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HI there fellow up-stater! I to am in that infamous "UPSTATE" NY Category. I actually live in PA, 6 miles from the border. Everything is done in Upstate for me, work, Dr's hospitals etc.. I am not banded yet however, I also joined this site on the advise of my surgeon. and altho I really need to get on here more often, I find it very helpful! My journey started in May 2009 when I finally decided on my own to get a consultation and picked up the phone to call. And as of yesterday at about 4:45 I am approved and scheduled for banding on January 15th 2010. I am excited, yet nervous. But more than either of those I am READY!!! Good luck with your journey and let's be friends/buddies!

You both got banded that same day??? AWESOME! Did you have a room together at the hospital?

Yes, I am a very Happy Girl today! You see I have been extremely sick for the last 4 days with a severe sinus infection. :thumbup: I finally was able to get myself to my regular Dr for diagnosis and meds. Anyway while there they asked how the Lap banding was going... and when I said it had not been done yet, they kinda looked at me funny. Well, anyway I went to the drug store and then came home and in my mailbox was a letter from the insurance company telling me that I was APPROVED!!!:tt2: I was so excited... can I just tell you that the first thing I did was call my surgeon and say "what do we do now". :huh2: And when they told me that all I needed to do was wait for the scheduling call! Well I got it last night at about 4:45. Due to my trips out of town that have been planned, one being next week... I could not take the first option of next Friday... 11/13/09 :eek: UGH! I was kinda happy that I couldn't do that on a Friday the 13th, I'm not superstitious but still... Then the second option was 12/15/2009. And again... Just as I figured :smile2: I will be out of town on the 18th - 27th for the holiday. UGH #2. HOWEVER, Option #3 was January 15th 2010. :thanks: BINGO!!! Scheduled... It is a Friday and it it 2 months away but I AM SCHEDULED!!!! Can I just say I am a happy, happy girl right now! My New Year's resolution to lose weight and live a healthy happy life as a smaller person will finally come true. Hooray for me!!! :cool:

Yes, I am a very Happy Girl today! You see I have been extremely sick for the last 4 days with a severe sinus infection. :redface: I finally was able to get myself to my regular Dr for diagnosis and meds. Anyway while there they asked how the Lap banding was going... and when I said it had not been done yet, they kinda looked at me funny. Well, anyway I went to the drug store and then came home and in my mailbox was a letter from the insurance company telling me that I was APPROVED!!!:tt2: I was so excited... can I just tell you that the first thing I did was call my surgeon and say "what do we do now". :confused: And when they told me that all I needed to do was wait for the scheduling call! Well I got it last night at about 4:45. Due to my trips out of town that have been planned, one being next week... I could not take the first option of next Friday... 11/13/09 :eek: UGH! I was kinda happy that I couldn't do that on a Friday the 13th, I'm not superstitious but still... Then the second option was 12/15/2009. And again... Just as I figured :confused: I will be out of town on the 18th - 27th for the holiday. UGH #2. HOWEVER, Option #3 was January 15th 2010. :thumbup: BINGO!!! Scheduled... It is a Friday and it it 2 months away but I AM SCHEDULED!!!! Can I just say I am a happy, happy girl right now! My New Year's resolution to lose weight and live a healthy happy life as a smaller person will finally come true. Hooray for me!!! :thumbup:

I just have to post and say that I am feeling a bit anxious today! I called the Insurance Co yesterday tosee where we were at and they said that things were moving right along... :rolleyes2:the Surgeon that I have chosen has been approved, (on 10/26) and they had a Reference number for the Hospital. Now it is thier partners job to approve the hospital and that shouldn't take to long. Just knowing that I am have way to being approved is making butterflies :thumbup: in my stomach!!! I just know that I will be getting banded in January and I can't wait. I realize that January is still 2 months away but wow... It's ONLY 2 months!!!:crying:

I just have to post and say that I am feeling a bit anxious today! I called the Insurance Co yesterday tosee where we were at and they said that things were moving right along... :rolleyes2:the Surgeon that I have chosen has been approved, (on 10/26) and they had a Reference number for the Hospital. Now it is thier partners job to approve the hospital and that shouldn't take to long. Just knowing that I am have way to being approved is making butterflies :scared2: in my stomach!!! I just know that I will be getting banded in January and I can't wait. I realize that January is still 2 months away but wow... It's ONLY 2 months!!!

ConB113, Of course I will keep you posted!!! rebsbrat, Those holidays aren't as important to me as being OUT of Town for Thanksgiving AND Christmas. which is why I have decided to wait. AND the fact that I am not telling everyone about my surgery. it will be much much easier to make the New Year resolution and stick with it this way. No one will assume that I have even had surgery.

I called my Surgeons office, left a message to have them call me back if there was anything that I needed to do to get things moving a little faster... No call back so assuming that they had done everything that needed to be done I called the insurance company... OMG... I wanted to tell that lady right where to go... I kept getting "ma'am we do NOT have any thing in process, or even on file for you" . AND, to make matters worse I have to call from work because they aren't ever available when I would be home so trying to get time, and quiet, and NO body around because I am not telling anyone at the office about this was even more frustrating for me. Anyway, I finally hang up with the insurance and call the surgeons office again. I have to leave a message for the girl who does the insurance stuff because she is on the phone with insurance companies all day long so she returns calls after 5 pm... I can accept that, she has her job to do too and if it were me and had to deal with those insurance companies all day, I'd be bald from pulling my hair out! So, it's really ok. Last night at 6:15 she calls me! :-) however, she says... "I sent your paperwork in today, so you should see an answer in a week or 2 at the most" I wanted to cry :thumbup: at that point. :eek:... ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? :wink2: I was under the assumption it had been submitted 2 weeks ago and that it was the insurance company that was holding things up right now. :thumbup: Last night I was so bummed it wasn't funny. But have dealt with it and decided that I will make this my last holiday without the band, the new year will bring the "Normal" resolution that I have always made (to lose weight) only this time it will work. And it will be easier for me to not tell the people that I don't want to tell!!! Right now you are probably saying (or going to say) why not have it done before the holidays... And I was thinking that too, but I have a trip scheduled in November and then another in December to visit family out of town. and I really don't want to cancel either trip or be recovering from surgery during either trip! So, right now I am just waiting for the approval and then ready to schedule a January, 2010 surgery date... New Year, New Me!!! It's all good! :thumbup:

I called my Surgeons office, left a message to have them call me back if there was anything that I needed to do to get things moving a little faster... No call back so assuming that they had done everything that needed to be done I called the insurance company... OMG... I wanted to tell that lady right where to go... I kept getting "ma'am we do NOT have any thing in process, or even on file for you" . AND, to make matters worse I have to call from work because they aren't ever available when I would be home so trying to get time, and quiet, and NO body around because I am not telling anyone at the office about this was even more frustrating for me. Anyway, I finally hang up with the insurance and call the surgeons office again. I have to leave a message for the girl who does the insurance stuff because she is on the phone with insurance companies all day long so she returns calls after 5 pm... I can accept that, she has her job to do too and if it were me and had to deal with those insurance companies all day, I'd be bald from pulling my hair out! So, it's really ok. Last night at 6:15 she calls me! :-) however, she says... "I sent your paperwork in today, so you should see an answer in a week or 2 at the most" I wanted to cry :thumbup: at that point. :eek:... ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I was under the assumption it had been submitted 2 weeks ago and that it was the insurance company that was holding things up right now. :mad: Last night I was so bummed it wasn't funny. But have dealt with it and decided that I will make this my last holiday without the band, the new year will bring the "Normal" resolution that I have always made (to lose weight) only this time it will work. And it will be easier for me to not tell the people that I don't want to tell!!! Right now you are probably saying (or going to say) why not have it done before the holidays... And I was thinking that too, but I have a trip scheduled in November and then another in December to visit family out of town. and I really don't want to cancel either trip or be recovering from surgery during either trip! So, right now I am just waiting for the approval and then ready to schedule a January, 2010 surgery date... New Year, New Me!!! It's all good! :thumbup:

Hi Nancy, I'm Sandy, I felt like you did about 6 - 8 months ago! Scared to death about having the surgery but needed to do something... I have not been banded yet. But have had everything done that needs to be. I am waiting on insurance approval right now. Diets yeah done them all. and yeah lost weight, but likeyou gained it all, plus some back. I finally had the original consultation with my surgeon last May 28th and then a friend of mine had the Bypass surgery. I've watched her lose 76 pounds since July and she has been so supportive of my decision to go thru with the lapband. I decided on lapband because I have less than 100 pounds to lose to my goal weight and when I get there I will be happy for the rest of my life. Good Luck with your journey... as you read and learn more you will become more comfortable... I did! Keep in touch!

Thanks BG and smason. I will call my insurance Co tomorrow, I am calling my Dr's office right now to see if there is anything they can tell me first! :-)

OK, here I am at work again! LOL !!! So, I just have to tell ya, all this waiting is driving me insane! :blink:Everything went so fast after the first appointment and now I feel likeI am stuck in limbo waiting for the insurance co. At least I hope that is all I am waiting on. I called my Dr's office and asked (actually left a message for the girl that does this stuff) if there was anything else that I needed to do to get a surgery date and they haven't called me back So I assumes that means everything is there. But that was almost 2 weeks ago. :thumbup: It appears from everything here that I have read or that I have heard from friends that have had the RNY done, it seems that they get approved within 2 or 3 days. :w00t: I don't know what to think? Maybe I'm getting disapproved? UGH! Now that would really suck the big one! :eek: I'm so ready to change my life it isn't funny. I've even already lost 10 pounds but man, it wasn't easy!

yeah I feel very frustrated today! When I sopke to the office about when I might be able to get banded, and asked if October was a reasonable guess they said yes... by all means if there are no complications and we do not forsee any. So I was really really hoping to get banded by this week. And All I can say is I'm still waiting for approval! It's been 2 weeks tht the insurance company has had all my appropriate test results, letters, paperwork of all kinds and still not answer. So, I guess, since I have some things going on in early November, and then there is Christmas, I probably will be a 2010 bander. Damn! Just when I really thought things were going my way for a change!

yeah I feel very frustrated today! When I sopke to the office about when I might be able to get banded, and asked if October was a reasonable guess they said yes... by all means if there are no complications and we do not forsee any. So I was really really hoping to get banded by this week. And All I can say is I'm still waiting for approval! It's been 2 weeks tht the insurance company has had all my appropriate test results, letters, paperwork of all kinds and still not answer. So, I guess, since I have some things going on in early November, and then there is Christmas, I probably will be a 2010 bander. Damn! Just when I really thought things were going my way for a change!:thumbup:

P.S. YAY!!! It worked!!!:biggrin::thumbup:

OK, Sandy... Buddies it is... I needed to do some hunting to find this message as I am at work... probably should be NOT doing this here but had to see what was happening. and When I checked my home e-mail I see that you had written. I did what you told me to do with teh ticker so lets see if it works, altho I think I tried it before. maybe I just didn't save it??? P.S. I sent you a friend request so I hope it will be easier to find "threads" from that!

This post has been so helpful for me. I am going to have the surgery however, do not have a date yet. Waiting for the insurance approval. I was wondering about what I would be able to eat after the weight is lost, like a year or so downthe road. My surgical office has been more than helpful whenever I hve a question but this site seems to be able to answer alot of my questions quicker. I just wish my insurance company would hurry and say yes, so I can get on with it! The holidays are going to be tough enough just dieting let alone If I have to decline family dinners because I am on liquids or mushies! UGH!

Elmira NY Here...

Hi, My name is Sandy and I am new within the last 3 days to this site. I joined on the suggestion of my surgeon. :sad: I like to think of myself a pretty computer savy but am having a hard time working around things here. I need a buddy that I can chat with regarding the site itself AND the band too. I am not banded yet. :sad: everything is done, all appointments and tests, I'm just waiting for insurance approval. I went to the support group session in my area and everyone that is in that group has had the RNY procedure done. It's not the same! I'm not telling anyone about this surgery except my husband and a few close friends... I don't care if you are a new bandster or an old hat at it... I just need someone to talk to!!! First question on this site is how do you get your appointment dates and the "tickers" to show in your posts? :scared2: I've tried several attempts and none seem to work.

Hi, I agree, I do not think it will affect your insurance approval however, it MAY give you a co-morbidity factor. This is something you may want to ask when you attend the seminar. Good luck!!!

Hi Jennifer, My name is Sandy and I am brand new to this site! I too am thankful for it in hopes that I may find some additional support people here. I am not telling people of my decision to have this type of surgery. My husband, a friend who had the RNY procedure done in July and another close friend are the only people that know right now. I have not had the surgery yet however am only waiting on the insurance company. As far as I know all paperwork and follow-ups are complete. :tt2: I'm hoping maybe you, other bandsters and this site will be my source of great support and new friendships. as the support groups that are in my area are all geared around the RNY procedure people! :thumbup:

Hi Realtruelady, I have just started on this site and am finding it very helpful for me altho there do not seem to be anyone that is in my local area... Good thing, I guess, since I intend to not tell anyone that does not really need to know. I have had all my apointments and the Dr has written to the insurance company. I am playing the waiting game now. I am praying for a quick acceptance and then a surgery date. :thumbup: Can you tell me how you got your dates and the ticker thing on your profile? I would like to add mine and have been struggling with it. :tt2:

I don't have a date for my surgery but Thursday thru Tuesday is what I am planning too. I also have an office job. I think we'll be fine with it!