Waaah! Did anyone else have this many obstacles?

Hello all!! I'm a newbie to the board, my name is Phoenix and I live in Tampa. I'm going for the gastric bypass and a very close friend of mine had it last year and said this site got her through it, so as I'm starting my "journey to becoming a loser" I thought I'd hop on the bandwagon too. To get everyone up to speed on my particular situation, I'm 22, 287 lbs, 5'4" and have had a heck of a time losing the weight. (I'm an all-lifer, never shopped outside of the plus department..if they had plus sizes for 3 year olds, i probably wore them) I have had 12 surgeries to date, some routine (tonsilectomy) and the most horrifying was two back surgeries in '00 and '02 (hit by a car twice-i'm cursed, but blessed to be alive all in the same breath ) So, I've been to the Wish Center, and scheduled my first evaluation for Sept. 16, only to cancel it today because I tried to purchase outside insurance and discovered that the broker lied and sold me a medical "discount program"...BeWaRe folks! Luckily, I started a new job that has insurance, unluckily--it doesn't kick in for 6 months, so now i'm put off until February. grrr.... Is it alright to start in on the surgery process right after your insurance starts? Or should there be a waiting period? Now, that that's out of the way...did anyone have Cigna cover the surgery? I know BCBS just put an exclusion on it, but I haven't heard anything on Cigna. Beyond that, does anyone else have any stories? I'd love to hear em!!! "We are all truly amazing, isn't that just amazingly true?" --myself

Phoenix, welcome to O.H. and the florida boards. The best advice I can give to you, is to read. Read the boards, read the Q&A, visit the O.H. library. You have a little time since you have to wait for insurance to kick in, read everything you can, and when you have a question about something you have read, post it on a board and you will get a lot of answers. Also read profiles, there is a lot of good information on peoples profiles, you can learn alot from them. Good luck.

Insurance is the pits, but it's something we all have to live with. Since you have to wait 6 months anyway, I would definitely start to see your PCP and have a monitored weight loss program documented so you can just hand it in when your insurance kicks in. I'd also suggest that you check out the Cigna insurance board and see if there are any words of wisdom for you. Welcome!! Jan

I want to thank all of you for your responses! (Yay!) and I did think about that pcp visit for the supervised diet, the only problem is, if I see my pcp about the diet, and my insurance hasn't kicked in yet, isn't that going to cost a small fortune? I have always had insurance in the past, so I can't even begin to think what it would cost to visit the doctor without it...

Phoenix, I would definately get with my PCP and start a "medically supervised weight loss program". Many insurers require documentation that you've done this for 6 months (or more) within the past 1-2 years. A great resource for info is the "Insurers" section of this site. I found posts from other folks that have the same insurance co. (BCBS of NJ). That gave me some idea of what documentation they'd require. I don't know if you've decided on a surgeon yet, but I found the insurance gal at my surgeon's office to be a great help. She told me what my insurance co. (BCBS) usually asked for so I was able to get it all together at one time. In fact, she submitted it to BCBS for pre-approval today. Everyone says it is a long, sloooow process so hang in there. Keep your fingers crossed for me & I'll keep mine crossed for you! Vickie J.

I've got my fingers and my toes crossed! Thanks so much!

You know, I don't really agree with a 6 months wait on the insurance so I wouldn't feel bad at all, if, after the 6 months you have surgery. They make a new employee wait to save them $$$. How do you think your employer/supervisor would feel about surgery? I don't know particularly about Cigna but I'm sure someone that has experience with this insurance will respond. During the 6 months do research on the procedures offered, the surgeons in your area and visiting your primary care physician for a diet plan. Good luck. LuvitsunnyV

Thanks for the response! I have already spoken with my employer about the surgery and they are all for it, two girls in my company have already had it done. So, it's all go on that end. As far as the diet plan through my pcp goes, I'm just worried about the cost of that without insurance for the time being... Any suggestions?