BCBS Blue Choice

[FireWife678 51]

Just wondering if anyone has BCBS Blue Choice insurance (not sure if it is strictly an Iowa plan or not)? If so, just wondering what kind of requirements they have. I have seen some people say varying things with BCBS as far as what "hoops" they have had to jump through. I'm just so anxious!! lol

[mentalistfan 189]

My Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois is not difficult to work with at all. I don't have to do a six month assessment with my PCP, some BCBS does, but not hard to work with.

[iagree2shine 52]

I agree, I also have BCBS IL and no hoops either. Since I went to a center of excellence, they are quicker to approve.

[mentalistfan 189]

I am also going to a center of excellence, the only one listed in my area, so I'm happy because I found thaf out!

[sleeve30 33]

I have BCBS NJ and also going to a center of excellence... Hoping for a fast approval.

[FireWife678 51]

Thanks all!! I talked to one of the women at the surgeon's office today and she told me the requirements, which weren't bad! She said they are really easy to work with so that put my mind at ease. I do have to do the six month with my doc but that it could be any time within the last two years. Well I did like four months last spring when I was going to have it done last year so just two more months! Plus a few other things so it will probably be more like late summer, early fall. I'll take it

[MSRezab 6]

Thanks for posting this! I had the same questions! Can I ask which surgeon youre going to? Were in the same town and Im assuming that if your husband works for the city of Des Moines, we have the same kind of insurance. (Im in public works)

Hoping for a surgery date in fall/winter some time!

[FireWife678 51]

Hi MS! My husband doesn't work for DSM (he's a Vol. FF but has a diff day job), I have my insurance through my work (EMC), But im sure they're pretty similar. My surgeon is Dr. Smolnik (spelling?) through Mercy Weight Loss center. A friend of mine went through him and had her surgery two weeks ago today and she seems to be doing great so I'm hopeful. I did the info meeting last month and have my first visit with the surgeon May 13th. Can't wait, it'll make it a little more real I think.

Edited April 15, 2014 by FireWife678

[MSRezab 6]

Gotcha! I would assume our plans are similar. Im going to Dr. LeMasters at Methodist. (or Unity Point. Whatever it changed to now) I had Dr Smolik a few years back when I had to get my gallbladder out. He seemed really nice and listened to my concerns regarding food intolerances. (he, however, did not listen to my request to have no glue/steri strips. Not sure that there was another option though. Im allergic to adhesive so i had these amazing red itchy welts around my incision sites for about 2 weeks.)
Ive got 2 friends at work here who went to LeMasters in the last 5 years and really liked her. And this sounds totally superficial, but the reason I chose them was because I liked their website better. It was easier to navigate.

My husband and I are both hoping to get sleeved this fall. I told him that I have to go first or I would probably chicken out.
I havent told anyone besides the one coworker who was sleeved. (because i wanted to ask questions) And my husband knows too, obviously. I think that maybe Im waiting until after the meeting and pre-approval processes before I tell anyone. Im afraid Im going to get turned down because I have no co-morbidities besides asthma. I am 31, 5'4" and just under 300lbs though so my BMI is pretty high. Hoping it is enough that I am still somewhat young and have a high BMI.

[FireWife678 51]

Man, it's like we are the same person lol. I'm also 31, I'm 5'3" and around 280 (depends on the day lol). I saw Dr. LaMasters last year but I had different insurance and it would have been astronomical back then so we decided to wait (and I'm not a fan of Methodist, personal reasons). She was very nice and a great listener. Glad I did wait though, this new plan won't break me.

I've only told my husband, my mom, my sons, their bio dad and two friends. I'm just pretty personal and I know who will have my back and who won't. Don't want to give negative Nancies any ammo, ya know lol. Let them eat their hearts out the smaller & hotter I get haha

I had my gallbladder out at 19 and sometimes I feel like it was the biggest mistake, although I couldn't have lived/functioned with the "attacks." They were awful. I only had issues with the internal dissolving stitches coming to the surface but I just pulled them out and all was okay. Hopefully they are able to use something for you that won't irritate your incisions. Last thing you want to worry about after a surgery like this!!

[MSRezab 6]

Holy cow! thats crazy!! I was 297 this morning. How many sons do you have and how old? I have 2 boys. One is 6 and one is 3. The 3 yr old is very 'spirited'. He runs all the time and everywhere. He makes me feel completely incompetent as a mom because he is just ALWAYS on the go and one step ahead of me. (he is part of my reason for getting surgery)

I tried to tell my best friend that we were going to the initial meeting and she just sort of rolled her eyes like, oh ok. whatever.
I havent really looked at out of pocket cost. Im hoping it isnt too much. (since hubby and i are both doing it)

If they could do this surgery without the glue/steri strips Id be a happy camper! I got sick of changing 'dressings' on wounds that shouldnt have needed it. And I would not recommend taking benadryl everyday for a week unless you have to. I had the 'benadryl brain' for like, 2 weeks!

[FireWife678 51]

I also have two sons. They're older (I started shortly after I graduated high school), one will 13 in a month and the other will be 10 in July, right after I turn 32. My youngest is also my wild child lol. He's calmed down this past year so I think 4th grade must be the turning point haha.

I think my out of pocket max is $500 with no deductible, according to the insurance lady...I hope she is right! Before it was $1,500 deductible and our OOP was like $3,000 per person. It wasn't doable for us.

I am so glad my husband is on-board. He's always my biggest cheerleader. But he met & married me as a big girl so I was a little nervous about his reaction. I think he realizes that it's not really about being skinny so much as my knees not hurting or not being able to walk up more than a flight of stairs! It's awesome that you and your husband will have each other to lean on. You'll know what each other is going through and whatnot. It'll be a great built-in support system!

[MSRezab 6]

The only way i would do this surgery is if my husband was on board. He is a big food enabler. Always buying sweets. (he works odd hours so he goes to the store at like 4am when he gets off work when there isnt anyone there) It will be nice to be having the same procedure at around the same time. Then once we are on regular foods, our meals will be about the same. Although, I have fructose intolerance/IBS so my meals will be a bit different than his.

I think our OOP maximum is $2500. But I could be wrong. Ill ask when we talk with the doc. Ive been fat since i was like 15, and didnt meet my husband until i was 20 or 21. So he met me fat and we have both gained quite a bit of weight in the 10 years we have been together. I was unemployed for the 1st year we were together and i gained 40lbs! Gained all that weight right before our wedding. ugh.
Im glad your son settle down some! Dawson is just NUTS all the time. He also has Childhood Apraxia of Speech and cant say much so im sure that has something to do with how crazy he gets. He just gets frustrated that he cant tell me what he wants or needs. (which is totally understandable! Id lose my mind if nobody understood me either!)

Cant wait to get this 'party' started!

Edited April 16, 2014 by MSRezab

[FireWife678 51]

I totally understand, I'd feel how he does if I couldn't explain what I needed/thought. Bless his little heart. Fourth grade was the turning point for both my sons, oldest wasn't as wild as the youngest though lol. My husband does that too without realizing it. He will randomly bring me a (king size!!) snickers or those Peanut Butter Cookies from Quik Trip! They're sinfully delicious. I was always bigger, from like 6th grade on and really bumped it up my senior year of high school when I started dating their bio-dad (I didn't meet my husband until I was 24). We ate out constantly and that carried over to when we moved in together and after the boys were born. I get frustrated because my husband will eat like crap and stay exactly the same. I do and gain 3 pounds over night!! I hate that this is a slow process but I know if I had surgery tomorrow without learning anything it would all be for nothing. I'm too impatient haha

[MSRezab 6]

Our wild child seems to be getting better and better. He can actually SIT in the same place for 20 minutes at a time now. We went to see Rio 2 last night and besides getting excited and standing up, he didnt get up to run away at ALL for an ENTIRE movie!

My husband works for QT and when he worked nights and would get off work as I was going TO work, he would bring me food all the time. Especailly those chocolate cakes in the cooler. holy cow. Those cakes are good. But, he brought me one too many. I was pregnant with our 1st kiddo and ate one of those during a bout of morning sickness. After it came up, the cake never tasted the same again.. In fact, Its probably been 6+ yrs since Ive had one.

My husband is overweight too but my BMI is higher than his. (im also a foot shorter than he is but only weigh 40lbs less)

Just checked and our deductible is $500/family per calendar year and OOP Max is $1500 per family/yr. So thats good news! We have our initial meeting today at 1pm. Ive been fighting a killer headache all morning and am just NOW starting to feel like I can open my eyes without pain.
Im now wondering if I could even do tihs surgery this fall now. Im think I might have to wait until like march or April to do my surgery. Working in a call center that handles calls about snow removal (among other things) our busy days coincide with snow. Would hate to leave the gals in the call center drowning in calls for an optional surgery. So, I would have to have it done either sept or october or in Feb/March/April.

Who knows. For now Im just hoping Im approved!