sassyfrass23

Thank you @@Inner Surfer Girl ! I didn't feel like I was ever going to get to this point so I'm tickled PINK!

My final appointment was last Wednesday but had to be rescheduled to this Wednesday due to inclement weather. Boo!! So I am only a few days away from the last appointment I've been working towards with my surgeon. I completed my 6 months in December. And had my GB ultrasound and EGD earlier this month. I'm curious as to about how long it took your office to submit your paperwork to insurance once all requirements were met? I've been anxious this entire process (as most of us have been) and now I'm almost done. I'm just ready for an answer at this point. Will I have surgery? Yes or no. While the time was necessary in preparing me for surgery....the number of appointments has become exhausting. Especially with over an hour round trip each time. I hope one of you are reserving a seat for me on the loser 's bench!

So very complicated! But I get it, I suppose. I think this is to weed out the ones who aren't serious or willing to stick it out when challenges arise. There have been 2 exact times when I thought to myself..."I don't know if I have the energy to keep entertaining this process." But my life matters and it's worth fighting for. So that's what I shall continue to do. Good luck with your process and insurance approval!!

Argh- I accidentally posted this on your other post! @@swinglifeaway That's strange. My surgeon literally said the opposite. I'm 27 and am hoping that an added bonus to becoming healthier is finally having thr ability to conceive. Thanks to PCOS, the last 7 years we've been trying...we had ZERO luck. He was very confident in my chances after WLS and when I asked about the safety, he was not concerned at all. Like everything else, how well I do is based on how well I choose to do. Like with losing weight, I have full control over how successful I will be. And with getting/being pregnant, it will be up to me to make sure I continue to eat healthy and put the right nutrients in my body to ensure a healthy baby. It's crazy to see the difference in the way surgeon's practice across the US alone..

That's strange. My surgeon literally said the opposite. I'm 27 and am hoping that an added bonus to becoming healthier is finally having thr ability to conceive. Thanks to PCOS, the last 7 years we've been trying...we had ZERO luck. He was very confident in my chances after WLS and when I asked about the safety, he was not concerned at all. Like everything else, how well I do is based on how well I choose to do. Like with losing weight, I have full control over how successful I will be. And with getting/being pregnant, it will be up to me to make sure I continue to eat healthy and put the right nutrients in my body to ensure a healthy baby. It's crazy to see the difference in the way surgeon's practice across the US alone..

@@Fatty McFatster we are our own worst critics!

@@Sarah 82 I have UHC and still uncertain on what they're looking for in the 6 month supervised diet plan. Do they want us to lose? Will we be penalized if we do? I dropped below my BMI of 41 to a 39 for one month but was back up by the next month. So my starting BMI & ending BMI will still be a 41. I appreciate the offer!!

Whatchu talkin about?? I see a huge improvement already! Great progress!!

Hi! I had my (physician) required EGD this morning. The final step in getting my paperwork submitted for approval! All went well for the most part. However, while in recovery my surgeon, who mandates that he do the EGD on his WLS patients, came in to discuss what he found. While I didn't have any ulcers or hernias, he did notice above normal inflammation in my abdomen. He took a couple of biopsies and I see him again on the 20th. I was wondering if any of you had similar findings when you had your EGD? I'm not too worried as he said it was probably bacteria related. If so, he'll put me on the appropriate antibiotic to rid my body of it prior to surgery. After 8 long months, I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere and is surreal!

Fortunately/unfortunately...I'd switched jobs when after I was a couple of months into the progress. But my employer is amazing and so supportive. We're like a family so he encourages me to do whatever it takes to get myself healthy and happy. Idk what I'd do if I worked for someone who wasn't as understanding. What surgery did you have? And how long did you take off work for recovery?

Thanks, @@Miss Mac! I'm definitely not complaining about the extensive testing in preparation. I would rather they identify any underlying issues before surgery to avoid complications. And yes...waiting has been a pain at times. But I've embraced all of this time and used it as an opportunity to prepare myself to the fullest. Sometimes I feel like I've already had the surgery because I'm trying to practice processes that will need to go in play post op. I also appreciate the fact that my surgeon demands he do the EGD. Something about him doing it brings assurance. Probably for the fact that he wants to do it to get a preview of what he's working with. I love my surgeon and am so stinkin happy I found him!!! I couldn't imagine going through this and not feeling truly comfortable with the man who will soon hold my life in his hands for the first major surgery I have ever endured. I'm so glad you pulled through that scare!!! We experienced something similar with my daddy and the back pain he was experiencing. Come to find out he'd had bladder cancer that we were unaware of and metastasized to his spine. Sadly, he only lived for a year following that, but they were able to relieve him of the excruciating back pain as he fought the cancer.

Thanks! I'm ready to get this done. Honestly...I'm just glad to be finished with all the appointments. I was beginning to feel guilty for all my time off request from work. ????

I will have a 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery as well. According to my required support group meetings and research I've done myself, this is required to help patients shrink their liver. With it being close to the stomach, the smaller it is, the easier it is for the surgeon to get in and do what they need without any interference.

Thanks for your response, @@James Marusek! And so glad to hear that the mass was malignant. I imagine that was a very worrisome time for you! I had my abdominal ultrasound last week. So I should get those results at my appointment next week as well. I really hope they'll be submitting my paperwork shortly after that visit. As much as I dreaded this "delay" due to requirements....I'm truly grateful. I feel so much more prepared and aware of what to expect. Now I know how to utilize my future tool to the best of its ability! It sure is!

Yayyy! You look amazing! Congrats on the weight loss and hard work it took to get where you are!!

but the sleeve would have resolved these issues alsoYes, agreed. But I also suffer from GERD which the sleeve will/could only worsen. There are a multitude of reasons for my choosing RNY over VSG.

Field Engineer for an IT Consulting Firm who deals mostly with Healthcare facilities.

Do you have diabetes or any other comorbidities? I'm going with the bypass per my surgeon's recommendation. I have PCOS which causes me to be pre-diabetic/insulin resistant. The bypass has proven to make more of an impact on my disease and the issues I battle with from it.

Hi! I have my EGD on Wednesday (13th) and what should be final appointment with my surgeon a week later (20th). We'll discuss my Ultrasound results from last week and my EGD findings. Everything else has been COMPLETED!!! I'm thinking that they will prepare my file to be submitted to insurance before January is up. But curious if they will go ahead and schedule my surgery on the 20th as well? Pending insurance approval of course. I want to say I have read where others received surgery dates before their file had been submitted. I am so ready to give my employer an exact date to help them plan around my absence. The more advance the better. They've been better than I could have ever expected with this process and all it entails. The numerous dr visits and allowing me to miss work for them...I will forever be grateful. I feel like I owe them a generous heads up if possible!

@@animallover1247 Oh dear- I hope they don't make me wait. But I've waited plenty during this process so what's a little more going to hurt? I'm really wanting the date more for my employer but they're understanding so...hopefully they don't start hounding me for exact dates. I'm having RNY done and was told to ask for 2 weeks off. When I go back to work I'll be limited on my duties for a couple of days just because it can be physically demanding at times. I was told that the recovery time for VSG & RNY are pretty much the same. (I had originally planned on VSG and was happy about the recovery time. My surgeon pushed for RNY which I'm fine with and reassured me that I wouldn't be out any longer than I'd originally planned. Bonus!) When was your paperwork submitted??

No suggestions here. All can say is: 1- WOW! 2- Congrats on the surgery, nonetheless. Here's to hoping an improvement in health and happiness!! 3- I am incredibly sorry to hear this happened to you. I would be LIVID had this happened to me. Especially since I personally wouldn't have been able to fork out the remainder of the cost and would have needed to postpone to a later date. Hopefully the surgeon will be cooperative and at least submit. Even if denied- he already has his money. So what will/can this hurt him?

I believe if it had slipped again, they would be able to do it all in one surgery without having to do the 6 month wait. I could be wrong, but I think I've seen other cases on here that have been like that. Got my results back... no slippage. So now to get the 6 month thing started. You think with all of your immediate family medical problems, that would be acceptable for the insurance qualifications. One would think, huh?? Lol Well I hate to hear the "bad" good news. However, I will be rooting for you over these next 6 months! They'll be over before you know it!! You're welcome to contact me should you want to chat....SCREAM....whatever you feel!

@@nicksmommy if there was an issue with the band, were you going to be able to bypass the 6 month requirement? I hate to hear the situation you are in. IF the band was working even partially, it is unrealistic for them to expect you to maintain your weight or lose any without its help. I mean afterall...you did have it placed to assist with weight loss. I made a mistake of avoiding the scale last month and rolled up in my surgeon's office after gaining 2 pounds. However- it was the end of the day, I'd had a late lunch and literally ate an hour before my apt and had been on my period for 2 weeks. Now I am weighing myself daily to stay on top of it and will hopefully be down those 2 pounds plus 1 more by the 20th which is my next appointment. I'm not worried about the gain because their scale is 2 lbs less than my PCP. So on the chart, my numbers looked the same and showed no influx if compared.

@@860971 thank you so much for sharing! I am truly praying that I will not suffer for dropping below the BMI of 40 for one SHORT month. I gave it my all. I tried to lose the weight and do what insurance had asked. It worked but thr weight came back as usual. One plus was that I didn't gain a couple of extra pounds like I usually do. So although that attempt can be deemed as another failure, I at least stopped the cycle of gaining additional weight after dieting. I hope that if, God forbid, they do deny...my surgeon will do a peer to peer and stress the importance of this surgery in relation to my family medical history. Heart disease/attacks have occurred in EVERY one of my daddy's siblings (6) including him who had 3 himself. His final one requiring 5 bypasses. The same situation on my mama's side. I don't have the mindset of "IF" my heart gives me trouble...it's WHEN my heart gives me trouble. Genetics play a huge role and my way of preventing that is to get myself at a healthy weight to remove the stress from my heart. And a good number of those relatives have healthy weights and still suffered from issues. I'm just doubling my chances at this point.

It's a sick game they play! Sure- I can shed a few pounds but maintaining that weight loss is another story. January 2015, I began eating clean. Cut out all sugars, processed foods, red meat, etc. Basically everything I ate was organic and as healthy as possible. Cut out diet coke and drank only Water. Also implemented 30-45 minutes/day on the elliptical. After 3 months, I had only lost maybe a total of 8 lbs. During that time, I would lose a pound or two, and the next morning be up 4 pounds. No joke. By June I had lost all hope and made an appt with my PCP to see what he could suggest. Which is where the appetite suppresent came in play. My first 3 months of my weight loss attempt were done without any intention of surgery. I hadn't even considered it. Until my 3 month when my weight came back, and my PCP reviewed my diet/excercise journal. He then mentioned surgery so I checked into my insurance plan and found that it was covered if deemed medically necessary. I alone, can lose the handful of pounds my surgeon requests prior to surgery. Which will allow me to be physically equipped to handle the procedure. But if I lose the weight, and I am punished for it because I literally drop to a BMI of 39.6....how does that make sense? With your BMI...you literally HAVE to maintain your weight! That's cruel. Have you met with a nutritionist to discuss what/how you should eat to keep you at your weight?