Corona delaying weight loss surgery dates? Anyone?

[MaybeMeow 129]

On 9/29/2020 at 5:33 PM, JKSharPei said:

MaybeMeow, how did your preop go? Your starting weight and height are what mine were. I've lost some weight since starting the WLS process (nowhere close to my IBW) because I've been compliant with diet and exercise. I'm worried that surgery will be denied if my BMI goes down too low. I'm stuck in a holding pattern waiting on the surgical coordinator to give me a surgery date then to submit pre-authorization to my insurance company. The last I heard, surgeries now are being scheduled for November. I can be patient and don't mind the delay so much as the not knowing whether the surgery will be approved or not. I know I need surgery; aside from the weight itself, I've developed several obesity-related comorbidities and have a really awful family history on both sides (cardiovascular, diabetes, morbid obesity, etc.).

If you don't mind my asking, did you lose any weight before surgery? Did you have to deal with insurance approval problems, or was it a pretty easy process?

I did not have any comorbidities and my BMI was in the lower range so I did not apply for insurance coverage as my surgeon said he was certain I would not be approved. I paid out of pocket. I will cross my fingers for you that you are approved.

Edited October 1, 2020 by MaybeMeow

[JKSharPei 0]

6 hours ago, MaybeMeow said:

I did not have any comorbidities and my BMI was in the lower range so I did not apply for insurance coverage as my surgeon said he was certain I would not be approved. I paid out of pocket. I will cross my fingers for you that you are approved.

Thank you! I do have comorbidities. + OSA (mild, not severe like insurance requires. But it’s bad enough that I have to sleep in a recliner because I can’t sleep in a regular bed anymore ), prediabetes, hypertension (not on meds), high cholesterol, a fatty liver, gallbladder disease, and osteoarthritis in my ankles, knees, and back (with a herniated L4 L5 disk).

I called the surgical coordinator yesterday, and she was able to give me a surgery date finally: 11/3/2020 (election day!) She’s supposed to submit all of the documentation to my insurance in the next few days for preauthorization. I pray that my insurance company recognizes how badly I need this surgery and approves it without making me jump through hoops.

If you don’t mind my asking, about how much does WLS cost out of pocket? I don’t want to think about having to pay out of pocket if my insurance denies the gastric sleeve, but I’ve worked so hard to make progress but I’ll never get to a healthy weight with diet and exercise alone :(

[JKSharPei 0]

Update. Surgery was on 11/03/2020 (Election Day)! Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy + hiatal hernia repair. I spent two nights in the hospital. As expected, the pain was mostly tolerable; gas pressure was the worst part. The only IV narcotic I needed was in the PACU immediately after surgery; one oral dose of Dilaudid, IV Toradol and Gas X was all I needed for pain control. Cold liquids caused painful spasms, so I opted for warm-to-room temperature fluids. I’m 10 days post-op and tolerating a soft diet (scrambled eggs, finely diced chicken/tuna/egg salad) well.

After my last post, I decided not worry about whether my insurance would deny surgery if I lost too much weight before surgery. I eliminated nearly all carbs and exercised like a mad woman. By day of surgery, I’d dropped my BMI to 28. My surgeon said this was the lowest BMI he’d ever performed VSG; even though I’d lost close to 50 lbs with diet and exercise, my chance of increasing then maintaining that weight loss was only about 5%. Given my own and family medical histories, we both agreed to proceed with surgery. And my insurance covered it!

[davis29 24]

Thats so weird, my surgeon told me it could be sooner since lots of people are canceling cause of covid. But I'm waiting on insurance approval and insurance told me cause of covid approval will take longer than usual.

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[Grammie2 37]

I started my surgery prep back in March, had one info class, then they stopped meeting for the Covid reason, and I feel like I got list in the process. I had my first meeting with my surgeon via zoom, had all my stuff done as required, and they said it would happen in September or October.....Nov. 4 it happened. Darn Covid!!! Hang in there! It can be a time of trying new recipes that you can eat and decide if ya like it ahead of time.. wished I would have thot of that while I was waiting! Lol

[STLoser 1,099]

I had my first visit with a surgeon in March, then all my pre-op testing got canceled. Then the hospital let that surgeon go. I decided to go to a different surgeon at another hospital in June and ended up getting surgery on July 23rd.

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