Bettina

My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your son. I am sure he will be fine.....what did the doc say? broken bones or anything? I have an 18 yr old too...so scary having teens.....can't always shield them from harm. Keep us posted!!!

I am curious, why isn't your surgeon telling you what is required? They should know what you need and what you don't if they take your insurance. See I checked first to make sure the Doc was covered, then I found out the surgery was covered. So then I went to the doc......and now after all the other stuff I mentioned in my last post...the Doc complies it all and submits everything to the insurance..."This is my patient and this is why I think she needs lap band and here is the test results to prove it" Kinda get it all at once so they can't keep coming back and saying oh by the way one more test. As far as me submitting the receipts for the nutritional evaluation......that is not something usually covered by insurances at all...but my friend told me she just kept submitting it as medically necessary for the surgery and that it should be covered...she told me the third time she submitted it, they paid it in full. So when I get all the receipts they will see it was to my benefit for the education of my post op well being that I did this. I was also told the psych eval wasn't covered either but I guess when they billed me and didn't hear from me, they submitted it themselves...and out of $150 I only owe $30...yay!! In the nutritional eval, they will take your photo, take your measurements, ask you what you eat, what you want to weigh, then they give you info on how to make this work and lastly I have to write down everything I eat all day for 2 weeks...lol I have to fudge it I think because I have been having odd eating habits lately...like only eating once a day. lol. I am in NJ, so things might be different for you...I am sure they are because if you notice from other threads, everyones doc seems to tell them something different. Keep me posted!!

Odd you should mention that, mind has been feeing funny lately! It feels swollen, not really sore, just like its swelling. I went to lay down the other night and freaked because it closed. Sat up, took a few deep breaths...still swollen. So I got a glass of ice cold Water and the swelling went down..............freaky!!!! Son had a sore throat.....maybe its the weather!!

Hey you are still down 60lbs!!! Don't be ashamed....I doubt your doc would judge you...you are going thru some major stress. Look at it this way.....you now take care of your dad and yourself! Take a few moments out and meal plan...you're already exercising...that is awesome!

Well, I can tell you from my experience that the letter of medical necessity came from the surgeon doing the lap band. The medical clearance comes from your general practicioner. (cause the lap band doc, if he is a specialist only deals in your weight and co-morbidities, but your GP knows your history so they will be able to tell if the surgery is safe for you. I had one visit with the nutritionist and still have to attend another one called "Boot Camp" then I can have the surgery )each visit is $250...ugh....then I had to agree to 12 more visits.....mandatory...otherwise I will not get my receipts and then I can't submit them to insurance. My doc is huge on this because the Lap Band is only a tool....it doesn't curb your appetite, doesn't keep you from craving, so he wants to make completely sure this lap band is gonna work.....my sis only had a quicky meeting with the nutritionist and she gained some of her weight back (gastric bypass) On the upside the nutritional Evaul is great! When I left, I was thinking if I get denyied, I will continue with the nutritionist cause I think i can lose the weight just with them!!!! --I too am waiting to hear--just gotta get my apnea machine and i can schedule. Yay. Oh and I was wondering, why didn't they tell you about these test up front?? My doc told me on the first day....do this, do that...gave me a packet and told me to get it all finished and then we schedule. To maybe set you at ease, I was just looking at my doctor's website and I stumbled upon all his patients who posted feedback...it gave their date of approval and I would say 98% of them were Blue Cross Blue Shield....not one of them had my insurance...talk about nail biting! Good Luck and let me know how it goes!!!!!

I still haven't slept since the fitting!!!! I turned off the tv at 4:00am this morning...then laid there and listened to the neighbors fussing:confused: ...and then hubby came out and turned on the tv again!!!:mad: (i was on the couch) So he says "why are you up?" I remind him of the sleep apnea issue. And do you know what that darling man said to me???? "Well, you should get up and do dishes or clean something to expend all that energy you have." At that moment I realized that my husband is an alien:alien from some other galaxy!!! I said "hello...I want to relax so I can sleep." (expend all the extra energy.....my *bleep*!!!! So at 5:20am I decided to call the sleep apnea tech and ask if I can take Tylenol PM to help me sleep:notagree ....I don't really want to take a sleep aid for fear that I will be in a drug induced sleep and not be able to wake up. :cry But tylenol pm has a little sumpin sumpin to take the edge off...lol. She said yes!!! Yay....she said I was just nervous and that is why i couldn't sleep (which i knew). So tonight after I pick up my son from work (Shop-Rite) @9pm I will be taking Tylenol PM....so excited!!.........Whoo-Hoo!!!!:clap2:

I still haven't slept since the fitting!!!! I turned off the tv at 4:00am this morning...then laid there and listened to the neighbors fussing:confused: ...and then hubby came out and turned on the tv again!!! (i was on the couch) So he says "why are you up?" I remind him of the sleep apnea issue. And do you know what that darling man said to me???? "Well, you should get up and do dishes or clean something to expend all that energy you have." At that moment I realized that my husband is an alien:alien from some other galaxy!!! I said "hello...I want to relax so I can sleep." (expend all the extra energy.....my *bleep*!!!! So at 5:20am I decided to call the sleep apnea tech and ask if I can take Tylenol PM to help me sleep:notagree ....I don't really want to take a sleep aid for fear that I will be in a drug induced sleep and not be able to wake up. :cry But tylenol pm has a little sumpin sumpin to take the edge off...lol. She said yes!!! Yay....she said I was just nervous and that is why i couldn't sleep (which i knew). So tonight after I pick up my son from work (Shop-Rite) @9pm I will be taking Tylenol PM....so excited!!.........Whoo-Hoo!!!!:clap2:

Hello.....MySpace does have a weight loss group...actually they have several! Just go to search...and type in Weight loss surgery...MySpace is how I found out about LBT!!!! I would link it, but I can't log on from my laptop (some dumb error) I will do it later from my desktop!!!

Pebbles....be careful with that ...they get to slap the term "bariatric" on the vitamins and charge extra....I looked up the brand you mentioned and I noticed that some of them require that you take more than one in a day.......that is very expensive...the iron alone was $16.95...so we are talking $203.40 a year just for the iron. There are plenty of brands out there...shop around.

Thanks for the info!!!!!!

MoOrLess beat me to it...lol. I would just tell her. It would be nice to have a "buddy" at work.

Has anyone heard of Fobi Pouch Gastric Bypass??? I just found out about it tonight. It is supposed to be better than GB (Fobi --shows weight loss up to 4 years out!!!!) According to the website on Dr. Fobi-the inventor--its between the two surgeries....more elaborate than banding but not as elaborate as GB. My doc has apparently done them too--I also found that info on the web! Hmmmm I will be asking him about this!!!

Betty Band...that's funny If I were to name mine, I think it would be Hagatha...my last name begins with an "H" so it flows...lol. The reason for Hagatha is because I was growing my hair out and felt yucky and haggie looking -was growing it out for my cousin's "medieval" wedding. I don't like my hair long while I am overweight-reminds me of a cape. So, naming it Hagatha would keep me in line so I wouldn't become a "Hag" after banding....LOL for the ticker....go to Tickerfactory.com or..i think it says: weightlossticker.com

Yes I have help to get you thru it!!!!! Read the five things you listed above!!!:clap2: I think I will print it and post it on the fridge. (you are an inspiration:D )

That was way too funny!!!!!:rockon:

Ah yes, I forgot about the kinked water hose effect....makes sense!!

I wouldn't cheat on my husband.......however if Johnny Depp wanted to take me out to dinner.....:faint:.

Oh my...def not gonna miss this one. I have watched all of them so far..its the only reality show I will watch (i guess cause I can relate). But she still doesn't look so large -i read she had a baby -which would do it to you..lol Thanks for the Link!!!! It will be on 8/6 here on the East Coast. Sadly, this backs up what my surgeon told me about GB being only good for the first year (just like my sister's!). Oh and did you notice that in the blurb about her they didn't mention that she had GB surgery???!!!

Wouldn't you get blood clots while in bed then???? (not everyone moves in their sleep---I just learned that from the sleep apnea tech) Hmmmm. Just a thought. I think I will ask again next time I see my Doc.

LOL yeah she is very pretty!!!

I agree with the big head thing...so sad...and did you notice they have bulgy eyes to boot! But are you sure that was Carnie Wilson on celebrity fit club??? I don't remember seeing here on any of them. She was even just on a weight loss surgery program looking really really thin. (personally I think a little heavier for her is a good thing)

Here is a link of the index of the book....topics look good. Only 100 or so pages on lap band thought...it there are other topics that may be interseting! [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0764584472/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-2584509-6640025#reader-link]http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0764584472/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-2584509-6640025#reader-link[/ame]

ugh you are so lucky i think i have to do one!

Ya know, if I had my eyes set on Jesse James, my hubby would be like go for it..........but I know it would only be if we could swap--Sandra Bullock for him would have to be the agreement............LOL:D

You probably don't need to make one because of your pre-op diet...didn' t you have to drink that stuff that empties your bowels??? (can't think of what it is called off hand) And anesthesia takes a while to come completely out of your body I was told in somes cases it takes months....so it shut down your need to make a bm (that is why we don't make potty while we are out..lol) so it may take awhile. Best wishes on your journey to the "new" you!!!:clap2: