I was approved today and I am so very excited about this! United Health Care PPO s great! I got my approval in 16 days. I found out after 10 days you can ask for an "Expidite" and then you will have an answer in 7 days.

Words can not express my eagerness to begin my new life. My surgery date is Dec 17. I am looking forward to meeting some Houston Bandsters in person before long. I hated to miss the Galveston get together.

I've heard nothing but good things about Dr. Spivak and he certaining is a nice person, along with his whole office crew, from what I have encountered so far.

Great news!! Congratulations! Read, read, read, so you'll know exactly what to expect, before and after! Wow, and only two weeks away!! Awesome!

Phyllis, what did you decide to do about the $$ to Dr. Beltran?

I am so excited for you and glad to hear that UHC does cover the band. Unfortunately for me I have been waiting for an approval since early October and I have UHC, so now I'm wondering what's the hold up on me :cry :cry

Congrats to you! Didn't you also post under another name before? Just thought you looked familiar.

Good for you!!! I have UHC too. It all went fairly smooth with them. Good luck!

Phyllis, what did you decide to do about the $$ to Dr. Beltran?

Hi Marie,

We were able to work things out. We will have to talk personally some time after I'm banded. OK?

I am so excited for you and glad to hear that UHC does cover the band. Unfortunately for me I have been waiting for an approval since early October and I have UHC, so now I'm wondering what's the hold up on me :cry :cry

Gunn4ya...

Do you have a PPO with UHC? Have you called the precertification departement and asked for an expidite? If not, do so as soon as possible. Have they spoken to you about this since you applied? I sure understood it to be 30 days at the most, provided all was furnished that they needed. Waiting even the 16 days was difficult for me after I made up my mind, so I can really feel for others who wait and wait and wait. Waiting sucks!

Congrats to you! Didn't you also post under another name before? Just thought you looked familiar.

Yes, I did first register under another name but can't figure out how do delete it. I already asked for help with this earlier but no response. Can you help me?

Thanks Letha!

I have been reading for months and have spent a great deal of time studying but am finding that one continues to learn more each month, no matter how many months one reads. There sure is a lot to learn. I've been stoking up with "mushies" and preparing ahead of time. From what I gather, that is a diffiicult period to deal with until I can eat a wider variety of food. I keep telling myself the pounds will melt away then so hoping that will make it all worth it.

congrats on your approval!! I'm waiting to hear from my insurance co. hoping I hear the same response!!!!!!!!!!

Phyllis, it is very confusing to follow your posts. Would you choose one of the three screen names that you have here? Please advise me and I'll have the other two deleted. (FutureSlimMe, Phjyllis, or FatNHappy?) Thanks!

It's definitely worth it. Some tend to think it's the end of the world, but in reality, it's a few days out of your life that you have to deal with some minor inconvenience. Of course it's uncomfortable, since we're all used to stuffing ourselves to overflowing.. lol, but truly, we've all got plenty of storage on board. It would take quite some time to starve to death for most of us. You can do it, of that I'm sure. Congratulations and Good luck!!

ok i am new to this and i just got word from my cardiologist that i passed my stress test he said if i did he would give me the go ahead for the surgery..i have a lot of questions and need someone to please help answer them...

Hi, Roro, how about going to the "Introductions" Section and telling us a little bit about yourself, how much you're wanting to lose, where you're wanting to be banded (dr.?), and any other general info. you'd like to share? You'll get better response that way. Also, please search the old threads. There are tons of info. there just for the reading. Best of luck to you and hope to get to know you better on here!

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum. I've been thinking about getting the Lap-Band ever since I heard of it a few months ago. I'm borderline on medically qualifying with a BMI of 35.2 and no major weight-related health problems ... yet. Even though I 'only' need to lose 70-90 pounds, I've been trying to lose weight for pretty much my whole life. And when I look at my sisters, my mother and my aunts and I see them just gain weight as they get older, I know its not coming off. I have to do something DIFFERENT and PERMANENT.

So, I've decided to do it. But the problem is that I already know my insurance won't cover it. I am self-employed with individual health insurance that specifically states it does not cover obesity surgery. Its pretty much impossible to get individual health insurance that does cover it. I should still be able to get a tax break for it, but that still doesn't exactly make it free.

So, given that I'll be paying for it, should I get it done in Houston or go to Mexico? Medical care in the US is unquestionably the best in the world. Is it risky to get it done in Mexico? We're talking about my health here. But if I can find a doctor/facility that's first rate in Mexico for thousands of dollars less, maybe I should consider it. I need more info to make a decision. Comments?