Carrie_C

I think it probably means 100 pounds overweight, not %. It sounds like you meet that requirement. I think as long as your BMI is over 40 that is considered 100 pounds overweight.

I know what you mean snuffy. I wasn't fat when I was a teenager, in fact it was quite the opposite. I never ate much because I was always afraid of getting fat (that fear seemed to go away as I got older for some reason). Everyone was always telling me I was too skinny and I needed to eat. But then when I did start gaining weight in my 20's everyone would tell me I needed to stop eating. I still have relatives that ask me why don't I go on a diet. I think no matter what we do people will talk and be negative. I think we just have to try to ignore it as much as possible. We are the ones who have to deal with our weight.

It sounds like they need the letter of medical necessity from your primary doctor. Do you know if that was faxed in? I would call Cigna and ask.

I know what you mean, I too am scared. I'm scared of the surgery and I'm scared of how I will feel afterwards. I also keep thinking of all the other things I could spend the money on. I am glad I am not the only one with these feelings. But I also keep thinking how nice it will be to be thinner next summer and how good it will feel to be able to do the things that I can't do now.

What type of Cigna do you have? I gave Open Access and it took them one week to deny me, but only because they were missing paperwork. I think they deny fast, but approve slow. You should call them.

Thanks. The insurance cooridinator refaxed everything today. She said she did fax the nutrition eval the first time, she has the fax confirmation. So I guess Cigna overlooked it. I hope I hear something soon. It really is torture waiting.

I found out today that Cigna denied my surgery. I called them and they said they denied it because they didn't have anything showing that I had a nutrition evaluation. I had the eval a few weeks ago. The doctor's office forgot to fax it in!! I am very frustrated! They are going to refax everything tomorrow, so hopefully they will approve it this time. The Cigna lady said that I was just barely denied, whatever that means! They only took a week to deny it, so hopefully they will only take a week to approve it!!

I was on Yasmin and i liked it, but it caused a lot of break through bleeding. I am now on Zovia and it is making me sick. I may go back to the Yasmin and give it another try, I wasn't on it long.

Don't let them change your mind. My husband is also against the surgery. I haven't even told anyone else, and I think it is brave of you to have told everyone. I am waiting on approval, and even if I get approved, I am not telling that many people. I think others are just afraid of change, and I also think a lot of people see us trying to improve ourselves, and it makes them jealous, even if they don't realize it. You are not too young. You have to do what you think is best for you. You are the one that has to live with yourself, not anyone else. That is what I tell myself. It is great that your insurance covers it. I say go for it.

Yes, I believe everyone has to do the 6 month diet regardless of BMI. If you lose below 40, I don't know if they would still approve it, I doubt they would. They did not cover anything for my nutrition or psych eval, I had to pay that out of pocket. Stacy, your chances sound pretty good for approval if you do the 6 month diet. I would go ahead and start it if I were you, it goes by pretty fast. I think they actually WANT you to lose weight during the 6 months, because that shows that you are willing to lose it. The insurance cooridinator told me they want you to lose 10% of your body weight. I have met all the requirements and I am just waiting on them to decide if they will approve it. Waiting on approval is the worst part!!

I know what you mean, I am waiting as well. It is torture!!

I also hated Depo, I gained about 50 pounds in 3 months. My doctor recently switched me to another pill and it is causing A LOT of nausea. I don't know if I can continue it. I have been switched about 3 times, so I am all messed up. Nikki, you are very right, the patch is not recommended for those of us weighing over 200. I tried the ring, but I had a lot of cramps with it. Rubbers are VERY ick! I have tried most everything so I don't know what I can switch to now!

I already posted once saying that I thought you should get another opinion, but I also wanted to share something else with you. I work in a doctor's office and we have a few people who have had the bypass, and they have a lot of problems from it. One woman has to go into the hospital all the time because she has malnutrition. She has also had a lot of infections. She has constant nausea and has to take massive doses of phenergan a day. She can't eat solid food most of the time and has to have full liquids. And one of the worst things is, she has gained all the weight back PLUS. I know of others who have had the band for 5 years or more and haven't had any problems. They have kept the weight off. I know some people benefit from the bypass, but from what I have seen, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

I think the pill would be your best option. I agree with the doctor, you should wait at least a year. You want your body to have time to heal. I don't know how much you have to lose, but I think it would be better to get pregnant at a healther weight. That's what I plan to do anyway. I have also heard that as you lose weight you become more fertile, so you definitely want to use something. I am sticking with the pill because most of them are very small and won't have any trouble passing through the small opening, and you won't have to crush them. I don't know about you, but I HATED depo!! What a nightmare! I would like to use the patches, but the doctor said that if you are overweight, they have a higher failure rate. So I think the pill is the best thing. I have been using it for years, and it has not caused any problems. Just be sure and take it at the same time every day. Good luck!

I think you just have to have a BMI of 40 for 1 year. That is what my insurance papers say anyway. But even if it's not exactly a year, I don't think they really check. Good luck.

I also have Open Access. I am hoping they are good. I looked at my benefits on their web site and it says my coinsurance for bariatric surgery is 15%. So maybe they will cover it since it says that (hopefully). The 6 month program you are doing should count. I don't think it matters if you had Cigna when you started. I just got Cigna in January, and I did the 6 month diet last year when I had Aetna. The insurance cooridinator said it shouldn't matter, they don't ask for records. So that is good.

I think you should get another opinion. I have about 100 pounds to lose. I wouldnteven consider the bypass. That is scary to me. At least the band can be taken out if something goes wrong. The nurse at the surgeons office I go to had the band done about 3 years ago. She weighed over 300 pounds. She has lost 160 pounds. I think the band is much safer, and I can't understand why some insurance companies won't pay for it, but will pay for bypass.

Hi, thanks for sharing your story. I also have Cigna and I am waiting on approval. My paperwork was just sent in this past Thursday. I really don't understand why some people are approved within days and others have to wait months. It makes no sense to me. The surgeon's office told me to wait about 2 weeks and then start calling. So that is what I am going to do. Good luck with your surgery!

That's great! The 6 months goes by a lot faster than you think!

That is SO right about staying fat is the easy way out. I don't think I ever thought of it that way before. lfoss, I know exactly what you mean, my husband will have no sympathy for me either.

Hi nikki, I have tried explaining to him what might happen to me if I don't lose weight. I am young now, so I don't have that many health problems, but I'm sure that will change as I get older if I don't lose weight. I do have arthritis in both my knees, which causes me a lot of pain and I have tried telling him that the pain will probably go away when I lose weight. You could try talking to him about your health issues.

Hi, I am also having the same problem as you, except my husband is not overweight at all, he can eat all he wants and not gain a pound. So he has no idea what it is like to be overweight. I have filed all of the paperwork and I am just waiting to hear back from the insurance company. I wanted to have the surgery a long time ago, but he was so unsupportive that I just let it go. But I couldn't let it go any longer. I have a BMI of 41 and I feel like I will die if I don't do something. So I finally decided to do it, with or without his support. He thinks that I can do it on my own as well. He will not talk to me about it at all, and I think he is secretly hoping insurance won't pay. I have decided not to bring it up again until I hear back from the insurance company. I think you should go ahead and get started. Hopefully both of our husbands will come around. Good luck.

I am also in the process of waiting on insurance to decide. I am a medical assistant in a doctor's office and I too am wondering how long to take off. I don't do any lifting, but we are a busy office. And, I do not plan on telling anyone I work with that I am having the surgery, so I have also got to come up with a good excuse to be off! Any suggestions would be great!!

I have Cigna as well. All of my paperwork was submitted yesterday and I am waiting on a response. The insurance cooridinator told me that Cigna wants you to have completed the 6 month diet within the last year. She also said that they expect to see a 10% weightloss with the diet. You also have to have a nutrition and psych eval before submitting to Cigna. They also are more likely to approve it if you have 1 or 2 comorbidities. You also have to have a letter of medical necessity from your PCP. They are pretty strick. But all plans are different, so you might want to give them a call. If you have to do the 6 month diet, I would go ahead and do it. 6 months goes by faster than you think!!

I also have Cigna. All of my paperwork was submitted yesterday and I am waiting approval as well. Good luck!