O-M-G!!! LOVE my HMO!!!

omg thats sensational
make appt asap get it done now wahoooooooooo !!!!

 My GOD  !!!  RUN  , dont walk and get it all done by someone GREAT  !!!   make SURE U do Ur research a hundred times over before U decide on a surgeon .. seriously . 

What  GREAT news !!  what kind of  insurance do U have by the way ?  what state ?

Thanks, Ava!  Research already done - attended several informational meetings about PS as well as a lot of internet/networking research, and the 2 who will be doing it (they tag-team surgeries, resulting in shorter surgery times and less anesthesia) are top rated in our area.  One of them, the primary guy, is a specialist in breast reconstruction, which was a big factor in my choice due to the underlying issue with the chest wall muscle.  But both came highly recommended by my surgeon, who is the head of minimally invasive surgery for my medical group, and have done a lot of body reconstruction after WLS.  The only issue I could find on them is that they're a relatively new team, under 5 years together, although both have 20 years experience in other states before my medical group lured them to Illinois.

I actually have an HMO - surprising, when you hear how horrible HMOs are in general!

Great news!
Congrats!
My insurance lets you know up front before bariatrics that they do not cover plastic surgery.

Mine specifies that it is excluded unless it's for medical necessity.  We could prove the necessity for the panni and breast reduction, but had crossed fingers on the rest that insurance would consider it necessary.

This is very interesting to me. I have .BCBS through the phone co.(also a large union /management policy ) in fl...I am hoping when i get to my goal weight I will be able to get the same results as U....
I have started seeing  my Primary care doctor for rashes..I am wondering what  verbage they said to get your underarms covered,,,,
When did u start with documentation and seeing the plastic surgeon to start the process...
U have done an amazing job and  I am soo very happy that u will be able to see the new total package...
thanks for any info u wish to share...
anna

 I'm guessing the arms were covered because simply removing the excess skin from the breasts would leave me with saggy "side boobs" that would continue dragging on the torn chest wall muscle, meaning that they have to come off as well, and that's done with the arms, not the breasts.

I had surgery last December, and started with itching/scratching/scarring under the breasts and panni in April, and then tore the chest muscle in May.  I asked for the referral to the plastic surgeon in early August just to find out when he thought I should start really considering it (at the presentations he did for my bariatric surgeon's support group he stated that, under typical cases, they would not look at plastics until the patient had been at a stable weight for a minimum of 6 months), and he told me that given that I had lost easily enough to be done that it was time to reduce the excess.

If you want more (as I get it - this is all I know for now), feel free to friend/PM me - I'm available!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
and I'm totally jealous...!!!

Wonderful news - so great to hear of positive insurance interactions these days!
So far so good with my policy- but it will be quite some time before I get to PS determination- although, I'll need some help I'm sure.

I missed the last 2 support groups, hoping to makie it on the 4th.. maybe I"ll get to see you then!
Until then- ENJOY THIS GREAT BOOST!

It'll be fun to see you again - I saw Heather last time, and you won't believe her progress!