ribearty

Sometimes people come into our lives for a period of time and then you grow apart or move on. This lady sounds a lot more like an acquaintance than a friend. It sounds like she is one of those people with her own pity party. You have grown away and she is resentful. Glad you were able to make another connection with a coworker who is also under going the surgery.

Glad to hear you are feeling better. I know that people on this forum will be there for the rest of your journey. I will be there some day and know I will need the support when my time arrives. Good luck.

When companies started making sugar free and fat free food items, there was an increase in obesity. Still have calories and little nutritional value.

Check with your insurance company and if you have a coordinator through the ins. co. I know for my company's policy they will accept Weight Watchers if you can show the stamps in your book as proof you attended meetings and they also need two to three visits from a doctor with notes showing the discussed your diet with you, weighed you and discussed exercise. These notes have to be in the same timeframe of the WW meeting stamps you are submitting. My ins. co. also does not require the visits to be 30 days apart. They said that about 3 to 3 1/2 weeks is sufficient as long as the dates fall into a separate month. My first visit was 7/31 and my next is 8/19. Hope this helps you. You might find out you do not have to do a 6 month diet. Also if you do find out you have to do the 6 month diet, get clarification if you have to meet with a doctor, or will they accept nutritionist or dietician meetings? You want to make sure you are following the criteria they want in order to get approved.

Gmanbat, too funny.

I hear you. I have been thin in the past. When I was in the hospital this week to have my EGD I told them my weight and was told you don't look like you weigh that and others at work have said you're not big enough to have weight loss surgery. The other day at work a guy I was working with was talking about the contestants on The Biggest Loser and how by the end they were hotties. I told him I was going to be one of those people. I told him I currently had a band in and it prolapsed and was going to have a different surgery. He then says well why doesn't just exercise work, why did your band fail you. He then proceeded to tell me I was taking the easy way out. When I asked him why he thought this was the easy way, he said, "Well I'm basing it off what Al Roker said. Al said it was the easy way because of his job he didn't have time to work out." I then proceeded to tell him that just because you have weight loss surgery does not mean you will automatically lose the weight. You have to work at it. It is not like a magic wand is waved over you and poof you are thin." His last comment was the ultimate quote. He then says well I've never had a weight problem. This reminds me of people who have never had a child but love to give you advice on how to raise your children. If you haven't walked in the other person's shoes, you can't really give an informed opinion. Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Hi, I have UHC Choice Plus through my employer. The first thing you should find out is does your employer cover weight loss surgery. Some companies do not cover it. When I first started working for my current employer, they did not cover weight loss but now do so. The requirements per the contract my employer has with UHC is a BMI of 35 to 39.9 with at least one comorbidity like high blood pressure, diabetes. There are several of them but these are a few examples. If you have a BMI greater than 40 they do not require any comorbidity. My insurance also requires a 6 month medically supervised diet and a psychological evaluation before they will approve you. UHC works with a company called Optum. If you log into myuhc and go to benefits and coverage and click on special services you might be able to tell from there. Your doctor's office will call your insurance co. to verify coverage. When I called Optum to ask the criteria I was told I would hear back from a nurse in about three weeks and I heard back exactly at the three mark timeframe. She sent me an email with my company's exact criteria I needed to qualify. The number for Optum is 1-888-936-7246. I have seen other post here that their employer does not require the 6 month diet. The previous poster said her insurance requires 2 comorbidities with a BMI between 35 and 39.9. It is all contingent upon what your employer agreed to when they obtained their insurance. If it is not covered by your employer, this would give you time to contact your HR department or benefits department to see if this might be something they may add when they renew their insurance for 2014. I hope this helps you.

Fiddleman, I think this falls under the category of "if you have to ask you really know the answer". Your body has been through a lot in the last year and you are training more than the average person. It is good to give your body at least a day off as well as switch and vary exercises, as I am sure you are well aware. Have you done any searches to see what are signs of over training or pushing yourself too hard. If so, just make sure it is not one of those "macho" sites with the attitude no pain, no gain. You know your body very well, and if it is trying to give you a message I would listen to it. Just my opinion. Maybe you could check with someone who is a personal trainer and get their opinion.

At least you hijacked your own thread and not someone else. I hate pushups. Like most females I do not possess a lot of upper body strength. Another that is painful and difficult for me, but a very good workout, is planks. Doesn't matter what position. I just keep working at it to get more endurance to last longer.

You might search this site or the manufacturer web site of the protein drinks to see if they have recipes that you could use to vary up the taste and flavor. I know when I had my lap band I was on liquids for a total of 3 weeks, 1 week before and two weeks after, but it is so important to follow your doctor's orders. For me after that surgery I was not willing to take a risk of eating something before I should and jeopardizing my surgery.

Hi Lady STL there are some folks on the forum from Missouri and the St. Louis. You can type the word Missouri or St. Louis in the search box and see what comes up. With using St. Louis you also might try STL since not sure if people put the period in after St. etc. You can also search for your doctor's name an find people who are near the area. Some people from Illinois have their surgery with a doctor located in the St. Louis area. Welcome to the site and good luck with your journey. I myself am pre-surgery and going through tests. My surgery will be either this year or early next year. It depends on if my prolapsed lap band is deemed enough of an emergency by my ins. co. to waive the six month supervised diet. Even if I have to do the six month diet, there is still a possibility I could have my surgery by the end of the year.

Sometimes also the surgery doctor has a particular doctor they use, especially the psychiatrist or psychologist, because that person is very familiar with how to write the report to help get approval from the insurance company the first time. I know with my insurance, you are required to meet with a person who is familiar with the bariatric surgery process. If the person you see is not, they can deny you on that reason alone. It is a bonus that your PCP is weight loss surgery friendly. Mine is also. I have been seeing him for a long time almost 20 years, but he is in management at the hospital and sees patients for a few hours a week. I was worried about getting sign off since the doctor I saw was in his group and had never seen me, but after speaking and an exam he is willing to sign off on my surgery.

Forticie, Look throughout the forum. There are a lot of questions answered on this topic. Some places to look are pre-op questions. If you are interested in a certain item or words, enter them into the search box on the home page and make sure the filter is set to forums. You will then see all the forum entries that mention your word or words you searched for and they are highlighted. If you are looking around for insurance there is a forum dedicated to insurance questions. However, items can also be found in other forums so I usually do not limit my search to a particular forum. I hope this helps and good luck on your journey.

I can report my experience since I have one scheduled for Wednesday. Not reality looking forward to this one but will be nice before surgery to know of any problems that may exist for me.

I would like to know how your doctor's office handled setting appointments to see your weight loss doctor. I am asking because I am a new patient with this doctor. After I had my first appointment, I called later in the week to set up my next appointment, and was asked to hold. The next thing I hear on the phone is a voice mail greeting telling me I had reached the voice mail of the dietician. I called back and said I wanted to make an appointment with the doctor and asked why I was transferred to the dietician. I was again told to hold and then another person answered the phone. When I asked her to whom I was speaking, she informed me she was the program director. When I would call my lap doctor for an appointment, the office staff would give me an appointment. So I am wondering what was your experience when you set up your appointments. I just find this process a little strange. Is this the normal procedure for most weight loss doctor's offices Thanks.

A lot of what the doctor orders is based on health issues you may have or if something is discovered or out of range from other tests performed. My doctor normally orders an EDG. About two weeks before surgery they order a chest x-ray, EKG and blood work. Some doctors order sleep studies, pulmonary tests and stress tests. If you have any type of cardiac problem then they will probably order more than an EKG. When I had my lap band six years ago, I had to have an EKG, EDG, Stress test, and blood work.

I have worked in the legal profession for many years previously, and chances your doctor has been sued at some time. A defense verdict may have been granted, or the case settled before suit was filed. With the number of lawsuiits filed, it is rare to find a doctor that has not been sued at least one time. Some of the suits are legitimate and some are nonsense. So even if your doctor was sued, I would examine the court documents to see what was the charge and what was the verdict on the case. Some areas of the country are more friendly to the plaintiff (patient) and other areas of the country are more friendly to the defense (doctor, hospital, clinic). If you are really concerned, ask the doctor about it. They should not be afraid to discuss it. Things happen. As other posters have said, have confidence in your doctor and do everything you can do to control the things you can like following pre-op instructions etc. By doing what you are doing you are taking control of what you can and mitigating your risks. Good luck and a speedy recovery.

I was a 35 BMI when I was approved for my lap band in '07 due to comorbidities. I am a 35 BMI this time and will be approved by my ins. due to comorbidities. I met my company's insurance criteria when I stepped on the scale at the surgeon's office between my weight and blood pressure. They require at BMI of 35 to 39.9 at least one comorbidity. They also require a 6 month medically supervised diet. The coordinator at Optum, who manages bariatric services for UHC, told me when your claim is reviewed for approval they use your starting weight. She also assured me if I lost weight and dropped below a BMI of 35 during the six month diet, I would not be disqualified from having surgery. I also have a prolapsed band, and am undergoing more tests currently to see if my claim can be submitted to ins. for approval early. I know I will be approved by my ins. co. it is just a matter of when it will occur.

Good luck. Hope everything goes well and you have a speedy recovery.

Good luck. I am just up due to heart burn from my band. I wish it were for something like my surgery day. Prayers and thoughts headed your way.

Peristaltic movements by your stomach move food toward the pyloric valve leads toward your small intestine. liquids do not stay in your stomach very long, but the shakes help you get the necessary amount of Protein you need, especially early on when you cannot eat solids yet. I have seen how quickly liquids go through when getting fluoroscopes performed with my lap band. The reason you don't drink with meals is because it will help wash the food from your stomach and make you feel less full. The longer the food stays in your stomach the more full you feel. Drinking and eating together can also lead to discomfort or vomiting.

You can thank them for their opinion, but tell them you are making the best choice for you. If they continue to disagree or argue, say, "we'll agree to disagree on this matter and it is no longer open for discussion."

I have had other surgeries and they have not been a problem. The reason is they can interfere with the pulse oxygen readings, and they if your nails are natural they can check for color change easier.

While my situation is similar to yours it is not quite the same. I still have my band in but learned on Monday that it had prolapsed. My doctor did an endoscopy which confirmed this. He also performed a fleuroscopy and removed all the Fluid from my band making it nonfunctional. When I met with him for my initial consult, I told him that one of my biggest fears was that there would be too much damage from my band and scar tissue for him to be able to do the surgery. He told me then that he is able to do the band removal and sleeve at the same time in 90% of his patients. After the tests on Monday, I found out that the sleeve was still a viable option for me. I am having another test performed next week and then meet with him the following week to discuss the results. At that point it will be decided if my claim will be submitted to the insurance company early. My insurance company has a six month medically supervised diet criteria. So now the only question remaining is "when" the surgery will occur not "if" since I have met their other criteria. I hope this response helps. I know it is very nerve wracking with so many unknowns You worry about so many things. I hope that your fears turned out to be unfounded.