have not used it since I turned the data card in. I am glad I am not the only one.

I think Dr. Miles and Schmitt requires all their patients undergo a sleep study. I was really not happy about that either. But I did mine rather quickly after my initial appt with Dr. Miles. Not pleasant but I did it. I got an email back from Neomi yesterday stating that I was approved and I could have my surgery on April 14. OMG! The only thing is I am going on a cruise on April 21. I don't know if it would be wise to do it so close to my cruise. I wouldnt mind doing it earlier, but I am betting that is highly unlikely, so I emailed her back with my concerns and awaiting her response. I am guessing that it will be early May. I know I am ready!! Hope all is well with all of you! Shawna

I called yesterday and they said that she had been out of the office and would be in today. So I called today and of course she was on the other line, I left a message, so maybe she will call me back. I feel sorry for her, cuz you know she gets slammed everyday! =)

Hey Wendy! Congrats on your surgery date. I just found out today that BCBS AL approved me!! Took FOREVER!!! What did you do when you found out? Did you call Dr. Miles office? or did they get in touch with you? I have emailed Neomi (a couple of weeks ago and then yesterday - b4 I knew), but she has not responded... How long did it take you to get on the schedule? I was at the support group meeting a couple of weeks ago and heard that they only schedule 1 case a day. I find that odd (I work in surgery and usually dr's have block times that they schedule in - especially high volume docs like miles and schmidtt). =) Shawna

In our seminar the Dr. stated that if you were self pay and had a complication related to the surgery, the dr.s themselves would cover everything but the hospital bill. He did mention that they are trying to get a separate insurance that self payers could get just in case there were any complications. HTH Shawna

Thanks for the quick reply... As you can imagine, this is all I think about...LOL Can you give me her email address? That is who they keep saying that I need to talk to... You can PM it to me if you do not want to post it on here. I had my first initial appt with Dr. Miles in October. I really liked him. Since you are using Dr. Miles too, let me ask you this. You mentioned the Emmi program. Let me ask you this. Last week I got an email with a new Emmi video to watch. But the video was for "after" I had received my lapband. Do you know if these are automated or if they are triggered maybe by my information being submitted. Would love to talk your experience too. It would be nice to have someone nearby that knows what I am talking about. You can email me at fordgal88@bellsouth.net. Thanks again!! SRR

For those of you using Dr. Miles or Schmidtt I was wondering what happens next. I finished up my 6 month supervised weightloss plan with my PCP last week. She had already submitted my information with her letter of recomendation the month before and planned on resubmitting the information for the last visit. I have done my sleep study and support group. Had all my labs drawn. Will Dr. Miles office call me? I am wondering if my dr. submitted my history or is that something Dr. Miles office would request from her. This has been a long process and I just dont want to miss anything. Did you contact the Dr.'s office after your last PCP visit, or did they contact you? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!! SRR

My Dr. explained this to me. She said that its a trick they used to use to deny people. She said that when you hear 6 months you think 6 visits, but its really 7 visits (example - jan. - feb. = 1, feb - mar = 2, mar - apr = 3, apr - may = 4, may - jun = 5, jun - jul = 6). She said that she had a pt that had done 6 appts then waited 6 weeks and went to the surgeon and was denied because there was only 6 visits and she had to start all over because it had been more than a month from her last visit. Tricky Tricky!