heynowkc

I haven't had my surgery yet and am still waiting for a surgery date. One thing I am concerned about is when I will be able to get back in the pool. I have been working really hard since the beginning of October and have almost lost 60 pounds already with diet and exercise. My exercise of choice is mostly Water aerobics, including a little lap swimming/finning. I am in the pool 3-5 times a week and feel so much stronger/better than I have in a long time. I am concerned that the wait to get back in the pool will be long, and that I will grow weak while I am waiting. Being as heavy as I am, that is a real concern for me! Does anyone know when you can get back in the pool? Even just for "water walking" and nothing else? Thanks!

Wow thank you! I hope you're right! I feel so energized right now and I feel like I owe it all to the pool! Who knew swimming laps in circles could be so rewarding? Haha.

Thanks, @@Elode!

An EGD was not on my order for pre-surgery testing I had to get done. I did get an upper GI though. I got my surgery date today and she told me over the phone that with the Upper GI the doc probably won't require the EGD. I am hoping not because I only have 2 weeks until surgery. I will find out tomorrow. Luckily it doesn't sound too bad based on what you guys are saying!

@@BeagleLover Where do you get the ISOPURE drinks? Does GNC or The Vitamin Shoppe sell them? @@Aranks Thank you so much for your reply! This was very helpful! I have a notebook where I keep a lot of things and am writing stuff down. I think I am in that initial shock phase you're describing. I really thought there was no way I would get a pre-Christmas date and was thinking mid-late January at the earliest. So when she called today and said "I see in the notes you are looking to have surgery before Christmas..." I already had the let down she was about to deliver in my mind. I couldn't believe it when the next words out of her mouth were that she could fit me in on Dec. 17th. Mind: Blown. Tomorrow when I see the doctor again I think I'll be more calm. Today I feel like I've got Flight of the Bumblebee running through my brain.

@@bobbyswife Awesome! I think I saw a thread and there are a lot of us that week. I wonder if there's a main thread for our time period? @@della street Well I will cross my fingers for you! Sorry you have to wait to submit but hopefully you get a quick decision. The reason I wanted a pre-Christmas date is that I work for a school library and we have 2 paid weeks off surrounding Christmas and New Years! I am so lucky I got it when I did. I still can't quite believe it.

I guess I just meant to prepare for the upcoming changes. I am definitely doing the right thing. No need to prepare for that. I would search but I can't remember what the threat was called or any specific details about it. Thanks anyway!

@@della street It's just so crazy. I was all set for a mid-January date and now it's happening in 2 weeks. Insane!

I was looking for the same thing. I remember seeing a list of suggestions but can't find it. I know it was kind of long! Haha.

Thank you all for your kind responses. I haven't even had surgery yet and am already eager to get back in the pool afterward. I will definitely mention it to my doctor tomorrow and find out what he usually recommends. I am sure it is different for everyone! Thanks guys!

WOW. Thanks to the lovely Pam at one of their other offices, I was approved by my insurance and able to secure a December 17th surgery date this morning. (I am kind of freaking out, but the good kind of freaking out.) But I did find out some more news. Apparently the Stafford office was completely closed last week and was told that they do plan to open a southern office again later, but not right now. As I live in Fredericksburg and work in Richmond, this is unfortunate for me, but I will be okay. Just a little bit of an extra drive for all my pre-surgery appointments. Hopefully they will quickly recover from whatever change-ups are happening. Transitions can be hard and they were definitely scrambling to work out everything they can for me.

I have no idea why this posted so many times! I only posted it once, I promise!

My approval was supposed to be submitted on Tuesday. (Spoke with someone first thing Tuesday morning and they said it would be.) But apparently, the benefits coordinator, Martha suddenly quit, and so it was never sent. Very disappointed but I know it's not the office's fault. Plus it was a holiday week. I just can't believe she quit just as my paperwork was about to be submitted. That is exactly my sort of luck. I am hoping to hear back from Leslie later today.

So I had a little snafu after finishing my 12-month program with my insurance company. First, the insurance company had the wrong enrollment date for the 12-month program. They had me down as enrolling in June but I actually enrolled back on November 15, 2013. Second, even though I had specifically asked (and was told no by) both the surgeon's office and my insurance about a psych eval (and sleep study) and have checked and re-checked dozens of times that I was following all of the guidelines/pre-reqs, I was only told AFTER my graduation date that I actually do need a psych eval. At that point I had already done the half-day wellness visit with my surgeon, all of my pre-op testing, weight watchers since last November, and monthly MyActiveHealth consults for 12 months. So I was completely floored by this sudden revelation. Why hadn't anyone told me before? I still don't understand. Anyway, I found out about this on Monday of last week, completely lost it, then pulled myself together and somehow scrambled and got my psych eval done. It was really a miracle too because most of the places I called (pages and pages of listings) have like 2 month waiting lists, or couldn't see me until mid-December at the earliest, or weren't even taking new patients at all. The good new is, that yesterday, a week after the bombshell of that news, all the paperwork for the the eval and my graduation date came through. Finally everything was in place. Today the surgeon's office happily tells me they're sending the pre-authorization in before scheduling surgery, and that everything looks good. She has me down as wanting surgery before Christmas, and says they will definitely try to make it happen. (Because of the way our leave works where I work, I have about 2 weeks paid time off starting Dec 23rd. And my leftover sick/personal leave doesn't run out/renew until January 9th.) Then she drops another bomb and tells me, that however, it can take up to 2 weeks for approval, at which point they'll call to schedule the surgery and will "try their best" to get me in before Christmas. I am crossing my fingers that my insurance won't take that long. I have had to get a couple of other pre-authorizations in the past that were approved the same-day over the phone, so I am really hoping they're fast on this one too. I never imagined it would take two weeks to get an approval for something that I've been working with the insurance company on for (technically over) 12 months now. I think I might call the authorization office myself tomorrow morning just to get an idea from the source itself how long they think it might take, and also maybe see if I can convince them to speed it up. So my question is, how long have you guys experienced having to wait for that final approval once the pre-authorization request is officially submitted? And what are the odds that I won't be approved? After all of this. What are some of the reasons people get turned down? I know I meet all the qualifications and have done absolutely everything they've asked of me, so I am not that worried, but with all of the run-around I've had the past week I am not so sure anymore.

@@Elode I am doing the best I can. The silly part is that if it weren't for my leave schedule I would legitimately be happy (and even prefer) to wait a few extra weeks or even a month longer than I originally expected. It would mean I could have time to lose even more weight before surgery and get to enjoy my Christmas break instead of having to recover from surgery during it! Who knows, I might just get my wish.

I haven't had surgery yet (waiting for a date) but I have lost and gained the same 20 pounds over the past 12 months, trying and failing to follow the goals I set each month with my coach. The last time I actually gained an extra 10 pounds on top of the 20 I kept gaining and losing all year. But, I guess something clicked in me on September 29th. Not even 2 months ago I weighed in at my max 491. Now I am down to 438. Lost over 50 pounds and lose more almost every day. Really cut back, focused on Protein, cut out most carbs, almost all processed carbs/sugar and am faithfully tracking on my WW app. But what's really done it for me is that I make sure to do something physical or go to the gym almost every single day. Water aerobics and rotisserie chickens. If I take an "off" day I try to go shopping or something where I'm at least walking around a bit. And honestly? I think I didn't have the motivation to do all of this until I joined dietbet. (Around Oct 7th.) Getting paid to lose weight is incredibly rewarding. You just join a game and bet a certain amount (my first was 15 dollars) and at the end of the month you split the winnings with everyone else who has lost at least 4% in 4 weeks time. I will have to quit the site once I have surgery, because I will be disqualified for losing too much too quickly, but for right now, it is an amazing incentive!

@@alwaysvegas & @@Elode thanks for the responses. I know it's a terrible week to wish for anything to be rushed! Thanksgiving week! And I completely forgot most people's insurance plans renew with the year. Mine doesn't until mid-year. I am definitely going to put a bug in their ear and hope that they get it done quickly. At least talking to the insurance company and getting someone to give me an estimated wait time will make me feel better.

I am also with BluePoint and Dr. Halmi. Currently awaiting my approval. This thread has been very helpful although I am concerned because while I have already done my testing and requirements that were given to me, I have no idea what an EGD is and I am pretty sure I didn't get one.

Good luck. Did you just get your surgery date? I still haven't gotten one. Congrats on already getting down 20 lbs! I am sure you'll drop plenty more on the pre-op diet. Keep us posted.

Hahaha, my cute friends make me feel cuter! Obviously this is flawed logic but I don't even care. To spin this, I'm going to talk about stuff I'm looking forward to: - Halloween costume shopping - stocking up on CHEAP clothes (plus sizes are so expensive!) - going to NYC to see shows again (I haven't been in so long!) - taking a vacation (I don't even pretend I could afford a 2nd airplane ticket) to Nova Scotia, Iceland, Russia, Istanbul, Ireland, or anywhere! - adorable outerwear (especially cable knit stuff or stuff with unusual/asymmetrical cuts) - beating my high score on Thriller (Michael Jackson Wii game) - riding my bike again (knees hurt too much right now!) - sleeping through the entire night without waking up even once - keeping up with nephews/friends kids/maybe my own some day - a million things I probably haven't thought of.

Wow, great news @@shelby77!!

I'm pretty sure my doctor does 2 weeks of Optifast pre-surgery and then about 3 weeks after? I am not sure what else is included in that other than shakes. In the past I have done a juice "fast" and never felt hunger/headaches/stomachaches on it so I am optimistic that it will be a breeze to get through the pre-surgery bit. Still waiting for a surgery date. (Impatiently, I might add.)

Oh, I see. That is a bit different. I would just scream if I had to do this 12-month program all over again because of some paperwork snafu. That would be just my luck though. Seriously.

I am so frustrated with my insurance company now. I had to complete a 12-month education program in order to qualify for my surgery. During this time I got all of my pre-op testing done and even had a sleep study (not required, but I did it anyway!) and have lost almost 50 pounds (49.6). I checked and double-checked throughout the year to make sure I was doing everything right. On Sunday I "graduated" from the education program, and my coach, a nurse, forwarded my graduation information to my insurance company. I called on Monday to get the ball rolling for pre-authorization and to schedule surgery. I knew it was early, but I was being optimistic. Then I was hit with a curve ball: the bariatric benefits coordinator tells me I need a psych-eval in order to qualify for surgery. I was flabbergasted. Not only had I specifically asked both my insurance company AND the surgery coordinator one year ago (almost to the day!) about a psych eval (and was told no) but I have been constantly (all year!) checking and re-checking to make sure I had everything done, and now this at the 11th hour? Luckily, I don't need a "full" psych eval, just a meeting and a letter from a health care professional that says I am good for surgery. Luckily I got in today with a very nice doctor who normally treats children and adults with ADD and ADHD. She was literally the only doctor in the area that had any availability before Thanksgiving, and so she said she'd help me out. The meeting and evaluation went great and at the end she confirmed she would send the doctor a letter recommending me for surgery but that it probably wouldn't be until Monday, Friday if she can swing it. I am happy to have it over and done with, but am also a little deflated because of the setback, and the waiting I will have to do. Also, next week is a holiday week so I am hoping that won't push things back even further. I was so eager to get my surgery date and now I am facing a set-back that is a result of the incompetence of a number of people, and is no fault of my own. It's unbearably frustrating. I can't believe after checking and re-checking that none of the many people I spoke with over the year told me this was required. The worst is that I specifically asked about it and was flat out told that it wasn't required by two different people. How does something like that happen? Because of the way our leave works, I have two fully paid weeks off over Christmas and it doesn't come out of my personal, sick, or annual leave. It's built into our schedule. For that reason, it's really important to me to have the surgery scheduled before Christmas. I am still hopeful, because I was told by their scheduler that usually once given the OK to schedule that you have surgery in about 3 weeks. So even if I can't schedule until the 1st of December I may still be able to get a date near the time-period I want. But if this set-back has taught me anything, it's not to hold my breath!!! Truth be told? I'd be okay with waiting longer than expected. It would mean I could try and lose more weight prior to surgery. (I am losing about a pound a day for the last 50 days!) And It would mean that I could actually enjoy my Christmas break instead of recovering from surgery at that time. But because of the way our leave works, I don't want to risk running out of my personal leave (I only have two weeks, and am told that recovery before returning to work can be up to 3 weeks.) It's just very frustrating to have everything planned and for it to all go up in smoke right before your eyes.

I'm not religious either and I won't go so far as to say that things work out WHEN they're supposed to. But I have no doubt that I will be ok either way it works out, haha. It may be frustrating and a pain in the neck but it's not the end of the world! Oh my gosh! Why did you have to go through it twice?!?! That's terrible. Now I am worried that something else is going to go wrong on my end. My gosh! Good luck to you as well!