bayareanan

I just got the word! I am very happy. It only took 1 week to get approved and that was including the holiday on Monday.

I weigh 340lbs, so I can relate to you. My goal weight is 200, but I know my ideal weight is really about 140. I wear extra extra wide shoes and have problems even finding some that size that fits. I want to be able to wear wide shoes and also shop in stores like Macy's that only go up to 2X. I am currently a 4x and have to purchase clothes from a catalog. I think we can do it.....it will just take quite awhile.

I am not afraid of being hungry during the day time, but I dont want to go to bed hungry. I will have to space my fluids accordingly. (Paper work in to insurance company for approval, hopefully soon)

I am feeling pretty good now. I got my Psych as part of my quarterly appt with my psychiatrist as I take meds for depression. But, I got a physical consult the same day in the same office as the nutritionist and had to pay for the whole nutrition fee myself. I guess there is no free lunch in the pursuit of band land.

My package should go to the insurance company this week. I expect a date in September, or atleast crossing my fingers. Anyone in DFW?

I am having my surgery done by another doctor (I work for a hospital group and surgery must be done at one of their facilities and he doesnt practrice there), but he is who I am going to get my fills from. A girl I work with goes to him and loves him.

I dont have anyone who can pick me up after surgery, so I am considering taking a taxi home. That is...if the hospital will let me. My plan is to drive myself in the morning, take a taxi home and then pick my car up when I can get a ride. I am sure the cost will be high as it is about 45minutes through the DFW metroplex to get home, but I dont have much of a choice. Has anyone else done this, or considered it? Did they let you?

Turkey, The physicians office verified that my insurance would pay for it. I dont know how much it is going to cost me yet though. I had already done the 6 month diet last year. I went through the whole process and found out my insurance wouldnt pay for it. This year we have different insurance and finally it is covered.

My package goes in next week. Curious is anyone had Aetna, how long it took to get approval.

I should be getting the band soon. I weight 340 lbs and wear a size 10 EE (Extra extra wide), and then only some of this size will fit. Those of you that lost a lot of weight, did your shoe size change and how much did you lose before you noticed?

Sorry to hear of your bad news. The same thing happened to me last year. I was crushed to as I had done the 6 month supervised diet before I found out. In January work changed it's insurance carrier which now covers the surgery. I am in the process of getting my paperwork together so I can get the surgery done before year end. Dont give up.

I weigh 340lbs. I have weighed over 300 for 20 years. I have tried diets and exercise, but have never lost more than 40lbs. The fact is (deep breath) I drink WAY TOO MUCH. I have been able to cut back to a bottle of wine 3 days/week, but I know this is still too much. I used to drink 12 beers/night for many years. I am fearful that my doctor will tell me I odnt qualify for the surger, and perhaps he is right. I can understand why. I also think the alcohol has messed up my metabolism and even as much as I have cut back it's reminance has kept me from losing weight. I am not looking for a "join AA discussion" but am trying to see if my own thoughts run the same as others.

I weigh 340 lbs so I am obviously over eating. The thing is, I eat 3 balanced meals/day with only small amounts of carbs. A typical day I eat an egg white and veggie omlette for Breakfast. A turkey sandwhich on "air bread" (the kind you can see through it is so thin) and fish or chicken with a steamed veggie for dinner. I wonder if doing the band will actually make me loose weight.

I was a heavy drinker for year but stopped a few years ago. I still have wine a few nights/week but nothing like I used to. I am concerned I cant get the surgery because of this. I am assuming I have a large liver. Has anyone else experienced this?

No, I didnt. I found online a pdf about what was required for CIgna to approve surgery. I ASSUMED it would be the same for all plans. Then when I went to the surgeon, everyone made it sound like Cigna was a piece of cake to get approved. That is where I made my mistake. I really cant blame anyone except myself. But I am still disappointed.

After going through 6 months of supervised diet, all the other hoops that were required, I have been turned down. "Not covered by plan" I weight 330lbs, have several comorbitites and still didnt make it. I dont know if I should be more mad at the insurance company, or at the surgeon's office for not checking before I started this journey!!

I made it through the 6 month diet, all the other hassles and was approved. Now I cant do it. I think I havent tried enough diet and exercise to make the final leep. I am going to contine with the monthly weigh ins, but not commit to the surgery. I managed to lose37lbs while exercising hard and eating a very tight diet, but I did do it. This was 3yrs ago. I have managed to keep all that weight off these years. Just not ready to commit just yet.

I am up 10lbs during my 6 mo supervised diet. The first 2 months I followed the diet and actually gained weight. After that I was just marking my time. The thing is I worked out iwth a personal training group and dropped 45ish lbs. I had maintained this weight up until this new diet. I know this sounds odd, but alot of it was fear of failure, which I did infact fail. I am considering going back to the gym (it is a personal training group that also required you to follow a diet and read what you ate every day....6 days/week) I started back at the gym last year but had just started a new job and was overly stressed (I had been fired from my last job and was over the top stressed). I have been at the new job 14 mo now and all is going well. While I weigh 330 lbs and it is unrealistic that I would drop down to 200 I cant help but wonder if I gave the gym another shot I might lose a good number of pounds. Even though my package has been submitted to the insurance company I cant have the surgery until November (work restrictions) and am wondering if this time might be best spent tryihg to lose weight the old fashion way again.

Wine Country, I am presently waiting for my approval, so I dont have any words of wisdom. But, I grew up in Kenwood, just over the hill from Napa. Gotta love wine country.

Monthly weighins.

Today I finished my 6 mo diet and will now be waiting for my approval. The doctors office said it should take about 2 weeks. Can anyone with Cigna let me know how long it took them?

I also like cottage cheese with chunky salsa.

Now that I have started mentioning my work towards a band I have had a few ask questions that I really didnt have the answer for. One coworker is about 250, admits to drinking too much beer. When he has stopped drinking, along with watching his calories he only dropped about 40lb and nothing more. He slipped back into drinking and has maintained his weight. I can agree that alcohol is a wasted calorie, but what do I say to the fact he stopped drinking for 3 months, dieted and lost no weight? Just trying to find something constructive to tell him, besides just telling him to stop drinking totally.

The doc who does my medically supervised weight mgmt is part of the group that my surgeon is in. She says that I will get 1 week off. Naturally, I want to take as much time as I can get and would be much happier with 2 weeks off. Has anyone been able to talk their doc into a longer time that originally planned for? I do IT in a hospital, so I can always say that I lift computers and monitors alot!?

We support your decision, no matter which way you decide. Keeping on the diet plan is a step in the right direction. It is positive no matter how you view it. Getting banded will always be an option, not one you need to decide on now. Keep up the good work and let us know how it goes. We all are here to support you.