First appointment approaching

Hi all,

I have been researching and contemplating this for a couple years now. After so many failed attempts at weight loss and maintenance I have decided this is the best way to go. I know this does not solve whatever caused the eating excessively to go away but I am confident that it will help a lot and knowing that I can hurt myself by over indulging will be enough to not do it, cause really who wants to be in pain? That is one major reason I want to do this. Every morning I get out of bed and feel like I am over a 100 years old from the pain that I suffer. My back hurts when I wash dishes or stand for too long. I am currently at 285 and wear a size 20. I gained a hundred pounds when I got pregnant over 8 years ago and I have not been able to get rid of it (depression and food therapy did not help). I have read the good the bad and the ugly of the gastric bypass and I am ready for whatever the end results will be. Some things that I look forward to are being able to jump, I cant do that now. Skip or play hopscotch, cant do those things either and I want my son to be able to really hug me. I am also scared of the outcome because I am pretty sure that I will change not only physically but mentally as well. Inside I have always had this healthy person dying to come out and I have very low self esteem and confidence. So I am guessing that it will be at least 6 months before I can have the surgery because of insurance. Any advice tips or support from the experienced would be great. Like is there a way to speed up the process?

Welcome to ObesityHelp!  We are glad that you have joined our OH community.  

As you check out OH, you'll see many features and tools that are created for our members as you embark on your WLS journey.  OH is a great place for support, research and tools to assist you with your journey.  Here are a few suggestions:

About Obesity
About Weight Loss Surgery
Medical Necessity
Post-op Planner
BMI Calculator
Health Tracker

We also have a great HELP SECTION with tutorials to assist you with navigating our site. If you need our assistance, you can reach us at [email protected]

You didn't mention what surgery type you are researching and or having.  May we suggest you post on the forum for your surgery type to reach out to those that are having the same surgery as you.

Duodenal Switch Forum (DS)

LAP-BAND Forum

Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery Forum (RNY)

Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum (VSG)

We look forward to your updates

Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery Forum (RNY) Is the surgery I am going for.

You still owe it to yourself to research the VSG/Sleeve and the DS/duodenal switch BEFORE you go under the knife. You should also visit the Revision board.

Thank u Kathy for posting that  information,I am in the same position, just had my first initial seminar today.I'm leaning toward bypass.(Rny).I've got lots of questions and concerns.

Have you called your insurance to find out their requirements? Mine does not require or even pay for nutrition counciling. It only took me three months to get through the process because I walked into my first appointment with a detailed understanding of the surgery, what it requires of me, and proper nutrition. The more prepared you are before you get there, the better it will go. Research everything you can.

I have done so much research I could teach a class I think lol. I have not called my insurance company, I do know that we have a nutritionist available to us for no cost through either the company I work for or the insurance I have. It is BCBS. What are the best questions to ask the insurance company?

I called my insurance and asked if they had requirements for approval to have wls, and she basically said its only covered if you are morbidity obese. I then asked her what that coverage entails. After checking into it, she said it is covered just like any other surgery as long I meet the requirement. It didn't seem like it was something they dealt with often. Just to make sure, I also asked if there were any nutrition class requirements or anything like that, and she said no. She did not sound sure of her answers, but I have made it this far without any problems. I am confident that my surgeon would not have put me on his schedule if he didn't think he would get paid. My surgery is next week, and I am already nearing the out of pocket maximum. Once I reach that, everything should be 100% covered.

I just want to say whatever you do don't give up. I started the process in February 2014 with my insurance company and after jumping through the hoops I thought for sure I would be approved. My BMI was over 35 with a couple of comorbidities. But in addition to the NIH guidelines my insurance added 3 more 2 of which I met. The denied my request and I appealed. As outlined in the plan document they were suppose to respond to my appeal within 60 days and on day 100 I contacted them and asked what was going on. To make a long story short they blew it and 5 days after I asked what the status of my appeal was miracle of all miracles I suddenly was approved. I would love to know what the discussion with their legal department was but the bottom line is I'm getting what I want it just took a little longer than I had planned. Now I'm waiting for a date with from my surgeon hopefully I'll know tomorrow. As far as speeding up the process, unfortunately the process is the process. My only advice is take control of the process by knowing your insurance plan requirements, what documents and paperwork you will need to submit to them and get them together and advocate for yourself. This is about you taking control of your health and no one benefits more than you. Be the squeaky wheel if you need to be.

I'm glad I signed up on OH last year even though I was absent while going through the wringer. I appreciate the advice and insight from people who are beginning their journey, in the middle of their journey and those who have reached their goal. The most important things I've taken away from here is that everyone is different but we have a shared experience and the journey never ends. Reaching your goal weight is just a new and different journey. Whatever you do DON'T GIVE UP! If I had given up in August I wouldn't be looking at a surgery date sometime in the next 4 weeks. I'll be having a RNY and I found the RNY forum helpful. Good Luck and stay in touch.

Called the insurance company yesterday and I was under the impression that they had a set time line, according to the documentation they sent me there is nothing that states a certain amount of wait time. I meet all of the insurance requirements, my BMI is 46. I will be able to provide documentation of tried and failed attempts with medical help for more than a year. I am hoping it comes down to testing and the psych exam then getting scheduled for surgery. I have started putting my post op care team together so I can rest and recover as fast as possible. I am so excited that I finally made this decision, horror stories and all I am willing to take the risk to be comfortable and healthy. I am very glad I found this site so that I have people in the same place as me to talk with. My boyfriend is mostly concerned about how good I will look after, I have a feeling this will be a relationship horror story in the end once my self esteem and all grows but thats a different bridge to cross on a different road. For now I am worrying about me and the surgery everything else will fall into place. Kinda wish I could donate a kidney to make the process go faster Im so ready I want to have surgery yesterday.