*slim*

Well, Johnna actually called me today. She called to tell me that she finally faxed in my paperwork to insurance. Of course, when I called insurance this evening, they still don't see it. I guess I will give it a day or two and call back. I am not going to let up. This is too important.

It is definitely a personal choice to tell or not. I told my boss (who is very supportive) and one good friend. They have been very supportive of my decision and asking good questions. My husband on the other hand, has not been the best about this. We were separated when I finally decided to do this for me:tongue2:. Now that he is trying to be back in my life, I explained about it. His concern seems to only be excess skin. I told him that I am doing this for my health (being smaller is just a bonus:wink_smile:). I also told him to roll with me or move out of the way.:thumbup: It is no one else's business. I have some people at work that live to spread gossip so THEY shall not be on my list of people to tell, that is for sure.

Ok, I am on pins and needles. My insurance coordinator called and said that she has faxed everything to BCBSIL. I can crossing my fingers, toes, eyes...everything. I am praying for an approval. :thumbup:

Thanks so much for the reply. I was looking over my coverage and if I do stay overnight, it is covered 100%, so it might actually be worth it to get some rest that first night. Who knows.

Anyway, thanks again for the answer.

Congrats on your surgery, too. Thanks for the answer about this. I was hoping I could still be outpatient. The thought of spending the night in the hospital did not appeal to me at all.

Well it wasn't for a band, but when I was a kid I had my mouth wired shut for a few weeks once and my mom took great care of me. cheese ravioli worked well, spaghetti without meat in the sauce, potato Soup, milkshakes with a big scoop of Peanut Butter for Protein. She missed a couple times though and tried pizza and a cheeseburger in the blender, I don't recommend either one

Thanks for the ideas. I have to admit that pizza and cheeseburgers sound a little gross.:biggrin: Ok, a LOT gross. :thumbup:

I was reading on another forum that if you are going to eat grits, they have to be runny. They also said something about even putting them in the blender before eating. Hope that helps.

Hello Ladies...

My name is Val

I was born and raised in Chattanooga, TN (on the TN/GA border)

I've been married 7 years (not all happy):thumbup:

I have an 11 year old son:thumbup:

I have been struggling with my weight since I added the freshman 15 in college:cursing:

I am so happy that I found this forum. I didn't realize that there was so much support out there at all, much less anything with sistas.

I have only told my husband and son about the surgery. I am just waiting on insurance.:wink2:

Congrats to all of you for deciding to take care of you!:thumbup:

What's up! I am in Chattanooga TN.

cheese grits with bacon are off the chain, and sorry but chitterlings with some candied yams and hot sauce has got it going on too!:thumbup:

I am not banded yet. Hopefully my paperwork was sent in today.

Good luck to us all!:wink2:

I just wanted to let everyone know that as of today I am approved for surgery!!! I have bc/bs il and have been going through the process since 11/07. I submitted the first request on July 17th via my surgeons office and was denied. I submitted my own paperwork on July 30th and was approved this morning!! There is hope. I did this all on my own. Good luck everyone!!!! Tamara

Congrats on your approval. :thumbup: Just in case I have to handle my own appeal if I am denied, what exactly did you send to the insurance company? Also, are you required to use the same surgeon that you started with if you send in your own paperwork?:wink2: Thanks for any info that you can share.

I did get the ok from bc/bs illinois. My surg did the one year diet in the office i guess(anyway they told me they would take care of that part). I got my approval within 3 weeks. My bmi was at 43 but it had been to 38. I ahd my sugury July 29th,(they wanted to do it July 3rd but I was on vacation). From start to finish including past med records,psych dr,heart dr and all labs it took 5 weeks. Keep your chin up.

First off, congrats on your surgery.:wink2: I have BCBSIL and was wondering, did they make you stay overnight? My paperwork is supposedly being sent in today, but the information that BCBSIL sent to me said something about the surgery taking place in an inpatient setting. When I asked if that meant overnight, they just said again inpatient setting.

I have a family friend that had gastric bypass a couple of years ago. She has basically stretched her smaller stomach to such proportions that she is now considering having the gastric band added. I say go with the band first. It can be adjusted and you won't have to deal with the malnurishment that comes with gastric bypass IMO.

I am not banded yet, but I was wondering.... Can you puree just about anything for mushies? Is there anything that you tried to puree that was just awful? I would love to know some of your experiences.

Thanks.:thumbup:

I depends on who you ask. My surgeon said no caffeine(sp?) after surgery, but my nutritionist said it was ok to have 1 cup of tea or coffee a day. My understanding is that caffeine is a stimulant and can make you hungry. Also, caffeine can irritate your stomach which is not good for you. Try Decaf, you may like it, and it won't have any adverse affects.

Exactly how much Protein are we supposed to get? I have heard 40g then somewhere else I saw 70g per day? Which is it? I don't want to start losing my hair or something like that because I don't get enough.

Thanks so much for the welcome. I have been lurking around a couple of forums for about a month now. I didn't realize that there was so much support available on the internet for this. Had I known, I would have started this a long time ago.

That's what I was afraid of. She would talk to me and I couldn't tell if she realized she was no longer talking about my case or what. She does need some help. I don't want her to be the reason I don't get my surgery.

I am so glad that you asked this question. I was just diagnosed with PCOS and that was one of the reasons I decided to go ahead with the band. I am still waiting for insurance approval, but I hope to have some relief from my symptoms. The thought of taking BC pills forever after having a tubal is driving me nuts!

Have either of you ever emailed her? I am just wondering if I would possibly get better results that way.

Actually, Johnna is who I am having trouble with. I called the other day and rather than look at my file, I guess she was trying to go from memory, and nothing she said referred to me. I called again and she keeps telling me that she doesn't have my final paper work from the psych evaluation. I called the social worker and he said that he faxed it over as I walked out of his office Tuesday. He faxed it again Thursday for good measure. I am going to call back again Monday and hope for the best. I realize waiting for the insurance to deny or approve is going to be a pain, but waiting for Johnna to actually send it is getting on my last nerve. Ok, rant over. I am being impatient again. Sorry.

It makes me feel so much better to know that I am not the only one going through this. I have been just eating everything that I can think of that I might not be able to eat later. Thankfully, I haven't gained any weight but I also haven't lost any either. It was like my stomach (my brain really) went into over drive when I saw that liquid diet that they want me to follow for two weeks before my surgery. Since I don't know when that is going to be, I have been eating anything that is not glued or nailed down. I feel so pathetic afterwards because I know that I was not hungry enough to have eaten whatever it was.

All of this to say, I feel your pain.

I'm not banded yet, but when I had gallbladder surgery, my mom came over. My DH was useless, so mom came over every day to handle my very active son. I say have the best of both worlds. Let your mom come to help and then you have time with her along with her help.

Exactly. I am trying really hard not to be impatient, but it's so not working. I don't want to be in the beginning of band life at Thanksgiving and at this rate, that is exactly what is going to happen. Yuck. I want to be at a point that I can at least take a bite of something. That's life.

slim... they do say to give them 48 hours for all non-emergency phone calls. It is frustrating sometime though when they don't call back. I still wouldn't have chosen another doc. Dr. Ponce is the best in his field in this area and that makes it worth it to me.

Thanks Daniml,

That does make me feel better about choosing him as my doc. I guess I should realize that a busy doctor means a busy doctor's office. I just want this done so badly that I forget I am not the only patient.

Thank you so much for responding. I have been concerned. I really want this to happen and soon.