chubsy

I just went to mine last night. Have to do 3 months of supervised diet and meet with a nutritionist and a shrink. After that we can submit for insurance approval so i am hoping within 6-7 months i can be banded.

Hi All. So i met with my PCP yeaterday and he was very supportive of my decision. I told him that my insurance requires at least 3 months of supervised diet an he said to just start logging my meals and weight. What i really want to know is how will the insurance co. Interpret the results of this diet? Should one really strive to loose as much weight as possible or is that a bad move? I am afraid the insurance co. (cigna) might take it as " hey he can loose on his own NOT APPROVED" should i just loose a few pounds? Just to prove i tried and it didnt work? I know that if i stick with a diet and exercise for 3months i will loose weight but my problem is staying the course . I want to make sure i do this perfect and not give them any chance to question the approval. I would appreciate any advice i can get. Thank you

Jim ( i am assuming it is ur name). Thanks much. I guess i will find out more about what the surgeon wants at the seminar. I hope it is the surgeons office that handles the 3 month dirt and not my pcp.

Thank you all. @jim1976 did you actually diet during that time or you only kept a journal of what you ate whatever it was? I am still confused on whether i should try really hard to loose weight during that period or hold back some. Dies the unsurancr company expect you to actually diet and loose weight or hust to log your regular food intake???? Thank you

Sorry to hear u had to go thru so much. I want to play this smart. This is a move by insurance to have the last option to denie you. They can interpret however they want and fits in their favor. I am not sure what to do.

I know that you would be risking a lot by having the band removed buy has anyone done it after they reached their goal and maintained it. I understand that we get the band because we cannot control hunger and portions so removing it would make us go back to our old habits but i am just wandering if the months or years of having the band has taught us the discipline to do it on our own. Just wandering

Hi welcome.... Do u feel any difference after the first fill? How was ur food intake prior to that fill? I am new too so asking many questions

My biggest problem is learning how eat slow and chew my food longer because i am used to inhaling food and never knowing when its enough. I am trying to keep this surgery a secret so social eating is not going to be fun. Gotta do what u gotta do!

This is a question for bandsters that have reached the green zone. I am in early stage of starting my band journey so i am doing a lot of research. One thing i cannot wrap my head around is the meal size of 1 cup. Doctors say that when u have reached the green zone 1 cup of food, when chewed and swallowed properly will make you feel satisfied and full. Can u guys confirm this and tell me if its true or it is exagurated? I just cannot imagine myself feeling satisfied with 1 cup of food with any kind of WLS. I need assurance. Thank u in advance!

HI fellow bandsters to be. I have a question. The medicaly supervised diet that almost all insurances require, is this to be supervised by the surgeons office that will do the surgery or your family doctor? Also, who submits paperwork to insurance, ur fam doc or surgeon? Not sure about all that. I was under the impression that once u go see a surgeon that they take u under the wing and work on everything. Am i wrong? Any help would be appreciated.

Just ti update. I checked with my insurance (CIGNA) and my plan covers the bariatric surgery and all post op follow ups! This is great news. 100% coverage in network and 80% out of network. I have already scheduled two seminars and one appointment with the surgeon. Being that live in NYC i have an option between two of the best in the business. As far as supervised diet goes CIGNA only requires 3 months! Great news again! I am getting so excited about the whole process but the surgeons are so busy that my first apt. Is in mid september. I wanna do this tomorrow if i could and get started in my success story! Lol...godd luck to all of us!

Thank you all so much. I have CIGNA and i am not sure what they require so i will call them tomorrow so i can get the ball rollin. I hope its only 3 months. 6 is just too ling but if i have to i will do it no excueses

Hi do you mind sharing what it took for you to get approved from insurance? Thanks

Thank you. If its not too much too ask. Could you please explain what you needed to do during those six months? Is the diet prescribed by the doctor? Or is it just writing down what you eat? Are you expected to loose weight during that time? Is it good or bad, regarding the insurance approval, if you loose weight during that period? So many questions so sorry

Thank you. Should i even go see a surgeon before i do the diet?

Mis73 thank you for some words of wisdom. When i said pigging out i meant eating large quantities in one seating. The band's job should be to make me feel full with a lot less food and keep me satisfied for a longer time. I understand that even when i dobget full on less food if my choices are poor that it will not work. I am not so concerned about sticking to healthy choices but rather feeling satisfied with less. But from what i understand and from what most of bandsters are saying until you reach your "green zone" it is pretty much like not having the band, IS THIS TRUE? DO I FEEL ANY RESTRICTION IF IT HASNT BEEN FILLED? My biggest concern is sticking with the discipline of my diet until i reach the green zone which what previous few posts said might take a long time.

As a new person looking to get this surgery these comments really make me rethink it. I do not want to wait a year untill i feel restrictions. By dieting for a year i think i can loose 100lbs. The reason i wanna get this done is because i wanna have a tool that stops me from piggin' out like what i am doing now. Buy to wait for 9 months or so to have that affect really sound discouraging. I am aftaid that if i feel no restrictions i will fall in my old habits quickly. I cannot succeed in deiting thats why i am lioking for surgical help but to have it done and know that us there but its not doing anything really makes me reconsider. Maybe i am just a complainer

An anyone tell me if they had to have their hearnia repaired at time if lapband surgery. I have a large one and would like to know if it is a problem and how is the post op? Will the healing take much longer then usual?

Thank you all for replying, it definetely gives me comfort knowing this will not impact the lapband surgery. While some people live with no symptoms of HH i had plenty of issues and everyone told me that surgical repair will not do anything as it just comes back. Do you know if this is something that insurance meeds to approve additionally or its part of the lapband procedure? Once again thank you all for your responses

Hi .... I am new to this journey as well. I want to ask you a question about your 1st meeting with the surgeon. Did you go in there already knowing u wanted the lapband or that is what he suggested. I do not want anything else but am afraid that the surgeon might suggest something else

Yes the forum is so inspirational and a place where u feel comfortable talking about this. My biggest fear is not being approved by insurance even though i meet all the criteria. I live in nyc and there are a lot of good surgeons but i want to find one who will work with my insurance and in case i get denied the first time that he keeps fighting and not just give up.

I am just starting my journey so i will be asking a lot of questions. Thank u all ahead of time for answering. Anyone go through insurance approval with CIGNA and can provide some pointers Thanks