To Fit Into a T-Shirt - Washington, DC

Hello all,
I am so very glad I found this website - it has been such a great source of information! I've wanted a BR as long as I could remember. I was always a D+ cup, was always frustrated that people paid more attention to my BBs than anything else, but just figured it was my lot in life. Now that I've had two wonderful kiddos and made it through breastfeeding, I figure these things have done their duty!
I'm 39, 5' 7, currently a bit overweight at 168 pounds. I've been hitting the gym like a maniac for the last six months but the BBs stay the same. Married to a wonderful hubby who will support me in whatever crazy idea I get - and I have a lot. I have two awesome little girls, 8 and 4 years old.
I have met with one surgeon, and have a second opinion with a second surgeon next week. I'm currently an F cup, maybe a DDD depending on the bra. Like all of us, I would love to be a C! I am so tired of buying crazy expensive uncomfortable bras! I need to wear 2 sports bras to the gym and it's so constricting and uncomfortable.
I believe my insurance (BCBS) will cover at 85% and so I am trying to figure out exactly how much I am going to be on the hook for. It is absolutely ridiculous to me how nobody will tell you how much this costs! My insurance wouldn't tell me, my doctor won't tell me, I just called the surgery center and they wouldn't tell me. Ridiculous. I'm assuming it's going to be around $1500-$3000 out of pocket total, but that's a big difference, and we're in the middle of some home renovations and repairs so I can't just be throwing around a couple grand like it's nothing. That could be my new washer/dryer!

I will try to take some pictures soon.

Hello folks! I met with a second doctor today. He agreed I would be a great candidate. He had a slightly different take on the insurance thing. He emphasized that FEP Blue will not tell you before the surgery if you are approved for coverage or not. This was a little worrisome to me. However, I liked him and his staff, his bedside manner and his office was much more warm and inviting than the first surgeon I met with. However, I'm not here for warm fuzzies, I'm here for smaller boobs!

I was able to call the office of doctor #1 and talk to the administrator (she'd been out of town over the holiday weekend). She was able to give me the CPT code, so I tried calling my insurance again. Insurance, once again, could not tell me what my out of pocket cost would be because both providers are "Preferred Providers" (you'd think that would be good, right?) and therefore the allowable amounts are negotiated between the doctor, the hospital, and the insurance company. And, apparently, then locked in a safe, until it is time to send the bill.

Doctor #2 also thought I would be more borderline in terms of getting covered and the amount of tissue removed. He thought I would be closer to 500, whereas Docter #1 seemed to think more like 600-800. I looked up the Schnur Scale and my minimum amount would be right around 500. Interestingly, if I lost like 15 pounds my minimum amount might actually go down, that certainly is incentive to hit the gym extra hard!

It is just unbelievable to me that this amount is such a secret. Do other people have this problem? Did I miss a memo?

Both doctors use the Superior Pedicle Technique. Doctor #1 said he would probably use drains, Doctor #2 said he probably wouldn't. Both said I'd be back to work in a week and back to activities in 3-4 weeks. Both recommended I do it sooner rather than later (no big surprise there, of course.)

Not sure what I will do next. I think I may just try to call each hospital/surgery center and see if they might be able to tell me the allowable amounts?

So....I am ready to throttle the entire insurance industry. But, after WEEKS of phone calls and cajoling, I am booked for September!

Dr. #2's office, interestingly enough, gave me cost information right away. But the more I thought about that doc, the more I was concerned that a) he wouldn't take enough out and b) it wouldn't get covered by insurance at all. Dr. #1, however - getting cost information out of them was like pulling teeth. I had to call my insurance company multiple time, talk to managers, whine, plead, beg, bully, you name it, but I called the doctor's office again today and they had finally heard back from whoever they needed to hear from and give me actual cost info. The negotiated hospital + doctor cost is $7056 of which (assuming insurance covers it) I would have to pay 15%, which is $1056 which is totally reasonable for my budget. So, I went ahead and booked September 13!! I'm kind of bummed I have to get through another summer with gigantoboobs, but wow, I'm so excited to be moving this forward!