cbreeden28

I'm not a very patient person and waiting on insurance approval is awful. Everything was submitted on 8/10 and today I contacted my surgeon's office and they said as of 8/23, it was still "pending". Really, how hard is it to say yes or no?? My surgeon's assistant said they usually respond in 2 weeks, but they can take as long as 4. The wait is driving me bonkers. What has been everyone elses experience when it took a while hearing back from insurance. Was it a good sign?

I'm currently waiting on approval from insurance for my surgery. I'm hoping for a September date. My doc requires a 2 week pre-op diet, so I'm sure it won't be August. My question is to anyone who went throught with the surgery and had a toddler to care for. My son is 20 months old and I still pick him up for most things. My husband works nights so it's just me at home getting him in the tub and in the crib. How long did it take you to recover enough that you could lift your toddler and do normal things. I have an office job, so my plan is to have the surgery on Thursday and go back to work Monday. I do have parents who can watch him for me, but I just don't want to be away from him for that long. Any advice or experience with this is appreciated. That is one of my biggest fears about getting the band. I'm the main caregiver for my son and he depends on me everyday. He weighs about 23 pounds.

Thanks for everyone's stories. This makes me feel much better about the surgery. I'm currently waiting on insurance approval. I'm hoping to get my surgery in September.

I haven't. My insurance is BCBS of Illinois. My paperwork was submitted 8/10/11 and I have yet to hear back which has me really nervous. I'm afraid since it's taking so long that I will be denied. I've already been denied once for not having a long enough doctor supervised diet. They had changed the requirement in the middle of my process and I had to start all over. I'm patiently waiting to hear something either from my insurance or my surgeon.

No, I don't think they will. The 3 or 6 month diet required does not affect your eligibility. They will always go by the weight you recorded at your first visit. However, they do want to see that you are committed to a healthier lifestyle and to weight loss. I would really try not to gain a lot of weight during your supervised diet.

Wow that is pretty fast. I had my nutrition appt first. It was kind of a waste of time. All they did was tell me what I already know. Eat more lean Protein, fruits, and veggies. They did go over portion size and what it will be post surgery. My wellness visit was also quick. It was done at the hospital and they just test your endurance and how your body responds to physical activity. My psych eval took FOREVER. I had to go to the office 3 times. The first was just to talk with the guy about the surgery (basically it was like therapy). Then, the next visit I had to complete a questionaire on the computer. It took about 20-30 minutes. Then I had to come back a 3rd time to read the results and go over his findings. After everything is done and you have submitted it to the surgeon's office, they will send it to your insurance for approval. This can take from 2-4 weeks. Some are fast, some are slow. Once you get this, if approved, they will schedule your surgery date (depending on the surgeon, you may have some sort of pre-op diet). If denied, they will go back and redo your paperwork and try again. It all depends on the insurance after your part is done. Good luck!!

Here is my experience: June 4, 2010--attended seminar Had to complete several forms and mail them to the surgeon's office About 2 weeks later, I got a phone call to set up an appt with the navigator June 29, 2010--first visit Went through all their requirements for surger (nutrition, psych eval, and wellness eval). Talked about my insurance and what they require (6 month supervised diet) Talked about out of pocket costs and what insurance would cover (they call the insurance before this appt to get all the info for you Discussed the band and how it would require diet changes Went over pre-op and post-op diets Basically a more in-depth discussion of what was said during the seminar more tailored to you specifically I had to partake in a commercial weight loss program (WW, Jenny, LA weight loss) as an insurance requirement so I started that immediately after leaving the visit and started my 6 month doctor supervised diet. I actually went to see my family doctor also to note in my chart that I was doing this and start the 6 months. It took about 2 months to get all the other appts. taken care of. Once I finished with the 6 months, I submitted my weight sheets to the bariatric office and I'm currently waiting on approval from my insurance (I have been denied once and we are re-submitting)**fingers crossed** So, your first visit will be similar to the seminar, but they should provide you with more detail of what your insurance will cover and what the costs will be.

I started my lap-band journey back in June 2010, but had to start over in April because I was unable to lose the needed weight to qualify for surgery. My hospital has a max BMI of 50 for band patients. I was at 52. All I needed to lose was like 15 pounds, but I couldn't do it. So, of course I forgot about everything and wound up gaining another 18 pounds. I decided in April I couldn't keep going like this. So, I went back to the doctor and we started the process over. My insurance requires 3 months supervised dieting. I started this at the end of April. I have since lost the 18 pounds I had gained. I'm now working again on those 15 pounds needed for surgery. It is SOOO hard. I'm using Myfitnesspal.com to track calories and exercise, but it seems I'm always over or close to my limit on the weekends. Weekends are my weakness. And why does food at restaurants have to be so high in calories. My husband took me out to lunch Saturday as a treat and I ordered light....so I thought. I got home to log my food and my meal was over 1500 calories!! So crazy. It totally ruined my day and I felt terrible. The next day I just went back to my healthy eating, but it still seemed like I completely ruined everything with that meal. In 2 weeks, I go to my last weigh in for the 3 month diet, but I know I won't be at my goal. My doctor said that I will lose some on the pre-op diet, but I would still like to be really close to my goal before booking surgery. Hopefully, I will be able to lose the needed weight while waiting on insurance approval. I'm shooting to get banded late August/early September. My problem is I love the taste of food. Even if I'm full, I will want more because it tastes so good. This is why I have continued gaining weight my whole life. It's a vicious cycle that I want to end. I hope the LapBand will help me do that. I can't wait to start my journey, but I'm really struggling with trying to get to that point. Anyone else have to lose weight prior to surgery and struggle with it?

Most weeks I do try for 4 days a week at the gym, but working full-time and having an 18 month old son to care for, some day's it is difficult to get in longer than 30 minutes of exercise. My trainer at the gym said that 30-40 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of weights were plenty for me. I will go by her recommendations. I'm not spending every spare minute of my day at the gym and not getting to spend anytime with me son. Sorry. I get off at 4pm. By the time I get to the gym, it's 4:20. After chaning clothes, I get started about 4:30. If I were to work out for 90 minutes, that would have me leaving at 6pm and my son goes to bed at 7pm. I just can't do that. I have to make time for my son too. So, I do the gym 3 days a week for an hour and then we take a walk at home on the weekends. There is a healthy balance to working out and a home life. You can't get obsessed with spending all your free time at the gym. Maybe if I didn't have a family and home responsibilities, it would work, but I do. I will just continue what I'm doing in the exercise department and focus more on my diet and tweeking small things here and there. Again thanks for all the advice.

In regards to my food and calorie intake, based on my weight, height, and age, my body requires about 3300 cal/day to function and maintain weight. I cut that down to 2500 cal/day and have lost 13 pounds doing so. I don't think my calories are too high. Most day's I eat between 2000 and 2200 cal/day. If I dropped down to 1200/day, I would be starving and end up binging on anything I could get. NOT GOOD!! I will stick with my current calorie intake because my bariatric nurse said it's perfect for my body. I will try and avoid certain foods such as Pasta, potatoes, and sugary Snacks. In regards to snacks, my bariatric dietician actually recommended I eat snacks between meals. I told her that between Breakfast and lunch, I would be famished and she said that it was because I wasn't getting enough calories in bfast. So, she recommended a snack between bfast and lunch, lunch and dinner. They have to be healthy snacks though. My choices are cottage cheese, yogurt, carrots, cubed cheese, banana, apple, etc. I think the small meals 6 times a day is much better than 3 large meals a day. I keep from feeling deprived doing this. Thanks for everyone's input!!

Wow, thanks for all the tips!! I wil try and use some of them. Especially the cheese part. I always go to sring cheese for a snack. I didn't realize it had more fat than a regular chunk of cheese. I also like the idea of eating summer sausage with cheese for lunch. I love my Protein shakes. I use the unjury recommended by my surgeon. They tast great and do fill me. I think I will add another to my diet right after my workout. I'm always starving at that point. My biggest problem comes from dinner. I have a husband and son I have to cook for and they aren't into just eating meat and cheese. They like potatoes and mac and cheese. After fixing it for them, I find it hard to not have some myself. I will cut out the Fiber bars. I didn't realize they had so many carbs. I was eating them for the fiber content. I guess I can go back to using my metamucil to get my fiber. Again, thanks for all the advice. I will definitely try some of them.

I just got a message from my physician's assistant that my insurance company, just 2 weeks ago, changed their policy from a 3 month doctor supervised diet to a 6 month. I'm so angry. My 3 month diet was done last summer, but it took some time to get everything else done and now, I have to start the supervised dieting all over again so I can have 6 months in a row. That means, I probably won't get approval until September. That is if I can get in to the doctor's in April. I'm so mad. Why do insurances policies constantly change? The assistant is going to try and fight it since I started this process last year, but they told her that they aren't grandfathering anyone in who had already started the process. There is plenty of proof in my chart about my history of weight problems and that I've tried every diet known to man. Why do they need 6 months of dieting in order to approve my surgery. It's such a pain in the butt!!! :angry:

I had a great childhood. Great parents, no history of abuse or neglect. However, in my parent's house, the rule was "finish everything on your plate". That was at home, at a restaurant, or at a friends house. It was considered rude to leave food on the plate. So, that coupled with the fact that I love the taste of food (especially pasta!!) helped contribute to my weight problem. I started gaining weight in elementary school. I would sneak food from the kitchen and always get seconds of whatever was for dinner. Not because I was hungry, but because it was there and it tasted good. My Mom tried to regulate it, but short of putting a lock on the fridge, there wasn't much she could do to stop me. Around the 3rd or 4th grade, I started to notice I was a little different than the other kids. I was fatter than everyone else and they started to notice it too. By middle school, I was known as the "fat girl". From that point on, I have been overweight and obese. In 2004, I joined Curves and started a low cal diet. I was able to lose 35 pounds and got down to my lowest adult weight of 235. I was so proud and happy. Then, I met my future husband and we began going out to eat and hanging out all the time. I found myself skipping the gym to hang out with him. The weight slowly started to pack back on and before I knew it, I weighed 295. Then, I got pregnant which pushed my weight up even more. I was 318 when I delivered. I was able to get back down to 297 after the birth, but in the year since I had my son, I have packed more on and am currently 315. It's such a frustrating and endless cycle. I have done all my requirements for the band and waiting on insurance approval and a surgery date. Can't wait to start this new chapter of my life.

Hi all!! I've been a member here since June 2010, but I have struggled with losing the pre-op weight needed in order to get banded. I'm giving it another shot now. I need to lose get down to 290 before I can get it done and I'm currently 315. I have been big my whole life and I have always thought about the things I would do once the weight came off. I'm so excited to think they may finally happen. Here is my list: 1. Put on my shoes and socks without having to sit on a couch with my leg rested up on a cushion. (I can't prop my foot up on my knee anymore). 2. Buy cute shorts and skirts and not worry about my fat thighs. 3. Buy cute knee boots to wear with skirts (I can't wear boots because my calves are too big) 4. Not have to constantly stretch my shirts before putting them on in order to hide the rolls 5. To be more comfortable when being intimate with my husband. 6. Be able to get on the floor and play with my son 7. Be able to get in and out of our boat with out assistance. 8. Wear my seatbelt in any car without worrying about by belly pushing the shoulder belt into my neck 9. Be able to buy clotes in any store I go to 10. BE ABLE TO WEAR CUTE MATERNITY CLOTHES WITH MY NEXT PREGNANCY (This is a biggy for me because I always looked forward to wearing those cute maternity shirts with the sayings on them, but with my son, I couldn't find any that would fit me. Even maternity clothes were too tight on me 11. Be able to wear and look good in a bikini 12. Go to a doctors office and not dread getting weighed and getting the lecture from the doc about my weight. 13. Go on future cruises and vacations and not worry about looking like a whale. I probably could go on, but I will stop there.

I attended one of the free seminars on LapBand surgery at my local hospital and they went through all the requirements you must meet to be eligible for surgery. The minimum BMI, age, etc. Nothing was said about the BMI being too high. I filled out the health survey and mailed it back. I received a phone call to set up my appointment to discuss my surgery. They informed me that my BMI is too high for them to perform the surgery. They are only allowed to band up to a 47 and I'm 55. I was so angry that nothing about this had been mentioned before. I really don't want to travel to get my surgery done. They suggested I try dieting and lose 35 pounds prior to the surgery. Yeah, right. It's not that easy. I could eat healthy for weeks and my weight would stay the same. Has anyone else encountered this problem??:party::Banane20::thumbup:

I have my first official meeting (since the free seminar) on June 30th. I have to meet with a dietician, psychologist, and fitness person before I get approved. Then, I will have to see if insurance will approve me. I was told they require a 3 month doctor supervised diet before approving me. That stinks.:thumbup: I'm hoping to be banded before the end of summer. I'm really looking forward to dropping this weight. I've never been skinny before in my life and I want to know what it feels like!!!:Banane20: