Hello,

I am new here although I have been lurking for many many months as I did research. I know this will sound strange but I was afraid of jinxing myself and hoping that my insurance packet landed on a kind stranger's desk...

It was submitted around Jul15 or so, and so I am getting kind of nervous that it's getting to be a pretty long time.

About me:

I am 185 lbs at 4'11

I have:

T2 Diabetes (on Byetta and metformin)

High cholesterol

Borderline hypertension

GERD

(that's 4 unfortunate things isn't it?)

I am a yo-yo dieter and I am about to go into the big life change so I'd like to get this weight off me before my hormones call me crazy.

So there it is... please Mr./Mrs/ Insurance please be gentle and kind and send some good news my way!!!!

Miniband

Hi Mini band...l'm Lisa and lm also very new here..still trying to find my way so to speak..l'm insurance approved, denied the first time..l called my ins every day after that until they knew my name and my story...so even if you get denied, its just s bump n the road...as soon as l got approved, my surgeons office called to say that my surgeon would be out on emergency family leave for probably two weeks..its already been at least 3 weeks..so here l wait..lwould assume l'll get banded in Sept some time..l'm ready, excited...and looking foward to a better life..Thin all my life, then a widow at 25..then married a man 400lbs..its so easy to learn the lifestyle...so now divorced and totally in love with a wonderful supportive man...at least l know he loves me heavy...what state are you i? Me Mass...its so different here than what l see most people post....no 6 month diet.....no sleep studies...no GI series...easy...nutrition, psych....blood wok..thats about its...not even a real pre surgical diet....stay in touch

Lisa

Hi Mini Band, I too have fairly low BMI (180 and 5'2") I also have type 2, I have also used byetta with bad experience. I have high cholestrol and high blood pressure too. I did get good insurance coverage with BlueCross Blue Shield because of all the health risks. I did submit all kinds of test result, lab work, lipid profiles, H1c results, heart scans, verifications of 5 years of diet and exercise attempts and basically anything I thought would help. I was banded June 21st. My blood sugar seemed to get resolved right away-- it seem like everytime I test it is fairly low (111-115). I have not had any blood work done yet. I have only lost maybe 1-2 lbs but that is okay I am still so glad I did it. Remember it takes a while and takes patience. I have had only 1 fill and can still eat pretty much anything but I try to be very careful. If you read on here many people take 3 or 4 months and 3 or 4 fills to really start losing weight especially if you have a low BMI. I wish you the very best. I really think this is the answer for those of us with type 2 diabetes. Best of luck and keep us posted.

Best of luck to you. I started out with a relatively low bmi but had absolutely no health problems and was very lucky in that respect. I went the self pay route but just wanted to say, every day I am grateful for my new banded life.

May the insurance gods grant bless you with a new life :0)

Best of luck to you. I started out with a relatively low bmi but had absolutely no health problems and was very lucky in that respect. I went the self pay route but just wanted to say, every day I am grateful for my new banded life.

May the insurance gods grant bless you with a new life :0)

DITTO THAT FOR ME!

i am 5'1" with a start weight of 218...bmi 39.9. the only thing i want to tell you is that i was banded 2 1/2 years ago, and in my experience and the experiences of my banded friends, those of us with low bmi's tend to lose slower. we may reach our final goals at about the same time as the higher bmi'ers, but it seems we lose less pounds per week/month/year than the higher bmi'ers. i have had only one low bmi friend with the band who met her goal within a year (i think it was 8 months she went from 230 or so to 135). after 2 1/2 years, i have lost from 218 to 155, with 20 lbs left to reach my goal.

((i only lost 17 lbs the entire first year...and that came off immediately after surgery. so i went nearly a year without seeing the scales move at all. then, quite suddenly, the weight starting dropping off significantly. i don't know why it happens that way, but MANY of my low bmi friends have had this same type of experience))

all that said NOT to dampen or disappoint, just so you can adjust your expectations to prepare for the possibility of very slow results. expect slow results, then if you are a turtle, you won't have to deal with disappointment...and if you are a rabbit, then all the better.

best of luck to you.

Edited August 10, 200818 yr by mini_me

I have been checking into this for a bit and finally made my first Dr Appt with my regular doctor as advised by my insurance. My BMI is right at 40 so I am on the lower side. No real major health issues either. I have always been overweight as long as I can remember and now I'm 52 and my dad died at 59 of heart disease and the doctor told me it was hereditary. Not so good. My dads sisters all had heart attacks in their late 50's and early 60s and one even sooner and his brother had one in his late 30's. My heart palpitates all the time and I'm just plain worried about it. I've done weight watchers till I'm sick of it. It works but more to keep me from getting toooo big. I don't loose much anymore. Everyone is so encouraging. I am hopeful that this will be right for me and that my insurance will cover it.

mini me. thanks for the advice. I have the lowest BMI (35 with co morbiditys) you can have and be approved by my insurance. Thanks for the heads up. I will try and not get discouraged. I am not being banded until September or October. What is frustrating the heck out of me now is how to get the darn ticker on my site! I set it up but somehow can't cut and paste the correct URL or get it to work. How did you get yours on?

I've been trying to get that ticker on too. Tried 15 times and it just keeps telling me invalaid. Somebody please tell me how to do it.

Thanks for the warm welcome. I am in FL. Largo area. The Byetta makes me kind of sick I had to stick with the lower dose so I am really hoping that I get approved so I can get off that med. I sure won't miss that or the Metformin.

I am going to look at everything and try to take it in and hope for the best. I wish everyone the best of health, luck and happiness! :thumbup:

on the ticker...Graphical Tickers and Trackers: Weight Loss, Trying To Conceive, Pregnancy... is what i use. copy the entire Bb code and paste it where you want it. make sure you are getting the entire code. usually when it fails it is because we are missing a tiny part of the end of the code.

Hi, there! I'm a low-BMIer also. I have been lurking here for a few weeks now, too. I am waiting for my first consult with Dr. Malley in November, but hoping they will move me up sooner, since there will be a new Dr. starting this month. I have been going back and forth with diets since my twenties, and feel burnt out on all the things I've tried. Most recently, I hired a personal trainer for 6 months, and lost no weight, working out 3 times a week on weights, and 4 times a week on cardio! I lost 4% of my body fat, but no pounds, and am out over $2000. :thumbup: My BMI is at 35, and I have had problems with my knees, feet, heart palpitations, and high cholesterol off & on. No "official" co-morbidities, but hope for approval, since I have UHC insurance, and the nurse thought I'd probably be approved with a letter from Dr. Malley. :biggrin2: Have any of you had feelings of not being sure you deserve the Lap Band? Being on the border of the BMI minimum, I wonder if I should pursue it at times. Your thoughts would be appreciated! This is such a great, supportive place - I feel lucky I found it!

I think the thing to think about is are you ready mentally. This isn't a quick fix or miracle cure. You still have to do your part. Your stomach can stretch back out or you can eat so wrong that you still don't lose weight. For me I know I can make life changes, I have made life changes but I will go a couple of weeks and be really great with my diet then have a really bad day or meal and blow all the weight I've lost for the past 2 weeks. It's very frustrating. The band I am hoping will help me to avoid that pitfall since if you over eat once in a great while you either can't eat any more or it will come back up is my understanding. Thus preventing you from overeating on those occassions. I deserve to be thinner and so do you. I knew a girl once who was working out 5 days a week like a maniac and eating 8 snickers a day and wondering why she didn't loose any weight. Exercise is great and deffinitely a must but I think everyone should try a really good diet program like weight watchers, Curves, there are quite a few out there, if they haven't before they do this, especially if you don't have a huge amount to lose. You may be able to modify your eating and along with exercise lose the weight without such drastic measures. If you are like me and are a dietqueen and have tried everything and still can't get there, then maybe this is for you. Don't ever think you don't deserve to be thinner and healthier, of course you do. I had a friend who has had gastric bypass surgery and lost a lot of weight tell me the other day that she can get down a double cheese burger now. The question is "After going through all of that why in the world would she ever order a double cheese burger again." I don't order those now. She is stretching her stomach right back out and has regained 15 lbs already. You need to be mentally ready to change your lifestyle and use this band as a tool to help you achieve the life you want. Good luck

I had my first appt with the surgeon yesterday and hope to have surgery in the next few months. I am also on the lower end of BMI at 39, but with Type 2 diabetes for 8 years, can qualify. I am very interested in hearing from others with Type 2 diabetes. I am currently on Symlin and Lantus and really want to get off these. The surgeon says I should be prepared for slow weight loss and slow reduction in meds.