TSB

I know EXACTLY how you feel! I was referred to the surgeon by my PCP in January. It was the end of June before I had met all of the surgeon's pre-op requirements. Now I am on pins and needles waiting for the insurance company to render a verdict! I was also hoping for a July surgery date when I started this, but it is starting look like it might be September IF the insurance co. approves me right away.

My surgeon recommends weighing daily. The rationale is that it "keeps you honest" and able to adjust caloric intake and/or exercise in a more timely fashion before a little gain becomes a big gain :-)

Best wishes to you (((((Band)))))

Thanks, Suzanne. One of my pre-op requirements is to lose 10% of my starting weight. This is my surgeon's requirement, not the insurance company's. The theory is that the patient demonstrate an ability to lose weight, and practice some of the post-surgery dietary requirements (like cosuming 60-80 grams of Protein per day). I meet have to meet with the nutritionist every 4 weeks or so and she reviews my food journals and checks my weight. I do so much better when I write down what I am eating, keeps me honest and accountable. It would be nice if/when I get the band for it to be "enough." But I think for awhile I should keep track of things. Once I know the insurance co has approved me, and I have a surgery date, I do plan to have a "last supper" at my favorite mexican restaurant!:tongue_smilie:

So, I completed all of the pre-op testing required by my surgeon and got clearance from the nutritionist last month. June 17 was the date I completed the last of the pre-op appointments/tests. One of my requirements was to quit smoking, which I have done. EXCEPT, at the Family BBQ on the the 4th of July I caved & smoked while having a few beers and socializing w/ my cousins. Considering that the damn things are now $6.00 a pack, I did not just throw them away and finished up the pack on July 5. SO, bright and early Monday, July 6, the physician's assistant calls to advise me that my case was discussed in the multi-disciplinary meeting and it was determined that I have met the surgeon's pre-op requirements. So, they will move forward with submitting me to the insurance company (BCBS for State of Maine employees). BUT, I have to take a nicotine urine test, and do a follow up blood test to check my Vitamin D levels, as I have been on supplements for that due to low Vitamin D. So I tried to call today to find out if submitting to the insurance company has to wait until I complete these tests or if they will go ahead and submit and that I'm good as long as I have these tests done prior to surgery. But the clinical coordinator was not in today, so I could not find out those kinds of details:angry: I know it is was freaking stupid to smoke when I have done so well with it and am this close to surgery.:smile2: I also know from reading online that, depending on what source you look at, the by-product of nicotine takes as little as 3 days or as many as 10 days to get out of your system. I think I schedule this test myself, so I should be okay. On top of that, over the last 2 weeks I have been stress eating, and not journaling my food intake. My husband and I are in the midst of do-it-yourself home renovations and I have an almost 17 year old daughter that is making me crazy with her really rotten choices--- life stuff, and really no excuse. I have gained a bit per my scale. So the lesson learned for me, is that I MUST write down every thing I put in my mouth otherwise I get off track and just do not pay attention. I started tracking again yesterday. From yesterday morning to this morning I was down 2lbs. So, I have until my next Nut appt on the 20th to get down to at least where I was when I met with her in June. I know this is quite a disjointed ramble. Just feeling a bit overwhelmed and anxious with this whole process, along with other things at the moment. I hope I have not blown or delayed my chances to get the band.

I'm sorry your surgery was pushed out ((((Marji)))). I think it is perfectly normal to be bummed out about this. The waiting game just sucks!

Okay, feeling like a loser answering my own post!:thumbup: But here's my update........ They are "working on" submitting me to the insurance company for approval this week They say with my policy they typically don't have any issues and hear back within a week. The nicotine test is actually a blood test, not a urine test and I don't have to do that until a week or two before surgery So, though the lady on the phone wouldn't make any promises, when I asked she said it is POSSIBLE I could get an August surgery date :drool: BLAH, I am a bundle of nerves! I didn't expect to feel this way:blink:

Am boning up on my post-op dietary instructions (even though I still don't know if the insurance will approve me). These are my surgeon/nutritionist's post op instructions. While in the hospital: Clear Liquids Weeks 1 & 2: Protein based liquids. Weeks 3 & 4: Pureed (or blenderized) Foods Week 5: Soft Foods Week 6: Regular Foods

I had 3 c-sections (1989, 1992, & 1996) I also had an abdominal hysterctomy in 2005. Not scheduled for my band surgery yet, but my surgeon has not given me any indication that my prior surgeries will pose any problems. Thanks for bringing it up though, as I never even thought to ask this question. I know it was because of my 3 c-sections that the surgeon who did my hysterectomy opted to do it abdominally vs. vaginally.

I was contacted Monday (7/6/09) by my surgeon's physician's assistant . He asked me if I've had any problems/symptoms with my gall bladder. I told him I did not even know what symptoms of a problematic gall bladder would be. He said I would have pain in my right side radiating toward my back after consumming high fat meals. I told him I had not experienced that and asked him why he was asking. Apparently the Upper Right Quad Ultrasound I had done as part of pre-op testing showed "sludge," whatever that means, in my gall bladder and they wanted to make sure I was not having any issues before we proceed with the lapband. Having read on here that a number of people have their gall bladder removed at the same time as having their band placed, I asked him about this. He advised that the inside of the gall bladder is considered "dirty" and the preference is not to do both procedures at the same time. He also told me that if they do both at the same time and then there are post-surgery issues it is harder to determine whether it is the gall bladder removal or the band placement that is causing problems for the patient. Made sense to me.

He could be a "chubby chaser" as well and maybe just finds big girls physically attractive????????

116 pounds in 8 months... that is AMAZING! :tongue2:

The good news is that us old folks will feel even skinnier when we go buy our new clothes in even smaller sizes! :tongue2: LOL-- so true--- back in the 80's I can remember feeling "fat" @ 125! As a 40 year old I LOVE that clothing manufacturers are being more "generous" in their sizing these days!

I think sizes have gotten more "generous" over the last few decades. As a teen in the '80's at 125 lb & 5' 3" I wore a snug fitting size 9. Back in 2002, I remained @ 5'3" and went from 215 and wearing a size 18/20W to 155 and was in a comfy Misses size 10 on the bottom & 12 on the top (I am top heavy :redface:).

CONGRATS! I am so flippin' jealous of those of you who have been approved and have surgery dates! Happy for you too, though :thumbup:

I'm sorry for the negative comments you are hearing. I don't know what kind of relationship you have with your sister, but if it were my sister I'd let her know that I was disappointed she did not respect my privacy. I am assuming you told her that you didn't want other people to know? I am one of those who does not give a rip who knows that I am pursuing Lap Band surgery -- but I am also one of those who values the opinion of only the important people in my life. What a co-worker, acquaintance or distant relative thinks would go in one ear and out the other w/ me.

My surgeon requires his patients to have been non-smokers and nicotine free for 3 months prior to surgery. I had my PCP prescribe Chantix, as it is a non-nicotine smoking cessation aid. Worked for me. I first quit in February. I have had a couple of episodes when I "fell of the wagon." Because Chantix blocks the whole enjoyment factor in smoking (no nicotine buzz), my slips only lasted a day or two.

So, yesterday the nutritionist said she would sign off that I had met all of her requirements. Have not quite met my 10% weight loss -- I am down 17 pounds since my 1st appointment in March and have 4 more pounds to go to meet the 10% loss. 1st thing I did this morning was call the clinical coordinator to start nagging her to submit me for insurance approval. She was busy, so here I sit waiting for a call back to ensure they got all my test results. I go on Thursday to get the results of my sleep study test. NOW I am nervous as hell that after alll the hoops I have jumped through, that the insurance company will say no. I've been fairly mellow about the whole thing, but now it is all I can think about and can't seem to concentrate on anything else. Maybe because it now seems like surgery is just within my grasp.

FINALLY talked to someone at the surgeon's office. It appears that they missed one of the tests the doc wanted when they did my blood work, so I will go do that this afternoon. They also need a copy of my last PAP -- HELLO, I had a hysterectomy 4 years ago I don't HAVE a cervix anymore. Nonetheless I called my PCP to dig up the results of my last one and send that over. Speaking of my PCP....surgeon's office says I have to find out from my PCP if my meds are available in liquid form OR crushable OR if I can go without them for a few days after surgery. I called a month or so ago and was told, oh the surgeon will tell you that. So, this week when I went for my NUT appt I mention this --- they say in no uncertain terms, NO, that is the prescribing doctor's responsibility. So I call the PCP AGAIN today and get the same answer they gave me the 1st time! So, I am frustrated. Explained to my PCP's nurse what the surgeon's office had to say about this and am now awaiting a call back for my actual PCP vs. her nurse. (Excuse me while I continue to rant). So every Tuesday at the surgeon's office they have a multidisciplinary meeting where they review patient's test results and decide whether said patient has met their requirements. Well, I just missed this Tuesday's meeting, and next week they are all out of the office for a conference. This means the earliest they will discuss my case is June 30, which means the earliest they will submit me for approval to the insurance company is the 1st week in July. Yeah, I know I am being impatient, but now that I have done everything they asked of me I want to move FORWARD! I'm sure you all know what I mean. As usual, thanks for a place to vent!

I was worried that losing weight BEFORE I got insurance approval would cause me not to get approved. My surgeon, however, submits my weight and BMI from my first appointment with him. At any rate, it will still be a crap shoot with the insurance because of my BMI, and I am not sure yet if my high cholesterol will be enough of a co-morbidity. All I can do now is keep my fingers crossed. I am kind of frustrated that nobody returned my call today, though :wink:

So, I know from reading about others experiences that this can be a long process. I also know that the clinic coordinator told me it could end up being late summer/early fall before I could expect to have surgery. So this is probably just a whine. I went for my sleep study consult, pulmonary function test and an Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) test yesterday. My next required test is the psych eval. So, maybe I was starting to feel a little too optimistic in thinking MAYBE I could end up having surgery sometime in June or July. BUT after the sleep study consultation I went out to schedule the actual sleep study. At first I told the scheduler I would prefer to do it on a Friday night. The next Friday night available was in late July! So I changed my tune to accept any night of the week and now I have it scheduled for Tuesday June 9. So that didn't sound so bad until she said, "now lets schedule your follow up visit." GRRR, after the actual study I have to come back to see the doc who did the consult yesterday and that appointment is not until July 14! Then the staff at the bariatric center will decide whether I meet their criteria and THEN they submit me for insurance approval. I am starting to feel like it may be Christmas before I get the actual band! It shouldn't bother me, because I was well-informed going into this. But I found myself feeling a little frustrated and down about it. I said something to the person doing the scheduling about the process being so long. She said that yes, it is and that she finds a lot of people get frustrated with the process and just quit pursuing it. So, I guess I just need to suck it up and carry on ::::thumbup:::: Thanks for letting me vent

Met with my nutritionist yesterday, something I have to do every 4 to 6 weeks up to the date of surgery. She said she would clear me as "nutritionally readyy" for surgery :bored: I was down another 3 pounds on my pre-op "diet" for a total loss of 17 -- one more pound and I am out of the 200's:biggrin: So, Thursday I go to get the results of my sleep study. Hopefully my surgeon's office already got the results, because I intend to start calling and nagging the clinical coordinator today to get me submitted to the insurance company!

That's a rough spot to be in. I won't even presume to offer any advice on the matter, just wishing you and yours the best as you sort through the situation ::hugs::

One of my surgeon's requirements is that I lose 10% of my starting weight, which would be 21 lbs. for me. I asked how that would impact me when it came time to submit all my paperwork to the insurance. I was advised that the surgeon submits the bmi/weight from my very first appointment. I also asked hypothetically if the surgeon would move forward if I lost only 10 to 15 pounds vs, 21 pounds but had met all other pre-op requirements. I was advised that this would not keep me from having the surgery. Good luck!

As you can see from my signature line, I am still in the process of jumping through some hoops. Some of the pre-op requirements are my surgeon's and some of them are based on my health insurance policy. At first I was frustrated with the length of the process, but I am feeling good these days about all the preparation I have done. Now I am just keeping my fingers crossed that some time this month my surgeon will submit my paperwork to my insurance and I will get a approved without further delay!