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Hello Minnesotans I am so glad I found you. I went to a meeting at Saint Paul Surgeons this week. I have my first nurse appt on Wed of next week. I am so excited after reading all these postings. You guys are great!! I have BluePlus Mn for my insurance. Anybody out there had this insurance and received approval???

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hey, mammanan - I live in Buffalo too! I was banded in February. I also had the exact problem you're asking about. My BMI dropped below the minimum during my 6 month diet. Mainly my doctor went to bat for me and let the insurance company know that he required me to loose 10% of the total I had to loose (10 lbs in my case, but i lost 15) Also, when they got the records from my dietition it showed that my BMI was higher when I started with her. You shouldn't have a problem as long as records are kept! BTW - where are you having your surgery?

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Hi, I'm curious to know if anyone else has "transferred in" to the SMDC program? I had my surgery with Dr. Krook at HCMC in Minneapolis, but I'm looking for a program closer to home to have my fills done. It took weeks for SMDC to call me back and when they finally did, they told me that I'd need to be evaluated by their psychologist and dietician in order to be accepted into the program even though I'm just looking for fills. I had been planning on going there, but those requirements seem pretty ridiculous. Has anyone else had that experience trying to transfer into a program? Amber

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Hello Fellow Minnesotans!

I am looking for Twin Cities folks who have been banded or are going to be banded. My date is in 2 weeks- Dec. 30th, 2008!

Getting excited- and hints you can offer to help me succeed are welcome!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

~Stephanie

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Hi Minnesotans!

I was just banded on the 16th in Minneapolis at Fairview U of M. I'm okay physically, but I'm so bored and so lonely. I am alone all day every day. Prior to surgery, I used to deal with that by walking outside or going for a drive. Now I can't walk that long, and with the icy ground, I wouldn't want to fall and risk getting hurt.

I don't really have any real friends and I think my weight has a lot to do with that. I lied to my only 2 friends and told them I was leaving town, because they wouldn't understand if I told them about the band.

On the bright side, I lost 28 lbs pre-op and I'm very motivated. My weight loss is everything to me. I wouldn't say that I am sad, but I used to be really happy all the time. I want the old me back.

In the mean time, is there anyone out there, in the twin cities metro area willing to discuss or share their experience with the surgery or post-op lifestyle? I don't care how old you are, what your relationship status is or any of that nonsense :tounge_smile: This is Band to Band.

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Welcome, Kim-

I'm just down the street from you in Blaine, and I teach in Andover. There are Minnesotan's lurking, we must all just be quiet :mad2:

Blessings to you!

Jon

I am from Andover as well! I had surgery in August 08 in Mexico. And my mother-in-law also lives in Andover and got her lap band in January in Mexico too.

:smile:

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Hi Nobodies girl,

It's been awhile since i have posted to this thread. I see your the most recent thread. How is the band working for you? It's nice to have your mother- in- law doing it with you, I think it would be much easier to have somebody close that can relae. We all know it's no magic bullet, just a tool. But it does work if it's used correctly. So how much have you lost? I have been banded since 2/13/07 i lost 72 LBS. then this past NOvember, it started looking ugly, with a 20 LB gain. I was just not taking the time to eat healty, exercise, and all those rule things. So I am back on track, and hope to get to goal by labor day. Hope every thing goes good for you, see you around lapbandtalk........

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hello my name is amy and i just went to the seminar at park nicollet slp on the 26 oif aug finally put the package in the mail today to go out tomorrow and hoping for a replly soon from the nurse but i filled out all the infopr and my number last week and this weekend my phone was stolen out at ren fest so now i have to wait 3 weeks for a new phone to come from insurance so now i am worried when they call my phone to scedule an apt they will get the (this phone has been disconected) speal do you know if they try your e-mail addy too to make apts or just phone? i sooooo want to get this surgery before the firast of the year. oh and i have health partners through mn care so any advice dealing with then would be greatfully accepted.

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    • Aunty Mamo

      Iʻm roughly 6 weeks post-op this morning and have begun to feel like a normal human, with a normal human body again. I started introducing solid foods and pill forms of medications/supplements a couple of weeks ago and it's really amazing to eat meals with my family again, despite the fact that my portions are so much smaller than theirs. 
      I live on the island of Oʻahu and spend a lot of time in the water- for exercise, for play,  and for spiritual & mental health. The day I had my month out appointment with my surgeon, I packed all my gear in my truck, anticipating his permission to get back in the ocean. The minute I walked out of that hospital I drove straight to the shore and got in that water. Hallelujah! My appointment was at 10 am. I didn't get home until after 5 pm. 
      I'm down 31 pounds since the day of surgery and 47 since my pre-op diet began, with that typical week long stall occurring at three weeks. I'm really starting to see some changes lately- some of my clothing is too big, some fits again. The most drastic changes I notice however are in my face. I've also noticed my endurance and flexibility increasing. I was really starting to be held up physically, and I'm so grateful that I'm seeing that turn around in such short order. 
      My general disposition lately is hopeful and motivated. The only thing that bugs me on a daily basis still is the way those supplements make my house smell. So stink! But I just bought a smell proof bag online that other people use to put their pot in. My house doesn't stink anymore. 
       
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣
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    • ChunkCat

      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
      I haven't been able to advance my diet past purees. Everything I eat other than tofu makes me choke and feels like trying to swallow rocks. They warned me it would get worse before it gets better, so lets hope this is all normal. I have my follow up on Monday so we'll see. Living on shakes and soup again is not fun. I had enough of them the first time!! LOL 
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Still purging all of the larger clothing. This morning, a shirt that I ADORED wearing ended up on top. Hard to let it go, but it was also hard to let go of those habits that also no longer serve my highest good. Onward and upward!
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