n2animals

I have a question, did they count the first meeting with the nutrionist towards the 6 months process? I was told by the lap band center that the initial meeting doesnt count so its relly more like 7 months ( I have Cigna also). Also, if you dont mind sharing, what was your BMI, did you have any co-morbidities? I just want to compare and see if mine will hopefully go as smoothly as yours!

@ helen098 I completely agree with you about insurance. I just saw the bill that the Surgery center submitted to my insurance company for the sleep studies, endoscopy, nutritional counseling, etc. The prices they are charging I could have had the surgery 2-3 times by now. It is ridiculous to go through all these hoops that cost more money than the procedure alone. I hope this gets approved the first time, I really dont want to deal with the appeals process and wait any longer. I am already dying waiting for my 6 months to end. I would have put the 6lbs on with weights, heavy clothes, tennis shoes etc in order to get the approval! Have you been approved yet?

Thank you, I can't wait to see the results. I'm a little worried the weight will come off slower since I am starting out with a lower BMI @Jsea congrats and good luck with your surgery on Monday. Too bad insurance won't cover it. I thought mine didn't. I wasted 6 months trying to switch insurance to get it covered and in the end didn't Need to because it was covered. Sucks cause I probably could of have the surgery now. I was investigating self pay as weep, I am determined to get this done.

I just got the results of my sleep apnea test today...I have moderate to severe sleep apnea. I am so excited, I know this is not something you would normally Celebrate, but I am at a 35-36BMI and needed a comorbidity in order to qualify with my insurance. I still wont know until the end of the year when they submit everything to the insurance whether I have approval on the surgery (I need to complete my 6 months of nutritional counseling), but I am one step closer to getting my lap band and cant wait. This has been a nail biting, agonizing process, the reward will be worth it! Has anyone been denied even with meeting all the insurance qualifications? I have Cigna.

Thanks for the clarification. That makes more sense. Even though it is not sleep apnea, does it still count as a co-morbidity? I am awaiting the results of the re-test. Hopefully I will get a better answer next week.

I completely understand how you feel. I am at a 35 BMI, I have told my friends and co-workers of my decision to try and get banded. Almost everyone thinks I am crazy. I hear the same remarks, you dont need that, your not big enough for that, or just go on a diet. I am sick of hearing that, my response is "really, if it was that easy then we would all be skinny!" How can I be 5'5" and 215lbs and not need it? Should I wait till the problem gets worse? Cause that is where I am heading with the current trend of gaining weight. I have been thinking about doing the surgery for the past 8 months, I did my research, I know what it is about and what to expect. My dad also was banded about a year ago, so I also have a close personal experience. My husband at least is supportive. I just started the process in July. Unfortuanetly I dont know if the insurance will cover the procedure yet. I dont have any co-morbidity such as high blood pressure or diabetes. I was tested for sleep apnea and just recieved my results yesterday. I have to redo the test this Saturday since I didnt sleep enough for them to get the data they needed. They said the test showed I had respiratory distress which causes me to wake from REM sleep and jump back to stage 1 sleep so I wasnt in REM sleep enough. I am a little confused because he said this is not catagorized as sleep apnea and that I should do a retest with a sleep aid so that I can stay asleep for them to collect the data. I am scheduled to do the retest this Saturday. I know its bad to say but I hope this retest goes better and it shows I do have sleep apnea so that I can get banded in late December or January (6 months nutrional counseling required...Uggh). If not, I have to wait till after I purchase a house in order to finace the procedure. Sorry to ramble on about myself. It just gets me worked up when people dont understand. I am not looking to be a stick thin person, just healthy, able to move around better, keep up with my kids, and have a more positive outlook when I look in the mirror. The band is a tool to help me get to my goal. On a side note, do you lose weight more slowly when you start out with a lower BMI?

I finally got my sleep apnea study results. Not what I was hoping for, but not a final decision yet either. I was told I have the signs and symptoms of a sleep disorder. I have upper respiratory distress that seems to keep me from staying in REM sleep and causes me to keep going back into stage 1 sleep. I didn't sleep long enough in REM sleep for them to gather enough information, but as of now they are ruling out sleep apnea. They suggested I do a re-test and use a sleep aid so ey can gather more data. I'm scheduled to do it this Saturday. I am a little confused, how is it I have some repiratory distress that is causing me to wake, but it's not sleep apnea? They also said when I was asleep I snored about 54% of the time. I hope the second test goes better, without this diagnosis The insurance will not cover the procedure. Anyone else had any similar results?

I was thinking of forming a group of people who are looking to self pay or finance the lap band and have the surgery done in the Southern California area in order to get a better rate? I thought that if we got enough people together to do the surgery with the same doctor, they would give us a group rate discount since a number of us are willing to commit to one doctor. Does anyone have an opinion on this or has anyone tried this before? I am going through the process with my insurance but I have a feeling I will be denied and wanted to keep my options open. Anyone interested in this? I am open to any suggestions.

I just had my sleep study done Friday night. It will be a week until I get the final results, but the preliminary results from the technician is that I don't have sleep apnea. I am so upset because without a diagnosis, my insurance will not cover the lap band. I really believed I had it. I had a lot of the classic symptoms. I am looking to buy a house in the next several months so I can't pay for the surgery out of pocket. I need to wait till after I close escrow to finance the surgery. How much does the procedure cost if financed? What financing company did you use?

Thank you, I will try to stay on my back, something so simple.

I have been thinking about getting the surgery for the past year. My dad had the surgery about 2 years ago and loves it. I finally got Cigna PPO insurance through my work and have started the process with Lap Band VIP in Encino. Unfortunately my insurance requires 6 months of nutritional supervision and a co-morbidity since I am at a little over 36 BMI. I am scheduled to do my sleep study this Friday and the endoscopy is scheduled for the next morning. Is this normal to do an endoscopy so far in advance? If i did get approved for the surgery, it wouldn't occur until December 2011 or January 2012. I am so nervous, I think I have sleep apnea, I have frequent headaches, am tired all the time, and the last 4-6 months my husband has been complaining of me snoring heavily, which i did not do in the past. If it turns out that I dont have sleep apnea, the surgery will not be covered by the insurance. Wish me luck, cant wait for the test and the results! Any tips, suggestions, help would greatly be appreciated.