HOWLUCKYAMI

Good Luck, GiJane! You're going to do great. Keep remembering why you wanted this bad enough to go through everything you did to get here. We're all with you and sending positive thoughts your way!

Sorry...guess I'm still thinking in lbs! :thumbup: 86 1/2 pounds! Wow! It's good to hear that one can have such great success by following the rules. I intend to be very "compliant" in that regard! And I'm with you on faith...I put it all in God's hands and truly do believe he brought me here and will be by my side throughout. My surgery date is 12/16. 11 more days...and I can hardly wait!

Long...HAPPY BANDIVERSARY! 63 lbs??? Wow...I take off my hat to you. As a future bander, I'd love to know what you've done that worked so well for you. Any special tips or things you've found that worked especialy well for you? As for the issue with the jeans...I seem to recall having the same frustrations (though it's been a long time since I bought any jeans other than stretchy ones). I've got several pair of size 10 levi's (that I loved way back when) that I will be working towards getting back into. I was a size 10 for about 10 minutes so they've got plenty of life left in them. Congratulations on your success!

Candy...congratulations on getting your date! It's a pretty incredible feeling to know that it's actually going to happen! I just did my pre-op yesterday and my pre-admission work today. I'm banded the day before you...I'll look back a few days after and hope to see you're doing well with it! urbangrl...best of luck to you tomorrow! I just said a prayer for you and will look forward to reading about how you are doing in the next few days.

Hi jbyrd...looks like you and I have a couple things in common! My surgery is also on the 16th and we weigh within a couple pounds of each other with a very similar goal. Just wanted to wish you best of luck!

Hey...congratulations! It sounds like you're doing fantastic! Your progress is so very encouraging and inspiring. Keep sending the updates our way! My surgery is scheduled for the 16th and I'm really looking forward to being able to be off work and at the mall the week before Christmas doing my walking. I'm hoping that I'll find some great last minute deals that were I working I might have missed out on.

This is some really great information! I'm definitely going to take your advice about drinking as much as possible prior to midnight. I am a huge water drinker and that's the part that concerns me most...having to go so long without being able to drink anything. Thanks for the good advice. As for the rest of you who have been recently banded, I'd love to hear any other tips you have to make the process a little easier. I'm being banded on the 16th and will take any words of wisdom I can get!

Trina, Congratulations on your surgery! It sounds like you're doing wonderful! I'm two weeks out from my banding, and hope it to be half as easy as yours sounds. My doctor doesn't require a pre-op diet...just a light meal the night before and nothing after midnight. I'm going to do two days of liquids before just as a precaution and to get my mind geared up for two weeks of liquids. Keep updating us on your progress... Emily

Hi TQUAD64...I've been thinking about you and wondering how it's going with you? How's band-life treating you?

Every situation is unique and much depends upon any exclusions your policy may have, so this is just my experience. I had my orientation on 9/22/08 and, after much research into the procedure, began tackling my pre-requisites on 9/29/08. My insurance paperwork was submitted on 11/18/08 and I was approved by the morning of 11/21/08. My surgery is scheduled for 12/16/08. I attribute much of my success with approval to the bariatric center being a Center of Excellence. They were also very well-versed in submitting for insurance and were familiar with the "i's" and "t's" that needed to be dotted and crossed. I hope you have as quick a turnaround as I did! Good luck to you!

Don't do Starbucks runs much these days (weaning off caffeine) but when I do it's a grande non-fat half-caf latte. That's pre-op. Post-op, if I go, I'll probaby do the same, but make it "short" instead. Only 68 calories in a short vs. 136 in a grande.

Thank you...thank you...thank you! It truly is a wonderful Christmas gift! And how wonderful to start off the new year with the same resolution as usual...but with an incredible tool to aid in actually being successful this time!

Good morning all! I am posting here because I can't scream and dance at work. I JUST GOT MY APPROVAL!!!!! The call came about half an hour ago. I've been approved and my surgery is scheduled for December 16th! I have been hoping and praying for weeks for this day. Because of my job, I am pretty restricted by the amount of time I can take off (family business, understaffed, been here forever, small office...you get the drift). December 16th was THE most workable date my surgeon had on the books, as it would allow me to take time off during the relatively slow period before Christmas. I'll be able to wrap work up on the day before surgery and then take off the next 13 days if I need them. I didn't even take that much time off when I gave birth! The most amazing part is that spots were being filled up so quickly with my surgeon's office (he only does surgery on Tues/Thurs). He has 9 other patients awaiting approval and it was really going to be a longshot that I was able to be approved in time to get the 16th. I made the decision to turn it over to God and let him guide the process. My prayers have been answered! I couldn't be happier.

Good morning all! I am posting here because I can't scream and dance at work. :drool::biggrin::biggrin:I JUST GOT MY APPROVAL!!!!!:w00t::biggrin::tt1: The call came about half an hour ago. I've been approved and my surgery is scheduled for December 16th! I have been hoping and praying for weeks for this day. Because of my job, I am pretty restricted by the amount of time I can take off (family business, understaffed, been here forever, small office...you get the drift). December 16th was THE most workable date my surgeon had on the books, as it would allow me to take time off during the relatively slow period before Christmas. I'll be able to wrap work up on the day before surgery and then take off the next 13 days if I need them. I didn't even take that much time off when I gave birth! The most amazing part is that spots were being filled up so quickly with my surgeon's office (he only does surgery on Tues/Thurs). He has 9 other patients awaiting approval and it was really going to be a longshot that I was able to be approved in time to get the 16th. I made the decision to turn it over to God and let him guide the process. My prayers have been answered! I couldn't be happier. Thank you all for the inspiration and wisdom you have shared. I look forward to turning to you for advice and sharing my experience with everyone as well!

Kim..fantastic news about your band date! I think that having surgery around Christmas is probably the best present I could get this year. I hope it is for you as well! Keep us posted on how it goes. And if you get your hubby to cook you DEFINITELY have to share that secret!

No news yet...thanks for asking! I do know that it's in the review process and that I should have an answer by the 26th. I pray each day that God will guide my paperwork through to a quick approval. My surgeon is running out of slots for this year and I am so hopeful to be banded Dec. 16th. How about you? Have you heard yet? Keep me posted!

Well, I'm happy to report that Miss Mean & Nasty called me today. While I did not receive an apology for her rudeness, I did receive a status report...I'M SUBMITTED FOR INSURANCE APPROVAL! She also very matter-of-factly informed me that she would be calling the insurance company (Anthem BC) tomorrow to confirm that they had received the paperwork, and that she would call again on Friday to confirm that it was being reviewed. She also stated that she would call me back to let me know what the results of her phone calls to the insurance company were. So while she's not exactly warm & fuzzy, she does seem to have a plan of attack that I can get on board with!

Joann, thank you for your encouragement and understanding. Yes, I am hesitant to make issue of it at this point. As you said, she has all the power at this point. An apology would be nice and would go a long way. If one doesn't come, I can only hope that my dealings with her in the future are as infrequent as they have been thusfar! Looking forward to being banded, being here, and being the receipent of this threads wisdom, straight-talk, and love! You all are the best!

Thanks for your post, Long2. Fortunately, I do like my surgeon, so that is a good thing. I was just blown away by this gal. She really went out of her way to let me know I was a nuisance to her. I'd like to think I'd have been much more compassionate were I in her shoes. I'm going to take your advice. Once I get to see the surgeon, I'll be sure he knows about what happened. I know that if I were him, I'd want to know how my patients were being treated, both positively and negatively. Thanks so much for your response!

Hi Everyone...been lurking on LBT for several months and have posted a few times here and there. This is easily my favorite thread! You are all so encouraging! I'm hoping you can help me out. I need a bit of a boost. I've gone through all my classes, labs, etc. On November 12th, the bariatric program manager told me my paperwork was going to be "submitted" for approval and that we should know something by the end of last week. (I have Anthem BC and they're known for quick approvals for the center.) Since I hadn't heard anything, I called this morning and was told to contact the surgeon's office for an update as they had sent it over to them to submit. I left a message for the surgery coordinator who could not take my call. I left her a VERY nice VM, asking her if she could please give me an update on where the process was at, noting that I was sure she was especially busy this time of year, and that I would greatly appreciate her taking the time out of her busy day to update me when convenient. Well...she got back to me alright....she left me a scathing VM telling me how busy a person she was, how my phone calls keep her from doing her work, and to not call back for atleast three days as my paperwork was "in process." Phone calls? I've called the woman 3 times in two months! Once was to give her my credit card so she could bill me, another was at her request to contact her back if I hadn't received reimbursement from my insurance for the appointment, and then this message I left today. It has been a long time since someone was that rude to me and I was initially shocked. Now I'm pissed. I tried to pray it away, but I think I might need to ask for a bit more intervention from some cooler heads. I actually do feel a bit better now after typing this, but I guess I just needed to vent. Is it too much to hope for common courtesy these days? Arghh....I thank goodness she's not actually performing the surgery! Thanks for the venue to vent!

My fingers are crossed for you! Could you cross them for me as well??? My paperwork was faxed off to Anthem BC this Wednesday and I'm so anxious for approval. Was really hoping to hear from someone today as I've read so many posts for people who were approved the next day! I'm praying for a Dec 16th surgery date. Good luck to us both!!!:cool: