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Mert, At the time of my surgery (July 04), I had First Health/MHBP insurance. They were awesome to deal with (easy approval and paid something like 90% of everything) - but they didnt have dental insurance! ~~with 3 kids, dental insurance is MORE important then Moms LapBand~~ So, in Jan 05 we switched to BC/BS La.:biggrin1: :biggrin1:

Hi, I'm Brenda and I have Premera BC/BS in AK. I was denied by Blue Cross 5 or so years ago to have this surgery done. I gave up. I researched and spoke with a great group up here about surgeries in other countries. But, never followed up. I see people who are 1/4 or 1/2 their original size when I met them 5 years ago!! Now fast forward to August 2006, I'm ready to have this surgery done with the blessing from my Orthopedic Surgeon whose the best in our state. I'm pending a fusion and scared to death to have it done. I'm 40 years old, and have a lifetime of back problems if they don't want to pay for it, instead they may have to pay for my back -- that is how I see it. Say positive prayers for me on my new weightloss journey.

I have BC/BS and was approved in one week. Like others have said here, I think it depends on your individual plans. As for the psych letter, (my psychiatrist is the one who referred me to my doctor, he just had his done, BTW) Here is the text of mine. To whom it may concern, The patient was seen for evaluation prior to scheduling her gastric banding surgery. Upon mental status examination, the patient's mood was euthymic (had to look that one up, lol) with logical thought processes. She has suffered from obesity since early childhood. She reports trying multiple diets and weight loss supplements each time with no positive results. She understand she is at risk for developing medical co-morbidities due to obesity. She was able to discuss the procedure and was able to state the risks versus the benefits of having gastric banding surgery. She understands that she will need to make major adjustments to her lifestyle and eating habits both prior to and after the procedure. At this time, there are no contraindications in terms of mental status for she to consent to gastric banding surgery. There is no history of addiction or substance abuse and she had adequate family support. Any questions contact blah, blah, blah. I also had letters from a nutritionist I saw saying that we disucussed my necessary dietary changes and how I will counter my emotional eating habits. And a letter from my regular doctor briefly describing how he monitored some weight loss programs with me. For example, I was on Meridia as well as Xenical and Phentermine. So BC/BS was bombarded with recommendations. My surgeons office knew exactly what each insurance company would need for approval and gave me a list of what I would need. I followed that. Good luck to those appealing...

That is a good letter. I have to go to another psych doc...what an idiot...I'm so mad..I feel like calling him back and telling him. I'm on Xenical also....hasn't worked yet. I have BC/BS in New Hampshire...I hope that I get approved...my surgery date is set for sept. 20th.

Anthem BCBS of PA here... Live in NJ and doc in NY. Anthem rep - Anna, who was contacting me every step and was very helpful. Got a phone call from Anna when BCBS did not receive request from doctor's office, then when she did not receive the only form they require in the pile of papers doc office sent, then when she got everything, and back in 30 min with approval. VS Surgery coordinator in Doc's office (nothing good to say about her - she made the pre-approval hell for me) told me I will need 6 month pre-opp diet, 5 years medical history in order to be approved - BS Insurance provided 25 page doc with no mention of 6 month diet or 5 years of med documented 'trying to loos weight' history. She never returned my phone calls, and took for ever to fax paperwork. All the frustration with that one person in doc's office definitely worth the way I feel today.

Tiff, hang in there. I know exactly how you are feeling. My husband fought on the front line in the first Gulf War back in 1991 and I didn't hear from him for the duration of the war. He was away for 6 months too and my daughter was only a baby then. We lived in Germany in an age before the internet or mobile phones. I had no family nearby and the unit my husband was detached with didn't even realise he had a wife and family! He also did other tours of duty where he was away for months at a time but luckily had done his time by the time Iraq and Afghanistan came up again. Anyway, on a lighter note, we used to love your PX when we were in Germany. We were allowed to shop there and the stuff was different to what we were used to and a lot cheaper. We would travel for 3 hours to the one in Frankfurt just to get a Burger King! There were no Burger Kings in Germany at that time and the American ones were just out of this world! And the Americans are far more polite and well mannered than the Brits too! Soldiers would hold the door open for you..... I'm fed up today although i don't really know why. I'm still not feeling 100% better as my abdomen is still swollen from where I had my muscles stitched up. I went to the hospital on sunday as I was worried and they gave me some antibiotics just in case it's a hematoma. I just want to be better know but I think that having 2 ops in the space of 3 weeks has really taken it out of me, especially as the last was 2 ops in one! Sorry about your losses too Judy. Hope you are feeling much better soon. You are all so lovely and friendly on this site. I am glad I found you. Take care all, Helenxxx

Disclaimer: I have already posted this comment earlier in a previous thread, but after looking through some of the posts on this thread I thought it might provide some use here. Hope it helps. Hello To All, I'm a very long time lurker, and first time poster. I had my surgery on the 21st of the month, and am just wrapping up my first day home post-op. So far everything has gone smooth sailing. No stomach discomfort, no major abdominal pain, no trouble swallowing liquids, pills - no problems at all. To be honest, if it wasn't for the bandages around my chest, and the X-ray showing a band in there, I wouldn't have noticed anything different...well maybe my abdomen is a little sore. I like to take a moment to add a little advice, and a word of encouragement to those of you who still have an upcoming surgery date and may be a little anxious or having second thoughts about it... I haggled with my insurance carrier for over seven months before finally being approved (and this is from a supposedly top-notch one - BC/BS!). During that time, I read practically every thing I could find about the LAP-BAND® System, especially on LBT, and greatly increased my knowledge about the strengths and the weaknesses of this type of weight loss surgery. The point I'd like to make is for those of you still contemplating on having the procedure, realize that while you will find a gold-mine of great information on weight-loss surgery forum sites such as this one, but also be very mindful not to base your own upcoming surgery on somebody else's posted experience. Always keep in mind that generally what you are going to read about are problems or worst case scenarios, which do not reflect the majority of LB patient outcomes. This is to be expected to some extent, I guess, since generally people do post in online forums to find some help or resolution to their questions or problems - and this goes for every subject under the sun, not just gastric banding, to be fair. In a nutshell, a person who limits themselves only to what they read online concerning LBS will hardly ever hear about the countless procedures performed every day that have positive outcomes with no issues at all - just like mine. I point this out with the hope that those of you who are still waiting on your surgery and might be now be anxious or wavering in your decision to go through with it (as I was, right up to the last second I had the anesthetic mask put on) might take comfort in the fact the the odds are actually with you, not against you. After seven months of waiting for approval and filling my head with online horror stories of failed pre-op diets, tyrannical doctors, surgeries gone wrong, post-op problems, etc, I was ready to call the whole thing off. And if it wasn't for some last minute encouraging advice from an old acquaintance who had the surgery, I might have done just that. Now I'm glad I didn't. Wrapping it all up, learn all you can about this valuable weight loss tool, but base your experiences on your own experiences, and learn to separate the golden nuggets of online info from all the late night horror shows floating around in the ether land. I'm now 15lbs down from the pre-op diet, post-surgery, and well on my way to goal. Hope you will all soon join me on the journey. :smile2: Stormrider Start: 275 12/31/2009 Banded: 252 09/21/2009 Goal(?): 165 Someday! LAP-BAND® Surgery in Indiana - Bariatric Surgery - Morbid Obesity Surgery - Keith McEwen M.D.

I am offended. I came in here expecting good and healthy XXX sex talk, and got this bs about arguments. :confused: I'm with ya gurl.

Hi Marnellepaul- I have 4 months post surgery and have lost pounds so far as well. I am the slower side as well and have been feeling frustrated. I recently had my 4 month follow up appt and my Dr thinks I'm losing just the right amount of weight. There is no right or wrong. She also thinks that losing weight on the slower end is better for the body and we are less likely to loss our hair as quick or as much. So those are some pluses at least! One thing that i started doing recently is intermittent fasting- 8 hours eating and 16 hours fasting. This has helped a lot bc I realIze now I was grazing a lot at night.

If you are bringing anyone with you, have them bring Snacks and their own drinks. The restaurant in the hospital is healthy food and not that it is bad but just very different if that is not what you are used to eating. Really nowhere for your guest to get drinks or snacks. Make sure you have something to do bc I got here at about 3 yesterday and my sx is not until 1 so a lot of just sitting around. They do have TV that has a few English speaking stations. Other than that not much more that has already been covered. We stopped at Wal Mart on our way in yesterday bc Cecy needed to get a few things so if needed anything that you didn't want to travel with I sure she would stop. I will update if I come across anything else.

I'm glad to find this thread bc I just recently uninstalled the app from my phone and was going to stop using it. All I saw was new ppl with new sleeve questions when I'm almost have 2 yr post op and have questions and need motivation. I need to maintain my weight. I've gain and am terrified. I stopped logging my meals bc w far I was surpassing it and just plain shame. I got this once in a lifetime tool and I feel like I used and abused it. I need help to get back on track.

I was sleeved 6/17 and was also losing about a pound a day! I've lost 26lbs but on my one week check up I had lost 25 so only 1lb and fluctuating up and down! Haven't measured myself at all! I'm pissed bc I didn't measure before the surgery but really need to measure bc I'm easily discouraged! My nutrionist told me to expect stalls so I'm just going with the flow!! Good luck everyone! Sent from my LG-D851 using the BariatricPal App

Also - no exercise bc i have a sore on my thigh from chafing. ugh, that will be the sweetest nsv, when THAT doesn't happen anymore!!!!

Buttercup, you should hear soon. BC/BS approval took less than a week for me.

Hi, I am in Mcdonough,GA.. I got banded feb26th-09, just this past week..I am doing great now..Just the 2 liquid diets before and after are what gets me..But with protein shakes it helps with being less hungry..I have BC/BS and they paid for my surgery, I didnt have to do the 6month thingy..I had to see and psy dr and Nutrition dr..after that I had to wait for approval and it all fell into place..Got approved and within a week got my surgery date and now I am finally banded..I also had to attend a seminar, So all in all took me 3 months..But is so worth it..I have lost 15lbs so far..But if you have any questions let me know..Am new to myself with the band, but I am always glad to talk to anyone about lapband...Good Luck... Sommer was banded on Feb26th-09 wooohooo

Just about everything we build is offesive. In ancient Rome, soldiers had swords for offense and shields for defense. Today, we build weapons for attacking, not defending. I am not placing blame on any particular US regime, I am placing the blame on all who since the cold-war allegedly ended have spent very little on learning Arabic, farce or much of anything else about Muslims or their history or culture. That was not the first in the chain of attacks and counter-attacks between the West and Muslims. It was not even a surprize attack. We had bombed them and Bin Laden had declared war on us many years earlier. It was part of an ongoing war that we never tried to mediate by talking with the countries of the Middle-East. [ When the USA bombs cities, there are hundreds of buildings destroyed, some of which are hospitals, restaurants, etc. [ We also station troops and/or support the restrictive governements that squash the freedom of their people. Sweden buys oil on the open market but does not prop up the government od Saudi Arabia. The price of oil dropped because Iraq and Iran got into a war with each other and to afford the war, they each sold much more than their OPEC quota of oil, driving the price down (and US inflation down which Reagan took credit for). The Iraq issue is not entirely oil, but mostly oil related. That was a rhetorical question to show that BuSh was full of BS about his need for Democracy in Iraq. It was an excuse. He knew there were no WMD, nor did Hussein have anything to do with 911, but he attacked anyway. As long as the USA has this air of being Jesus' chosen country, no matter who is president, we will not make allies in the UN. As long as we support Israel, no matter what policy they employ, we will have problems in the UN. We can not expect fairness when we are in the right, if we act unfairly when we are in the wrong. It is our attitude, not our people that much of the world hates.

Hi Dionna, Thanks! :biggrin: I just reached 100 lbs during this past week. I didn't start a new thread bc I am also almost in ONEderland (only 3 lbs to go!!), so maybe I will Celebrate both at the same time. I did take some new pictures and posted them to the before/after picture thread. I also have some new pics on my blog.

Hah I'm glad you posted about this, just because all this time I thought that ad used cookies to know your name, and was filling in the blank with whoever's name came here.. since I'm Laura and I always see Laura in the ads. I think the best solution, and thing to learn here.. don't click on ads. Just like any other website you go to, it's all scammy BS, if they were legit they wouldn't have tasteless ads flashing and ruining the retinas of your eyes.

KC - me, too! I loved him, and felt so badly for him. If he's there, I'm rooting for him. That girl that "won" the spot at the finale was too giggly for me...but we'll see - she coulda just been nervous. But, I really hope they're not like the More to Love chicks with the crying no one loves me BS...You're fat, not dead...it's okay. :thumbup:

i totally and completely understand your fears, smammas!!! my doc also prescribed me an appetite suppresant. are you getting your band back, or do you have any info. on that yet? yes, the reflux goes away immediately. mine actually went away when he unfilled me. i needed to have the band removed bc my stomach swelling didn't go down and he said i was at risk for other issues if they didn't take it out. but after 90 days of healing, we can discuss putting it back! today was my first day eating solids in 2 weeks! i had cerearl this morning and one small bowl, just like with the band, was enough!!! so, so far so good!!! :thumbs_up: thanks for your thoughts! take care of YOURSELF, dianne!!! thank you so much for your thoughts! :frown: myself, i have lost over 90 lbs. but to reach MY goal, i need to lose over 50 more... to reach my "ideal" weight, i need to lose 80 more. sooooooooooooooooooo, i have a long journey still in front of me. good news: it's not as long as it was 2 years, and 93 lbs. ago!!!!

What utter BS. Maybe he refuses to debate "scientists" about global warming because any "scientist" who can live in today's world and still be clueless about it is an idiot. Pretty much the entire scientific community not only agrees that global warming is a problem, but that it's a HUGE problem with catastrophic outcomes if we don't get our asses in gear NOW. And you can see that, even in scientific reports that the US and China have put pressure on to have dumbed down. Except for the scientific reports that the hacks in the Bush administration took and completely rewrote, so that it said the complete opposite of what it originally said. But even that was years ago and not something they can get away with anymore. Even leaked Pentagon papers point at dire consequences of global warming. But if we do anything to try and reverse the damage, that would seriously crimp the oil companies and other corporations. Which is why the Bush administration has a lot invested in either denying global warming altogether or down-playing it as much as possible. And anybody who has their head in the sand so deep, they're completely unaware of global warming around them, should just look at photos of different areas. Glaciers are melting exponentially faster than anticipated. Fresh-Water lakes are evaporating, seas are rising, and the climate's becoming harsher.

Just tell them (in a nice loving way) that there is so much more to it. If people haven't lived like tthis, they have no idea. Instead of people judging, they should be supportive but it's not always like that. I guess some may be jealous bc they don't have the courage to take a step to a healthier life. @ chin up. This will pass and people will forget. You have to do YOU!

Bring a camera if you don't have one on your phone bc you will do a quick tour of San Diego. Sit back and take it in but don't get nervous about your surroundings coming into the hospital. Once you get here you will be at ease. Everyone here works to make you comfortable and relaxed. You will get a sleeping pill for the night before sx. They have the best green tea with honey that I was drinking pre op.

Hey kkelly what did your gyno say about your bc. Idk what I'm gonna do. Can't take the pill anymore after surgery. I've tried the ring hated it. Can't get the shot cuz it causes weight gain. I can't get my tubes tied cuz I work for a catholic hosp and they won't pay for it and I can't afford it help!!

Hey everyone! I am hoping to be scheduled for an October surgery! I just finished all of the clearences my dr and insurance require. It should be going to the insurance today. My surgeons office says it will only take 1-2 weeks to approve. My biggest thing was getting doctors to submit my paperwork after I saw them to be cleared. At 3 pm yesterday I was still waiting on 3 letters. I went to my gyno about bc and she really upset me by lecturing me about my weight. I called all of the drs I had been waiting on and since I was so upset they sent them all over :-). I can't wait to get this done! I'm more excited for mg husband And my son than myself. I've always had this feeling that I'm not good enough for my hubby because of my weight. He is less than 200 pounds and very fit. He says its nuts and if h felt that way he wouldn't be here but it's still always in the back of my mind. I see all of his friends and their super hot wives and just feel bad for him. I can't wait for that to change!!