AmberK

My insurance required a 6 month diet and the surgeon's office wouldnt even submit to insurance before the 6 month diet was up. But the day that I went to my PCP for my last weigh-in I faxed the information to my surgeons office who then faxed the necessary paperwork to insurance that day. And I received approval in less than a week!

I'm so excited!!! I just got a call from my surgeon's office and was told that Ive been APPROVED! I have Aetna insurance and the request was sent in last Thursday and I was approved today! WOW- Im so surprised that I was approved that fast! Now I have to go see my PCP again for an EKG and complete bloodwork next Monday then will make an appt to see my surgeon. When I see my surgeon we will set a surgerday and then I can start my 2 week diet! Im hoping to have surgery the 2nd week of July but I will be going on vacation to Colorado the last week of July so I might have to wait until August to do surgery. But the biggest hurdle is out of the way now! WOOT!

Thats awesome Bandmom! I hope your husband gets approval for his surgery soon!

I do plan on taking pictures even though it totally disgusts me to do it. But I do want to be able to look back after I lose all of my weight to see how far I've come.

I will keep my fingers crossed for you Jamie!

Im super excited and ready to get this process under way. :devil_smile:

Congrats! That is very inspiring!

When I went in for my initial consult the surgeon was telling me that people do lose more weight on the by-pass and with my BMI being so high NORMALLY she would recommend by-pass. BUT she also said its more for people who have over 200 lbs to lose and while my BMI is high its that way because Im short. Im 5'2" and weight 275 (at the time I saw her) which is why she said my BMI was higher. She thought I would do well with the lapband and I need to lose about 140 lbs. I would get a second opinion. Even if the doctor is over an hour away a second opinion is invaluable. you may decide you really like that doctor and dont mind the drive for the peace of mind you will have in being comfortable with your doctor. Good luck!

Congrats! I just got a call saying I was approved for surgery as well! My insurance took less than a week to approve! Im sooo excited! Im hoping to be a July bandster but it may have to wait until after my vacation the last week in July.

How long did it take for Aetna to approve you? I have my last appt with my PCP of my 6 month diet and then the surgeons office will be submitting for approval to Aetna so Im curious to know how long it took. Drs office told me they have 30 days but Aetna usually approves in 2 - 2.5 weeks. Im wondering if I call and gently nudge them if they will approve sooner???

From what I understand there is not any way to get it overruled. :thumbup::thumbdown::smile:

I just had my nutrition and exercise consult today so now they need to submit to insurance for approval. I need to talk to my patient rep to find out when they will be submitting and if they will schedule a date now or wait until approval. Im ready to get something set in stone for a surgery date- we have so much going on this summer that its hard to plan things.

Im hoping to be banded in June. I have 1 more visit with my primary care doctor to complete my 6 month supervised WL program. I have my psych eval next monday and after I have that appt I will call my surgeons office and they will set me up to meet with the nutritionist.

My insurance requires the 6 month diet- I guess to see that you can stick to a weight loss program. Which doesn't make sense to me if you don't actually have to lose any weight to get approved. I have already met with my surgeon who says that Im a good candidate for the surgery. I have to have a psych eval done, then after my next visit with my primary care doctor I will call the surgeon's office and they will get me scheduled for a nutrition consult, EKG, and something else. Then after my last weigh in the the doctor they can immediately submit everything to insurance.

I WISH my process was that fast! This past 4 months of the "Diet" has been agonizing. I want the surgery done YESTERDAY! How awesome that you got your insurance approval so fast! Good luck with your surgery!

I have 2 more months of my 6 month diet and I was told I didnt have to lose only that I couldn't gain any weight. So far, I've lost 6 lbs in 4 months but Im not doing a whole lot to really try.

What kind of diet did you do if you were required to do a doctor led pre-op diet before getting surgery approved? I have my initial consult with my surgeon today and will ask her but Ive been seeing my PCP since the end of November to do the 6 month pre-op diet and its not going well. I start off so well doing a WW type diet but then after a few days just fall off the wagon. Im so frustrated with myself and it makes me wonder if Im going to be able to stick to a diet once Ive been banded. Thanks for any advice!

Congrats on your surgery! Im Amber and live in Austin as well. Im current in month 2 of my 6 month doctor led weight loss program. Im meeting with my surgeon on Jan 25th- im excited to meet with her! Im impatient and want to have my surgery NOW so I can get on with losing the weight! Who did your surgery?

Im in the same situation as you! Im hoping to be banded in 2010! I havent made my appt yet with the surgeon- its on the list of things to do tomorrow. But I have seen my PCP and started my 6 month doctor supervised weight loss program (which I've done horribly on since Thanksgiving) since that is what my insurance requires. Im probably looking at a May?June band date. Im impatient and want it done now! But Im just grateful that my new insurance does cover WLS!

Hi! Im pretty new here myself. I havent been banded yet either- Im on my 2nd month of a 6 month doctor led weight loss program. Its hard waiting...I want this done yesterday so I can move forward with a new me! Welcome to the forums! They are so helpful!

WOW Amy- your stats are TOTALLY inspiring! Im 5'2" and at 277 right now....so it helps to see where you are now and gives me hope! The next 5 months need to go by very quickly for me...im anxious to get this done!

UGH...I have to do a 6 month WL program for my insurance to cover my surgery. I went to my PCP on 11/23 and was all gung ho about trying to stick to the recommendations he gave me- no sugar, no white products, limit portion size, and walk 10 mins 3 x day. Did ok the first few days then Thanksgiving came and Ive been horrible since then. How in the world am I going to do this? Diets havent worked for me before...why in the world would they make you do 6 month diet before surgery?

I havent met with the surgeon yet...my new insurance kicks in Jan 1 so Im going to call next week to make an appt to meet with the surgeon. I need to go back to my PCP too for the next visit and Im going to tell him that I didnt do well with the total restriction of certain foods. A WW type program will do better for me.

Hey everybody! My name is Amber and Im a 34 year old (soon to be 35 in December) and this is my first time posting here. I've been reading alot of information on lap-band and just recently found out that the insurance that we will be switching to in January will cover the surgery. I have an appt with my primary care doctor on Monday to get started on the 6 month physician led diet. Im bummed that I will have to wait 6 months- im ready to do this NOW! I used to be very, very active until my junior year in HS when I hurt my knee. I kept eating the way I used to but being inactive really made the weight packing on. When I got married 7 years ago, I was 225- then I got pg with twin boys who were born at 26 weeks. My first born son, Colin, who weighed 1 lb 13 oz passed away at 3 days old. Twin B- Drew, who weighed 1 lb 11 oz was in the NICU for 109 days. So naturally, I've been dealing with depression since that time but it wasnt until I got pg with my 3rd son and delivered him that I REALLY started gaining weight. I had PPD pretty bad after Ryan was born and all of the weight that I lost post pregnancy I gained back plus I've added 20 lbs. Right now- Im at my most miserable at 274 lbs. Like most of you, I've tried dieting and it doesnt work for me. I get really motivated but life gets in the way and I jsut cant do it on my own. I feel like WLS is going to be THE RIGHT TOOL for me to help me get back to who I used to be. I need to be a good wife to my husband who has been incredibly supportive (he is also overweight but he can lose 75 lbs in 4-5 months on WW while Im struggling to lose 10 during that same time period) and a better mom to my kids. I long for the day that Im not ashamed of myself to get out and go to the park with them, or Im not too tired to kick the soccer ball with them, or too uncomfortable to get on the floor and play trains with them. I dont want them to be embarassed because they have a fat mom. Thanks for having me here! Amber

I havent had my surgery yet. I just finished my 1st month of the doctor led weight loss program- which I didnt do well at at all. I will hopefully meet with the surgeon after the first of the year since that is when my insurance kicks in for WLS. Im probably going to go with Dr. Bridget Brady.