pato_3472

Hi I live in Nashua, NH but just started the process at Lowell General Hospital. My surgeon is going to be Dr. Shore, I will meet with her mid January. My PCP is in Harvard Vanguard so I need to do all the testing over there. So far everything has been great with LGH. Anyone out there from the area? It would be great to be have a buddy during this journey

Hi Anyone have this insurance? If so how was your experience? Thanks!

As of right now, in the liquid stage, I am not allowed to add anything to the shakes. Once I start stage 2 (pureed foods) I can add fruit which I am definitely planning on doing so. Hopefully once I can start with pureed food I will try to get as much protein from food rather than those nasty shakes

They gave me the okay to start Protein with milk yesterday, 4 days post-op. So far what I did is I use 8oz Simply Smart fat free milk (10 grms. protein) plus vanilla unjury (21 grms. of protein) plus I put a scoop of GENEPRO (unflavoured protein) which has 30 grms. of protein so in those 8 oz. I can get the required 60 grms. of protein for the day. I do not love the flavor but I am not really carzy about Protein shakes. Once I can start with yogurts and the other stuff I am planning on just using the Genepro unflavoured protein in yogurt, cream soups, etc., I have tried it before and it really does not change the texture or taste.

I totally understand what you say about the taste buds, they are killing me. I cannot wait to go into the full liquids diet, just for the more options when it comes to taste and texture. But I am hanging in there, today I already had the 60 grms. of Protein in and just 7oz of liquid away from the required 60!!!! Thank you for the support and that is all I think about, it will only get better

Hi February sleevers I had my surgery on Monday morning. Waking up from surgery was difficult, quite a bit of pain and nausea. Thankfully, things are much better now. I was wondering how much liquids are you being able to get every day? Yesterday (4 days post op) I did 45 liquids and 60 grms. protien. I am really trying to get to 60 today. I have my follow up appointment Tuesday and the Dr. will not move me to pureed foods until I get 60ml of liquid a day. Just the thought of being in Clear Liquids for a another week makes me sick. Honestly, the clear liquids parts has truly been the hardest part of all the process so far. Thank you for all your responses and best of luck! Patricia

I teach high school. I am scheduled for Feb. 9th (I am taking that week off) and I am planning on going back to work after February vacation, so I only took one week off from work. Hope everything works out as planned! Best of luck!

Hi everyone I am scheduled for Feb 9th in Lowell, MA. I really cannot believe it is almost here. As the days go by I really try not to think about it too much because I start to feel quite nervous and anxious It would be great to stay in touch with everyone and support each other. Best of luck! Patricia

Hi Heather I do not like most of the protein powders out there. From all the ones I have tried the best ones for me are: vanilla from Unjury, chicken soup from Unjury and the best of all is unflavored protein from Genepro (you can find it in Amazon). Genepro is really good because 1 scoop (which is small compared to the rest, only 2 TBPS) has 30 grms. of protein, it mixes really well in cold and hot and it really is unflavored. I mix it with strawberry yogurt (100 cal. chobani) and you cannot even tell is there. I showed it to my NUT and she approved it. Hope this helps and best of luck!

Hi everyone A couple of days I got my date, Feb 9th!! So excited and nervous as well. Just hoping there are no issues with my insurance approval. Best luck to everyone!

Hi I am just starting this WL journey and I am already stressed about my insurance. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts and my BMI is 40 with no medical problems, which is the minimum necessary for them to approve my gastric sleeve surgery. The insurance person from my WL center does not want me to loose more than 5lbs as she is afraid if I loose too much the insurance will then say I am doing great on my own and do not need the surgery. She thinks I am in a tricky situation because if I do not loose it will count against me but if I loose too much it will also go against me. I was wondering if anyone out there has been or is in a similar situation and was the outcome? I really do not want to get my hopes high on being able to get surgery and then get denied by my insurance. Thank you so much for any help and or advice! Patricia

I totally understand your frustration. Best of luck!

Thank Thank you! My insurance does not have a waiting requirement so I am hoping for February. It is good to hear every thing is going good! Best of luck!

Amazon it is great to find someone in these blogs with the same insurance. I do have a copy of their policy and I qualify with a BMI of 40 with no health problems. Do you know what happens if I loose weight before the surgery and go below the 40 BMI? Will I be in danger of not being approved for surgery? Also, I am not yet totally clear on how much will I need to pay out of pocket. Does BCBS cover 100% of the surgery? My policy has a deductible of $250 and an out of pocket max. of $2500 plus $300 hospital admission fee. I know for sure I am responsible for the $250 and $300 but about the $2500? Definitely calling BCBS tomorrow to see if someone can answer me. When ever I call they do not seem to know too much about WLS and what is covered and what is not. I am going to the Bariatric Center at Lowell General Hospital, where are you going? Thank you

Hi EvieLamp If that is the case that would be great! I am glad your insurance is like that, however mine might not be. The insurance expert of the WLC was a bit concerned and even said BCBS MA could be tricky while other insurance companies were a lot more straight forward. This WLC is in a very important hospital in the area, Lowell General Hospital and I am sure they have done hundreds of these procedures and probably dealt with my insurance many times. I am just going to follow what they say and keep my fingers crossed Good luck!

I completely understand you! I do not want to go through all the process, spend money and get my hopes high if most probably I will be denied. When you read the different blogs so many people have been denied with a higher BMI than mine that is quite scary. I have to say the whole insurance thing is scary. I am also trying to figure out how much will I finish paying out of pocket and even that is confusing.... Best of luck to you too!

In it's requirements it does not say so. It says the following: Patient Selection Criteria Adults over the age of 18 or who have documented complete bone growth are eligible for obesity surgery if ALL of the following criteria are met:  The physician has indicated that the patient: o Is a well informed and motivated patient with acceptable operative risks, AND o Has a strong desire for substantial weight loss, AND o Has failed other non-surgical approaches to long-term weight loss, AND o Is enrolled in a program which provides pre-op and post-op multidisciplinary evaluation and care including: behavioral health, nutrition, and medical management AND  The patient is morbidly obese with a BMI > 40kg/m². But it seems that my WLC, Lowell General Hospital in Ma, wants patients to loose 5% of their weight before surgery.

In it's requirements it does not say so. It says the following: Patient Selection Criteria Adults over the age of 18 or who have documented complete bone growth are eligible for obesity surgery if ALL of the following criteria are met:  The physician has indicated that the patient: o Is a well informed and motivated patient with acceptable operative risks, AND o Has a strong desire for substantial weight loss, AND o Has failed other non-surgical approaches to long-term weight loss, AND o Is enrolled in a program which provides pre-op and post-op multidisciplinary evaluation and care including: behavioral health, nutrition, and medical management AND  The patient is morbidly obese with a BMI > 40kg/m². But it seems that my WLC, Lowell General Hospital in Ma, wants patients to loose 5% of their weight before surgery.