PeaceDove24

Look into the Vitalady list, tho even those will end up being $500+/year. That is, unfortunately, one of the costs of having this surgery.

Just FYI, it's a fairly normal thing. The IV fluids they have you on help raise blood sugar. I was on metformin pre-op but NEVER had blood sugar tested at higher than 105 pre-op. Post op? ~160+, and it stayed like that for about ~24 hours. Then dropped to it's normal 95-105. Now it's very steady at ~80.

So yeah, as mentioned above you probably won't find anyone in the NE area. It is not impossible, but won't be very easy unfortunately. The BPD-DS is only done by ~100 surgeons throughout the country- a good majority of them are based in the south and west. There are several WLS programs in NY that do do the the BPD-DS (and probably modified/Loop/SIPS/SADI) but that is, unfortunately, the closest you may get.

Technically auto adjusting is not what bi-pap does. bi-pap just also forces you to exhale along with forcing air into you. It is possible that your machine has an auto feature that adjusts pressure as needed BUT it is also very possible that the range it's been set to by the therapist is too high. Like my dad had a bi-pap that auto adjusted- his pressure range setting was something like 25-40. My mom's auto cpap has a minimum of 14 (that is the pressure it starts at). Mine is only 5.5-12 (normally about 6.2) because I had very moderate (two points above mild!!!) OSA. IDK if this has been discussed with sleep DR, but that's my 2c.

Surgery is 9/17. Pre-op started this past monday 9/2. 2-3 protein supplements, regular snacks (pickles, deli meat, cheese, veg w/dip, etc...) and a meat and veg meal. Also allowed 1 cup of fruit. First night I had a couple spoonfuls of baked beans, and have been consuming probably closer to 1.5 c fruit. I'm tampering down the fruit to 1c tho, and haven't cheated with anything else that I am aware of. No calorie limits. I weighed in at 313 Sunday morning. Today I weighed 305.

I recently became business partners with my brother due to our dad's passing and inheriting the business. My brother doesn't do much with it- I handle almost anything that the manager needs help with (with his input sometimes). I'd be leaving my mom (who is already stressed out due to financial concerns from us needing to sell the childhood home we inherited) with my brother who'd get every but has no idea (and no seeming will) to actually take care of it. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but I've actually heard some people talk about joint pain increasing with weight loss something about loss of padding/lubrication. Not sure there's anything to it, and getting the weight off would definitely decrease pressure on those joints (so that a steroid shot or something would work better than a replacement).

I'm the 17th! Honestly, I'm a mixture of emotions. The nervousness of surgery itself didn't start until I got the date. But I'm also not nervous because it'll be what it'll be. I stopped fearing my own death a long time ago- but my nervousness stems from something going wrong and being in pain or something for the rest of my life. And, ya know, the fear that surgery won't work or do anything at all. People keep asking me how I feel about it and I'm just like "Eh, it's major surgery." The idea of finally being able to lose the weight (and keep it off!) is exciting. And there's that nervousness. But mostly I'm just antsy to get it done and over with. The build up is more nerve wracking.

I'm still pre-op (Traditional BPD-DS 9/17). Surgeon said total surgery would be about 6 hours. But he's also doing a Hiatal Hernia repair (1-2 hours) and Appendectomy (1-2 hours). That leaves 2-4 hours for the BPD-DS itself.

Hi! I'm looking at getting DS. I am currently in the process of finding a surgeon/WLS program. I am trying to find out if anyone here has gone thru the process of getting Cigna to cover their surgery since the beginning of 2019 (from what I can tell there was a policy change but I'm not sure what that change entails). What kind of waiting period did you have to go thru? Other requirements? I'm *hoping* to be able to get my surgery done by the end of July- my Cigna insurance runs out then due to me turning 26. Any input/insight would be appreciated. Thank you!

Like others, I met with surgeon first. I think this is common practice since they need to sign off/approve you for surgery before you go thru any of the other processes. After surgeon left, I met with coordinator and went over insurance, and all the necessary tests and out-of-pocket costs.

I've done a ton of research. A good 50-75% of the people I've contacted that have had the RNY have either gained the weight back, or gone thru finding out they need to take a ton of vitamins. It just doesn't seem like the best option- DS does. Yes, it is more intense. Yes, I'll be on a strict diet and vitamin regimen for the rest of my life. I will forever take steps toward not losing too much weight. I have a plan in place to try and keep that from happening.

I have 150-175lbs to lose. I don't like the RNY due to dumping and large regain %. I also want to preserve and utilize the pyloric valve as well as completely removing the part of the stomach that Ghrelin comes from. I had originially been looking at VSG because I knew I didn't want RNY- after watching several informational sessions (that only talked about Band, VSG and RNY), I literally thought to myself "I need the malabsorption of RNY and the stomach of VSG". I'm not even sure *how* I stumbled upon the DS, but since I realized it was an actual procedure, it's made the most sense to me.

Yeah. So I figured out the issue- the 3 month practice was saying 3 months so they would have proof of medical weight loss attempt. The one month place said "1 month" but really only meant a single visit. But now I have another issue altogether- I haven't actually ever done a medically managed weight loss program. I've seen various nutritionists, gone to weight loss camp, spent a 15 months working out with a personal trainer, done gym many times, majored in Nutrition in college and even started a medical management program with a specialist. I wonder if there is any kind of override way around that.... I just don't know if this is going to be able to happen for me. :/ At least not in the timeline I needed it to.

I understand. But Cigna has told me directly that they don't have a diet/exercise requirement for authorization. And that practice telling me 3 months is different than another practice that told me 1 month yesterday.

I was also just told by a different practice that my insurance requires a 3 month diet/exercise program. I can't figure it out.

Interesting. On their Bariatric Surgery policy sheet BPD/DS is covered (seemingly). The modified versions of it are not tho, due to being experimental.

This is so crazy. I'm trying to get the DS, so can't go with Henke since he doesn't do that- but I just talked to another Dallas/Fort Worth surgical center that told me (before verifying insurance) that Cigna has a 1 month diet requirement. I'm just like. Y'all. Get your stories straight?

I called them this past Friday at ~8am. Got thru relatively easily. The issue is that they couldn't find any actual requirements related to a waiting period.

I've never asked about it directly to them before. I am pretty sure I looked up requirement several years ago and there was a 6 month stipulation. But there is not one now.

This is AWESOME to hear. Hopefully the PCP I meet with tomorrow (new PCP I'm "interviewing" to find a new one) can give me that physician-recommendation. But I wonder, if it could come from my Endocrinologist. I know she said she couldn't do a referral for insurance, but if it's just a recommendation letter.... Now I just have to find a surgeon that is in network and doesn't require a supervised diet/classes. Can I ask what surgeon you're using?

I called Cigna this past Friday (5/17) morning to ask, the lady I talked to was very confused when I asked if there was a required waiting period and on the sheet she sent me (below hopefully) it doesn't say anything about a required waiting period- just that I have to have a Doc sign off that I haven't had success losing weight in the past and have done a Nutrition eval, psych eval, and gotten clearance from my PCP in the past 6 months. Thankfully I'm not attached to a single surgeon- I can go to any surgeon I want that is In-Network and thinks I'm qualified (and has the availability to do it within my time frame). Bariatric Surgery.pdf