Hi everyone,

I know I just got started at this but I just found out today that Anthem will pay for everything but 800.00 which is wonderful butttttttttttttt,

I have to go do diet counseling for 6 months and then who knows how long after that until I can get banded. I was sooooo looking forward to

getting rid of this demon this summer. Pray for me that things will go faster, I'm so depressed now I got frustrated and said maybe I'll just forget it.

Thanks for listening to me bellyache, it is just so hard when you feel so bad all the time as I do.

Love you guys,

Sherri:(

Hey Sherri,

I know this is difficult for you, once i decided to get banded come hell or high Water I was doing it the fastest route possible. A lot of people here will tell you to wait it out. But I think its a personal decision, I personally couldn't live with myself if I had to wait 6 more months so I paid. However I had the money and it wasn't a hardship for me, plus insurance just wasn't an option.

I think if you can wait it out, go ahead, you have the rest of ur life to lose weight and trust me its not going to be all off by summer, this is more of a slow and steady thing. Plus only having to pay $800 is WAY better then the $10,000 that I paid. However if you think mentally you just can't handle waiting and you can afford it, go self pay.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

You know what? It isn't all that bad. I know how disapointing this is, really I do. You have come so far, only to have the target moved out from under you. It's hardly fair.

But, they have set up hoops, so you just have to jump through them. You can't go around, or under, so you just have to go through. At least they haven't set those hoops on fire, right?

So, you have 6 months of diet counceling ahead of you. I say what a wonderful opportunity to learn about nutrition and maybe some of your demons before you actually have to face them banded. I think you will get some good coping skills from these classes, and that will be more important than you think, because once you are banded, you will no longer have food to use to cope with.

We all have food rituals, and I think that it is a great opportunity to learn new ritual, or to be made aware of your current ones before they are gone.

The time might not go faster, but once you get into the classes, who knows? Maybe it will.

Sherri, I understand the 6 month wait. But it goes by quicker then you think. I have my 4th appointment on Friday, 2 months to go. Gee, I just started this 6 month journey. My goal was to be smaller by summer, now the goal is smaller by Thanksgiving. Good things to those who wait.

PJ

Good things come to those who wait! It really isn't that long to wait, and in the mean time, you can read up and study everything you can about the surgery.:biggrin1:

I feel your pain....bless your heart. You came to the right place for support. So many of us have a some sort of huge hurdle to jump. My journey started in Jan and I'm getting my band this Fri. Others have waited a year or more. Some were approved and banded the same month....I wish they could all be that easy. One thing to keep in mind is that God's timing is perfect. I heard that from another member and it stuck with me. Everyone is right, time will go fast. This journey is for a lifetime and 6 mos is small in the greater scheme of things, but I do understand your frustration. It's perfectly normal. It's like deciding to go to Weight Watchers, but your going to start in 6 mos. You WANT it NOW. Be strong and come here for support. We understand. Keep us posted!!

I can't even go to my first seminar until July 12, then, by the time I get through all of the testing and counselling school will be back in session and I won't be able to do it. I don't want to deal with getting adjusted to the band, bouncing between teaching at an elementary school and a high school and starting grad school all at the same time. That just seems like a recipe for disaster. I figure I'll do Weight Watcher for a year, then get it done next summer.

I'd rather take the time and get it right. It's frustrating to wait, but at least I'll be moving toward my goal in the mean time.

I like the way Vines put it! Use this time as a way to learn and gather information.

Shawn

I can't even go to my first seminar until July 12, then, by the time I get through all of the testing and counselling school will be back in session and I won't be able to do it. I don't want to deal with getting adjusted to the band, bouncing between teaching at an elementary school and a high school and starting grad school all at the same time. That just seems like a recipe for disaster. I figure I'll do Weight Watcher for a year, then get it done next summer.

I'd rather take the time and get it right. It's frustrating to wait, but at least I'll be moving toward my goal in the mean time.

Musicmom,

I would hate for you to put things off due to not being able to start until July 12. I understand your frustration. I teach elementary music in an inner city school and I'm going to grad school full time. The only thing you're doing that I'm not is teaching at the high school level (I just don't like that level). I started my band journey last November and started grad school in January.

My surgery was in April and my first fill was in May. Yes, it does take adjusting, but if you start practicing some of the bandster habits now, by the time you are banded the transition should be pretty smooth. Notice I'm not saying that it would be a piece of cake, but it can be done.

But if you do decide to wait and do Weight Watchers for a year, that's great too. Do what is best for you, but I just wanted to let you know that I totally understand.

Good luck with your journey!

Audra

April 2005 I started my journey to bandland. In July 05 when I was told I had to to do a 6 month medically supervised diet I wanted to punch the insurance gal in the head (Yes, I refrained and started the program). I survived, had my surgery February 10, 2006 and am not looking back.

If you think about it, in the grand scheme of things 6 months is not to long. Say you start June 1st...you would be done by December and be starting off the new year freshly banded. This gives you the first few months of the year to start shedding your weight, and then rather than "starting" the weight loss process in the summer....you will be a slimmer banded diva in your new summer bod!

Keep your chin up! This is just another journey in your band adventure!

Good luck!

Skye

Okay, I guess I was just being a crybaby about having to wait the 6 months. You guys are so sweet and caring and really know what your talking about. I just am in a lot of pain. I've had 3rd degree burns completely on both legs and a disc removed in my neck and a heel spur removed in my foot in the last 3 years. I have to take loritab everyday just to be able to exist and I guess maybe that will also give me time to try to shed a few pounds first and maybe get off of this horrible medicine I take. It makes me feel bad enough all own it's own.

I guess 6 weeks and them paying for it all but 800.00 is better than me going to Monterrey and paying 10,000.00. Thank you all for your support.

Love ya,

Sherri:clap2:

Sherri... I couldn't agree more with what Vines said. With all the prep work you are going to do in the counselling sessions, just think of how far down the road you're going to be when you do get banded. Some people jump on the train and don't even ask where it's headed. Then they arrive here, clueless about what this journey will really require of them.

The way I see it is this journey is about the whole you, not just the outside of you. Taking care of the foundation before building the house will give you much more strength. And, I'm willing to bet that you start seeing some weightloss because of the counselling prior to being banded. Your band journey doesn't just begin when you have the operation... it's begining now... isn't that awesome?!

Being aware of what we eat and our eating behaviors is an essential part of the change that has to take place in order for this to be a lifetime achievement. All things happen for the best!

PS - I went through several months of dealing with a second degree burn on my stomach a few months ago. Having first hand experience with burns, I know how much it affects your outlook on everything. My heart goes out to you!

I can't even go to my first seminar until July 12, then, by the time I get through all of the testing and counselling school will be back in session and I won't be able to do it. I don't want to deal with getting adjusted to the band, bouncing between teaching at an elementary school and a high school and starting grad school all at the same time. That just seems like a recipe for disaster. I figure I'll do Weight Watcher for a year, then get it done next summer.

I'd rather take the time and get it right. It's frustrating to wait, but at least I'll be moving toward my goal in the mean time.

If I were you, I would still go to the seminar and get your requirements done. That way, when May rolls around next year, you can get your date set ASAP. I went to my first seminar in July '05 and was banded 5/2/06! Granted, I was partially responsible for some delays. But still, get the legwork done, then you can still schedule farther out in advance if you still feel like it Just my $.02

I can second pfunkem. I went to an info seminar 11/05 and wasn't even sure I wanted the surgery, but went as part of my research. Even when I submitted all of the paperwork, medical records, etc. I wasn't sure -- I just figured that I would rather submit everything and have stuff "ready to go" if/when I was ready to go through with it, than linger & debate, decide I wanted it, and have to start from zero and do all that waiting.

Is the 6 month delay is enough for you to think about not doing it, ask yourself - why? Why would 6 months change your mind on a decision that will impact the rest of your life? Is something going to happen with your physical & mental status in 6 months, that will make the band no longer applicable to you? If you found all of this out 6 months ago, how would you feel today -- and do you think you'd feel that way 6 months from now?

If the wait is that big of an issue, can you self-pay?

I understand not wnting to do it with your schedule.......I was a 'circuit rider' school counselor for many years. You just would not be able to eat correctly at the beginning of your program with the running you will be doing.

I spent a year researching, attending different doctors' seminars, stocking my pantry, losing weight .......when it finally came time I felt like a "professional" and was prepared and healthier than I had been a year before. My surgery was a simple non-event and I know it was because I was prepared and ready for everything. (Spend some time sampling different Protein supplements.....they are NOT all created equal!! Also it'll give you energy to get thru a demanding year and help you lose weight).

I got sick of jumping through hoops and self paid.