emily_0192010

I have never had the band and I am being sleeved in September but I just wanted to say that I am always astounded when I hear about the band that i never hear about the side effects. The surgeon I am using and his partner and both ridiculously pro-band. My surgeon has been doing them since they came out and the other almost as long. During the seminar nothing negative was mentioned at all. Before finding this site I had chosen the sleeve over the band purely because I was seriously uncomfortable having a foreign object in my body. Plus, with no real long term statistics to back the band I was skeptical. I did research on gastrectomy's and people who have them for reasons other than weight loss. The sleeve many be new but gastrecomy's certainly are NOT! There was a ton of information and that helped settle my nerves! I think that the medical world needs to put more information out there! Obviously not everybody has issues with the band, but enough do that it shouldn't be hidden as much as it is!

Awesome!! You are a couple days before me It hardly seems real to be honest...

That is awesome! Such an inspiration I hope after 5 months that I have lost that much! Plus it looks like you are pretty close to your goal weight

CONGRATS!! Our dates are very close together I am on the 19th! You will do great! I'm not sure what I think of food right now. I've been on a seriously low-carb diet for three months so I've already had to cut out a lot. But I find that I don't crave them so much anymore. When they are in front of me if I have the "carbs" for the day i'll take a bite here or there. I'm actually finding that many things taste so different than I remember... and not in a good way! I am trying to find other ways to "reward" or to "celebrate" than with food. For myself as well as for my 5 year old sister. It's hard but in the end it is going to be so worth it. Congrats again!

I can't say for sure because I am not familiar with your insurance, but I only had three years to show and I had to dig for those. I think you will be fine! My surgeon's office said the same thing to me "we'll submit and then wait and see". Good luck!

I am planning on switching, I'm just going to wait until after the surgery to avoid any insurance crud. I have wanted to switch for a little while. While she is competent with the little things, she is ridiculously quick to refer and I just have always felt a bit uncomfortable with her. Plus I found out recently that she stretched the truth regarding some bloodwork i've had done. I spent the last two years believing I was pre-diabetic (that was what i was told)... turns out i'm not. Turns out I was "borderline" so it was like being pre-pre-diabetic.... which I still need to pay attention to but still. I should have been told that! Anyways, thanks for the support!!

Ohhh, that's a good one! I have been told that it is normally at least one night, maybe two. I will ask again though just to make sure. I hadn't thought about asking about the waiting room thing. My mom is probably going to freak out enough for the both of us so i'm sure that would be a big help to her!

Hey everyone!! I am going to have my pre-op appointment with my surgeon on the 7th and I want to make sure that I have covered all the bases question wise. Does anyone have any suggestions on things that I should ask my surgeon? Thanks!

YAY!!!! I finally have my date I am getting sleeved on September 19th! I am super excited. I thought for a while that I wouldn't be approved because my PCP refused to write me a letter of medical necessity... but apparently the insurance felt there was enough there to approve. I am so happy right now!!

The first thing I thought when I saw your "after" photo was "OMGsh she lost all her weight in only 7 months!" Seriously, where in the world are those last 50 going to come from?? I think you look amazing. You can definitely see a great difference!

I was APPROVED! YAY!!! I don't know when my surgery date is yet, but I was APPROVED!!!!!!!! WOO HOO. I called the insurance this morning and they confirmed it for me over the phone!

Sorry I didn't respond right away, I just started working and my hours have been all over the place! I would definitely like to keep in touch!! As of yesterday I *still* haven't heard from my insurance so I have no idea if i've been approved or not. My mom (I am under her insurance) told me she would call first thing monday for me. It has been almost two weeks so hopefully i'll hear back either way soon!!

Not far from there! I'm in Mandarin off of San Jose!

I chose to go with Dr. Pinnar here in Jax. He is partners with Dr. Cywes and i'll be having the surgery at Memorial. They mostly work with band patients but I had a long discussion with him about why I wanted the sleeve and he respected those and didn't push for the band. I didn't "doctor shop" too much as I needed to stay close to home but I feel very comfortable with him and I know one other person who had him as their surgeon so I'm confidant that everything will go well. Where in Jax are you?

It is very interesting... my surgeon's office wanted a 5 year weight history, which I didn't have. I only have 3. Before that I didn't have insurance and since I was lucky enough not to be sick at all I never went to a clinic or anything. I did notice that the bulletin was recently (the last couple years) updated and it changed to only requiring a two-year history. So I think three is good. I'm starting to think that the letter is one of those things that would make it easier to get approved but isn't a "must have".

I did three months through my surgeon's office. I went twice a month to get weighed in and "chat" with the diet counselor. I also had to see a nutritionist and have a psych clearance.I wasn't required to do any special testing, just the pre-op bloodwork, chest xray and ekg.

Thanks! It doesn't say anything about a letter of medical necessity in their policy bulletin, so I am hoping that it isn't necessary. I qualify under all of their other guidelines so hopefully that is enough! They submitted to my insurance either today or tomorrow so I guess I will find out soon enough!

You look amazing! Congrats on making it to goal

Hey everyone! It has been a while since I've posted but the real world has been crazy insane recently! So, I am done my three-months PSWL and all my ducks are in order to submit for approval except for one. I went to my PCP for my letter. The FIRST visit she was all "i need all of your records from the surgeons office before i'll consider it". SO, I had all my stuff faxed over and I had to make a second appointment. At that appointment she finally agreed to write the letter. In other words, to me she said that she agreed to write the letter of medical necessity. BUT it would have to wait until her office person was back before it would be done. I wait about a week and half, and finally it is done and it is faxed over to the surgeons office. The surgeons office calls me "it isn't what we need. i called and they refuse to put that it is medically necessary into the letter". So what do I do now? I can't afford to go "doctor shopping" to find a doctor that will write the letter for me. I meet all of Aetna's guidelines, and I do have a letter from my PCP they just will not write that it is medically necessary. So do I submit to Aetna anyways or... I don't know. Any help?? Thanks!

Well I did my official check-in today and i've lost 5 pounds! So, yay, it seems to be finally working!!

I have to admit that I laughed when I read this post because I though the same thing!!!! I promise that these are real people! I have not yet had the surgery, I am still in the insurance required supervised diet stage but only a couple more months! I think once you get over the shock of how awesome everyone on here is then you'll realize that you have found an amazing place for real-down to earth advice and information. People have had complications, but compared to the band board there are so many less, and the complications they do have tend to not be as severe. If you still don't believe, you can go to my profile and send me a private EMAIL (not PM)... that will go to my personal e-mail and i'll e-mail you back from it lol!! Congrats on starting your journey, I know for me making the decision was the hardest part, following through is becoming easier and easier and the closer I get the more excited I get!

I'm glad to hear that you are doing well! You're post just sounded so chippy and it made me smile

So from reading on here and from what I've read other places I was worried about buying Protein powder without trying it first because I thought that I would be stuck with it once I bought it. But today my mom and I went into a GNC just for curiosity's sake and the lady (she was the manager) told me (I didn't even have to ask) that we can always return any Protein Powder that we buy if we don't like it. I was shocked so I got her to clarify. Even if you open it, try it, and just don't like it they will allow you to return the product. It has to be with receipt and within 30 days... but that is still awesome! Just thought I'd share because I've heard (read lol) people on here saying that they are stuck with what they bought.

Wow! We have a lot in common My mother and I are also having the surgery together and I am 20. As for your anxiety, I think the key is to stay on top of it. I am guessing you have a professional to talk to, but if not I think it is important that you do that way it doesn't become a problem. This is a great place to get advice and information so you are already one step ahead of the game!

For drinks, I am strict Water only. The only exception is I will occasionally drink Powerade zero, which is no cals and no carbs. I haven't heard about the whole caffeine and no carbs before, but it doesn't matter because I very rarely drink coffee anyways. I had diet soda once but it made me sick to my stomach so I haven't touched it since and I have no desire to as well. I went to the gym today and I still haven't lost I do my official check in with the surgeons office on Tuesday. If I haven't dropped by then I am going to ask and see if maybe something else is up. I have been counting *everything* including veggies and *total* (not net) carbs and I have been below 30 and above 20 everyday. I am also eating about 1000 cals per day. Thanks for everyone's input! If anyone can figure out what I'm missing please let me know!!