Dawn, Thanks for your reply. Hopefully some that have had PS will reply. Lori, Good luck on getting your pannilectomy covered. I am still working on TRICARE Prime, but not holding my breathe. I called Tricare and they said that the request for the Brachioplasty and for the BL/BA was removed by the PS office and did not go through, but the PS office said that those items were denied. Trying to get to the bottom of that one also. They did send me a letter saying the tummy surgeries were denied for lack of coverage. Not sure if I understand that and have requested more info from my PS office and will attempt to fight that one. I thought I had a shot with the Brachioplasty, because I have had shoulder pain for several months and have issues sleeping because the excess skin pulls on my shoulders, waking me up and causing my hands to go numb. But, I also hate my arms and really feel the need to get all that loose skin removed. I often end up getting one to two sizes bigger in tops to go over my arms, because my waist and ribcage area actually fits into 10 or 12's but need 14-16's for the upper arms. Looks really nasty with short sleeves or sleeveless, but I wear them anyways! As I said, daughter is getting married in Feb in the Caribbean, and I already purchased a sleeveless dress for the wedding! I look forward to wearing it without the huge arms! Unlike your situation, there is no HR here and no one to go to for assistance. I need to go to my WLS again and get more pages from my records to try to bolster my case for getting the panni covered. I actually want the big anchor cut so the upper tummy is removed as well as the panni itself, so I expect to be paying for some of this myself regardless of what the insurance may cover. Eileen 337/195

Hi Eileen, I am in the process of getting approval/denial for Pannilectomy done. I went to see my PS on June 25 and still am dealing with the insurance company. The problem isn't denial at this point, it is just trying to find someone who has the answers. Both the doctor's office and me have talked with several people at United HealthCare and have gotten different answers each time. They put my original paperwork in on July 12 and I called doctor to see if they heard anything around the end of July. Then they put it through again on August 1st. When the end of August came and I still hadn't heard anything, I contacted the insurance company myself. I got a really nice person and she gave me her direct fax line to get things going and have an answer in 72 hours, that was 8/28 and here it is 9/27 and I still don't have an answer. I work for a company that has over 10,000 employees and my boss said to me yesterday, "Get HR involved, may be the threat of our business leaving UHC will have an affect on getting you an answer." So yesterday, I contacted our HR department and will see if they can help get an answer. I just want to know if I'm approved or if I need to go through denial process. The only thing I've been told is that I was denied because they think I've already had the surgery. I have never received anything in writing nor has the doctor's office. It is so frustrating. They also had it listed as comestic and the doctor's office sent in the paperwork one more time on 9/25 to show it is reconstructive. So, I wait and wait and wait for someone to know what the correct procedure is to file the information for pre-approval and to show I haven't already had the surgery. It is the craziest thing I've ever heard of. The thing is, our company pays extra to include these types of surgeries if proof is shown for the need. My PS says and has documentation, that this surgery is very much needed and not just for cosmetic reasons. ARGH!! INSURANCE COMPANINES! Anyway, all this to say, the fight is worth trying to see if you can get approval. I am still waiting, but know that if the insurance company pays, I won't have much out of pocket for having this done. Be prepared for a fight and one more thing...stay on top of the insurance company and doctor's office to make sure they get everything in for you. That was part of the problem for me. I didn't stay on top of things trusting doctor's office to do this. They are extremely busy and you really do have to make a pest of yourself in some instanances. Hope it all goes well in the next couple of weeks for you. I am jealous of the batwings. I hate my arms, but will have to wait to get them done. No funds for that at this time. Lori 298/185

Hi Carolyn, I'm with you with the grazing and such. I'm managing to maintain on the scale, but not on the inches as I'm not exercising. As usual, we know what to do and we can use our tool the correct way if we choose to do so. If you're really struggling, go back to what you were posting early post-op to remotivate yourself. I'm sure it will help. Just a note about caffiene. At our last support meeting we were told about 5 patients in the last year that have had to be scoped due to issues and it was found they had developed ulcers in their intestines in major part to going back to drinking caffienated coffee. The caffiene, like everything else, goes straight into the intestines w/o being broken down by stomach acids and the intestines don't have the protection needed. Be careful. Dawn

Hey Connie, Good for you to again taking charge of your life. Just like the first few months were hard post-op, so will these first few months post-alcholol. It sounds like you've gotten all the tools and such you need to be successful, and more important, YOU want to be successful. I hope you can continue adding to your new count - until you're years sober! Love ya, Dawn

I would call the doctor and see if this is normal. I had my gallstones way before WLS but it caused pancreatitis. My bile duct was blocked by a gallstone and the pancreatic fluid was eating my pancreas and my liver got infected also. Just make sure that all the tests were OK for the pancreas the amalyse levels, that sort of stuff. It could be normal b/c I was put on Zactac (which was a Rx back then) following my hospital stay. But it was not severe so you should check it out and get a second opinion if needed. Take care, Anne