Fordgal88

Hey Kanina! I am currently seeing Dr. De la Torre at UAB. He is the chief of Plastics. He is very nice and knowledgable. The staff is marvelous! They are very accessible and sweet! Appointments seem to be pretty fast too. His number is (205) 934-2307 and his office is in the Kirklin Clinic. Hopefully I am on the last leg of my panniculectomy. I was denied and then we appealed then they asked for more pictures and records. All of that was submitted this morning, so keep your fingers crossed!! Hope all is well with you!! Shawna

How long did it take from the time your information was submitted to insurance until you got approved? Also what kind of insurance did you have? Just wondering. I have bcbs of Alabama and my information was submitted last week. I know they told me 4-6 weeks, but I am hoping that since this is the 2nd time (the first time I had not had the insurance long enough) that it might not take as long. I am happy for you!! =)

I will be at group tomorrow. It really helps!! Hope you are doing well!!

Hi everyone - just checking in. Not much going on here. I will be out of town on Saturday so I will not be at support group. Hope everyone is well!!! =)

So funny how I have very few "before" photos! I was usually hiding behind the camera. I am down about 15lbs from the last photo taken (with my surgeon Dr. Miles).

:thumbup: me too!! That was the coolest thing when I realized it. At one time I weight 274 and my drivers license said 180! When I went to get it renewed last year (I think I was at about 195) I asked to keep my fat license as a reminder of where I never want to go again!!:thumbup:

Do you still have your gall bladder? You might want to get that looked into.

I had this last summer - and boy did it stink!!! I suggest letting them take it out. It is no big deal I had it out on a Thursday and was back at work on Monday. They did not remove any Fluid. The whole surgery takes last thank 30 minutes. If you don't have it out the attacks will get more frequent and you will have to avoid certain foods that will aggrivate it. It is a common thing for gall bladders to go "hay wire" after losing significant amounts of weight because your fat intake is less. HTH Shawna

WoW!! That is AWESOME Busdriver!! You are rockin!!!! BTW the Facebook support group is up just search Banders 4 Life =) I made it private, so just send a request! =) Hope everyone is well!

Wow the board is REALLY quiet. I am guessing that means everyone is doing well and is soooo busy they can't get on here to post!! =) I will be at support group on Saturday. I am sooo looking forward to it. Not much has changed. I did start weight watchers (online) this past week. I just need a boost to get these last few pounds off! So far so good. I am excited because this is the LEAST I have ever had to lose!!!! How is everyone? Jason, Lolly, Busdriver, Kanina, Tiana

I agree, if you still have your gall bladder, I would have them check it. =)

Sorry - I know it is confusing. I had surgery May 6, 2008 - BC/BS covered the procedure. November 2008 I changed jobs and insurance - swapped to Viva February 2010 PS consult with Viva insurance - denied - That is when I learned that since Viva does not cover bariatric surgery - they will not cover any complications resulting from the bariatric surgery. April 2010 - Switched back to BC/BS of Alabama May 2010 - resubmitted panni request to BC/BS - pending I had no problems getting BC/BS of Alabama to cover my lapband. I just think its funny cuz I have had several fills with Viva insurance and they paid for all of them. LOL - hopefully they won't figure it out and go back and make me pay for them. Good luck with your surgery! It was the best thing I ever did for myself! =) Shawna

Well I am 2 years out from my lapband surgery and decided that now I would like to have all of this extra skin removed. I had an initial PS consult in February. My surgeon is Dr. Michael Beckenstein in Birmingham. I worked in surgery for 6 years and I really liked his work. He submitted the procedure to my insurance and it was denied. I was heartbroken. It turned out to be a blessing, because that is how I learned that my insurance would not cover any complication involving my band. (I had bc/bs which covered my band - then I changed jobs and switched to Viva). Luckily my HR department was not aware of this either and let me change to bc/bs (which is more expensive) before open enrollment. Sooo I went back to Dr. Beckenstein last week and he is resubmitting all the paperwork to bc/bs. He see's no issues with getting them to conver the panni. The rest however I will have to pay for. Luckily it will only be $1,800. So I am okay with that. It was submitted earlier this week, so everyone please keep their fingers crossed that it will be covered. I have been reading other stories on here and it really is helping with what to expect. Hope everyone is well!! Thanks!

Had my PS appt yesterday. He said he is pretty certain I will get approved. He had me meet with his pt. specialist and she said he was usually right. They are going to submit it next week and it will take 3-8 weeks to find out. Which is fine, I am not in too big of a hurry. My out of pocket expenses will only be $1,800. Wayyy cheaper than I expected. I have seen people pay anywhere from $4,000 - $7,000. That will be a full tummy tuck. They will tighten everything up and contour my tummy. He said that they will make the incision across the bottom and then it is possible depending on the amount of skin, they might make one to go up the middle of my abdomen. I am fine either way. I don't plan on wearing a bikini, I just want to feel better about myself and be able to tuck my shirt in again!! I haven't been able to tuck my shirt in for 19 years! Hope everyone is well!!! How are you all doing? I am guessing pretty good since you are obviously out having so much fun you don't have time to check in here....LOL =) Shawna

Wow it has been quiet on here. I have had a lot going on. My grandfather passed away on the 26th of April and we have been dealing with that. I lived with my grandparents growing up (my mom worked nights at the post office). So he was really my only father figure. But he had been terrible sick the last year and at least now he is at peace. My PS appt is this Friday. I am hoping things go better this go round. If I get approved, I haven't decided when I would like to get it done. I think I will have more time in the fall, but our really slow time is in July. I will have to see what the recovery time is and decide from there. Hoping to make it to group. I am pretty sure I can squeeze it in. My son's senior prom is Saturday and I have to do his girlfriends hair and I have to take their pics. Hope everyone is doing well!!!

It is illegal to deny treatment (unless they are incapable of treating a problem). I would contact their risk management department and have them open a casefile. I would also make them reimburse you for any expenses you incurred from their lack of treatment. Just say the word "Attorney" and they will help. I know cuz I work in RM...LOL

I hated missing, but this was my son's spring break and we went to Chattanooga. I really wish we could have it more than once a month. Especially on a Saturday. The next one will be pushing it too, we have a baseball game and my son's senior prom that day. I am still gonna try and come. I will just have to be organized. Everything is good on this end. I did have a nasty bug and ended up with a TERRIBLE sore throat. It was swollen all the way down to my band! My chest hurt so bad, Of course they gave me these pills that would choke a horse! I had to chop them up into little pieces. Luckily yesterday and today, it started feeling MUCH better. I have another appt with the plastic surgeon in May to resubmit my info to the insurance. Hopefully now that I have changed it will work! Hope everyone is well! =) Shawna

I REALLY hate that I missed it. My son's last basketball game was yesterday and my husband ended up having to work. My mom could have taken him, but I was afraid that he would score for the first time and I would miss it. Anything interesting at group? I really wish they would make it 2 times a month like once on Saturdays and once on a weeknight. That way it would be easier to make one or the other. So far my fill is great. I have good restriction! Hopefully we can get rid of these last few pounds! It was nice cuz I am wearing a 12 comfortably now. Last night I even wore a belt!!! I haven't wore a belt in years! Busdrivr post a pic soon!!!

I was one of the last ones to get the lapband. They had just started doing the Realize band when I got mine, but only Dr. Schmitt's patients got the choice at the time. I am not really concerned about my port since I am almost at goal and hopefully will not need another fill. So far this one is PERFECT! I am not hungry at all. No reflux or anything. Hope everyone is well!! =) Shawna

Well saw Dr. Miles today and got a 1/2 cc fill. We are hoping that it works. What an experience let me tell you!! Dr. Miles came in to give me my fill and I was surprised because he has never givin me a fill before. I was laying there and he got the needle in with no problem - didn't hurt a bit. Well he kept trying to get it in the port and couldn't do it. He said he throught my port was leaning. Well he kept on and kept on. I was kinda laughing and said "this is the first fill you have ever given me" and he laughed and said "I bet you hope it is the last" and then he decided he needed Lisa. So he left that needle hanging out of my belly and went and got her. She came in and got it with one try. This was the first time she asked me to drink water after a fill, which I was glad, cuz I am always afraid of it being too tight. She also told me that they wanted me to come back for a follow-up about every six months. I am wondering if they are having a lot of complications and are keeping a closer eye on everyone??? Hope everyone is well!!! =) Shawna

Hi everyone!! Hope all is going well with all of you!! I just don't have as much time to post like I used to. Between taking my kid to practices almost everyday and work - I don't have much time. I have an appt with Dr. Miles on Wednesday to see if I need another fill or not. I have noticed that I am eating more and more frequently. I do have restriction, just not as much as before. My paniculectomy was denied, because I have changed insurances since my procedure and the Viva plan I have does not cover bariatric procedures and will not cover anything they consider as a result or complication from them. I am glad that I applied otherwise I would not have known that if I had a complication I wouldnt have been covered. So luckily HR is letting me go ahead and change over to the BC/BS plan in April instead of waiting until open enrollment in October. So I will resubmit my request in a few months, I am pretty sure that I will get approved after that. But that is something to think about when changing jobs, make sure that your insurance will cover any complications resulting from the lapband. I plan on being at support group on Saturday. I really REALLY need it. =) Hope to see you there!! =) Shawna

I would suggest using another sleep study Dr. I used Dr. Schmitt's sister also and if you read back on this board, you will see that it was a total NIGHTMARE! Trust me there are plenty of Dr.'s around that know the process. =) Hope everyone is well. I really missed group last week! =) Shawna

I take Zoloft 100mg. I half it and take it separately. I take it for PMDD. I do take it and then drink hot cocoa. I really think it helps it go down. I LOVE my zoloft!

Hi everyone. Things are quite slow around here lately, I take that to mean that everyone is out and about doing "healthy" things. Great job Kristie. You are rocking!! You too Lolly. Don't worry you are doing wonderfully! I would say both of you are right on track. I am pretty stable these days. I don't worry about it as long as I am feeling good. I am more focusing on the plastic surgery now. It has been 2 weeks today that I saw the the PS. I hope to hear something soon. They told me it could be anywhere from 4-6 weeks to find out. I forgot about group this weekend. My son has a basketball game in Oneonta at 11:15 an I don't think I will make group. So please tell Veronica that I am sorry. I really wish they would move it to another day. Saturdays are just to busy. Or at least have another choice. I really love going to group, I hate it when I have to miss it. I hope everybody else is good!! We need to do a group photo! Talk to everyone soon!! =) Shawna

I saw Dr. Benkenstein. I think I read on here before that you didn't like him. I worked with him in Surgery for 6 years so I already knew him. His office was very nice and respectful. He had done a panni for another girl I know and she looked great (he did the tightening and everything). She went back a few months ago for her arms and some lipo in her neck. Another good PS is Dr. Steinmetz, both are at St. Vincent's Birmingham. Dr. Beckenstein's website is www.msbmd.com/.