iwalktheline

my date is 2/16. i start my diet this w/e. 2 liquid shakes and 1 meal a day. i am very nervous/excited. i always have these crazy thoughts like "what if i am one of those people that doesn't lose any weight" anyone else ever think like that? good luck to everyone. :cursing:

hi i am scheduled for 2/16. i start my diet this w/e. 2 shakes and 1 small meal a day. i am soooo scared. i know i am doing the right thing though. how about exflab febuarians :cursing:

my mom devoloped painful gout in her joints after strictly following no carb/all veggie protien diet. the uric acid can build and exacerbate gout. talk to the doc.

thanks for all the positive remarks. i know i am doing the right thing. babbs i noticed that it states you only lost 17 pounds. is that correct. can you explain your situation a little more. i hope to lose 80 pounds. hopefully 50 in the first year. i am a real foodie. i cook big delicious dinners everynight for my family and self. i love to read cook books and watch cooking shows. that is what scares me the most. im sure you can all relate.

i have been jumping through hoops since july to have this surgery. 6 office visits, 2 nutrition visits, psychiatrist visit, upper gi, pulmonary function testing, surgery consult. im sure im forgetting some. so it is finally here and i am scared $hitless. i sure hope i am doing the right thing. i have lost and gained a total of 500 pounds over the last 25 years so i feel that i have no other option. thanks for all the encouragement from everyone here.

what happened with loyola's weight loss surgery? they used to have a whole wing in the hospital devoted to weight loss patients. if anyone knows please reply

keep going to the doc every month on time and have you weighed and documented until you are holding the officical authorization from insurance. I had this happen to me w/BCBS. the insurance doesn't require it but the MED Group or directors of HR who oversee the insurance policy do. you don't want to be denied in 4 months because you didn't do the diet. just pretend like you have to until you have a sx date set and good luck. i am just waiting to start the liquid preop diet.

Youre in good hands w/Woodard. He is well liked/respected family man who is one of the most popular gen surgeons in the area. I am a nurse at the hospital he works. He is very kind to staff...that is a good sign. Good luck to you

Tomorrow is the day I meet the surgeon. I have finished the 6 month diet, pysch eval, nutrition consult, pre approved w/referral by insurance. So what goes on w/the surgeon. what can I expect. I keep thinking I am going to have to convince him I need surgery, but maybe I am just anxious. any one have advice. I am so happy this is finally happening. how long did you all have to wait for lap banding once you met w/the surgeon??? Thanks:crying:

breaking up is very painful and 10 times worse when you find out that your bf has found someone else. time will heal but it is not easy. you may want to call someone to talk to and stay busy because you will become obsessed w/it. remember also your body will not heal if it is feeling alot of stress. sorry for your sadness, i've been there.

hey thanks everyone for your great stories and advise. notice how you never see any posts hear saying"LAP BAND HAS DESTROYED MY LIFE" pretty much the opposite Im a nurse and come across people all the time who have had previous bypass and 100% have said they are thrilled Im not discussing the lb anymore w/my family I think I was looking for their approval (like a little kid) Im on month 3 of the 6 month diet and Im doin it. (trying not to lose too much weight... silly huh) Im excited keep up the good work all!!

thanks, that is exactly what I needed to hear

I would love to hear anyone else's situation if you had family/spouse totally against having WLS. I am a 40 yearold married mother, but I am close to my parents. My hubby is ok w/my lapbanding (not crazy about it, but knows I am miserable being overweight) but when I told my parents they went crazy. "NO, dont have that surgery" "you just need to go on a diet" "this is a huge mistake" blah blah blah. They become visibly upset whenever I try to discuss it. Anyone have any advice.:wink2:

sounds like you're going to be banded soon. that sure is a long time, longer than waiting for a baby. I am only on month 2. It was such a big deal for me to actually go ahead and decide to have this surgery and then to have to wait is making me dought myself. I just started taking diet pills yesterday because I keep thinking maybe I can do this myself and I absolutely hate them. I just don't know why I do that to myself. I am on the border of bmi 35, but I have a ton of problems because of my wt gain so technically I qualify. I have lost and gained a total of 500 lbs in 25 years. Ive been a size 2 and a size 2x. Im just done with that. I don't need a sleep study, but phsych and nutrition. haven't done them yet. have you met with the surgeon yet? Tomorrow is my second weigh in and talk w/the doc. my pcp doesn't like wls so I don't even like to discuss it w/her. I will keep you updated and want to hear any/all info you have. take care.

Hi All I am on this 6 month diet and I figure If I have to be on it I will try diet pills. I would like to know if anyone has any experience w/Tenuate or Phentermine. Which is better, Side Effects, Weight lost etc ???? Thanks

It's great to have someone else w/bcbsil hmo. Hope we can keep in touch through all this. Ill just tell you what I know so far. My hubby works for cook county so whatever bcbs that is I don't know. 1st thing I did was call bcbs and ask if it was covered they said "it is covered 100% as long as there is a referral from your pcp" I said "but what about the 6 month diet and all that" they said "with bcbs hmo we let the doc/med grp make the decision. you do not have ANY requirements with bcbs except the referral letter" So I made an appt w/my pcp at Dupage Med Grp and had a long talk w/the RN who handles this stuff. She said that just w/in the last month they have decided that they won't require a 12 month diet or wt loss to get the referral, now it is 6m weigh in w/the nurse and a psych and nutrition consult. She said that since my BMI is borderline becareful about too much weight loss (doesn't that sound ridiculous..considering) or they won't give the letter. She said that most people start the process but never follow through because they miss appts and such. ok, I do know a nurse that works w/Loyola and they are SOOO Strict. Crazy rules about getting a referral. Almost would think they don't want you to have it. So just keep going. Do what they say and demand your referral letter. Remember they work for you. Good Luck and keep me posted:thumbup:

From what I have heard the Med Grp decides if you are approved for the referral letter and once BCBS has that you get the surgery. The nurse told me not to lose much weight during the diet or I would not get the referral. What med grp are you with? My med grp used to have a 12 month diet for HMO and 10% wt loss but recently changed that because so many people were complaining. Im sure some day these 6 month diets will be a thing of the past. I have a 25 year diet that I could tell them all about.:thumbup: Please keep us posted on your progress.

that is interesting. ok so why are some people that have bcbs /il having such a hard time actually getting approved by bcbs. the nurse at my med group said that once people make it through the 6m diet and she submits the referral she hasn't seen a denial. but, she says most people end up not having the surgery because they miss a few months in between and such.

I couldn't figure out why i have to do this 6m diet because bcbs hmo il said there are no prereqs besides the referral from pcp. found out on obesityhelp.com in an old forum that the med grp actually decides if you will have wls and they have their own check list/prereqs. i guess they have an agreement w/bcbs. anyone else know about this?

tamihott, you know what they are doing is illigal. they are stalling you. it sounds like you have gone beyond what the average person has to do to be approved. they are being unreasonable. there is no such thing as not enough doctors notes about a diet. that is silly. :thumbup:i hope you are journaling all this and then get a lawyer. you will definately get your surgery and maybe win a lawsuit :tt2: i will give them h#$% if they do this to me at the end of my 6m. im already worried. why did my med grp say that I don't even need to see a doc during this diet. the rn said she hasn't heard of any denials. just one more thing for me to fret over by the way, i am an RN and I have never had a patient say they regret having WLS. if anything they say they wish they had done it sooner. good luck and please keep us posted.

I also have bcbs il HMO. they insist (BCBS) that I have NO prereq's to be approved besides having a referral from my pcp deeming it med nec. BUT my med group is strict and has a 6m diet (used to be 12m w/10% wt loss) the nurse from the med grp says I don't even have to meet w/a doc, just weigh in every month. This is so weird. I am on month 2 and will not give up. If I were you I would get a lawyer today and start ruffeling their feathers. I bet you'll get your approval w/in 24 hours.

I also have bcbs/il hmo. I started process last month. called bcbs cs and was told lapbanding was covered 100% w/referral from PCP. NOT!!! I was told by my med grp that I have to do a 6m diet. Used to be 12m w/10% loss. So my med group tells me that insurance requires it and I called bcbs and they insist that it is NOT THEM but the med group. IM SO CONFUSED!! would love to hear others war stories similar to this GOOD LUCK TO ALL

I think they are trying to stall you and make you give up. If you get down in the 190's they will deny you. I really hope that this works out for you. I am kind of in the same boat, but it is the med group making all the rules not the insurance. GOOD LUCK

Hi All, I have bcbs IL and was told that I needed a referral from PCP to do lap band, no other requirements. My PCP Group requires 6m supervised diet. Do I really go on low cal diet and exercise and work it for 6 months. I bet I could lose 30lbs. Problem is that I have a BMI of 36(w/htn, dm2, carpal tunnel, oa). I don't know what these people really want. I am sure if I lose a bunch of weight they will deny me and I will be crushed. The problem has never been losing, it's keeping it off. I will lose the weight in 6 months and in 2 years I will have blown up and added more. If anyone knows what is really expected out of the 6m diet please let me know. I just don't want a denial in 6 months. I will be devastated. Thanks

what kind of insurance do you have and did you have to have a referral from your doc?