Hi Sue, I just wanted to wish you luck. I don't have any ideas on calming your nerves, as I am freaking out a little myself. Congrats on quitting smoking. I hope you can keep it up after the surgery. Postive thoughts coming your way for an uneventful surgery and recovery. Take care, Wanda

Christy: It is all done! I am homeand on the losers bench. Praise God!!! YAY! Patti

Finally I can contribute something truly worthwhile. This morning I was reading the back of my new can of protein drink. It stated that they had done something so different, and that you could actually eat the powder straight from the can. I thought....yeah I bet. I licked my finger and stuck it in the powder. It tasted just like cotton candy. I am not kidding. So I fixed myself a big tall glass in WATER and it is wonderful. Try Nectar Strawberry Kiwi. They have many other flavors such as Apple Ecstasy, Twisted Cherry, Caribbean Cooler, Fuzzy Navel, Roadside Lemonade, Crystal Sky and even Lemon Tea. NO Aspartame, 0 fat, 0 carbs, 0 sugars, and 120mg potassium and 26g of protein in each scoop. YES I am excited. It is the best tasting thing I have found.

I also have United Healthcare and prior to my surgery I had called tham to inquiry if they cover the RNY and they said yes as long as my BMI was greater than 40. Then, when my doctor's office submitted my paperwork so that they could get the pre-approval in writing, United Heathcare responded 30 days later telling me that there was an exclusion in my company's policy - - they even quoted it from the insurace policy and named the page and paragraph where the statement was located in the policy. I wrote them back asking them how this could be when I was verbally told by them that I was covered. Sure enough, 2 wks later, I received a letter stating that I was approved (no exclusion in my company's policy - - - so how the heck did they quote it, page and verse?) and that they were sorry for the inconvenience. So my advice, is to fight the denial.

I'm going crazy waiting... :crazy: (I feel like a child on Christmas morning waiting for my parents to wake so I can open the gift!!!) Anyone else with a surgery date within a week? :help: How are you coping? What do you do to calm the nerves... (Curently I am not working, so I have ALL day to sit and think about it!!!) :fairy: Maybe if I had a fairy to sprinkle some dust on me so I could just get some sleep I wouldn't be so :crazy: crazy! I've been waiting 2 years for this surgery - Medicare - and in PA in 2006 they decided that as of 02-27-06 they would only pay for the surgery if the facility was a 'Center of Excellent'! I have Multiple Sclerosis and need to drop the weight for health issues not just the MS but High PB & High Chlorestoral. Oh let me tell you... when my doctor first suggested this surgery in early 2005, the Physcian he recommended to me, I was told that getting Medicare to pay for this surgery would be a very long and hard battle... So I decided to wait, as Medicare usually comes around. Then in 2006 I kept hearing a commercial on the radio for this surgery and one day after listening for several months, I called on or around early April... AND was informed that as of 02-27-06 Medicare would only pay for the surgery if the facility was a 'Center of Excellent'! meaning they would have paid when I first called the doctor, that doctor's office didn't know all they should have known about the insurances. SO again I waited and waited for Sacred Heart in Allentown PA to receive their "Certificate of Excellent" Well the coordinator called me the day she received it in the mail... and I can't express my feelings :jump: : dance: on how fast everything has gone since... (if I wasn't a smoker :smokin: I could have had the surgery 2 weeks later, but he wanted me to be smoke free for a month - something with the nicotine hampering the healing process... well what's another 2 weeks at this point?) AND now the surgery is ONLY 5 days away... and I'm going to end up in the looney bin :crazy: before the surgery, my mind is going so crazy. OK so after all that, what advise does anyone have to keep me sane until Monday? Sincerely Sue