brraaainnss

The surgeon himself doesn't know about it, eesh. I've seen it mentioned on this forum more than once or a dozen times that people are allowed to help their BMI in one way or another.

I was just trying to be funny ... but that is insanely ridiculous. I guess they try to find all the loopholes they can to try and deny you.

Not to be cliche, but you gotta walk before you run. You can't continue on your journey if you don't step on the path. Um... it's a slippery slope and you can't force a horse to drink?

My insurance won't cover the surgery if your BMI is below 40 - period. I have co-morbidities and am at 37.8... so my insurance said no way... gain 30 lbs and sure! Luckily, I have a wonderful surgeon and his staff ...who let me weigh with my purse... and a 25 lb weight. ;D

Good luck you two! I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers, for sure. I know I'm nervous about not waking up as well, so I feel your pain. :} And people telling me, "Oh you'll be fiiiiine" just doesn't seem to comfort me! So all I can say is you guys will be fiiiiiine!

Have you ever worked with ANY insurance company? They write everything in code and then have monkey's try to translate this code. Once successful, they pony express the results by snail across the desert to be read by blind monks. Once this process is complete, they may or may not bother to let you know. Basically insurance companies do things on their own time. :]

I don't really have any advice or tips for you as I am not banded yet... but I just wanted to say that what you've lost in such a short time is amazing! And NSVs, to me, are just as important as seeing that scale drop. Congratulations on the new capris. :]

I'll be getting the Realize band.

Good luck! You're in my thoughts and prayers for a successful and easy surgery!

Hey and welcome! I've been lurking on this website for about 6 months and it is GREAT. The people are wonderful and kind. So congrats on stumbling into the right place. I haven't been banded yet but I've read so much I can tell you my educated opinion and you're welcome to toss it out. I think anyone who is TRULY serious about losing weight, once and for all, is a good candidate for this surgery. Not someone who knows insurance is going to pay for this and ... eh, it may work, it may not... attitude. The Lap Band motto is: It's a tool, not a miracle. If you are serious about changing your eating to fit the lifestyle for the rest of your God given life, you're a good candidate. If you're willing to work out to help along your weight loss, you're a good candidate. Oh, and you have to have a BMI of 35. :tongue2: And all surgeon's must be different because mine told me I could get pregnant 6 months after receiving the Lap Band. He said that you only need to master the new eating lifestyle to ensure you're eating enough and correctly so that you have a healthy baby. So check with your surgeon and his requirements for that. I'm sure it also depends on a person's individual progress. So good luck and read, read, read! Oh, yeah. And your very first step is calling your insurance. A lot of insurances differ one what they cover and how they cover it. It can be a huuuuge headache!!

I am not required to lose any weight for the surgery. Is the requirement to satisfy your insurance ... or the dietitian? If it's for the dietitian I would tell them to go suck an egg. I always thought it was a little silly to force someone to lose a rather large amount of weight before weight loss surgery. We've all decided to get surgery because we all NEED it. I know I don't get expensive, possibly dangerous surgeries just for kicks. I dunno. I think it's a little abusive. End rant. :]

Just think... by now, you're probably sleeping like a baby in recovery. I'm so jealous.

As you can tell, it varies. If I wasn't flying at the end of September, my whole process (from first PCP visit) will take around 3 - 4 weeks. I was told it'll take the insurance around 2 weeks to verify and approve everything so I'd break it down 2 weeks for tests and meetings and 2 weeks for approval. I only had to do PCP visit, psych eval, dietitian meeting, surgeon consult. No diets or x-rays or anything. It's all been a very pain-free process... :}

A lot of people have problems with the liquid diet... who wouldn't? It's torturous and ridiculous to people who love and enjoy food! Just take it one meal at a time. If you screwed up at breakfast... shake it off and do the right thing for lunch. If you screw up at dinner, do the right thing for breakfast tomorrow. Don't beat yourself up over your mistakes... it only spirals from there. You can do it!!

I most definitely stressed the whole way. My insurance only covers the cost if you're BMI is 40+. Well, I'm at 37 and wasn't really willing to gain almost 30lbs to qualify. So the surgeon's team let me weigh with my purse... which I put in a 25 lb hand weight. :] But I still don't know if the insurance is going to buy it. (My PCP weight is correct...)

My pre-op diet will be only "clear" liquids... broth, popsicles, jello, Crystal Light. Be happy some of you get to drink protein drinks!

It's a pretty simple process and the doctors team should let you know what you have to do. First I called my insurance co. to make sure they covered me. Then I went to the seminar. Then I went to my PCP to get her to sign off that I was a good candidate. Then I had my consult with the surgeon. Then I did my psych eval and dietitian meeting. Now I'm just waiting for all those people to send in their paper work and for the insurance to do it's final approval.

Don't quote me on this and I'm sure every surgeon/doctor is different but if you have any sort of infection prior ... they won't do surgery. I don't know if your sickness classifies as an infection but I would guess if it's just allergies or a short cold you should be fine.

I have a combo of both fears mentioned. :] I have a phobia of dying period. I've seen medical "shows" where people are just paralyzed from the gas but can feel everything and I also fear that I won't wake up. So I'm double crazy. :scared2: I'm sure the fears are very, very normal and the chances of either happening are quite low.:confused:

I haven't been through this but I'm pretty sure I've seen people post that you shouldn't gain weight. Losing could make you ineligible for surgery so I guess the name of the game is to maintain. () That's a real bummer. I'm waiting for my approval at the moment but I don't expect good news. :

Thanks for all your replies guys. My pre-surgery tests and such are going so smooth, it's scary. I had my pcp visit on Thursday, surgeon consult Friday, psych test and dietitian meeting (same person) on Monday. So I actually COULD get my surgery before I head to Mexico but I think I'll wait. Although I have no clothes that currently fit me, I guess that's not the end of the world. Just one of those things I want done NOW because I'm so nervous. :'] But we have an all inclusive dealy thing at our hotel so I wanna get my money's worth.:biggrin::smile:

As some of the other people have posted - Chantix! It was a life saver. I quit as of Feb. 2 of this year and haven't looked back. Chantix works and it works fast. I was 25 when I quit and had smoked a least two packs a day since I was 14 years old. ;]

Hi guys, first post. In the pre-op stage. I have a question that may come into play for me and I was just curious about some other peoples' opinions. I'm just starting my Lap Band process. I've been to see my PCP, going to see the surgeon today, scheduling my psych/diet consult for next week hopefully. My insurance said that if I had a current BMI of 40, approval wouldn't be an issue. (Fingers crossed on that one.) So I'm going to Mexico on Sept. 25-Oct 2. Now if it were you and you happened to be scheduled for surgery, say, at the end of August or beginning of September knowing you had a vacation coming up ... would you go ahead with the surgery to get it over and done with or would you put it off, hoping you could get in soon after the vacation? I don't really think this is going to be an issue with me, but I'm just curious as to what other people would do. Personally, I would get it done. What would you do? :biggrin: