2goldengirl

Seven days is not very long after major abdominal surgery. I know, it doesn't look like much on the the outside, but inside you've had some serious work. Don't plan on going back to the gym or golf until your sugeon says so. Golf is going to be the hardest because of the range of motion required in a swing. Putting may come first. Be patient with yourself and let your body heal. You don't say how old you are, but also remember that for every decade, you need to allow more time. We don't heal as fast in our 60's as we did in our 30's. Dammit.

What county are you in, and are you part of a County HP, or a Medi-cal managed care plan, for example, Blue Cross Medi-Cal?

My first question is - what state are you in, and what is your health plan? I ask because my California health plan changed their policy July 31 and dropped the 6-month requirement. If you are Blue Shield of CA (HMO plans), you don't have a a 6-month waiting period any longer. And definitely call the surgeon's office and ask why the additional wait. It could simply be a matter of scheduling. The scheduler has to coordinate scheduling for the surgeon, assistant surgeon (if any), and the OR at the hospital. Any one of those could get backed up. At the end of the calendar year, elective surgeries often get backed up, because patients who have an annual deductible or out of pocket to meet want to get elective surgeries done before Jan. 1 when their annual deductible rolls back to zero. And surgeons and hospital staff are as inclined as anyone else to want to take time off during the holidays. I hope this helps!

I'm so sorry this happened to you! But honestly, as a lesson to others, please DO NOT self-treat for this kind of thing. A rash is something that should always be reported to your surgeon the same day you notice it. Drug allergies can be life-threatening and nothing to fool around with.

There is no "BCBS" in California, Blue Cross and Blue Shield are two separate insurance plans. Here is a link to the Anthem Blue Cross medical policy concerning wehght loss surgery: https://www.anthem.com/medicalpolicies/policies/mp_pw_a053317.htm Basically, a BMI of 39 without comorbidities doesn't meet criteria. However (and I'm by NO means recommending this), I have seen several cases where a potential candidate went out and gained until their BMI was 40 or above. As an example, the difference for someone my height between a BMI of 39 and one of 40 is 5 lbs. I hope this helps!

Funny thing about that. I had surgery in my 40's for what turned out to be 3rd degree impingement on the left. I didn't have symptoms from the shoulder, but had trouble on an off in my upper back and neck from accomodating for it. Finally the tendons started shredding and I had actual shoulder pain. I had to have 11mm ground off the end of my clavicle where it was hooked over the top of my humerus. Despite that, I'd been a gymnast and a windsurfer. Yup, picked all the wrong sports! I have gotten advice about the shoulder - I did have a slight tear about seven years ago from overdoing in Water aerobics while I had bad back trouble. The tear is all better, and I no longer live where I can do water aerobics five times a week. The arthritis is, of course, better some days than others.

Fantastic! Will you look at those long legs! I was not blessed in the length of limb department. I seem to have a lot of leggy friends.

One more thing I heartily recommend to anyone the day before a planned surgery: Do something nice for yourself. Get a massage, a mani/pedi without polish, go for a walk in the park, put candles on the table and use the good china for dinner - even if dinner is chicken broth. Any of these. Prepping for surgery is stressful, no two ways about it. Taking the time to do things that soothe and relax you pay off big time.

Blue Shield changed their requirements effective July 31. Definitely call your surgeon's office and have them resubmit. I've attached a copy of the policy to this post. Your surgeon's office can always submit the first page of the policy along with your packet. Blue Shield didn't share this change with their participating medical groups. It's actually your medical group who approves or denies your surgery. Blue Shield requires that all of their participating medical groups use Blue Shield policies for bariatric surgery. What the medical group is supposed to do is review the policy each time they approve or deny something. This is the biggest change I can remember in 20 years where we didn't get some kind of notice. Approving these surgeries is part of my job (I can't deny anything, an MD has to do that) Anyone in California who is a member of an *** plan can get their health plan policy for any procedure, usually online. It's the law in CA. I hope this helps, and good luck! Bariatric_SurgeryBlueShieldPolicy2015.pdf

Here is a link to United Healthcare's medical poliicies: https://www.unitedhealthcareonline.com/b2c/CmaAction.do?channelId=016228193392b010VgnVCM100000c520720a____ Hope this helps!

But you ARE overstepping. It's great for you to be concerned over your family member. The Health Department investigates things like whether the office is clean in all the right places not medical records. Please, stay out of this. Support your loved one by NOT second guessing her, or her doctor.

On both of those days you have multiple appts stacked up, do something fun and nice for yourself - get a pedicure, or a massage, or buy yourself flowers. They're all steps you're taking to take care of YOU.

There wasn't a single "aha" moment. I've been working with WLS clients for the past five years, and yo-yo-ing myself for more than forty years. In the past six months or so I've been working on making peace with my body, and realizing that the yo-yoing just wasn't an option any longer. I've ruined my metabolism over the years with going up and down, so my options without surgery are to be hungry, or keep gaining. Neither seemed reasonable to me. I have three friends who have had WLS: one lap-band, one GBP, and one sleeve. All are happy with their decision, as are all of my clients. At first I was certain that I'd be seeing a fair number of clients with complications, but I haven't seen any. Instead, every one of them said they'd do it again. I finally had time to think about WLS seriously this past summer, and discussed it with my husband, who is all for anything I need to do, so long as I'm safe. I changed PCP's from one who did nothing but badger me (move more, eat less, blah-blah-blah - she's been thin all her life) to one who is in favor of me making this change. I'm going back on Thursday and expect my surgeon referral then. Fortunately, my HP has changed their requirements so I don't need to wait for months in the meantime. I do find it interesting that once I decided I was ready, I'm ready NOW.

I'd definitely plan on 4, and maybe 6, depending on how you recover and how well you're able to establish what works for you for keeping hydrated. I have a desk job and I'm planning on 4, just to get new habits firmly dialed in. The problem for us as caregivers is that when we're on the job, we forget we even HAVE bodies, much less listen to them.

CeraVe totally ROCKS. I actually use the body lotion on my face. It's thicker, and it doesn't contain sunscreen (I use a separate sunscreen). I have super-sensitive skin and it has never looked better. I started using a Retin-A/hydroquinone product prescribed by my dermatologist and while my skin was adjusting to it, CeraVe calmed my skin down really well. If you read the labels, there is very little difference between the facial lotion and the body lotion - the body lotion comes in a bigger size, though.

I remember having a client (I work with WLS patients) who told me after his sleeve "I can't believe how full I get after a quarter cup of chicken broth!" So from his perspective, he was full, and very happy to be. Hope this helps!

@@Madam Reverie (and all the others who have contributed), thank you for raising these deeper questions. I'm brand new to this board and my sleeve journey. I'm seeking a sleeve to repair the damage that decades of yo-yo dieting have made to my metabolism. I'd like my appetite to match my metabolsim. But the larger journey is the things that I put in my head, not the things I put in my mouth. It's taken me two days to read through all these posts and it has been time well spent. I applaud you all for your courage in facing down your demons. Having my own, I know that the process is lifelong. It's good to have your company.

MsMe, you are incorrect, look at the posts above, Blue Shield actually has easier criteria. However, with a BMI of 35, that's right on the brink of being too low. Anyone who has a Clifornia HMO plan can get their health plan's criteria for the surgery (or anything else) in writing on request. Most of them are available online, just Google your health plan name and the kind of procedure. In some cases, (again, in CA, HMO coverage), your medical group may have their own guidelines. In that case, be armed with your health plan's criteria. Usually if you point out that your health plan uses different criteria, they will use the plan criteria. This is because the plan will overturn on appeal a decision that doesn't conform to their criteria.

Here is a link to Anthem Blue Cross California medical policy for bariatric surgery. https://www.anthem.com/medicalpolicies/policies/mp_pw_a053317.htm BMI of 35.5 is right at the borderline of being covered at all. Blue Shield (CA HMO) does consider obstructive sleep apnea a qualifying comorbidity. Hope this helps!