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Has anyone been approved by Horizon BC/BS since there policy changed and how long of a supervised diet did you do?

Hey everyone! My name is Erin I'm 23 and getting married in December.. I've been on the road to get my surgery and now after all of the prep I'm waiting to hear from Horizon BC/BS.. It's the worst feeling in the world!! My neighbor and I are doing this together and she got banded yesterday.. I'm so jealous that she is done!! Anyways I would love to hear some encouraging stories!! :mad2:

i am excited and nervous all in one. Going so far for the procedure terrifies me but I have heard so much good about smart shape Toronto, anyone had their procedure their? Anything I should expect with this procedure that the doctors don't tell you?

This is normal. I have a 5 year old daughter, single mom. I will be sleeve in May and kinda have this thought at least once a week. I've done the if I'm gone letter, the will, and custody if I die (bc I want my father to have custody instead of her horrible father). This is normal, and I talk myself out of the death scares lol. Just imagine the beautiful life your going to have with your children, and how not only you but your whole family will benefit from this change.

Hi Heather. I am getting banded on the 27th. I dont know if you are on a full liquid diet or a clear liquid diet. I am on a CLEAR liquid diet + protein shakes. I prefer the Adkins protein shakes-strawberry is my fav in that. I bought some of each though. EAS, Adkins, and Slim Fast makes a Protein Drink now, so I bought vanilla in that kind. I tried to put that kind in a blender with strawberries...and it looked fine for about 60 seconds. Then it started changing consistency to some weird foam like stuff. YUCK. I had throw that away. I started eating sugar free popsicles last night. That was nice bc I could crunch on something. I also you Sugar Free Koolaid packets in my Water bottles, freeze those a little, and it's like a slushy. My fav so far is my chicken broth! Yum!!!! Good luck! May the force be with you.

Hi everyone, I am new here and am a Vancouver resident. I have been thinking about getting the sleeve done and have a consultation with Puget Sound Bariatrics on June 13th. I wanted to reach out to anyone that has had it done there and particularly any Vancouver (BC) residents that may have had the procedure done there. I would like some feedback and some info on how everything went for you and how difficult it was travelling back after the surgery. Obviously I have a million questions and would really like to buddy up with someone thats in the same area so I can chat with them about their surgery, progress ect... If you can help out with this please reply to this post or private message me. I really appreciate all the help. thanks so much!

I have only been banded for a week, so I have not had any fills yet but I hear the flouroscopy is better for finding the port. I am now praying it is bc you have me scared . I am not one for needles but if I was in your situation I would try the other way and if you can't you can always just say to yourself "it hurts to be beautiful". My mother used to tell me that when she was brushing my hair as a child. Now I totally see that with eyelash curlers and such tools she was right all along. :tt2: Good luck!!

After I met with my surgeon, we set 190 as a good goal weight for me. There are several factors, I'm 5' 71/2", have a large frame and have been overweight pretty much my entire life. Unlike a lot of posters here, I didn't put on my weight after having children. I was normal size until I got sick the entire summer between first and second grade (measles, mumps and bronchitis) so I was just lying in bed being fed anything I could keep down. After that I was always chubby. I got down to around 190 when I was 20 and felt really good. At 22 I was married, pregnant and packed on 60 pounds. After that, I yoyo'd back and forth but never got below 200 pounds again. My goal of 190 puts me in the overweight category (but not obese!) If I look at the ideal height/weight charts, I should be no heavier than 165. I can't even fathom being that weight. So for those like me who have always been overweight, how did you arrive at your goal weight? Did you achieve it? Am I being realistic with my goal or am I limiting my possibilities by "settling"? I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this.

Anyone have any idea how long I will have to wait To get approval from my insurance company? I submitted everything they asked for yesterday and was hoping someone can give me an estimate of how long it takes for blue cross blue shield to make a decision.

I have CALpers BC/BS and it covers the fills.

Ok girls what kind of foods do u eat before the aunt flow comes. Bc i want everything i cant Sent from my DROID4 using RNYTalk

Make sure you are getting enough calorie or your body goes into starvation mode and you don't lose but gain.. You will have to push your self to eat what you can and drink the shakes but I promise its important to lose the weight. I'm one month out from mine. Dec 15 and I've lost 30 pounds. But it stalled out at 3 weeks bc I had cut back on calories. I actually gained 2 pounds. I upped my calories and 3 pounds came off to put me at my 30.. After talking with many people I learned what I just told you.. Eggs are my friends so are pickles.. And anything soft. Keep us updated. And good luck to you both..

YES!!! I went through the same thing. Like to the point of insanity. I had a hard time with protein drinks bc I wasn't allowed milk by my surgeon- water was gross with it-.. and I was on the acid reducer as well. It does pass, I promise. As soon as you get to the step to eat eggs, canned chicken etc..you will be full quickly. Best of luck & hang in there

I'm three weeks out and Water is still disgusting to me, so if you find a solution please let me know. I also can't stand the taste of Protein shakes, so I'm with ya.. I I made pineapple Jello and ate it before it settled, I poured in the hot water, stirred it, added a cup of ice cubes, then spoon fed myself with that, I also ate the ice cubes as they melted. It got me going, might not be the answer for anyone else, but it helped me.

Saying prayers. It sucks. Now what everyone doesn't want...duh duh dunnnhhhhhh--yes, that's right! It's time for the "Advice from a Pre-Surgery Newbie" Show, starring? FluffyChix! Ok, so now for some practical advice. You are a medical professional--so you must be aware of this stuff--if not, get to know it! 1. Take baby steps. Begin again. Today. Right now. Only focus on the next bite. Today your one job is to dump the carbonated diet drinks. Dump em baby. Use LaCroix as a sub if you must. 2. Tomorrow or when you feel you can, work on the next step...make your snacks healthy and filling: 2oz of protein, or PB3s, or 2oz of GS apple + 2tbsp peanut butter (I'm presurg and this snack right here fills me for 3 hours). 3. Next step, STOP drinking while eating. You can do this. It's actually the easiest step. Make it the first step if you want!!! 4. Next step, go back to eating protein first with every meal. Follow the baby step meal order: protein, non-starchy veg, high carb bs, dessert. 5. Next step, get rid of all the sugar and carby nonsense. Lose the desserts and high carb nonsense. Dump all the sugar from your diet. Tighten up your daily food intake. REALLY this is the fish or cut bait time. It may take several days...get rid of the CRAP. 6. Go back to planning your meals for 1 day. Weigh and measure everything. All. The. Things. Each day, recommit to weighing and tracking (and planning--don't forget the planning) for that day and that day only. Each day. Every day. Recommit. 7. Start walking every day--just around your house, inside your house if necessary...just 5 minutes if that's all you can do. Work up every day to more. And that's as simple as it gets. Don't eat within 3-4 hours of bedtime. Sleep elevated. Make low acid choices. Chew the crap outta stuff and makes notes on what makes the GERD and your esophagus feel worse. Take your PPIs. Treat yourself kindly and with respect. Congratulate yourself on getting through some serious ****. Congratulate yourself on graduating and improving your life. Go back to basics. Each day plan and log your food. Only focus on taking the very next BEST bite. Don't forget to surrender to your higher power. Read about CBT and food addiction. It's an awesome tool for overeating or eating with abandon. And lastly, don't put off a revision if it's called for with the GERD. Just jump in and get it done. Don't waste any more of your life on this. But you do need to get the overeating/eating off plan stuff together cuz as you know, you can eff any surgery if you're determined to do so. Do OA or Greysheeters. Go to therapy. Just concentrate on changing one thing at a time. Take baby steps and you can turn your life around. This is exactly how I backed into starting my new life on the pre-surgery plan. Before I could even do my plan, I had to slowly and gradually back into it until I had strung together so many successful days that I'd built momentum and resolve. Resolve and commitment grow exponentially with success. The more you see the scale move (or whatever your marker of success may be), the stronger the resolve to stay on plan. Good luck. If I can do this, you can do this. I'm the queen of recidivism. I practically wrote the book on it.

Need some help on what to do to insure acceptance, from someone who has already recieved approval from them. I'm scheduled to go to a Free Info night at Lehigh Valley Hospital on July 10 to get started. Any info on what to do would be appreciated. Thanks.

What feels to me like the biggest hurdle has been jumped! And it's fine! I came down on the other side on both feet! I had my appt with my PCP today. I need from her a letter of medical necessity. And I wasn't sure how my visit with her would go - whether she would make me defend and justify this, whether she would be adamantly against it, whether she would emphatically support it...I just wasn't sure at all! And she said she would absolutely give me that because while she's only known me for a year, she's seen enough to know that I'm not lieing when I say "I TRY!" And it comes off. And it comes back. She said we would do some testing to prove a comorbidity that she thinks I may have. She said we will jump through those insurance hoops and give them NO REASON to deny this! She also said three or four years ago she would have been hesitant, would have said, 'do it yourself' but she's seen those people she told that lose the weight and then gain it back plus some. It's something about a BMI over 40 that makes your body NOT WANT TO LET GO! And she's seen lap-band® after lap-band® do wonders for people. She said my choice in surgeon is fantastic. Can't beat him in my area and she would have suggested him had I not found him myself. She recommended doing the supervised exercise and diet program with them because she likes their nutritionist and the staff in that office are all fantastic. She gave me copies of everything I need for the consult tomorrow - which should help some of this role along faster. I did some blood work because I had questionable liver function earlier this year and she wants to see if we can prove it's fatty liver. If the blood work warrants it, I already have the order in hand for a abdominal ultrasound. She said even if we can't prove that comorbidity, it's enough that my parents are ALREADY deceased - were deceased by 55 (mother) and 61 (father) - for things that are comorbidities. I already have tons of odds against me, I don't need this weight stacking my odds even further! To me, getting her approval was potentially my biggest stumbling block. Had she said no, I would have gotten myself a new PCP and kept trying. But I like her and I didn't want that hassle which would also potentially become a demotivator. And I KNOW I'm fat enough. She laughed at that. Was impressed at how much research I've done, what I knew, and how I've been taking care of myself in this endeavor. Wasn't asking for the answers, was asking for endorsement - and from what she said, the people willing to do this from start to finish like this, on their own - if you will, are the successful ones. The people on this website, I'd venture! Can't be done on your own - don't get me wrong. But I'm not being spoon fed my information. This wasn't suggested to me, I explored the thought. That's what I'm talking about... Anywho... She said she has seen it before where people are like me, on the fence with the BMI with no comorbidities. And she's seen - and even supported - minor weight gain to get them to the "acceptable level of fatness". I find that sad. But it's the game we have to play, apparently. Comorbidities help, but I've enjoyed my food this weekend to ensure my weight today and tomorrow would not be an issue. And hopefully tomorrow can start the six month supervision. And hopefully I can be looking at the March/April time frame. And if not, I'll take it as it comes. My biggest stumbling block has been passed. I just feel like now I can say "Ok, hope is on the horizon!" YAY!

My husband and I finally received the information on his insurance options for next year today. His options are staying the same - which means we can switch to his plan and still have something deductible and out-of-pocket-max free. Add to that it will save us $8 a payperiod of my own plan that's going away. So we will be switching to Aetna. From things I read around here, seems Aetna is good about this. But I don't know what my specific case will be. Right now I am on Cigna. Cigna required a six month supervised weight loss program which I am one month into. Cigna required a pysch consult which I have done the testing for. I go back on Monday to get the results. Yes, I'm nuts. Not sure why anyone has to pay for that info. :smile: Cigna required letters of medical necessity from any practictioners with ongoing care. In my case that's my PCP and my OB/GYN. I got one from my PCP. I see my OB/GYN next Thurs but don't expect an issue here as he has mentioned this in the past. The good news about Aetna is all of my doc's - the pcp, the ob/gyn, even the surgeon, are still in-network. So there will be no change of care. Cigna required a nutritionist consult. I will have that on Thurs when I go in for my weigh in. When I go in for that weigh in, I'll see what they might be able to say about this switch. Seems that some with Aetna only have to do three months of supervised weightloss. So maybe this is happening sooner? But in perusing Aetna's website, I found a document that says I have to have documented severe obesity issues for two years or more. I have not been over a BMI of 40 for a year, let alone two. I've been at 40 (and counting) since the start of this year. Last year I hovered around 37-38. Got off BC at the beginning of the year and that threw everything out of whack. Problem is that while I have history of a BMI over 35, I do not have any comorbidities.... I feel so much better about the insurance. There may have to be a delay in getting the insurance requirements sorted out after that insurance plan goes into effect (Jan 1 2010) but in the meantime I can keep plugging away on all this other stuff. I do know that I will still have to have the psych consult and a nutritionist consult. I do know there is a supervised weightloss time period - may be 6 months may be 3. But I can keep all this going. And the motivation is back. I no longer feel like there's a potential hurdle to overcome. YAY!:crying::thumbup::thumbup:

My husband and I finally received the information on his insurance options for next year today. His options are staying the same - which means we can switch to his plan and still have something deductible and out-of-pocket-max free. Add to that it will save us $8 a payperiod of my own plan that's going away. So we will be switching to Aetna. From things I read around here, seems Aetna is good about this. But I don't know what my specific case will be. Right now I am on Cigna. Cigna required a six month supervised weight loss program which I am one month into. Cigna required a pysch consult which I have done the testing for. I go back on Monday to get the results. Yes, I'm nuts. Not sure why anyone has to pay for that info. :wub: Cigna required letters of medical necessity from any practictioners with ongoing care. In my case that's my PCP and my OB/GYN. I got one from my PCP. I see my OB/GYN next Thurs but don't expect an issue here as he has mentioned this in the past. The good news about Aetna is all of my doc's - the pcp, the ob/gyn, even the surgeon, are still in-network. So there will be no change of care. Cigna required a nutritionist consult. I will have that on Thurs when I go in for my weigh in. When I go in for that weigh in, I'll see what they might be able to say about this switch. Seems that some with Aetna only have to do three months of supervised weightloss. So maybe this is happening sooner? But in perusing Aetna's website, I found a document that says I have to have documented severe obesity issues for two years or more. I have not been over a BMI of 40 for a year, let alone two. I've been at 40 (and counting) since the start of this year. Last year I hovered around 37-38. Got off BC at the beginning of the year and that threw everything out of whack. Problem is that while I have history of a BMI over 35, I do not have any comorbidities.... I feel so much better about the insurance. There may have to be a delay in getting the insurance requirements sorted out after that insurance plan goes into effect (Jan 1 2010) but in the meantime I can keep plugging away on all this other stuff. I do know that I will still have to have the psych consult and a nutritionist consult. I do know there is a supervised weightloss time period - may be 6 months may be 3. But I can keep all this going. And the motivation is back. I no longer feel like there's a potential hurdle to overcome. YAY!:thumbup::scared2:

I tell them but I still somehow eat the bad food. Yea I need to just get out. Do something ASAP bc I gain 30 pounds it's crazy. And thank you I appreciate your words.

Get another opinion for sure. That sounds like bs.

I hope you have no problems! I have BC/BS. I had United Healthcare for my band, but my work changed insurance after. BC/BS said my band was successful. I wrote an appeal letter listing out every reason why it wasn't and the decision was reversed.

My only cheat the first two weeks postop were a few tiny teaspoons of feta cheese crumbles bc I was craving it a ton...

I've had trouble getting a practitioner to insert an IUD. I think it's because of my age (I won't need bBC for 10 more years). First I went to the NP and she didn't want to insert it because I wasn't menstruating also she would only insert the mirena and I was looking for a the non-hormonal paragard. So I made an appointment at PP and specifically asked if I needed to be menstruating. I'm told no,make an appointment, wait in their waiting room for 2 hors, pay a $30 copay, only to be told that she wants me to either take cytotec and come back or come back when I'm on my period. Argh. So I let myself be talked into the nuvaring but it didn't agree with me (see earlier post). And the copay for that was $25, so I paid $55 for no viable BC! Truly, I think I'm going to wing it. At my age there is less that a 1% chance of me getting pregnant and an even lower chance of me having a viable pregnancy. Maybe I should leave it in God's hands. Doubt I'll do that but I am frustrated Thanks for listening ladies.

I took two weeks off I am a speech pathologist and Do Home based therapy so I carry heavy bags and children at times but I went bs k after 1 week n 2 days the first 5 days were the hardest