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In the beginning...

GuyMontag

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GuyMontag    1,264

GuyMontag
Posted

I am at step one of possibly getting a lap band. I saw my doctor today and he is referring me to a lap band specialist in Indianapolis. A little about myself, I am 5'8 and 290lbs. I used to be skinny but have gained about 10lbs. per year for the last 14 years...you do the math. I have tried dieting, exercise, weight loss progams and nothing seems to work for me. I must admit that I'm a little nervous that I'll be turned down by my insurance company for the procedure mainly because I don't have any "life threatening issues" so to speak. The major health problem I have due to my weight is acid reflux. Other than that it's the million other daily problems I face due to being large. I'm not sure that will convince an insurance company that I need to lose weight. I guess I'll have to wait and see. I hope to visit here often and get/give support from/to others as the case may be. Thanks.

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JMO    0

JMO
Posted

You meet the BMI requirements for MOST ins. companies. Yours is at 42.6. Mine is 40.2 and I qualified and am having surgery of the 25th of july. I also have no comortalites but I know if I keep going in the same direction I will have problems and soon. !st just make sure that weight lose is not written out of your policy. you can do that by calling your ins. company, then to be on the safe side call the HR of the company that provides you with the ins. After that most docs. will tell you what you need to get approved. THere are ALOt of hoops to jump through to get approved. We have all done it and yes it gets old but when you are approved it will be worth it. Keep us posted and get used to this site it will give you tons of great info.... Good luck

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GuyMontag    1,264

GuyMontag
Posted

Thanks for the encouragement. Something I failed to mention earlier was that my insurance company is Anthem BC/BS out of Kentucky. If anyone has any tips on how to deal with this particular company I would appreciate the help. Thanks again. Peace.

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beachgirl    2

beachgirl
Posted

I'm Anthem BC/BS of Kentucky PPO. I have got all of the info they sent me in the mail and it says they will pay after 6 months supervised dieting but I wanted it sooner and I wanted a doctor of had done a bunch so I'm going to Mexico.

You shouldn't have any trouble though. Have you talked to them yet? I had a B.M.I. of 40.4

If I can help let me know.

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GuyMontag    1,264

GuyMontag
Posted

I just got off the phone with Anthem BC/BS and they said that any and all bariatric surgery was specifically excluded under my current plan. That's a bummer. I guess my only two options now are to either get my company to change my policy to start covering the surgery or fight the insurance company tooth and nail ;)

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GuyMontag    1,264

GuyMontag
Posted

I got this response from my employer after I requested that we get a policy that covers the lap band procedure. Any thoughts?

(just talked to)...our anthem provider to see what can be done on your surgery request. because of the risky nature of the procedure, anthem has eliminated this and anything related to it from their coverage. only the largest of companies can add this to their rider and it looks like anthem is going to nix doing that as well.

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Go To Topic Listing Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

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    • Alisa_S

      Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Alisa_S

      Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • KimBaxleyWilson

      KimBaxleyWilson

      Three months and four days ago... I was in Costa Rica having a life changing surgery! Yesterday we had a followup visit with Dr. Esmeral via video chat and this morning my middle number changed.  I'm down 47lbs and two pants sizes. I can wear a Large tshirt for the first time in like... 14 years! Woot!! Everything is going great. I have zero regrets. I went down to the riverwalk with a friend and walked 2 miles on Monday without even getting fatigued. And no more snoring or chugging pickle juice for crazy leg cramps! I need to go to the gym more... I'm making new shirts next week so that will motivate me. LOL But I'm also just not as TIRED all the time! I have a LONG way to go...but seeing the progress on the scales and in the mirror is a huge motivator!! Thank you all for cheering me on and supporting me!!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • bellaamey

      bellaamey

      https://alluniqueguide.com/java-burn-coffee-reviews/
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.

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