Carrie_C

That's great! The 6 months goes by a lot faster than you think!

That is SO right about staying fat is the easy way out. I don't think I ever thought of it that way before. lfoss, I know exactly what you mean, my husband will have no sympathy for me either.

Hi nikki, I have tried explaining to him what might happen to me if I don't lose weight. I am young now, so I don't have that many health problems, but I'm sure that will change as I get older if I don't lose weight. I do have arthritis in both my knees, which causes me a lot of pain and I have tried telling him that the pain will probably go away when I lose weight. You could try talking to him about your health issues.

Hi, I am also having the same problem as you, except my husband is not overweight at all, he can eat all he wants and not gain a pound. So he has no idea what it is like to be overweight. I have filed all of the paperwork and I am just waiting to hear back from the insurance company. I wanted to have the surgery a long time ago, but he was so unsupportive that I just let it go. But I couldn't let it go any longer. I have a BMI of 41 and I feel like I will die if I don't do something. So I finally decided to do it, with or without his support. He thinks that I can do it on my own as well. He will not talk to me about it at all, and I think he is secretly hoping insurance won't pay. I have decided not to bring it up again until I hear back from the insurance company. I think you should go ahead and get started. Hopefully both of our husbands will come around. Good luck.

I am also in the process of waiting on insurance to decide. I am a medical assistant in a doctor's office and I too am wondering how long to take off. I don't do any lifting, but we are a busy office. And, I do not plan on telling anyone I work with that I am having the surgery, so I have also got to come up with a good excuse to be off! Any suggestions would be great!!

I have Cigna as well. All of my paperwork was submitted yesterday and I am waiting on a response. The insurance cooridinator told me that Cigna wants you to have completed the 6 month diet within the last year. She also said that they expect to see a 10% weightloss with the diet. You also have to have a nutrition and psych eval before submitting to Cigna. They also are more likely to approve it if you have 1 or 2 comorbidities. You also have to have a letter of medical necessity from your PCP. They are pretty strick. But all plans are different, so you might want to give them a call. If you have to do the 6 month diet, I would go ahead and do it. 6 months goes by faster than you think!!

I also have Cigna. All of my paperwork was submitted yesterday and I am waiting approval as well. Good luck!

Hi, I think it would depend on what type of insurance you have. Have you done the 6 month doctor supervised diet? I think just about all require that. Also, are you sure you are exactly 5'7? I thought I was, but when I went to the consult, I was about 5'6 and a half, but the nurse put it down as 5'6, so my BMI would be higher. Most of the doctor's offices will help you meet the requirements. I am waiting on approval, and I had some of the same problems as you. But the office has "worked" with me to meet a lot of the requirements that I needed. I think most will.

Thanks! What type of insurance do you have? I have Cigna. The insurance cooridinator at the doctor's office said it takes about a month to hear back, but she said most people are approved. So that's good news. The last diet I tried was South Beach, and I did lose about 15 pounds. But over the holidays, I put it all back on and then some. I just got SO mad, and said forget it, I refuse to go on another diet and I am going to try for the surgery. I guess I'm not really worried about the liquid diet, I am more worried about having nausea and vomiting. But I am probably just thinking too much! Good luck to you as well!

I had mine yesterday. It is not bad. I saw a social worker, and he said isurance requires it just to make sure you are of sound mind to make the decision, which I found funny for some reason!

Hi, I can understand how you feel. I think you are brave for even telling anyone you were going for the consult. I am waiting on insurance approval, and no one even knows I am trying to have it done except my husband. Even when if it gets approved, I don't know that I will tell anyone else about it except my mother. I just don't want to deal with everyone else's feelings about it, I have enough trouble with my own feelings. I am 5'7 and weigh 255, and like you, no one believes I weigh as much as I do. I can hide it well too. I say you should go ahead and do it for you. Don't worry about everyone else, you are the one who has to live with yourself. That's how I try to look at it.

Hi everyone. I just got all of my paperwork sent in to the insurance company today and I am hoping for approval. I have heard horror stories about having to appeal a million times, and I am hoping I don't have to. I am 30 years old and I live in Tennessee. I have been overweight for about 12 years and I have tried every diet there is, and I refuse to go on another diet!! I am excited about the surgery (if it gets approved) but I am also a little scared. I am worried about how I will feel right after the surgery. I don't want to be sick, and I am not looking forward to the liquid diet. But I think in the end it will be worth it.

$600??! WOW! I thought $95 was high! Cigna wouldn't pay anything for the evals for me either, but I am glad they covered some of the surgical consult or it would have cost me over $300. asherje, good luck with your financing. Unfortunately that's not an option for me because I filed Chapter 13 a few years back, and I can't get any credit for anything. So if Cigna doesn't pay, I am just out of luck. I had my psych eval today and I am sending in everything to Cigna tomorrow, so wish me luck!

Wow, how did you get approved so fast?! That's great! The insurance cooridinator at the surgeons office said that it could take up to a month to hear back. I hope it doesn't take that long. That's great that they reimbursed you. Cigna did pay for some of the surgical consult, but I still had to pay $105. They haven't paid for the nutrition or psyc eval, I have had to pay $95 for those. And the insurance cooridinator told me that if my surgery is approved, I will have to pay $1000 one week before the surgery for some kind of "program fee". Sounds like a rip off to me, but I think it will be worth it in the end. Besides, I have spent a lot more than that on fad diets, which didn't work!

Hi everyone. I am in the process of getting the Lap Band approved through Cigna. I went for a surgical consult a few weeks ago. They told me that Cigna requires a 6 month physician supervised diet, I had done that already last year. They also told me that they require a letter of medical neccessity from my PCP, I have got that as well. I also have to attend a nutrition and psych evaluation. I have done the nutrition already and I go for the psych eval tomorrow. I am 30 years old, 5'6 and weigh 255 pounds. My BMI is 41. I also have diabetes as well as hypertension. I was just wondering how long it takes for Cigna to approve the surgery and if I am denied, how many times can I appeal? All of this insurance business is very confusing to me. I have already paid quite a bit for the consult and all the evaluations. If they deny me, I will be out all that money!