kellyjoiii

Marsmom, As for the chewing, maybe some gum would help? As for me, I am a week (6 days and a wake up-since today is almost over) and wondering why my doc doesnt require a pre op diet of any kind) I am so anxious, and excited and love reading about all ya'll. I plan on walking walking walking. After my over night stay and 3.5 hour drive home the next day. Thanks for having me buddies! Looking forward to hearing more from ya'll!:thumbup:

Girl I am soooo proud of you! 9 days! That is fantastic. shoot I keep thinking at 9 days in I'll only have 8 more days until surgery..this gets me through! Anyone else suffer from absentmindedness and no gumption? I am soooo freakin tired~!:thumbup:

GOOD ON YA! You GO! I succummbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbed to the smoke and smoked Friday and Sat. Then Sat night I smoked my last. This am I smoked one but will not again. Baby steps. Baby steps. K:blush:

Soooconfused, the wait is probably because you do not have to do tricare. The list is probably first come first served at the MTF. Right? If it is at a military facility, then tricare should not be involved. I say try to get referred out. Much easier. :thumbup:

SOOOOooooConfused, check your message box here, I sent you a message :thumbup:

GIRL! Calm down.:thumbup: Ok, let me say this. I have tricare prime (my dh is active duty navy) and I am scheduled for surgery in 17 days. Unlike the other girl, I have to travel for the surgery but am going to a non network dr. You know what? Let me message you my "story" as I did this a little while ago today. YOU SHOULD qualify for the surgery. HBP is a co morbidity with tricare bmi requirement being 35-39 and usually you only need one of those. As for the amount, if no co morbidities...100lbs overweight, BMI 40. Let me know.

I will SO be putting this in my recipe box. I just made it and it is FAST, EASY and OH so Delicious. I ate the whole thing!THANK YOU! (with everything I used (I could have used less cheese) but it was only 560 cals -I cut up four lf cheese sticks, and 6 slices pepperoni with some italian herbs. Added another ounce of cheese after came out of pan, to make cheese melt, and not be so stiff. A little tweeks, but I will make this again, with a little marinara to dip in. K

Yorkshire, I am not accustomed to what UHC is, however, with the co morbidity issues you have, I would think they would approve it. My surgeon would do the surgury if you showed up in his office. We are tricare (insurance) people, and if you do have the co morbidities, IF they deny you, that should be plenty to appeal :cool2: HAVE they denied you? If not, cross that bridge when you get to it! :thumbup:

I can understand a little what you are going through, I have not gotten banded yet, but will in 17 days (:cool2: Yikes). Although I have never second guessed this (not yet anyways) I can understand the part about the fat funny friend. I have resolved to be the healthy funny friend. As the weight comes off, the confidence will come on. It is normal to second guess decisions, it is what you do with it. Put in for the approval, then see how you feel. You know, you can always step away from it, but I don't think you truly should. I think it's like any other big decision, and in the end, you will be truly thankful that you did it. :thumbup: K

GIRLS (if any of your are guys, pardon me for assuming) THIS is exactly what I needed today. My surgery is only 17 days away (I know Only, righht?I wish it were tomorrow) But anyhoo, I was worried and am sure I will be moreso as the time gets closer. I have butterflies, but I like that you posted how you felt and about the excuses. NO MORE EXCUSES. Thank YoU! K:thumbup:

I have tricare prime and have been approved for a non network doctor in Miami. My Bmi is only 39, however, I have HBP. My surgeon told me that if you have a BMI of 40 you usually qualify and if it is 35-39 with HBP, sleep Apnea or Diabetes then you will qualify usually. I had no problem getting approved although it is a pain, due to tricare messing up and sending me to the wrong doctors and such. But it took me less than two months to get everything done. AND tricare will not pay for a nutritionist (typically) unless you are a new onset diabetic patient. I got my psych eval paid through military onesource. GOOD LUCK!:confused:

MLBL, As for the military facility, you know if you are a dependent and your pcm will sign off (give the referral) on it, then you can always try to find a network or non-network dr near you (I did this, as I have tricare prime and am approved for a non network surgeon) and if the sleep apnea is documented then it might not matter what your bmi is. If you have any questions email me and I will help you if I can! :confused:

MLBL, Do you have any co morbidity issues? Such as High Blood Pressure or sleep apnea? They lower the BMI requirement from 40 to 35-39 usually. Also, have you started getting the required dr referrals and such? Is it covered by your insurance? Have you contacted a dr and this is the time frame they told you? I know some people have waited and are waiting a long time, but this is not always the case. I started my stuff in March and am having surgery the 29th of April. I did get all the pre requirements done quickly though. If this is something you are truly wanting to do, you will. Also, you can always start the referrals and approvals, and if you lose weight before your surgery well, then all the better. Good luck! K:thumbup:

:thumbup:Well, I figured since I have been lurking, and posting to a few,I would formally introduce myself. I am Kelly. A 36yr old SAHM/full time student. I have been married to my gorgeous husband for 12 yrs (although we have been together for 17.5) and have two beautiful boys,5 & 9. I have been overweight all of my adult life, and have not weighed less than 200lbs for the last 11 yrs. I have co morbidity problems of HBP and high cholesterol. I also think I have sleep apnea (although I have not had it diagnosed.) I am finished with the referral, seminar, first consult and WAHOOOOOOOOOO I just got my approval yesterday. A little bummed because they gave my date away to someone who got approval before me (our pw was turned in the same day -same ins company-and they failed to do mine so add another week onto my date.) Oh well, everything happens for a reason, and I am still on my way. My surgery is scheduled for the 29th of April. I am sooo stoked! Look forward to talking with ya'll~!:thumbdown:

I have quit in the past and am doing it again. I have that bad habit of wanting to smoke the last one. I cannot throw them away, they are just too expensive. SO, now as of an hour ago, I smoked my LAST one. FOR good. Good job on the time ya'll! Doing this for us.....and our families. I am stoked. (ok, say that now Kelly, say that now.) Good Luck All! K:blink:

In the middle of March, I requested to see my PCM. We were going to discuss the Lapband procedure and see if I was a candidate. The best new I got from him, was that I am and he is one board. He did everything he could to get me to the closest surgeon he could, but I can say that it helped that I did my homework. I have read so much and am so excited. After a few Tricare snafus, I finally got my referral to an obesity surgeon in Miami (I am in Key West) and made all the arrangements and appointments. I am seeing Dr. Anthony Gonzalez in Miami. He is a fantastic surgeon and his office staff is very helpful. They allowed me to go to a psych eval here and I did the nutritionist, seminar and first consult March 22 and 23rd. It was a nice little getaway as I went to Miami and stayed by myself while my DH stayed here with the boys. Insurance took a little longer, but alas...I HAVE BEEN APPROVED. I have to get preop tests done here in Key West, but I am scheduled for surgery on April 29th. I look forward to the end of my overweight journey and the beginning of my healthy one! K:lol:

In the middle of March, I requested to see my PCM. We were going to discuss the Lapband procedure and see if I was a candidate. The best new I got from him, was that I am and he is one board. He did everything he could to get me to the closest surgeon he could, but I can say that it helped that I did my homework. I have read so much and am so excited. After a few Tricare snafus, I finally got my referral to an obesity surgeon in Miami (I am in Key West) and made all the arrangements and appointments. I am seeing Dr. Anthony Gonzalez in Miami. He is a fantastic surgeon and his office staff is very helpful. They allowed me to go to a psych eval here and I did the nutritionist, seminar and first consult March 22 and 23rd. It was a nice little getaway as I went to Miami and stayed by myself while my DH stayed here with the boys. Insurance took a little longer, but alas...I HAVE BEEN APPROVED. I have to get preop tests done here in Key West, but I am scheduled for surgery on April 29th. I look forward to the end of my overweight journey and the beginning of my healthy one! K:lol:

I am so stoked that I read these posts! I called my mom, after looking at the magic bullet here(they want 55 for it) and it pays to know a compulsive shopper. She HAS ONE..and is sending it to me! Soooo excited. It has only been used like three times :smile2:

Leigha, I applaud you on taking care of your health issues and know what it is like when you can gain 10-15 lbs in a month (don't most of us? Or we wouldn't be here). So, you had your surgery in the morning and was allowed to go home later that day? Did you have to return to the dr the next day to be checked out or anything? I have heard that the dr may do an ultrasound/xray to make sure you were banded correctly and that your stoma is open? Thanks for the answers? K

Thank Ye, Thank Ye! I love the support that is found here. I am down to 20 days. Yipeeeeee! I look forward to enjoying this journey with all of you and don't worry, questions will be asked :smile2: K

yaya, I look forward to hearing from you on how you fair! I am lucky my joints do not ache, although I am tired of not being able to get around normally. Just getting out of a car is hard enough. Good Luck! :thumbdown:

we can all feel for eachother, although I must say I wear shorts no matter what....and they just have been bigger and bigger..I have two pair that fit me. I look at the cute smaller clothes and think I CANT WAIT. GO US!

WhiteRabbit and BetsyB, I think the NO pineapple thing is due to the fiberous material that the pineapple is. Pineapple has a lot of "stringy" material that I would imagine could stop up our stomas. This is just my idea, and not fact. look into it. Look it up on the net, should be easy to find :thumbdown: Kellyjoiii

I agree. I am also a pre op patient awaiting my approval for the surgery..I should know in 3 days. I see Dr. Gonzales and he is fantastic! He is a little dry, concerning bedside manner, but that is ok for me. He knows his stufff! I didn't know he did single incision LGBD, and he made no mention of this in his seminar, or first consult..but I may be wrong. The staff is fantastic, and Carissa the coordinator is great, answering any questions you may have and helping as much as she can. Good luck! Also, Dr. Jorge Sosa is in the Miami area..he does lapband.