bunyip

I posted here before about my insurance company dragging its feet and taking three weeks to approve my surgery last December. They managed to drag it out long enough that I couldn't get the surgery done until after the first of the year, but they DID approve it. So I had my surgery on 1/20/16. Now they are refusing to pay ANYTHING. Yep, they have denied all claims, saying that my surgery is not a covered procedure. WTF???? I requested an appeal and got the same answer. The doctor's office called them today, and they said that my coverage changed on 1/1/16 and the surgery is not longer covered. Like they didn't know that was going to happen when they approved it? I'm so angry now I'm having trouble even typing this. Now I'm supposed to be clairvoyant and know what changes are coming. They NEVER advised me of any such changes. It's probably a good thing that their office is in another city about 80 miles from here. How can crap like this be legal? They had nearly three weeks after the supposed change in my coverage to contact me or the doctor's office and notify us of the change. They did nothing. So now I'm getting bills amounting to roughly $82,000. Maybe I can just sell my house and live in my car for a while.

Update: I got my second bill from my anesthesiologist for the full amount of his services. Yeah, big surprise. I called my surgeon's office and my employee benefits office, and neither of the had heard anything back on their inquiries. So, I called my insurance company back yesterday, ready to do battle again, and was told by the insurance rep that my hospital bill had been processed and that the payment should go through any day. She called me back later and said the doctors' bills had all been reviewed and passed on for payment also. Her excuse for the refusal and delay in payment was that "those codes can be so confusing". Yeah, their codes that they use every day confused them. Heaven help us all. I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic about this, but I'll believe this nightmare is over when I hear it from all the doctors and hospital and when I get my insurance statements showing the payments.

BCBS of Oklahoma. They have done nothing but give me the runaround and drag their feet since the beginning of this. I'm just wondering how many other people they've done this to who have just given up trying to get them to do what they're supposed to do.

I've got a copy and sent it to my employer's insurance people. They checked and advised that there have been no changes to our plan this year. Interesting ain't it? Both that office and my surgeon's insurance people and patient advocate are also working on this. Next stop, if necessary, may be the state insurance commission, although I hope it doesn't have to go that far.

They approved it last in Dec 2015. Late enough that I had to wait until January to get it done. If they'd done what they were supposed to do and hadn't given me the runaround, insurance would have covered %100 because I'd already paid all my deductible and out of pocket expenses. And now this. If they think I'm going to give up and go away, they'd better think again.

Ask yourself how many times you've tried to do it "on your own", how many times you've lost weight, and how many times you've regained that weight plus more. That's how I got rid of those nagging doubts.

Has anyone heard about this new drug? http://www.wsfa.com/story/28557911/could-a-new-drug-melt-away-your-double-chin If it works for double chins, might it also work for flabby upper arms?

I read that the drug also has collagen and helps tighten skin. It didn't say, however, just how much it can tighten. I don't really imagine that it could do a whole lot, but who knows? It'll be interesting to see how much they're going to charge per injection.

Can you add some Benefiber to your clear liquids?

Aww, that's too bad. Can you stand adding unflavored Protein powder to Soup or something else that you like? I've seen posts on here for GENEPRO protein--it has 30 grams of protein per tablespoon and supposedly doesn't alter the texture of whatever you add it to. (Sorry if you've already tried this, but I thought it was worth a shot mentioning it.)

Is yogurt a no-go for you also?

I feel great! I haven't had any of the problems with nausea, vomiting, feeling tired, etc that you see people complaining of. I had very little gas pain after surgery and needed only a small amount of pain meds for the surgical pain. I haven't had any trouble with any foods, but I haven't tried eating a bunch of crazy stuff. If I want to try something new, I just try a little bit of it and see how it goes. So far, so good. Unfortunately, it appears that I'm not going to be one of those who has dumping syndrome as an added incentive to be good, so I'll have to really watch what I put in my mouth. I've lost about 14 pounds since my surgery on 1/20. I'll take that. :-)

I had mine on 1/20/16 if that helps any.

I'll see you this Saturday, GibbsGirl!

I'm in OKC. Baptist Hospital has support group meetings on the first Saturday (morning) and third Monday (evening) of each month. You can see the scheduled topics here: http://integrisok.com/weight-loss-center-oklahoma-city-ok-support-groups There may be other groups associated with Norman Regional Hospital or WeightWise in Edmond, but I had my surgery at Baptist, and that's the only program that I've attended. They also have a nutritionist on staff in their weight loss clinic. I can't tell from their website if people who have already had WLS elsewhere can make appointments with them or not. Might be worth a try.

I was glad to have my Mio drops. Really helped to get Water down, and my doctor even commented that he was glad I had them.

Kidney stones are another reason to be sure to drink PLENTY of water to help keep your kidneys flushed out too.

Retizpa, I'm sure you wouldn't be able to tell much from photos of this problem. The best way to get the full "picture" would be to go to VS yourself, get a front clasp bra in YOUR size, and then try to re-create the problem. I'm sure that if you just explain to the sales lady that you're just trying to conduct a medical experiment that she'll give it her all to make sure that your bra is a good fit.

Everyone is different. LIke another poster, I swallowed pills on day two after surgery. On day three, I was swallowing all my pills without cutting or crushing including my ginormous Vitamin and probiotic capsules. I take several of the small ones all at the same time, and I make sure they're all the way down before I do the large capsules. Just take things slowly and see how things go down one at a time. You might be surprised.

I got my first hospital bill today from my bypass surgery on 1/20/16. It was for only $121.00, and I thought, "Well, that's not too bad." I knew that there will be other bills, but was I in for a surprise. When I went online to pay this bill, I say another statement, which I haven't received in the mail yet, for $71,000.00. Plus some odd change. For THAT kind of money, I think I should have come out of the OR as a size 8. Or at least better looking. OMG! All I can say is, "Thanks God for insurance!"

Hey, Gibbsgirl, I sent you a msg

Woo hoo!

Please let us know how it goes for you.

Here it is: https://www.insurenutrition.com/client_registration.php

I had some almond oil years ago that I just mixed w/ sugar as I needed it, so I don't have any recipe to give you. But recently, I found a premade scub at Walmart--Treehut (the brand) Honey Almond Scrub. It was in the section with the bubble bath and bath brushes. It's really nice and works great! But if you want to make your own, GNC has almond oil in bottles. The brand is "Now Almond Oil", and it's $11.99 for 16 oz.