tomato pie

Finally got ahold of the right person at the insurance company. I wasn't kind of denied. I was as denied as you can get . She told me to call my surgeons office. I did and am now waiting for a return call...

My BMI is 44.

Received a letter today from Cigna saying, "We are unable to substantiate medical necessity for the requested services". And then "Please be aware this is not a denial". Um... Ok... then what is it? I do plan on calling them, but it's Saturday and have to wait till Monday. So, to ease my nerves, have any of you received a letter like this?

I thought I'd let you all in on my current (pre-band) weight loss success secret. Here it is: big nasty bugs. My son is currently into catching bugs and putting them in a "bug house". Somehow that bug house ended up in the kitchen right next to the refridgerator and I'll tell you that ,for me, is the best deterrent. Ever. As soon as I see those big nasty things or hear them scratching around I make a beeline for the door. Ewwwww! It is working though

Thank you for your replies, it seems about normal what my surgeon does.

So... I got my date today, August 13th! He uses an 11cc band on everyone. I asked the surgeon how much he puts in per fill. He told me the first fill, after 1 month, he puts in 4cc, the second he puts in 3, the third he puts in 2cc. Once there's 9cc's he does small adjustments but he likes his patients to be around 9cc. Doesn't that seem like a lot? He said they obviously won't fill you if you don't need it but it will be those large amounts if you do.

I was dreading the psych eval so much I waited until it was the very last thing on my checklist to do. It was nothing to fear, I swear. It took an hour because I was self-pay and paid for an hour and the main topic was how much he likes his job and feels like he really helps people, lol. The only things we discussed that even pertained to me were if I had a good support system at home and if I understood the possible risks involved in having surgery. No test or anything like that.

Sometime in the next couple months I'll have it. Dr.Ceppa at The Reading Hospital will do it. I'm hard pressed to find someone else who had him as their surgeon

I'm not banded quite yet but I live in PA! I live in a tiny town between Pottstown and Reading.

Ugh, it happened last summer. We took our 1.5 year old ( at that time) son to his very first carnival and stood in line to take him on his first ride. As we got closer to the ride I saw a big sign that read " weight limit: 200 lbs". I went to the car and cried while my husband took him on it. I felt so horrible and vowed to finally do something about it.

. THANK YOU thank you thank you! A million times thank you! I called my patient care coordinator and told her I heard on this site that requirements have changed. She had to get back to me on that. And all of a sudden I am ready and have everything ready to schedule my pre-op appt with my surgeon!!! You Saved me from 3 more months of the supervised diet!

3 hours??? I go tomorrow and the guy said it should take about an hour. What should I expect? What do you discuss?

The only person that knows I am having this done is my husband, and he is sworn to secrecy I also feel very guilty for not telling my mother because she is the one who watches my 2 year old while I go to all these mystery appointments. I want to tell her , but, like you, I have a lot of "nosey Nancy's" in my family who would all be fighting for the prestigious title of Sargeant Food Police :/

Yeah we do have an EAP. What can they do?

Can't find a local psychologist who accepts my insurance, so I scheduled an appointment as self-pay for my psych eval. I have nothing to compare this price to, so I was hoping if any of you knew if this was a fair price?

Kah1213- good luck tomorrow!!! That's awesome! Kristin's mommy, I Live about 10 minutes outside of Reading. My doctor never mentioned the tests you mentioned ( upper GI, chest x-ray). I hope he doesn't spring that all on me at the last minute.

I know what you mean about your children having an active mom, I often feel like I am just sitting on the sidelines of life watching everyone else get to play the game. I have a 2 year old son and I feel guilty that I can't run around with him as much as my husband can But not for long! I am determined to change and be successful with the lapband when I get it good luck to you, I really mean that.

as far as tests go, my doctor has you get pre-op bloodwork, give a stool sample to test for h.pylori, and then a " behavior assessment" ( psych eval). If you see any specialists (cardiologist, etc.) he wants you to get a clearance letter saying you're safe for surgery.

Hey guys! After many months of lurking around on here almost daily, I've decided to finally create an account, lol! I don't know what I was so afraid of I am 25 years old and from Pennsylvania. I am currently on month 4 of the 6 month physician supervised diet. Starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, but I'm sure this feeling will pass...at some point :/