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Newbie here also-ball is rolling



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Hi everyone,

I am still reasearching as much as possible but I am pretty convinced that the band is for me.

34 yrs old married with 2 girls 7 and 3

5'6 270lbs BMI 43.6 YIKES!

I have been on EVERY diet possible and I am now at my last resort! I want so desperatly to see my girls grow up- I want to be able to ride bikes with them and to just play tag with them in the back yard. My weight has ruled my whole life, I dont want to live this way anymore!!

ANYWAYS,

I called my insurance this morning and they said that they do pay for some bandings but there are conditions. I have to visit my Dr and then they have to contact the insurance co. for these conditions-they won't tell me what they are-hmm. So I have an appointment on Monday- I guess I have to start somewhere!

Go luck to everyone out there!

Lisa

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Lisa, if your insurance pays for the Lap Band, and your BMI is over 40, you should have no trouble getting approved. I'm not the insurance company, but to me, it looks very hopeful!! Press forward, girl!

Welcome to LBT...hang on tight for the insurance approval ride, it's wild! You'll do fine, don't worry!

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HI Lisa,

Welcome to another Jersey girl!! Who is your insurer? I'm always very interested in learning more about banding and insurance in NJ, since I'm a group health insurance broker here. Do tell!

I have two girls, almost-7 and 4, so I know EXACTLY what you mean about wanting to be more active for them. Part of my incentive to get banded in the first place was a realization that I couldn't run after one of them even if I HAD to to save her life. So here I am today, 120 lbs lighter than that day and enjoying a whole new aspect to momhood. We're going to the Land of Make Believe on Monday and for the very first time, I'm looking forward to it! :D

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We are covered by Horizon Blue cross Blue Shield- any ideas what my chances are with them?? Just curious because their rep. wouldnt tell me any of the requirements. I am so afraid to get my hopes up...If insurance doesn't pay for this, I will not be getting it. I am a stay at home mom and we could not afford this on our own. My fingers are crossed.

Lisa:)

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Lisa, you can rest easy. My doc's office routinely says that Horizon BCBS is their EASIEST carrier to get approvals from. All you have to do is make the medical case cleanly, and I'm sure your surgeon's office will know exactly how to do that.

You're in very good shape. More bananas for you!! :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

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Welcome! I'm new, too. I'm getting my letters to the surgeon, and waiting for a response from insurance, although it looks good. I think my insurance goes on how many lbs you have to lose, not BMI, but mine is 45. I"m 5'7", 285, and have a 7 year old daugher. Hopefully, we'll be there getting banded very soon! Cindy

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Hi, I'm new too. 2 weeks ago I had all of my pre-op tests come back ok except for urine. My PCP had me go for a UTI test, came back negative. Then he went away on vacation. This past monday, he came back faxed my medical clearance to the corrdinator at centra state bariatric center to find out that she has been away for this entire week. So hopefully on tuesday she will contact my insurance company horizon blue cross and I will be approved for surgery. IN the mean time, my hours at work have been reduced to part time, due to no fault of mine, just new administrators flexing their "power trip" muscles. I have been put on probation until Sept. but I'm sure they are going to fire me, I so need to get this surgery done before they fire me. I have heard that centra state is booking September surgeries already so again, I am worried that I won't get this done in time. Talk about stress! I have to now find full time work, money is tighter than ever and I'm at my wits end. Pray for me.

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Guest liv4fri

The whole banding procedure was great for me. I did not have much discomfort. My scars are healing well and looks like small scratches, except where my port is located. That incision was just a little larger and is more sensative since the port was sewn to the muscle. However, it feels and looks better everyday. It has been almost 2 weeks since I had my lapband surgery.

I want to know how much liquids or puried foods you guys have been able to consume. I can drink a sixteen ounce bottle in a short amount of time and have 1 cup of broth, Soup and cream of wheat. I only have them for meals, 3 times per day. My Doctor did tell me that my band was very loose after the surgery. I don't want to over eat. I have read about some people having no restriction after the surgery untill their first fill.

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I called and talked to my Insurance-Empire BCBS and the lady I talked to was awesome, she had the RNY 14 months ago, and went from a 22 to a "4". and she said she was on the horizon BCBS also. She was so nice and tried to help me with what I needed to have Dr submit etc....

I am just starting this to. I go for my Psych eval tomorrow..

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Good luck to all of you that are new and have posted on this thread. I wish you all lots of luck and good success wishes are being sent your way. You will all be in band land soon and it will be worth waiting for.

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Hello everyone I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to you all I'm 32 years old almost 33 in July 21. and I am a mother of two daughters ages 7 and 8. They are my life. I will be having my surgery on July 12, in Monterrey Mexico with Dr. Rumbaut. I've been heavy as long as I could remember at one time I've lost 59.lbs with LA Weight Loss which brought me down to 165 from 219 As you know I've gain it all back and more. My weight as of today is 245 lbs So now I decided that it is time for me to take extream measures to do something about my weight.

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    • 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.
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      1. LeighaTR

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    • 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.
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      1. 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.

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

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