This may be a little personal, but here goes!

I am pre-op and my Dr's are Carolina Surgical. My insurance is BCBS. My question is does anyone know how much they had to pay out of pocket to the Dr's office prior to surgery. I'm trying to get prepared in every aspect. Also I was told yesterday that my paperwork is on Dr. Lowes desk, as soon as he look's it over ( if no problems) it will be sent to BCBS. Any idea how long i can expect that to take. Any help will be appreciated. Oh by the way, when I first started reading this message board there were a lot of entries, as of late I have seen a decline in postings. Come on North Carolinians this web site is what i feed off of. I can't get anything done for reading this site!!!!!!!!! Thanks for any help. When i get closer to a surgery date i will really need help with understanding the best vitamins and protien powder to use. My finances are less than great so i would really like to learn from everyone's mistakes and not waste money on things that are wrong or taste gross. Until later

My doctor is in the same office. I had to only pay $900.00 before I had the gbs. I also have bcbs.....I got a reply from my insurance the next day. Out of the 900.00 was also included my co pay of 500.00 good luck amy

Thanks, I appreciate the info. I have been following your story for a while and i'm glad that you are doing better. hope the car problem is straightened out.Also don't let those jerks at work bother you. People that have not been there have no idea. I am experiencing a little of the same from people who are to ignorant to understand that obesity is a disease. would they have had the same smarky remarks if you had cancer. I think not. Hang in there. Tammy

I have bcbs empire blue and Dr. Lowe was my surgeon. I paid $223 out of pocket. Btw You can't find a better Dr. Lowe. He is Great.

I had to pay 150.00 out of pocket with BC/BS ( carefirst) but again it depends on which plan you have on how much you will have to pay. I heard within a week that they approved my surgery. As for protein everyone is different so you can't go by what someone says. I have a pantry full of protein that I loved BEFORE surgery however after surgery it makes me barf. The only ones I can tolerate now are Nectar and Unjury. Order samples to try after surgery that would be your best bet so you don't waste too much money . If you need help with some web sites to order samples shoot me an e-mail. good luck with your surgery

Hi Tammy, Good Luck on your journey. I read all the time preop, I had so many questions. I'm now almost 7 months post op and don't post too much. I have had a great experience. I had a different dr. I paid approx $1000 out of pocket, copays, rx's upfront fee's and the nutrionist. I have United Health Care and they covered the hospital for $100 copayment and the usual dr copayments. As for vitamins, I take centrum chewables, they are very tolerable for me. I don't like liquid vitamins. I bought Liquid b12 and threw it right out because it tasted so bad. Good Luck, Jennifer

I had a 90/10 plan and had met my deductable by the time of surgery. For my surgeons 10% I had to pay $255 up front. After the surgery my hospital bill was $1100 and the anesthesia bill was $86.... total for surgery cost me $1441. The surgeons office should give you a pretty detailed list of vitamins and protein powders to try out. Also when it comes to protein - one persons gross is another persons favorite. Earthfare on Johnson near 485 sells protein samples. They run from 1.50-2$ each and they have a bunch of brands and flavors. Two weeks before surgery I tried a bunch and found a few I liked. I tried the same post-op and found all to be gross except one. It was an easy way to spend a little money to find out what you like since the packets are single serve and cheap! Good luck!

I paid out of pocket so I can't answer on the cost On the protein I would definitely suggest samplers! I bought (pronounced over-bought) as a pre-op and I ended up giving away over $100 in protein I hated post-op! I don't really use any protein supplements now, I try to get all my protein from food. Most days I do very well, but on the days where I know I won't be getting enough protein I supplement with the little profect vials. They are small, 2.7 oz I think, and I can down one in 2 big gulps...cause they aren't the best in the taste department but they are tolerable for the 25 grams of protein in 2 gulps They are a bit pricey but they don't give me any of the badness that other supplements do. On the vitamins I would repeat the WLS mantra: "Do what your surgeon tells you". I had the DS surgery but the advice is still the same no matter which WLS you are having. We don't take in/absorb the same amount of vitamins that we did pre-op so we need to be on top of it. We are all different and after your WLS you will have blood work to guide you and your doc to the right vitamin regimen for you. After my one year labs I found out that I was doing pretty well on vitamins and protein... with the exception of vitamin D. My doc and I have worked together and now I take (in addition to my regular D) 50,000 IU of D 3 times a week and I will be retested in 3 months to see how I am adjusting. It is VERY important to be on top of your vitamins, it's funny though... as a pre-op I never ever thought about vitamins. Oh well! Good luck on your WLS journey~ I hope it is a great and fairly uneventful experience for you!