Yes, finally.  I had surgery 05/18/09.  I'm now 100 lbs down and living life to the fullest.  I really need to update my personal blog on here.  You should go there and read all my old blogs.  I was pretty good in the beginning to cover my journey.  The further out you get the more "regular" life becomes and a lot of us seem to drift away from obesity help a bit. 

As far as the insurance fight, it was a hard battle to be sure.  Both before and after surgery but you have to hang in there.  Appeal your denial with all the reasons why you DO qualify.  Just be prepared emotionally, I had to do it twice.  I re-read and took from their website the section on qualifying for weight loss surgery - like when they said I hadn't been compliant with my doctor supervised diet, I pointed out I had followed and completed his program exactly.  A specific amount of weight loss was not a criteria stated in those insurance qualifications so that denial didn't hold up because they didn't list it.  I met all the other qualifying reasons for WLS:  I had multiple co-morbidities (diabetes, high blood pressure, hyper lipedemia).  Construct your letter in such a manner that you cover all your health issues point by point, including how your current state of obesity negatively affects the quality of your daily life.  I wore slip on style shoes because I couldn't bend over to tie them because of my large stomach.  I couldn't walk a flight of stairs without losing my breath and heart pounding.  Describe in detail exactly how you feel every day.  You have to convince them.  No one can do this better than yourself.  Don't feel like you're being gross or too personal either.  They need to know graphically - these are doctors  that review these records anyway, they've heard/seen it all before so don't be afraid to list personal details that make daily life unbearable for you.  List all the diets you have tried (and failed at) too.  Ask your surgeon if he will give you a supporting letter of surgical need.  Attach copies of any previous diet plan records if you have them, doctor's records that show the diagnosis codes for any co-morbidities, recorded weight, etc.  My second denial was for not having proof of a 5-yr weight history showing morbid obesity.  Thank goodness I had an emergency room visit and was able to get a copy of those records that proved to them I had been "fat" long enough.  It's just ridiculous what some insurance companies will put you through.  Again, hang in there.  Write that appeal letter and mail it off and then be patient.  I know that's hard too - the waiting. Total time for me from when my doctor submitted my stuff to insurance to the time I was finally approved was 3 months.  It was pure agony for me.  If I can help you in any way, let me know.  I would be glad to pay it forward.  I had help with mine from another obesityhelp member.  This is a truly great website for anyone on a weight loss journey. 
Hugz - Pat

Did you ever get an approval? I am fighting BCBS/IL right now as well.

ok mi mother its aperson shes obese person she need the surgery like in emergency, they toll me i need to get a insurance odf blueshield brule croos of illinois the have somany plans i dont know witchone to go with she need to get her surgery done  please ppl help me i need to get all papper work done this week she is getting everyday worse  im so scare to loose my mother

Have you been to Portsmouth yet?  Because they told me it was a 4-8 month process.  also, another poster had her hers done in a 2 month time window after her initial orientation.

I had the gastic lap band in 2004 and have lost about 100 pounds.  I recently saw a plastic surgeon for a tummy tuck.  The office submitted the procedure information and it was approved on 2/23 then I received a disapproval notice on 3/03 with no reference to the initial approval.  The doctor's office and the insurance company (Anthem Blue Cross Blue Sheild) are checking to see what happened.  I've been pretty down since the notice but staying hopeful.