ronwifey

WOW your post and you sound identical to me. I am/was in the same boat as you. I had to gain a couple pounds to get to 40. My insurance would cover if your BMI was 35-40 BUT you have to have 2 comorbities. If you have a BMI over 40 you don't need those, which I do not have. I may have sleep apnea but I'll be doing a sleep study for that. My insurance (BCBS FEP) does not require 5 year weight history, 6 month diet or anything like that. Now that the scale said 40.2 it will be much easier to get approved and date set for surgery now. I understand how you feel and there are many of us here that are going through the same daily struggles. Hang in there and if you want/need this surgery then do what you have to do to get it then!

Today I weighed in at a whopping 249 with a BMI of 40.2!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!! I am on my way! Thanks Mindy :biggrin:

:party: wink wink Thanks

You have all the right to brag! What a great accomplishment. You worked hard for these results so brag on! :party:

LOL, just my luck they'll fall off as I step on the scale or they will make me wear a gown or something. Good idea though!

Last week I was 5 pounds away from being at 40 BMI. I go in tomorrow for my appointment with nutritionist and Dr. so hopefully with my PMS eating, bloating, and nervous grazing I will have gained the 5 pounds. They will still cover it if I have 39 BMI but I have to go through all the commorbity (sp?) tests and have at least 2.

I had enough sick leave and annual leave to take 6 weeks off and besides even if I didn't your employer HAS to give you the time off if your Dr. recommends it! I had FMLA covereage from day 1. It is MAJOR surgery and that is all your employer needs to know and on the FMLA paperwork it isn't supposed to go into graphic detail about what type of procedure just have Dr. go into detail about what you can and can't do and how long you'll be out for. My job requires me to lift 70 pounds many times a day...my Dr. said HECK NO! So my boss wouldn't give me a desk job for a couple weeks so he said NO WORK AT ALL THEN! It was great for me. No, thankfully my tummy and skin haven't stretched back out like the rest of me has. I can't wait to get the band.

Traci~ Good luck and you'll be fine. Look forward to hearing all about it. :biggrin:

My daughter sells them too and I too can eat a box of thin mints at one time. I hope they come and go before I get my band. viridescence~ I know, why can't people just let it be! When I don't want a piece of cake or food at a work party or something people are like "oh come on don't be shy...you know you want some". I'm the ONLY fat women, wait no I'm the only fat Person at work and I'm not going to graze in front of them so they can all have something crappy to say behind my back.

Is a McFish real fish? I make my dog wear a red sweater.

I agree....that was a dumb post. In my opinion I would smoke mary J. before I would drink alcohol or eat crap after I get the band.

I wish I had advice but I don't go for my 1st appointment until Friday but wanted to say Good Luck and let us know how it goes! Carly~ I'm in SA too and I'm trying to gain weight before Friday too, LOL. I thought I was the only one. I really need my insurance to cover this but I'm a couple pounds away from being 40 BMI, which I have to be for BCBS FEP.

Blund~ I'm telling my 9 year old daughter that I'm getting my gall bladder out becuase I KNOW she will tell everyone! I can't say nothing because she'll know something is not right with Mommy. Also, when I went to my seminar the Dr. told us that what we "think" is our height is usually not accurate. Being overweight can compress the spine and when they measure they round down instead up. So I think I'm 5'7" but Friday I might be only 5'6". I weight 240 so I'm at about 39 BMI I think. If you have BCBS why are you going to Mexico...just curious :tt1:

Lynn~ I would do it again a million times over. Not all Dr.s use drains my BF's Dr. didn't and she has great results too. As far as down time. I work for the USPS and lift very heavy boxes and do a lot of walking so I took 4-5 weeks off. The more you do the first couple days and weeks the more you swell (OUCH) and the longer it will take to heal. I can tolerate pain but I did need my husband to help me get around the first couple days and I had a Dr. appointment the following day after surgery so he had to drive me, so I think you will need someone to help you the first couple days at least. They removed about 8-9 pounds of fat so my incision was very long. My scar looks like a smiley face now, lol. The scar is very very light and a mole that I had right underneath my breast is now right above my new belly button....so they had to do a lot of stretching but they got rid of a lot of stretch marks too. I relied heavily on the pain meds they gave me so that's another reason my husband had to help me get around. I was doped up 24/7. Did I need all that pain medication????? Probably not but I didn't want to see if I did or not. There is so much after the surgery, days after the surgery, I don't even remember. If you decide to have it done you will be so glad you did it.

Sending positive thoughts your way +~*~*+~*~*~+*~+ Let us know how you are ok.

I love all the information I have found on this site and all the help I have received and I can't wait till I'm banded to be able to help others but until then I can help others hopefully in this area....... May 2006 when I lost a lot of weight from Phentermine I had a hanging tummy . If I was naked it would be down to my pubic area. I had Tricare at the time and they denied twice to pay for it so I went ahead and self-pay. I think it was 5k, maybe not that much even. Anyways..... I got down to 180 and felt that I can resume that weight after the Tummy Tuck...WRONG!:tt1: For about 2 months I maintained that weight but I had to switch medications and my eating habits were worse then before so the weight just came back full force! Now I am about 65 pounds heavier and decided to get my life back on track. I hope to be getting the lap band end of Feb or early March. I refuse to go through my whole Tummy Tuck process to just get it back! I refuse to do that! Here's pictures of me. PictureTrail If I could be any help please let me know. Oh and I love my new Tummy even with this new weight gain. Best 5k I ever spent!!!!!!!

Thanks guys...... I've decided I am sticking to the band. :tt1: I can't wait for my appointment with the Dr. Friday.

Congrats on your approval letter :frown: That's wonderful and I'm sure a huge weight is lifted off your shoulders now. I have GEHA but only dental part :tt1: I have BCBS Federal Employee Plan and my Dr's office said they do cover lap band but can't tell me forsure or even submit to insurance company until I go to my appointment this Friday. Do you have a surgery date? Congrats again.

Thanks for your reply. Gastric Sleeve isn't malabsorbtion but it is very permanent. I found somewhere that will dit for 7,000 but it's in Peru. It's one of those vacation/surgery things. San Antonio Bariatric Surgery - New Dimensions Weight Loss Surgery - Sleeve Gastrectomy The only reason I am a little hesitant on the band still is because what if my body rejects the foreign object (band) inside me? I'm scared of slippage and erosion too.

Hi, I thought I posted this thread already but guess not..........anywho...... I was just wondering why you guys chose lap band over the gastric sleeve? I'm reading a lot about gastric sleeve now and it seems like it has less complications. So confused.....I really had my heart set on the band. TIA

I was just reading about the gastric sleeve and was wondering what you all thought about it and what made you not want to get that procedure vs. the band. TIA

Ang~ I'm so happy to hear your surgery went well. I love hearing the play by play too. I know what to expect and it becomes a little less frightening, so thank you. :cursing: Continue your speedy recovery!

I was just about to post this same question. I hope someone answers. I have no idea right now how I am going to just not eat like I'm used too. I know I can't eat like that anymore but I'm scared I won't be able to do it.

Bandlady~ Well I'm in the same boat as you. I'm not telling anyone else! And my husband tonight decided to tell me that he does not agree with my decision to have wls because he said I should try other things like "not snacking so much and exercise" :eek: UGHHHHHH! Before he was fine but now he isn't. He also told me that he dosen't think I'll be able to do the post-op diet and I'll be misreable therefore make everyone else miserable in the house. UGHH!!! I am so mad I can't even sleep now. I was eating ice cream tonight and that's how all this started. He never ever said anything about what I eat or my weight but now I want to do something about it...now he he says someting after 10 years! Now I am second guessing my decision!

Another dumb question I know...... but do you actually feel the band around your stomach? How long until you don't feel "someting" in there? My Dr. says the port will be sewn on to my abdominal wall so it wont move around but what about the silicone tubing? I know it will hurt for the first couple days and I'm ok with pain (4 c-sections and hernia repair/tummytuck with drains) but how long can you be in pain for? Thanks so much for any and all help you can give. All the advice in the world won't hurt either, lol.