CMTurner

Even if you had great restriction, 8 cookies would probably not sit in your banded stomach for very long anyways (unless they were oatmeal or something else more fiberous). Just get back on wagon and don't beat yourself up. The "old me" would have eaten a whole big bag not just 8. Just try to make healthier choices in the future. Nobody has said you can't ever have cookies ever again. The fact that you are on here writing about it and fretting about it is a good sign you are acknowledging your "slip". If you had just thought oh well another failure....I just as well eat some more .....Then we would be worried. LOL You will do fine.

I have a super low thyroid count when not taking my thyroid replacement meds. I also have anti-thyroid antibodies which developed after having a bad staph infection folowing my hysterectomy (4 days in hospital and 3 blown veins later). I will be taking this prescription the rest of my life. I was told it would not be affected (at least not much) by having the surgery but, it would also not prevent me from having the surgery.

I have FINALLY been approved by my insurance(Cigna). But the surgeon I origionally signed up for is currently scheduling for December (ARGHHH :biggrin: ) but the WLC says one of her partners ( fairly new but has studied under my highly recommended surgeon) is available at the end of October. Had they said he wasn't available til November, I would have just said "No, I'll wait til December" but, I really don't want to be dealing with surgery/recovery during the holidays since I want to go to KS to visit family and friends at that time. Plus, I really want to get started on my weight loss journey and not fall into the over eater mentallity I always do. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired and would really like to spend money on Christmas gifts vs. prescriptions (over $200/mth WITH insurance!) I feel like he (Dr. William Gibson) must be doing a good job with the surgery, or my doctor (Dr. Virginia McGrath-Weaver) wouldn't have the WLC offering his services. I just wish I could talk to someone who has used him for their surgery. I mean the staff and facilities he uses are the exact same as Dr. Weaver's so the only difference is the person on the end of surgical tools. Am I crazy for even thinking about using Dr. Gibson? Should I wait for Dr. Weaver (whom EVERYONE I have talked to absolutely LOVES)????? Thanks for all of your opinions. I appreciate all of your posts and have learned sooooo much on this website. You all have inspired and educated me about this journey and I appreciate that.

Thanks to everyone who has responded. As I said previously, Dr. Gibson is a partner to the surgeon I originally picked and as such uses the same staff even in the operating room. I am going to schedule an appointment with him and see how I feel about him. I am sure even if he were to run into some complication, he would consult Dr. Weaver. Their offices are actually connected to the hospital and she will probably even be in an adjacent operating room. I think it is just going to come down to meeting him and seeing how I feel about him. If I am at ease with his knowledge and confidence, then I would not really have a problem with him performing the surgery. Especially if I can get it done next month or so instead of mid December.

Those are the kinds of things you need to be telling her not "you need to have the surgery too (ie. you fatty). Most women are VERY sensitive to weight related comments (even the skinny women). Most have gotten the visual from practically everywhere (life, tv, print ads, etc.) that "the perfect body" is some rail thin version. I know some women have things figured out but, most will always have some sort of body image issues. Especially if that is something they have struggled with in the past. Just tell her you love her and want her to be healthy and active and around for you and the kids for a long long time.

He has done 30 or so surgeries and he uses the same staff as Dr. Weaver. I did ask about the cancellation thing but they didn't seem to be too enthusiastic that that might happen. Dr. Weaver does both the band and the bypass and is very much in demand here in the Memphis area. Both nutrition classes I went to were packed (standing room only) and they were requirements for approval for the surgery. Thanks for the thoughts.

Congratulations!! Me too. Except that when I called the surgeon's nurse she said she would look at the dates available and talk to the dr and call me back. Verifying that I want the band NOT the bypass. I said Yes! Band NOT bypass. So about 45 minutes later, she calls back and said the WLC sent in bypass and that would have to be corrected before they can schedule. ARGHHHHH! :frown: So then the RN from the WLC calls and questions me again. Says she shows that I have put bypass on my forms. I say that is not possible since I was never 100% sure of having the bypass and only mentioned it as a possiblity in case the surgeon talked me into that. She was kinda catty about it and said "she knows" what is on my form and that the lady who sends in the info to insurance ALWAYS asks the patient (which is not true cause the only time I talked to her was to have her resend to Cigna when they had no record of receiving paperwork and once when I made a payment for nutrition classes etc.) The people I did actually talk to (the nutritionist and the surgeon both indicated the band) but oh well. So now I am AGAIN waiting for the "correct" approval but I figure since they approved bypass it should only be a quick correction to approve the band. Then the RN wanted to know if I would be interested in having my surgery done by a partner of Dr. Weaver's who I can't find any info on other than see his pic on their surgery practice website. I told her I might be. But I just emailed her to see if she can give me a lot more info on him and his experience with this procedure and all. I guess once I find that out and get my "new" approval, I will decide. All this "hurry up and wait" crap is driving me crazy(ier). Sorry I hijacked your thread. :thumbup:

What insurance carrier do you have? Have you tried looking at their website?

Way to GO!! I can't wait to start announcing my weight loss acheivements too. You are doing absolutely amazing! Keep up the good work and you will be announcing you are at goal weight before you know it. :thumbup:

It's blood thinner. To keep you from getting a blood clot.

I have been approved by my insurance. I just got the call from the Weight Loss Center and she recieved my approval today. And since I didn't necessarily believe her (thought she might be telling me that to keep me from calling anymore LOL) called my insurance and YES I am approved. Thank you lord! Tomorrow would have been 3 weeks since she said she sent it it (but just last Friday no one at the insurance company had any record of receiving it) and I was gonna call the insurance company later today to harrass them also. But it's done. Now I am calling the actaul surgeon's office to see what days they are scheduling right now. I am also gonna let her know I intend to start the liver shrink diet today so that if they have ANY cancellations they can call me the day before even and I can be there. YEA YEA YEA! I am doing such the happy dance. To everyone still waiting, good luck and hope you all here about being approved soon! :)

Baby oil does work. Dab some on and let it sit a bit to get into and under the adhesive. Then gently wash off. We used this to remove tape residue from athletes as athletic trainers in college and we used it to remove the horrible sticky adhesive dressing some use to get show cattle ready for the arena (especially to "do up" their tails). I used to get soo sticky, the spray can would have to be pryed from my hand.

Sylvia Did you ever figure out if he has used any pills when you weren't involved? Do you have insurance that covers your prescriptions? If so, you can ask for a print out of your family prescription fills/refills and see if the tally adds up to how many he has gotten from the pharmacy and how many you as a couple have used. Also good ammo if the numbers are all skewed. Just a thought. I think if you feel you know he wouldn't pass a polygraph, you probably know what you need to do for yourself. You need to think of you and the children if any are involved (sorry I don't remember if you said there were). If you ever need to talk, I am here for you.

plain - you are the devil's something alright. LOL j/k And for the record, I don't believe him either. My ex was EXACTLY the same way. Does the prescription bottle say how many pills were prescribed? Mine do. And if so, how many have you (as a couple) used? That should tell you something. Sorry you are having to go through this but, if you don't do something (counseling or get the heck out) it will always be in the back of your mind. Again sooo sorry. p.s. Oh yeah. Was super lucky and found the wonderful DH I have now so good things do come out of crappy times sometimes. Good luck!

Just FYI. Here is a link to Cigna's website showing their coverage position on bariatric surgery if your plan covers it. It shows exactly what their requirements are and what they do and do not cover. http://www.cigna.com/customer_care/healthcare_professional/coverage_positions/medical/mm_0051_coveragepositioncriteria_bariatric_surgery.pdf Hope this helps someone.

Ask HR or a fellow co-worker if you can perhaps look at the plan booklet "to see how they are going to cover dr's visits, etc" . It may show weight loss surgery to be an exclusion but, at least then you would know (sorta). Or you can try calling Cigna and telling them who you work for and ask if they cover bariatric surgery. It's worth a shot.

Deb is correct. I have been having blood drawn for almost 20 yrs checking my thyroid and she is correct about having them check your T3 and T4. Lucky me, I also have thyroid antibodies which is such fun. Good luck with everything.

lilbit If you look at the link I posted above it shows Cigna's coverage position as it pertains to weight loss (bariatric) surgery. Remember this only applies if the company you are employed by opted to cover weight loss surgery. It does NOT cover the gastric sleeve procedure. Only lapband and gastric bypass at this time. Hope this helps.

Congrats on getting approved. That seems to be the hardest/longest part. You will be having surgery before you know it. Hope you get hold of someone on Tuesday and get that appt/date set.

Ok. I finally get a call today from the WLC advising me they did finally get the history and physical and got everything off to the insurance for approval. I am gonna give it until Monday to contact insurance to see if they got it. I guess my "new lot in life" is to be on the phone daily doing the follow up to make sure others are doing their job. Grrrrrr Oh well. Hope everyone else is having more luck getting paperwork done and turned in and actually approved.

First find out if the plan your employer picked covers bariatric surgery. If they have an exclusion for weight loss surgery you are pretty much out of luck unless you can talk to the HR people and see if they are willing to make an exception for you or if they are willing to make those changes when they renew. If it is covered under your specific plan, please see the following link which is Cigna's coverage position on bariatric surgery from their website. http://www.cigna.com/customer_care/healthcare_professional/coverage_positions/medical/mm_0051_coveragepositioncriteria_bariatric_surgery.pdf

Good Luck! You will be in my prayers. I know you will do wonderful.

Congrats!! I am hoping to be an October bandster. Good luck and happy losing!

Well when I checked my voicemail this afternoon, I had 2 messages from the surgeon's nurse. The first one was similar to past ones....waiting on dr,blah blah, pretty sure it is on tape to be typed up, blah blah. The second was just before noon and they were "happy to tell me (quit callin and buggin us) that my history and physical was typed up and they had faxed it to the weight loss center (remember this is just down the elevator to the 1st floor and about 30-40 steps down the hall). So now if I haven't heard from weight loss center by Monday saying they sent it all off to insurance, I start calling them every day. Ain't life fun??? I about to ask if they wanna hire ME to do all this follow up/get information job since I am the one doing it anyways.