Day Dreamer

I finally told my mom and my hubby. I was more worried about telling my hubby b/c he constantly harps on my friends that have had any type of WLS. He considers it the easy way out - then again, he doesn't drink soda for a day and loses 5 lbs. How could he possibly understand, right?!?! Ok, I got the truth off my chest and I feel better. My mom works in medical coding and she gave me some good advice - much needed and appreciated. Hubby - well he is what he is... he said I will support it if that's what you want. Hello? I have only been trying for 3 yrs to get this approved?!?! Ya think this isn't what I want? Hmm.. On a different note - I am reading a lot of people saying they can't get insurance post banding - OMG. Really? This is not good news to a pre bander. What if I lose my job or my insurance, switch jobs or insurance... oh so many questions!! If you have info please let me know. <3 Heather

Jenny, they submit your initial weight to the insurance during the approval phase. The pre surgery weight loss is for your benefit during surgery. If you are on the liquid diet, your organs shrink a bit, making it easier to perform the surgery. Also, insurance required 6 month diet is to weed out the people that won't follow the program. I have not met anyone that lost their approval due to weight loss during the required phase. (But you could ask your insurance to verify.) Good luck and no worries

I go to my seminar on Mar 1 in Louisville. I have been to 3 other seminars in VA and TX in the past (with different insurance companies). This will be my first seminar with a bariatric group as opposed to just an insurance specific one. At Kaiser they made us do multiple seminars; the first was an intro to the surgery and a weigh in and the second was pre-surgery - how to eat before/after and what to expect. Make sure you have your questions ready and don't be afraid to ask - most of the time other people really wanted to ask the same questions but with held for whatever reason. Congrats - you are on your way!

Congrats on your upcoming surgery!! You should be able to take small bites of your fav foods - eventually!!

What insurance company do you have?

Congrats!!! Let us know how you deal with the hunger during your pre-op diet plz

My Anthem BC PPO covers it but it was set by my employer to include WLS. You can call your benefits director and ask for the exclusion list or flat otu ask if WLS is excluded. Good Luck

I am trying to get approval through KY Anthem BC. When I called Anthem BS they said that my employer sets the pre-reqs for the approval. When I asked my company what the quals were, they said they did not have the information. I find it odd that one or the other could not (or would not) provide me the info. I would like to know if I am approved without wasting tons of time and gas going back and forth to Louisville. *sigh*

Thank you!!! I was wondering, are you still taking your Thyroid meds? If so, any issue with them passing through the band? I take Synthroid which is very small, so I hope it would be easy to pass. Congrats on your weight loss

Hi from KY also! I am trying to go through LapBand associates of Louisville. I don't have Humana but I wanted to say HI and wish you luck!!!

Hi from KY also! I am trying to go through LapBand associates of Louisville. I don't have Humana but I wanted to say HI and wish you luck!!!

I have had 2 friends go through TriCare and both got surgery dates extremely quick compared to private insurance. Just imagine, some people have to wait 6 months to 3 years for it... so right now, you are in a good spot. Wish you the best of luck

I definitely have been there. I have gone back and forth over it but for me, I had to weigh my options. Can I quit making bad decisions on my own? No. Is this a cure? No. Nothing will be easy, but for me getting the Band will help me to help myself. Your decision should be based on personal feelings and what your expectations are. Good luck either way!!

Just wanted to intro myself - Heather!! Nice to meet you I am new to Kentucky and hoping to get approval for Lap Band through www.lapbandoflouisville.com with Anthem Blue Cross coverage. If you have been through LBoL, please message me so I can ask you some questions. I currently have no comorbidities except borderline Hypertension. I wish Hypothyroidism was considered a comorbidity, but it is not *sigh*. I look forward to reading your post and learning from your experiences. Look my up on OH (HMD77) for my back story. I will get my profile and blog up to date here asap. Thanx

I have been on this WLS journey for a long time. My best friend had it in 1997 and ever since then, I have wanted it, tried to get approved and educated myself about WLS. During that time I joined the Army and they gave my Butt Kick - errr - Boot Camp WLS. Needless to say exercising 6 hours a day led to extreme weight loss. Shortly after I got out of the Army (4 long skinny years later) I found myself fat again. Old habits die hard. Sad face. Today I am educating myself more than I have ever done because I am going through the WLS approval phase [again]. I want to make the best choices and do things right. I do not want to mess up and fall back into my old ways. I know WLS is not a cure but I need it as a tool to help me make better decisions. Anthem uses www.lapbandoflouisville.com surgeons for WLS. This is good and bad. Good because that is all they do, Lap Band. No other focus or specialty. Bad because it is a 45 min drive into the city for each visit. I will go to my briefing on March 1 and LBoL said they will do the leg work through Anthem. I mentioned before that this is completely different than how Kaiser did things. But I am stressed out enough and if LBoL can do most of the leg work for me, well I am happier than a pig in mudd. Concerns - What if I fail again? I am scared, no lie there. I know my willpower is non-exsistent. This is a No-Go with WLS. I cannot depend on WLS to do everything for me. I need to take responsibility and that is hard! What about my Thyroid disease? I have heard of people with Hypothyroidism getting ood results with the LapBand but I have a hard time believing it. I need PROOF! How is it that restricting my food will kickstart my thyroid into working again? Scared. Very scared. In the closet - No, I'm not gay but my surgery (or desire to have surgery) is in the closet to most everyone. I have 2 dear friends, 1 post op and 1 pre op that are my cheerleaders. They are amazing and they motivate me to push for approval. I am tired of disappointment and worried about failure. Both for myself and anyone that knows my desires to get approved. Enough for now. I will update again soon. BTW I am thinking of trying the POST OP DIET for a couple days to see if I can really stick to it. I need to build my willpower back up! Wish me luck. (X posted from my OH.com journal)