mzpotter

Hi Everyone- I wanted to give you all a quick update with me. I chose to go with another doctor who submitted my info to insurance without jumping through hoops that the first doctor wanted. Aetna approved the surgery is 3 days, the catch is- the doctor put me in for gastric bypass rather than lap-band. My surgery is scheduled for Thursday. I am excited and cant wait to see the changes to be made.

Hi Everyone, I got a surgery date today!!! We are looking at June 18th. :crying: I am happy, of course they still have to submit to ins to get approval- which makes me a little nervous, my BMI is 37.7- that in conjunction with 3 co-morbities makes the doc feel good about getting approved. On the flipside, the doc suggested that I go for the bypass surgery. He says that in his experience, patients who have a sweet-tooth do better with bypass because of the whole dumping syndrome, etc. And the port area can get infected, etc. I have until the 15th of June to decide. I am not sure what to do. What do you all suggest?

Hi band75- I get the same looks as you when I go to my appoinments. I haven't been to a counseling session yet, I plan on going on Tuesday- we will see what the reaction is. I see that you live in Maryland- I live in Columbia and I am seeing Dr. Von Rueden. Where do you live and who do you see?

Hi everyone! TSB, don't worry about not having to put on a CPAP. When I had my sleep study, I just knew that they were going to say that I was fine. But the results came back that I have mild OSA. So you never know. I had my final appointment today. I have gained 5 pounds since starting this journey. The doc said that he will submit the paperwork to insurance today or tomorrow. I am nervous. What if they dont approve me because I gained weight? I have a million things running through my head at this point and i am going to remain hopeful.

Hi Lisa- I am keeping you in my thoughts. I have Aetna as well. Do you mind me asking if you have the HMO or PPO? Please keep us posted when you get your approval and surgery date. ~Jenn

Hi Everyone- Band I am sorry to hear about your father and father in law. Be strong and know that the group is here if you need to vent. I went to my 2nd appointment today and weighed in at 226. This is a bad thing because I gained weight, but good because my bmi is moving up. Ins. requires 3 visits with the doc and my last visit is on May 21st. I need to make sure that all my ducks are in a row before they submit my info to insurance. Does anyone know what I need to have so that I can def. get an approval? I have Aetna Ins.

Hi Everyone, Can I join? My name is Jenn and I decided to start this journey about 3 weeks ago. I started the 6 month requirement in July, the weight loss doc gave me phentermine and lipotrophic injections. As it turned out I was allergic to sulfa and the lipotrophic injections caused my body to swell and hives were everywhere. The phentermine caused my BP to rise out of control, at one point it was 164/100 (scary). The doc perscribed Bumex for the high BP. So now I take Metformin for my insulin resistance and PCOS, Bumex for high BP. and Prilosec for reflux. I am a mess :biggrin:. I met with a surgeon yesterday. He took my height and weight (5'5"/222) my bmi is 36.9. He said we need to build a strong case in order to get approval from Aetna ins. The coordinator said that Aetna is very good with giving approvals as long as all t's are crossed and i's are dotted. For that reason I have to do 3 monthly appointments and take a billion tests in order to get an approval. So hopefully they will be sending my packet in for approval in May. I apologize if this post is long. I look forward to sharing this journey with you all and sharing in your experiences. ~Jenn