Newbie... Beaumont Weight Control Program / CIGNA?

Hi everyone, First of all, super-congrats on all of your hard work and weight loss! Your stories are really inspiring. I'm nowhere near WLS yet due to lack of physician-monitored diet history, but I was wondering if anyone here had experience with the Beaumont hospital weight control program and/or had their surgery there? I know my insurance company approves of the surgeons there, and from what I could tell from the website the program looks good, but there were no testimonials or forums that I could find. Also, does anybody else have CIGNA? I got the requirements for Bariatric Surgery from them today, and I'm worried that I'll encounter problems. Luckily my plan allows medically-necessary WLS. However, it also says that I have to have a documented history of a BMI over 40 for at least a year. This is where I run into problems. I've been in a constant state of yo-yo since I first hit a 41 BMI at age 19. It's usually a yearly cycle, with the majority of my annual checkups documenting my BMI between 35 and 39. This would be fine if I had co-morbidities, but I don't yet. *knock wood* So here I am, BMI 40.6 as of 15 minutes ago, as it is nearly every fall/winter, wondering if anyone else had a similar history and what your experiences were. Thanks so much for any responses, and once again congratulations on all of your success!

Hello- I had Dr David Chengelis and if you call his office directly you dont have to go thru the weight control center. I will find his number for you or call information! Best of luck! Shannon

Erynn- Matter of fact, I am going to the weight control center this morning for my monthly support group meeting. My surgery lap rny was 6/1/06. Dr. Kevin Krause is awesome and I have been very successful in my journey. I did a lot of research and Dr. Krause is the best in my opinion. I felt I wanted to be in a large "Center for Excellence" hospital just in case any complications should arise. I have United Health Care Insurance and they had different criteria for surgery. Dr. Krause's office is very knowledgeable with all insurances and very willing to answer questions. I did not have alot of co-morbidities but my parents history helped and I have a disc related problems. Dr. Krause's office knows how to deal with pre-approving your insurance. Good luck- Romey

Hi, Erynn. I am also a newbie, tentatively planning surgery at Beaumont with Dr. Krause. In fact, I am attending his mandatory seminar on Tuesday, and praying things move quickly after that! I'm writing because I have a similar weight history to yours, and because I only have one co-morbidity (high blood pressure). My insurance -- BCBS PPO -- requires 12 months of documented weight loss attempts and a BMI >35 with comorbidities (plural) or a BMI >40. I stressed about this for a good long time, and have only begun to feel better since a recent glucose / insulin test indicated a bad case of "insulin resistance". Insulin resistance is apparently a very strong indicator of pending diabetis, and together with my family history of diabetis, looks an awfully lot like another co-morbidity. We'll see if the insurance sees it the same way... Anyway. I wanted to mention it, as it might be useful to you, as well. Good luck to you!

Really? I'm going to be at the weight control seminar on Tuesday! I don't know if they're the same one, though. 7-8:30pm? Thanks for the co-morbidity info. I didn't even think about factoring family history when assessing the seriousness of co-morbidities. That might help, because there's an extreme history of heart disease and stroke in my family, and my PCP does admit that I'm highly likely to experience one or both in my lifetime if I don't lose weight.

Hi, Dr Krause saved my life 3 years ago...I thank g-d I found him. I have lost 153 pounds with about 10 more to go. The entire Beaumont experience was wonderful and I highly recommend them. PLease email me if u have any questions....Thanks, Robin [email protected] PS..I had Blue Cross tradional and they paid for the whole thing