Brandy~

I think you should be ok if you have any questions on what all I did PM me and I can walk you through it. It really just took patience.

...Milf.. :ohmy:

Hi all I just got the famous call :ohmy: Seems I am going to be banded in April on the 23rd. I am over the moon atm. Eugene, oregon here

Ok so I am trying my best not to just freak out and run around in circles screaming with excitement. This will probably be a very long post as I want to get it off my chest :ohmy: I started checking into LB about 2 years ago. I knew my insurance wouldn't pay so I was like crud and I thought I can do this myself sheesh how hard could it be to lose 100 pounds! haha I lost 52 pounds and then thought I could take on the world! I then quit smoking and decided that eating was more fun than the cig addiction and proceeded to pack on the 52 pounds again! Then my company switched insurance to BCBS of Minnesota... This is the best thing that happened to me. We switched in Sept of 07 and by 10/07 I was scheduling 6 appts for the nutrition counselor, attending seminars, and meeting with the surgeon. I was well informed ahead of time before switching insurance so I was on the ball the minute we switched. I cannot thank my company enough for changing. I submitted for pre auth on 4/3 and within a day and a 1/2 I was given authorization and a surgery date! I will be banded on 4/23 now I have a BMI of 44 with no comorbities. I will be banding at Sacred Heart Bariatric Center Eugene, Oregon by Dr. Umbach. Thankfully no preop diet since i lost more than 10 pounds.

Portland, OR? Welcome :ohmy: I am in Eugene, Oregon to be banded at Sacred Heart by Dr. Umbach

Hi and congrats on your date :ohmy: Wishing you the best

Welcome! I am from Oregon as well (Eugene) I haven't been banded yet but will be here at Sacred Heart. I am sorry to hear of your complications but it sounds like you're on the right path.. In no time I am sure you will be strolling around the beach :ohmy:

Hi Emily. Hope you're feeling better :ohmy:

Hi. Congrats. Good luck :thumbup: Let us know if you need anything :Dancing_wub:

I am thinking the same as you. My doctor chart is some ridiculous number thats around 120. I would be happier around 150... I am 5'3" so were pretty close. My doctor said that he wasn't going to give me a number as a goal he said he was looking for healthy lab results and how I feel.

Trust me that at the end of 6 months you will think wow that wasn't so bad. I have BCBS of Minnesota they require 6 month diet. I was told my the insurance and the surgeon they use the weight from the initial consulation during the calculation of your BMI for approval. Either way I stayed over the 40 BMI. I ended up only losing about 12 lbs in the 6 months. During the 6 month process I slowly scheduled all the required appts as well. I did the physc eval, nutritional class (3 classes the surgeon required), Blood tests, meeting with the surgeon to discuss life changes. In the meantime just for fun I would go weigh myself in at the surgeons office.... So on top of the dietititan appts I also weighed in there so it was documented and my surgeon didn't charge for that. My last appt was on 4/2 and right now it's all in the hands of my insurance :Dancing_wub:

I have the same insurance as you. My concern is your BMI is 39 and you only have one comorbity if I read that right. what was your BMI the very first time you saw the doctor for your 6 month diet? They wont take the weight that you are now they will use the first appt.

I like the equate shakes at walmart I am not even on pre op diet yet and I drink those 2x per day as a meal replacement. They taste more like chocolate milk instead of gritty vitamin protein shake. I found after a few days I wasn't even finishing them either.

Congrats! I insurance approval is still pending. I hope I get to post this soon :smile:

Hmm thanks Wheetsin that was kinda fun.

haha yeah... I really try to stay away from those things because I would end up a nervous wreck.

Maybe I read it wrong but I got the feeling originally from Saudi Arabia and work in Singapore.

I would fight that for sure... That and maybe find a surgeon thats more on your side. They have a hard number of 40 and being 40.1 means you're eligible. I would be at the doctor every week being weighed with quarters and keys and u name it.. Do you own combat boots? those are pretty heavy haha. Celtic you and I are in the same insurance boat btw... mine was submitted on 4/2 for auth.

Many people travel to get their bands done. I wasn't willing to travel out of fear that I would need immediate assistance and I wouldnt be able to receive it. Theres a few things to consider if you want to travel far. First of all make sure you find a doctor that is close by to do your fills/unfills... This is gonna be one of the most important parts of the journey if you want to be successful with the band. If you have to travel for hours on end to get an unfill you will be in alot of pain. The second is alot of doctors aren't willing to do the after care if they didn't perform the surgery... definetly something to think about. The surgeon in my area will not do aftercare if it's not his patient... This is one of the reasons I chose to use the clinic I did. I am sure that if she has a doctor at her facility and she is a world renouned surgeon she expects the same out of them. I do not think that the fact that their population not being obese would really detour anyone from using him as a surgeon... Most surgeons in the US and Mexico are general surgeons who specialize in LB or Laproscopic surgery... Meaning my surgeon might do a couple hernia surgeries today, a bowel surgery tomorrow, and then on Monday perform LB on a couple people. I think the skill is that he is able to perform multiple surgeries with the skills. I think the more they know like that the more beneficial the doctor is to you. I took about 7 months to choose my surgeon and I think I made the right choice. I understand where you're coming from when you say the culture is much different.... Some cultures are very easily offended by questioning their skill. But if this is the case with someone who is about to perform a surgery on you then you really might want to look at more surgeons. Please becareful when choosing someone only because of the number of surgeries they have done. You do not want to end up with an asssembly line surgeon. Oh I am so sorry for the long post.

I do not know Dr Kum Cheng Kiong but I did a search about the doctor... Turns up tons of articles, seminars, classes , and surgeries that he has performed. I would say its safe to assume that this is a well established doctor. Maybe go in and meet with him and see how his 'bedside' manner is?

Congrats! Hope your healing process goes well and fast.

Mine works at the Bariatric center... But thats not all he does. He has another office that deals with other types of laproscopic surgeries.

Ok so I submitted to insurance today... well my surgeon did... The request for preauthorization for LB. So what I am wondering is if you have or had an insurance that says they pay for it like mine does how long did it take them to give you pre auth if you supplied everything required? Wonder if I am looking at more than the time my surgeon told me which was 10 BUSINESS days

My doctor didn't specifically recommend it but hinted that it would be a good idea.... I have short term disability that I could take too but I think I would pull my hair out lol

I would just go to the doctor or dermatologist. I am sure that it's probably just some type of yeast or something simple tho.