piemonade

Anyone else had this? I have reflux and pain behind my ribcage after eating, thanks to getting a hiatal hernia. My journey started in December. After my initial appointment with my surgeon, we found out that insurance required a 6 month supervised diet and a psych eval. I met these requirements and my sleeve was approved in a few days. I was excited because I thought I'd have surgery within 2 weeks, basically as soon as he could get me in. However, we are on week 4. When doing my pre-op exams (an egd, echocardiogram, bloodwork) we found that the cause of my pain after eating is a hiatal hernia. My surgeon wants to fix it at the time of the sleeve to prevent more pain, but my insurance is saying it's an elective procedure they won't cover. He's digging in his heels saying it is medically necessary. I agree. I don't want to hurt forever, and this thing won't get better on its own! I'm having trouble being patient, and worrying about whether they will cover it eventually. Anyone else been through this problem? My insurance is UHC. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

FINALLY! I got the call this afternoon and I'm approved. Surgery date 07/25 Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

This has nothing to do with sleeve, but my grandpa lost his vision for 6 weeks after a root canal this year as a side effect of anesthesia. I don't know why it happened but his vision did cone back eventually. I'd call your doctor's office right away just in case. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

Hello, everyone! I am so very new to all of this. I just found out that I have to do a 6 month physician supervised diet for insurance purposes. I'm so sad! I've already been attempting to diet through Weight Watchers, then a personal trainer at the YMCA, then a weight loss group at the Y... but none of it counts for this requirement. No one just wakes up one say and notices, "Hey, I'm fat! I think I'll try surgery first." Lol. So frustrating. Did you have to do this? How did it work for you? Thank you!

I had my last appointment toward the 6 month requirement on Friday. I also had a psych eval, EGD (and I have a hiatal hernia he will fix at the time of surgery) and getting my bloodwork done tomorrow morning. It went by fast... but I am tired of waiting! I hope I'm approved quickly. I'm ready to do this!

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and encouragement! I finally had my OptumHealth nurse phone call today. It was just under 30 minutes. It was mostly just rehashing everything I already knew. But two very good bits of information... my surgeon can and is willing to be my 6 month diet physician. So now, I'm closer to 5 months out instead of 6, as my first appointment was 12/18. Secondly, I asked the nurse a very important question nagging at me... I've been losing and gaining the same 20 lbs for at least 5 years. I clarified that losing weight on the 6 month plan won't disqualify me from surgery. They approved me based on my first weigh in, so I feel better now. I can't lose enough on my own to get under the 35 BMI mark anyway!

Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences. I'm scheduled for an Optum Health nurse call on January 11, and will find out more. (I have UHC Choice.) I had my initial appointment with the surgeon on December 18th. I'm hoping that I can continue seeing him to meet my requirement for the diet, so I can expect to be approved for surgery in May/June. Thanks again!