Sooverit!

Hey Shrinkingmom thank you for your kind words...I was pretty shocked too ...that Geiss would turn down patients who are can't get insurance coverage. When I first called them they said if I don't have a 40 BMI I won't qualify when I called again the woman said they don't take people who aren't covered by insurance because they end up not being able to pay out of pocket if there are complications. Now Dr. Fielding and Ren ...leaders and pioneers in Lap band surgery practicing out of NYU Med Center in NYC are fine and will band anyone over 35 BMI and some lower in certain cases. I plan to go there after I got that email.

Now that I'm on a roll Restless Monkey....forgive me... :-)....I also have heavy incidence of Type II diabetes, heart disease, hi chol, morbid obesity in my family....Cigna is cold hearted!~!

Oh Thank you...I'm thinking of a loan now and thinking perhaps I'm worth it too. My twin sister died from morbid obesity related heart condition a few years ago but Cigna doesn't care. Thanks for the good wishes ...I'm thinking February...wish me luck on the loan now!

When ever I tried to GAIN weight to get to a 40BMI no matter how much I ate I'd lose>??? or stay the same grrr

"I'll be old later when I have time" Great Restless Monkey....congratulations on your excellent progress and great attitude:thumbup:

[Q. it is so hard to reprogram yourself from the clean your plate days..... but i know i can do it... Ha ha Ms. Trina I remember the "clean your plate" days well. Not only did my family tell me to clean my plate when I was young but to clean eveyone else's too! I was the skinny! one in my family so my mom would empty the other plates on to mine ...and I'd be a good daughter and finish all the food for her...so no waste!@ No waist now!

That's a cool answer Jack. The energy and the extra time spent on living life fully instead of always self indulging and in my case hiding must be embowering. Maybe without the food to comfort me i will get strong and be forced to finally accept life with all it's pimples and dimples.

I'm no doc for sure but I wouldn't be very worried now, if I understand correctly the body's organs regenerate completely after 7 years, of course that is if it's left to heal and it are healthy to start with. Haven't you had blood work? I feel like I've had every test there is prior to surgery. Ask your doc's office they can look it up on your chart. Best to you on your upcoming surgery!

I have to say I'm more than disappointed with Dr. Powers and Dr. Geiss. I am 15-20 pounds shy of a 40 BMI and they e-mailed me saying that I am not qualified for lap band surgery and what I need is nutritional counseling. Oh really..I could write a few books on nutrition as I eat very healthy almost all the time except I just eat too much. It seem they only take patients that are covered by insurance. Business must be good and that is what business is about I understand.

Like your candor Frustrated...I diddo that...and I'm getting the sense Indigo girl is not going to mind a bit. I did forget to ask you Indigo if you hired an image consultant or personal shopper, I know there's another word for what I'm think of ? I think I should do that instead of wasting money on clothes that don't look good on me or I just don't want to wear.

oops don't know how those words ended up at the end of my post there?:wink_smile:

Indigo, I just dropped of my very stylish 11 year old daughter and her friend. On the way home I started to think and get optimistic about getting the band and being able to have some wonderful staple outfits again. I like the idea of taking photos of the outfits too! I would put the photos on my closet and assign each outfit for each event work, stores, church etc. ...So my whole closet doesn't end up on my bed like it does sometimes. I hope to be banded in February and hopefully soon I will share photos with you! Thank you again for sharing and the inspiration. .clothes again about how great Good luck on Wednesday. You are to model material!

Thank you so much for your honesty Holli, may I ask you did you go to a addiction specialist? How do you find a good one?

I love clothes also Indigo especially when I was your size. I am just blown away by how an outfit can totally change the way a person looks. You really wear black and white well and I love all the sharp black and white outfits...very stylish and you look youthful and sharp. I know the over 50 models are in big demand now.

Sorry I'm posting so much....I just had to reply to DaiseyMay's post. WOw you really hit me in the gut...with your profound truth~ This is what I'm afraid of; that Loss... I will feel not be able to escape into food. Using food like a drug. I do have an addictive personality and I should get help for that probably even before getting banded? You are coping better every day though and that is great to hear. Thanks agian.

Gilli...I haven't had a Quarter Pounder since I was your age! I think I do eat healthy either chick or fish but just way too much and too often.

All your answers are so good..I'm still digesting ...your words ..I am still smiling at what you said RealMcCoy about now you're not eating for "sport"..lol. You hit the nail on the head that is what I do and once I start I can't really stop until it's all gone or I'm full ....which and the later never happens...especially in front of ...Big TV! Lately I do feel like why bother starting...I'm not really hungry until I start eating...I messed up my full & hunger signals years ago probably. I' know I will be withdrawing from the snacking tho and that scares me.

You can go on the web site not MyCigna just Cigna.com and look for Bariatric Surgery and they do state (at least in mine) what they require. When I last look they changed the requirement to proof of 2 years with a 40 BMI - I believe it used to be 1. Aren't they nice ...they are punishing us for not letting ourselves really go...I've exercised and worked not to get to a 40 BMI for all my life...darn them...all I need now is another 20 lbs and I'm a 40.,,,oh keep researching. I will eventually get a loan from Allergen makers of Lap band they have a 80 month payment plan if I don't get covered....keep me posted!

What about snacking, is it still an option? I heard popcorn is a no no with the band so this is a good thing because my dh brings home big bags of "Smart Food" popcorn and since we've gotten DVR I've probably put on at least 10 lbs . I guess snacking is out then but I think I would really go through snacking withdrawal when I get banded. Anyone have trouble breaking the snacking habit? Are there healthy snack alternatives?

Thank everyone for replying ...I guess that's part of the job of the band beside restriction. Also was wondering about snacking...think I will post a separate thread.

Wow Jodi I am impressed with your stats! Way to go...thank you for replying and your inspiration. I always wondered what being stuck really felt like! Ouch but this can be a motivator I see.

Really like your advice Bluez. I copied it to recipes when I am banded on day I hope soon! I agree, during the post op or any surgery the last thing ironically I would think about is losing weight. I hope I'm not as hungry as poor Cori...I'm getting hungry just reading it. Hope it doesn't last too much longer? How long is the liquid stage? All docs are different on that ...2 weeks would be my limit then I'd ease into something more and do a lot of sleeping and pampering.

I have Cigna with a 36/37 BMI and I am on my 3rd appeal. My Primary Care Physician who is studying to be a fill doc in Smithtown, NY told me she has many patients who were turned down by their ins co only to be reimbursed after they paid out of pocket. Anyone have this experience?

I am pre banded and try to eat like a "bandster" but I give up after a few minutes. I feel that the pleasure of eating is gone when I am so pre occupied with chewing and making sure I'm not swallowing too much. After being banded do you still get pleasure from eating?

Oh boy Hallen are you ready to get tough. I should say though that there are different types of policies that Cigna offers. I have PPO I went into this with the same BMI as you as well as the same co mobidities. That was about eight months ago and CIGNA has turned me down 3 times. I am using Obesitylaw.com to help me with appeals. Their reason is that LB is still in an experimental stage! Before that it was not having a 40 BMI but they don't want you to gain wieght and resumit .actually they just don't want to pay up or are delaying it. Cigna can drive you crazy. There is a site dedicated to us called Cignasqueakywheel.com. My PCP who's studying to be a Fill Doctor said that many of her patients will pay out of pocket and then get reimbursed by Cigna but ofcouse this isn't a guarantee. Good luck with them..please keep us posted. dont' give up...I haven't!