well, my fear came true this morning-my insurance denied me. i called to find out why, and it's because my bmi is over 50-basically, i was 12 pounds over the limit for getting a lapband! i just wanted to scream! i had heard of this nightmare, but figured i was so close they couldn't deny me===HAHAHA!!!so, of course when they weighed me, it was the day before i quit smoking...so now i have about 25lbs to lose before they will approve me! what a joke! any suggestions for the latest starvation diet? i'm on a mission and i'm not going to give up! iceberg lettuce and water sounds like a perfect lunch today (and every other day until i get my way)...lol

hope to hear from my wise bandster friends!!!!

~courtney

That sucks Courtney!!!! GRRRRRRR For dropping weight fast, you can try slimfast or even just do Protein only, no carbs.. everyone is different and that is what worked for me. Insurance companies suck!!

I feel your pain and wish you luck.. with that kind of attitude, you will do it in no time flat!!

~DonnaMarie~

Keep trying! Many insurance companies will deny the first try or two but eventually they cave in. Just keep working on getting your BMI below 50 and keep applying for approval. This board is full of banded folks who were denied by their insurance at least once and eventually got it covered. Don't give up

the best weight loss I've had since going the banding route has been two slimfasts a day (one for breakfast and lunch) and a green salad - no dressing just vinegar for dinner. One more shake as needed as you know you'll be STARVING. I did lose 5lbs in a week before my surgery - your motivation will help you get thru this - how ridiculous! so sorry but don't give up.

Stupid insurance! I'm sorry you are having to go through this. I have tried about every diet known to man and the best, hands down, is the meat & egg fast. It takes the weight off fast but it's not the easiest to do but as determined as you are, I'm sure you can do it! The diet in a nutshell is nothing but lean meat and eggs. Nothing fried or breaded. You can have a little mayo and seasonings but try to stay away from things high in carbs like ketchup. Because you are eating high protein and no fiber to speak of, I would add Benefiber. A hard boiled egg mushed up with Miracle Whip on it and Benefiber is good and an easy way to get your fiber in. :hungry: They say Benefiber is tasteless but when added with plain water, I think it's nasty but in other things, I never notice it. Good luck!

My company approved me and my BMI was somewhere over 50... between 52 and 56 somewhere. I guess I should feel even luckier!

Honest? I would never advocate it for long term results, but if you want to drop weight fast, follow the induction phase of the Atkins diet. It's truly not something you want to live with (trust me, I did it for well over a year, and had to live with the consequences), but chances are you will lose weight and lose it quickly. Weight, not fat. I should clarify - you will lose fat, eventually. But in the beginning when your ketosis kicks in, you will be losing mostly Fluid. It's not uncommon for people to lose 10+ lbs in their first week.

i just cannot believe an insurance company would deny someone WLS for weighing too much.

good luck and keep pushing it. you'll get there!

thanks for your support! i love the ideas so far...today i've had broccoli and cauliflower for breakfast and a chicken breast salad with ff dressing for lunch...and of course 60oz of water! so i guess today has been low fat...i'm just so damned frustrated! but it's ok-everything happens for a reason...they asked me right away if i would rather have RNY surgery-they'd cover that but not the lapband! ugh! i told them 'no' and i'd just lose the weight...i'm convinced the band is better for me...i'm gonna make it!!!

I was denied because I didn't make it down to a certain weight. For me the denial was over 9 lbs, so I feel your pain! I had gained almost 30 before that and had gotten almost all of that off! But it wasn't good enough, I have to make it to 335. Grrrrr!

My company doesn't base it on too-high BMI, they say you have to lose 5% of your excess. Which I understand, but again, GRRRRRR!!!!

So I'm with you, I'm drinking SF Low Carb and EAS AdvantEdge Low Carb (that one is disgusting, BTW!, the SF is much better!!!!) and having nothing but salad veggies and 1/2 cup of Cottage cheese a day. I have 6 1/2 lbs to lose by April 25th. I'm crossing my fingers!

I have tried about every diet known to man and the best, hands down, is the meat & egg fast.

I haven't done this one personally, but I've heard it really does work. I may actually use it as my pre-op diet to get my blood sugars under better control before I go in...

The exact same thing happened to me. I was about 10lbs away from being 49bmi then I got so stressed with some family problems during the insurance company review and I gained 10lbs back that I had lost to get the nutritionist approval. My weight management doctor prescribed Phentermine for me for 3 months and that really kick started the weight loss. It helped me get the 10lbs off in a couple of weeks then I had to do regular diet and exercise for the last 10lbs. It's easy to lose heart over it but try not to. Keep in touch and keep working on it. You can lose it. At least its the time of year when going out for walks is possible. Let us know how you do.

No advice, just sympathy. Here's my support going out to you! :clap2:

That is SOOOOO ridiculous!! My BMI was like 56 and my surgery went great and now my BMI is under 30 in a year. That's so not fair for them to do this because the whole point of WLS is to help us get out of the 50's and into healthier BMI's!!! I'm sorry you're going through this but hang in there and it'll happen for you.

i know-they're freaking nuts...i got a really good appeal letter from a bandster and i'm contemplating on sending it to BCBS...i'll continue to starve for now, but i'd love to try to appeal before i lose the stinking 20 lbs! thank you all for your support! i wouldn't be so confident without ya!

Hi Chubbola---

I don't know what to say on the whole insurance thing, but what I am going to say is whoo hoo on the smoking. You seem to be doing great, how did you quit because I am only a day or so from quitting myself. Was it hard and what did you do?

Hello fellow Wisconsin friend, I had talked with you awhile back when I was having trouble getting financed, as you can see I got my band, I had to travel out to Denver but I got it! Keep at them, you are so close to being banded with all your doc appointments done and the fact that through all of this you were able to give up smoking and stick with it. You can do it:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: Best Wishes, Sunnysea