I took my first steps toward WLS!!! question regarding carefirst

Hi everyone. I went to Dr. Greene's office on Thursday for my first visit, he thinks I am a very good candidate for WLS. I met with Nutritionist, insurance coordinator and was given a whole binder with lots of information and requests. My first step on Friday was to sign in weigh****chers (for all you b een there done that, good for you I don't know how am i going to finish this 6 months!) I have made an appointment with quest to do my lab work and next week I have to begin meeting with nutritionist, physical trainer, physologist and do my sleep study, I think I might have sleep abnea due to snoring, I am not sure if that would be counted as comorbidity including my fawsting blood sugar.  My other issue right now is that I have Empire BCBS right now and WLS is included in their plan,  however we kind of think that my hubby's company might lose their contract with federal government and  iam worried to go through all this and lose the insurance. Has anyone had CareFirst and been denioed after 6 months of supervised diet? I ask this becasue my company has carefirst and I was wondering maybe I should switch to them or not, I have heard horror stories about carefirst approving, but again maybe I am wrong! Right now I am more excited about the fact that i have already taken the first few steps toward this long journey. Thanks everyone for all your support and listenning

Congrats on taking your first steps to getting your life back. I am not sure about your insurance but wanted to wish you the best and welcome you to the MD Boards. Keep us posted on your journey Kelly

I have carefirst bcbs:  First thing you want to do is make sure your husbands or your company  insurance does not have an " exclusion" for WLS.  If one does they will not cover it: So check with human resources before you do anything.  I know someone who found our after five months of a six month diet that her company had dropped WLS coverage.

HI,  Dr. Greene did my Lap Band on 8/22.... he is wonderful, I would recommend him highly. He is very conscientous and really covers all of his bases. Regarding Carefirst Blue Cross Blue Shield:  My policy is with them. When I started this whole process, I called Carefirst and was told that my policy ( I am a self employed person on an individual policy) DID cover the Lap Band surgery.  I did all of the documentation and testing and submitted all of my paperwork to Wendy at Dr. Greene's. My BMI was 37 and  in the sleep study, I did find that I had sleep apnea.( You want to absolutely do your sleep study ASAP... for your own health and also, it really helps the insurance company rationalize covering your surgery. ). I have high cholestrol and high blood pressure, but have not been prescribed meds ( my PCP's order was " LOSE WEIGHT" !).  Here is the catch with Carefirst Blue Cross Blue Shield: for LAP Band, it is an outpatient procedure, and Carefirst tells you that you do not need pre-approval. So you have to have the surgery, and then the Dr. office submits the claim to Carefirst, and THEN the let you know whether they will cover it or not. Wendy said that she thinks that I will be covered, and I can appeal it if I am denied, but isn't it a tough predicament to be in to have the surgery and THEN have to figure out whether the claims will be paid? I should know within a week or two... everyone say their prayers for me, please! Good luck with everything, Karen

Hi Karen and everyone, thnak you for your feedback and support. Karen, I am kind of sure that i have sleep abnea too, I am going to call them and schedule hopefully as early as next week. I am very hopeful and confident of Dr. Greene and his office. So did you have to finish the six months supervised diew as well or since they figured out you have sleep abnea, they expedited your surgery date? Hopefully they will approve your surgery. How are you feeling? Are you going to start soft food this week? good luck, I would love to know how it will go for you.  Ellie

HI, Ellie, I started visiting my PCP for  supervised weight loss over a year ago, so I had plenty of office notes before I went in for the sleep apnea test in April.  So far, so good. The pain was not too bad after surgery. I took the pain killers for a few days, but stopped, I didn't feel that I needed them and they were making me very groggy and constipated in a very painful way ( sorry to be graphic, but be forewarned, it is a bad side effect of some pain killers :) I am feeling well, my energy level is getting back to normal, my scars are healing nicely. I just started soft food: cottage cheese, SF FF yogurt, scrambled eggs. So far, no problems!

Karen, If you are still experiencing any issues with constipation, try any of these: Traditional Medicinals® Chocolate Smooth Move  (GNC) Health Plus® Inc. Colon Cleanse® Tea (GNC) Green tea diet (ballerina)  or believe it not sucking on Tamarind ( in produce section, looks like brown lima beans, very sour) I know that is a very important issue with bariatric procedures but hopefully you will feel much better in a couple of days. Are you able to walk a lot or not yet? Good Luck, Ellie