kdlee

Elizabeth- I'm sorry you're having such a hard time. :wub: I have had several episodes where I have been momentarily stuck, but it has passed within a couple of minutes. I always feel it in the back of my throat, high upper portion of the center of my chest. At first it feels like I'm choking and then it feels really tight for a short period before it passes. It happens if I take too big of a bite. I wonder what he'll do for you? Does your insurance cover the upper GI? I know what you mean about bills! Let me know what happens. I hope that you feel better soon.

Froggi-I know how you feel. It took 3 weeks for my approval to go through because the wrong paperwork was faxed. :redface:

Good luck! Let me know when you hear something. Depending on how busy the insurance company is, it may take a few days. :redface:

It was great to meet Elizabeth and Kar last night! They were both so nice and lots of fun to exercise with. We had alot of fun at Zumba! It was certainly a work out!!! I can't wait for next week! Nascarfan- I'm so glad you're feeling better! Hopefully the worst is over! It was a good month or two before I was comfortable doing aerobics. My port site is what hurt the most. I wouldn't do any exercising other than walking until you meet with Kaplan to be released. And then just do what you can a little at a time. I am just now to the point where I'm comfortable doing crunches. My top left insertion site (above my stomach) is directly over my ribs and it is still sore and tender to the touch almost 4 months out. I think it has something to do with my ribs. Hopefully you will be able to join us soon!!!

An allergic reaction to a medication can happen at any time during a course of treatment. It could have any been a delayed reaction to something you had in the hospital. My daughter was prescribed Omnicef for 10 days and had an anaphylactic reaction on the 9th day and ended up being hospitalized for 2 weeks due to that. I'm sorry that you're going through this. I know how dreadful it is. I hope you feel better soon.

It was a form that reviews all the ins and outs of the surgery. They had my husband sign it without any problems, so I don't think it will be an issue. I was one of the first to go through the program, so I think they were still getting stuff together. Look on the back of your insurance card and there should be a customer service number listed. Just call it.

It took me 3 weeks to find out because the office didn't send all of the right paperwork in. I was denied the first time because they forgot to have me sign a form. They resubmitted with the corrected paperwork and it took one week after that. Needless to say, it was a long month!!!! I found out the same day the office did. Now, with my husband it took 2 weeks, but we found out a week before Jeannie's office did. The insurance mailed the approval to Dr. Kaplan's office and they sat it aside without telling Jeannie! After a couple of phone calls from me, they finally got it together. It works well for you to be proactive for yourself! Call the insurance company daily to find out the progress. They don't care and it's a simple phone call. Once approved, ask them for a confirmation number, too. Once you get that approval, call Jeannie's office and get the ball rolling. Don't sit around waiting on them to get it rolling for you. They're busy and sometimes don't take care of it right away. Not that they're not doing what they're supposed to, just that they get tied up with other things. :tt2:

Good luck! :tt2:

Yes, it's open to everyone who's already been banded. They're the 4th Monday of every month at 6pm. So, I think the next one's the 27th. I think we are supposed to go to 4 meetings a year. It would be great to see you there!

Good morning, everyone! I wasn't sure if you all read the thread NascarFan posted in. Here it is. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f266/wish-you-luck-67871/ . She isn't doing so great. She's having lots of nausea. :tongue2: Elizabeth- I'm going to bring some clothes with me to the next support group meeting. Some size 22 and 24 pants. If they'll fit you, you can have them!

I bet your super excited! I didn't think he put any fill in, but at my first fill, there was 2 or 3 cc's in there already. Yup, he'll decide what size abnd to put on you once he's in there. The next month will fly for you and you'll be on the 'other side'!!:tongue2:

Nascarfan- I'm so sorry that you're having such a rough time. :smile2: Maybe you should ask Jeannie if they can get you some Phenergan suppositories to help with the nausea since you can't swallow the pills. I haven't had any nausea or vomitting, so I don't have any experience to offer. I can't imagine how miserable you are. :crying:

WVU-Fan - I drove by the tae kwon do place a little bit ago. I was on my way to get the oil changed in my car and went right past there. It was easy to find. Monday will be fun. :w00t:

That's great! Even though I've only lost 17 lbs since surgery, I've lost a lot of sizes. It's weird how it works!

Froggi- Good luck! I'm having a hard time exercising. I've never been consistent at it. It's not that I don't like it. I guess that I just don't take the time to make it part of my routine. WVU-Fan- I will be there on Monday! It sounds like a lot of fun! I'm looking forward to it!!!

I am a slow loser. There have been several times since surgery that I have went a week or two without losing a pound. But, during that time I was majorly losing inches. I have dropped from a size 24 to a 17/18 since July, but the scale has only moved 17 lbs. Give your body time. Lapband is not a fast process. You're doing well.

WVU-Fan - I just clicked on your myspace link and realized I've been talking to you on there for a while!!! I didn't put 2 and 2 together...duh. :cool2:

Froggi- You're welcome for the powder. I hope you will be able to use it. Thanks for the compliments. :cool2: You'll be in bandland before you know it! WVU-Fan- I would love to go to the class with you! That would be awesome. I love aerobics, but never go to classes, because I've been too embarrassed. Where is the class at? Elizabeth- Jeannie had talked about a clothing swap at the group meetings. I could bring some things to the next one if you're going to be there.

Thanks Saundra!

Froggi- Can you believe the things they'll print about WV?! I'm glad you called. They're pretty nice about letting you make payments. I had to do that 8 years ago when I had my son. Hope your protein powder works out for you! Nascarfan- I hope your surgery went well! You're probably just getting settled into home about now. :thumbup: Non-scale victory to report ladies.... I went shopping tonight for a new outfit. I have a meeting in Columbus this Friday and none of my clothes really fit anymore. I am super excited to say that for the first time in over 10 years I was able to shop in the misses section and not the plus size section!!!! I got a pair of pants in a size 17/18. I was a size 24 in March. Woo Hoo!!!:drool:

Here are some procedure codes from Anthem's website. Maybe this will help? :thumbdown: SURG.00024 Surgery for Clinically Severe Obesity

This isn't always true. My insurance covered the surgery, but will not cover the aftercare. Fills are considered aftercare and are thus out of pocket for me.

I have Anthem BC/BS PPO Ohio. I went to see my primary care doctor and he wrote a letter stating my previous attempts, such as Atkins, Weight Watchers, South Beach, and Phentermine. When I had my psych eveal, the psychologist went through my history and wanted to know every diet I had tried. Plus, when I had my history and physical done through the surgeons office, they wrote down dates and diets throughout my lifetime. What I did was just make a time-line and and wrote down every diet I could ever imagine being on. It all went through fine and I was not required to do a 6 month supervised diet. Good luck!:thumbdown:

Elizabeth's right. They will turn you into collection and possibly not let you have surgery, since it is an elective surgery. Camden's really good about setting you up on an affordable monthly payment plan. As long as you send them your agreed upon amount, it'll be ok. Just call them because if you don't make that contact, they'll turn you in to collections. Even though your Mom pays the bill, they probably want to talk to you since it's your account.

You're welcome :thumbdown: WHen I first called to check on the pre-cert for surgery, my insurance said point blank that the surgery was covered but nothing before or after surgery (meaning fills) would be. That said...insurance did cover my psych eval and EGD. They covered my husband's psych eval, but did not cover his EGD. So...I am sort of laying low on the radar right now and not calling and raising a red flag. I figured I would wait until Kaplan's office submitted the claims and see if they cover it or not. Your insurance may very well cover it. It's different for each emlpoyer. My employer just didn't buy into the aftercare portion. If you call them, I would just ask if they cover the after care portion of gastric banding, including the fills. I would also ask if fills are covered under fluoroscopy (Radiology). Good luck!