So, I am about to start the final month of my required 6 month diet for insurance approval. I am so scared though! I am just feeling so negative about getting approved from the insurance company. The doctor seems positive that there will be no issues with approval but I just don't know how I will handle it if I am denied. I have myself so worked up thinking this is going to happen and I don't know how I will feel if I am denied, I think my whole world will crash down on me.

So, I am about to start the final month of my required 6 month diet for insurance approval. I am so scared though! I am just feeling so negative about getting approved from the insurance company. The doctor seems positive that there will be no issues with approval but I just don't know how I will handle it if I am denied. I have myself so worked up thinking this is going to happen and I don't know how I will feel if I am denied, I think my whole world will crash down on me.

i hear u...i just finished my 90 day prep required by aetna and im nervous as hell about being denied...i keep daydreaming to the future...so i will fell jus like u would if i was denied...crushed...!!! but i do know there are possibilities to appeal....my insurance case mgr should be submitting to my insurance on this tues coming up...so im hoping i know something atleast by 5/15...im hoping to have surgery early june....

Thanks so much for that link, I will keep it in case worse case situation happens. That is super cheap! It's like I am just a ball of mixed emotion right now, I am so close yet so far away! I am glad you all understand how I feel!

Sweety your not alone everyone thinks NEGATIVE but u shouldn't i was the same way you were i kept thinking omg im gonna get denied then what blah blah but u know what i got approved in 4 days so BE POSATIVE and stay strong its all worth it.. u will do great.. ) i was banded november 24 08

I am in the same boat as you are. May will be my last month talking with the nutritionist..he says i'll get approved too, but im also thinking negatively. We just have to think positive keep me updated..

If I were to add up all of the weight I have lost and gained...And all of the money I have spent getting HEALTHY.. I would have paid the the lap band 3 times over!

There so many going thru such a battle to get some insurance help. Like being in this state isnt hard enough! I ended up being private pay. Luckly I have for the Best Doctor in the world! He is sooo affordable!

I was having trouble Getting my surgery and financing also. But I found an awsome Dr. and my lapband only cost 5500. my surgery date is 5/19/09. Email me if you need and awesome Dr. for pivate pay. experiance.success.leah@gmail.com

we bandsters have to stick together!

I THINK there's something a little fishy about this poster...ALL The posts by "her" (LEAH?) say the same thing. It's illegal to advertise here...unless you PAY for it and it's obviously advertisement.

I would take this info with a great big grain of salt. I'm going to report it, too, but it's weekend and not sure if/when they'll address it.

And of course my apologies if there IS a "leah"...but she should post about something besides her great 5500 doc.

Take heart, I completed my 6 month diet on April 9th and by April 23 the pre certification letter was in my hot little hands.

You will get approved your office has the know-how to document your progress just the way the insurance company wants it to be for submission. Stay focused on your part and the things you can contol and it will happen.

My surgery date is July 1, 09....all I have left to do is the EKG, Chest exam. lab work and another physical from my PCP for the surgical release. Which can all be taken care of in one visit.

Good luck to you and keep us all posted.

Regina

I hear that. I'd be leary of anyone performing THIS SURGERY for $5500! Best of luck with that one! As for the insurance HOOPS you're going through. I did 6 months of it for Aetna and approval was made without a hitch. My BMI was 47...I had other qualifying morbidly obese issues as well. I love my band...hope you both get through without a hitch!

I THINK there's something a little fishy about this poster...ALL The posts by "her" (LEAH?) say the same thing. It's illegal to advertise here...unless you PAY for it and it's obviously advertisement.

I would take this info with a great big grain of salt. I'm going to report it, too, but it's weekend and not sure if/when they'll address it.

And of course my apologies if there IS a "leah"...but she should post about something besides her great 5500 doc.

Ok guys, This is leah and this is my full name. I didnt mean to advertize but when I see people with a problem ( on I Have experianced myself) I want to help when I can. SO you want to know a little about me... I am 28, to be 29 on may 6th. and for my birthday I am getting the lap band surgery on the 19th. I am supper excited. Expecially because I found the best DR. in the world to help me with the biggest decision of my life.

I am the mother of 3 awesome kids. Twin 9 year old girls ( yep there went my figure) and a we little boy who just turned 17 months. The girls are funny. they keep asking me "so when are you going to get healthy like grama mom?" They dont mean anything by it but you can imagine it is hard to hear.

My max weight was 275lbs, current weight 235lbs (and it took 17 months to get that far!) I would like to be healthy! I think that will be about 150lbs.

So here is a little more about me. I was posting as Dr.ramos bandster- leah but someone was not happy and reported me thinking I am a fake....

Well here I am! Real! Mom! Business Owner, And son to be Banded. I did not mean to ofend anyone. But I KNOW my dr is wonderful and has a decade of experience. I couldnt afford to pay 15k for an in state doctor. He has opened the world of options for me. And there are so many who cant get the insurance to pay. I just feel bad because we are all in the same boots. I have to be self pay! those who have other options that is great! for the rest of us there is Mexico.

I would like to be a continued member because I feel that people who share this great experiance will come out stronger together.

THere will always be those who stand off to the side and look for trouble. But I am not one of them.

I feel that an group of people online give me the chance to be more open and honest. I am hoping to not have to deal with the judgmental office environment many of us have to face everyday but an open hear to share the pains and successes of this lapband journey. If my experiance can help someone than great!

I guess if someone asked you "Where did you get YOUR surgery" I'd be more prone to trust 9 posts solely about the same thing (and many worded the same..almost verbatim)

Guess what...most of us think our docs are wonderful. Truly we do.

As I said...if you are bona fide, my apologies....

but just because someone posts, over and over, about how great a doc in Mexico is (or any doc, for that matter), doesn't make it so.

In truth, most who read this know that fact anyway.

MUCH research should be done before anyone picks a surgeon, whether insurance pays, or we are "self-pay", or whatever "other options" may arise.

Apparantly LBT thought you were over the top, too, since your posts have been pulled.

This is a great site where most of us really try to help each other out. If you meant it in that spirit then you now know you weren't coming across that way...and maybe in your new incarnation you can rein it in. If not, I'm sure they'll pull you again! Hope you really mean it.

Edited May 3, 200917 yr by RestlessMonkey

I will try harder to not offend. But when people are asking for help. they are frustrated what more can we offer them than our personal experiences! I know there are a ton of Dr.s out there and most think their dr is the best. But when people are crying out for an affordable option it doesnt take much for someone to put fear into the heart of an honest searcher. I will be more careful. But honestly just because we are obese doesnt mean it is hopeless! and people need to know it! Feel free to research DR. Ramos Kelly with WLS CLinic for your own peace of mind. They have their own website. But if I post it I might get in trouble. I dont want to advertise but if there is someone out there ASKING FOR INFO/ HELP with their problem..... I would be selfish to not offer at least my email address. And if people don't think I am for real maybe I should put me phone # on here too! It took me 3 years of prolonged suffering in my battle with Obesity before I Finally have a Surgery date! I am a little excited. Maybe my experiences can shorten someone else's time of darkness and depression.

Write me if I can clear anything up--- leahwebster@msn.com

Thanks for the support everyone!! This is the greatest site, everyone truly knows how everyone else feels! It's like having a twin that can feel what you do.

Nanathin, we are around the same time, maybe we will be banded the same month... we can compare with each other:)

Ok guys, This is leah and this is my full name. I didnt mean to advertize but when I see people with a problem ( on I Have experianced myself) I want to help when I can. SO you want to know a little about me... I am 28, to be 29 on may 6th. and for my birthday I am getting the lap band surgery on the 19th. I am supper excited. Expecially because I found the best DR. in the world to help me with the biggest decision of my life.

I am the mother of 3 awesome kids. Twin 9 year old girls ( yep there went my figure) and a we little boy who just turned 17 months. The girls are funny. they keep asking me "so when are you going to get healthy like grama mom?" They dont mean anything by it but you can imagine it is hard to hear.

My max weight was 275lbs, current weight 235lbs (and it took 17 months to get that far!) I would like to be healthy! I think that will be about 150lbs.

So here is a little more about me. I was posting as Dr.ramos bandster- leah but someone was not happy and reported me thinking I am a fake....

Well here I am! Real! Mom! Business Owner, And son to be Banded. I did not mean to ofend anyone. But I KNOW my dr is wonderful and has a decade of experience. I couldnt afford to pay 15k for an in state doctor. He has opened the world of options for me. And there are so many who cant get the insurance to pay. I just feel bad because we are all in the same boots. I have to be self pay! those who have other options that is great! for the rest of us there is Mexico.

I would like to be a continued member because I feel that people who share this great experiance will come out stronger together.

THere will always be those who stand off to the side and look for trouble. But I am not one of them.

I feel that an group of people online give me the chance to be more open and honest. I am hoping to not have to deal with the judgmental office environment many of us have to face everyday but an open hear to share the pains and successes of this lapband journey. If my experiance can help someone than great!

Please remember that this is a support forum. People who are paid by surgeons for the purpose of getting free advertisement are banned. If your surgeon wants to advertise, he can contact the owner of this site (Alex) and pay the rates other surgeons do.

I wish you good luck on your surgery and caution you to stick to the rules of the forum

Thank you,

Best of luck Acasner. I too had to do the six month supervised diet and exercise. Then I had a two week cruise so couldn't get into the surgeon's for a few weeks. Two weeks after than they called to say I was approved. Had been a little nervous because I slipped under the 40 BMI but it seemed all was well. Good Luck!

I too have Aetna insurance, but didn't want to jump through all of the hoops required to get them to pay for surgery...God Bless those of you who are willing to do it. Once I made the decision to have surgery I started looking for doctors who offered discounted services for self-pay patients. I was willing to travel to Mexico like Leah, but was very worried about things like aftercare. I instead opted for a US surgeon - he was more expensive than Mexico, but closer to my home so my quality of care IS significantly better.

I've had friends go to Mexico and they often don't get fills and treatments as often as they should since it's difficult to take the time, effort and expense to travel south of the border.

For anyone seeing WLS, it's important to not only think of the care you will get pre-surgery, during surgery, but post surgery. With a Lap-Band the success of the tool is not in how well you are treated, how great your surgery goes, but in how the tool is managed once surgery is completed. Without great aftercare, your tool may become a very expensive wasted of money. And then does it really matter if you have spent a $200 deductible/co-pay or $15,000...it's still a waste of money.

I love my band, but have received great aftercare and understand that the band is not a fix, but a tool that I can use to help me lose the weight I've gained. This last week, I finally made it into a size 12, this was one of my major goals. I'm super pleased with my results, but know and understand that my surgeon was only an assistant to me losing weight, not the cause and effect.

I will try harder to not offend. But when people are asking for help. they are frustrated what more can we offer them than our personal experiences! I know there are a ton of Dr.s out there and most think their dr is the best. But when people are crying out for an affordable option it doesnt take much for someone to put fear into the heart of an honest searcher. I will be more careful. But honestly just because we are obese doesnt mean it is hopeless! and people need to know it! Feel free to research DR. Ramos Kelly with WLS CLinic for your own peace of mind. They have their own website. But if I post it I might get in trouble. I dont want to advertise but if there is someone out there ASKING FOR INFO/ HELP with their problem..... I would be selfish to not offer at least my email address. And if people don't think I am for real maybe I should put me phone # on here too! It took me 3 years of prolonged suffering in my battle with Obesity before I Finally have a Surgery date! I am a little excited. Maybe my experiences can shorten someone else's time of darkness and depression.

Write me if I can clear anything up--- leahwebster@msn.com

You don't HAVE any personal experience, you haven't been banded yet!