Hi, i just called my insurance and they said im cover if i want to get a lap band. He said talk to my primary doctor and go on from there. My question is to u guys is how long of a process and doctor visit and which doctors i need to see before getting approved? Do u need to wait 5-6months to prepare or can u just go on and get the surgery. How long did it take for some of u for operation and did it really hurt that much? From the scale of 1-5 pain meter. How long is the healing process? Im male 32 yrs old 345lbs and i just found out i have diabites. i did try to hit the gym for the last 2 years but only lost 10lbs the most. I've been big for 22 years and its time.

Antez, I also have Anthem Blue Cross and live in CA. I had surgery 5 1/2 weeks from the time I had my initial appointment with the surgeon I chose. I had to have a psych consult (my surgeon has one in his office) and I had to pay $175.00 of the $200.00 she charged. I also quickly made an appointment with my primary MD to get him to write a letter of support. I was quick to get my labs, chest x-ray, and EKG done so I would be ready once the apporoval came. It was approved surprisingly fast. I went in the hospiatl that morning and was out by 3:00. I had a prescription for 20 Darvocets (I'm allergic to Vicodin) and I took them all, but probably didn't need to. I went to work the next day, no heavy lifting for 4-6 weeks. The thing I was not prepared for, was after my 5th day post-op during which time I had no appetite and felt great, eating very little liquid and mush, I then had no restriction at all. The next five weeks I only lost 6 lbs and was anxious to get in and get a fill. I have had two fills now and still am not getting the restriction I think I should. I'm going to call tomorrow to see if I can come in earlier for a fill. My Dr. has you pay for each fill ($150.00), but they also bill the insurance. If the insurance pays, I'll get reimbursed. Get it done! I have only lost 20 pounds since 9/23/09, but that's 20 lbs! I can't wait to get my fill just right, so I can really lose weight a little faster.

Thank you for the info. You really nailed all my questions. Well i cant wait to see my dr. this monday and let him know about this.:sad:

Parrothead Cathy, Can you tell me how to get the weight loss ticker from ticker factory.com?

Parrothead Cathy, Can you tell me how to get the weight loss ticker from ticker factory.com?

@boskey60 is your insurance anthem blue cross off ca hmo?

It depends on your insurance co. It took about 1 year from seminar to surgery. I have BCBS-IL PPO, so thay had me jumping through hoops. I had to do the following:

6 months with dietician, pysch., evaluation, ekg, upper gi, chest x-ray, blood work, and primary doc. approval. It is good to get referrals. My first one came from my primary care and the rest of the referrals came from my surgeons. I had my surgery on 11/13/09 and so far I have lost 21 lbs. yay me! It was a long time to get to this point but hang in there.

The pain is not so bad, I am still a little sore at times. I do wish that I would have took more than 2 wks. time off work because I work a 12 hr rotating shift with a lot of lifting. My first fill is 12/29/09 so I am excited and scared about that. I am glad that I made this decision.

Antetz, go to www.tickerfactory.com You willl be asked to choose a PIN number ... pick something you can remember because you will need it each time you update your ticker. Pick the "ribbon" and "marker" that you like, enter your stats that you want to track and when it offers you the URL, copy and past that into your signature on LBT where you created your automatic signature.

Then, when you want to update, which I'm bad about not doing, you just double click on your ticker in any post in which it appears, enter your PIN and follow instructions! Save. Then it updates your ticker in every post you've made and all future posts.

No, it is a PPO.

More question for you guys....Have anyone of you have diabities, sleep apnea and high blood pressure before. Did getting the lap band made all of them go away?

antetz- i had severe acid reflux disease all my life, and just like that-poof!!! after surgery it was gone!!! that in and of itself was worth the surgery for me. i also have had sleep apnea but doc thinks it as well as high blood pressure will go away as i lose the excess weight. i was banded in late august and am just now on my way to feeling the restriction. it is a lengthy process, from my seminar to surgery it took almost 9 months. my surgery cost 52,000. my insurance paid 80% would do it again though. good luck. lisa6:thumbup:

antetz- i had severe acid reflux disease all my life, and just like that-poof!!! after surgery it was gone!!! that in and of itself was worth the surgery for me. i also have had sleep apnea but doc thinks it as well as high blood pressure will go away as i lose the excess weight. i was banded in late august and am just now on my way to feeling the restriction. it is a lengthy process, from my seminar to surgery it took almost 9 months. my surgery cost 52,000. my insurance paid 80% would do it again though. good luck. lisa6:thumbup:

So i guess it will go away then. My insurance said they gonna pay 80% too.

antetz- i had severe acid reflux disease all my life, and just like that-poof!!! after surgery it was gone!!! that in and of itself was worth the surgery for me. i also have had sleep apnea but doc thinks it as well as high blood pressure will go away as i lose the excess weight. i was banded in late august and am just now on my way to feeling the restriction. it is a lengthy process, from my seminar to surgery it took almost 9 months. my surgery cost 52,000. my insurance paid 80% would do it again though. good luck. lisa6:thumbup:

lisa6 how about the refill is it covered bye your insurance?

Welcome, if your'e worried about pai it's not bad at all. The gas pain is the worse for me.:wink2:

It took me about 4 months from the beginning to surgery, it would have been sooner, but they were booked. I had a phych. apt. and a physical from my doc. I then had to go to 4 pre-op meetings (1 a week) and do a pre-op diet. I lost 22lbs on the pre-op alone. :biggrin:

They say after a couple of months you can start having liqur in moderation. But it's full of empty calories.

I have Lumenos bcbs and I didn't pay anything, except my shakes for pre-op. Good luck and I hope you read, read, read, this sight is full of info. :wink2:

It strictly depends on your insurance company/group policy. I had BCBS of Louisiana, but it depended on the requirements my employer placed on it that determined the hoops I had to jump through, which were very few. I had to have 5 year weight history which was obtained through various medical charts and a BMI of 40 or higher with co-morbidities. They also asked for previous weight loss attempts, but I didn't have to have verification of it. I attended a seminar at the end of May in '08 but didn't even call the surgeon's office for a consult until June 23, I was approved June 26, did all my pre-op and had surgery on July 14th. It took a total of 3 weeks from the phone call to my surgery.

As far as time off of work, I would suggest at least a week, if you can. It depends on the demands of your job. I am a teacher, and I had my during summer break. You aren't going to feel like going to work when you are on the liquid post-op diet. You don't have much energy and you really need some rest. If you have a job that is physically demanding, you may need 3 weeks off or a "return to work with restrictions". I was told not to lift anything over 15 lbs for 3 weeks.

Problems that went away:

-had sleep apnea(undiagnosed, but would wake up GASPING for air); this is gone

-GERD, gone

-joint pain, gone

Edited December 6, 200916 yr by crzytchr

Hello Everyone

I am new to this and hope i will be able to catch on quickly

After a long frustrating battle with my weight and no coverable insurance...things are looking up...my new insurance covers for lap band Yeahhh me.....

I am extremely excited to begin my new life ...I've been reading and researching to prepare myself for this journey.

Mainly reading each everyone of your stories definitely gives me HOPE....

pleasure meeting each one of you...

not2old2change

Houston TX:laugh:

Most surgeons say no beer because of the carbonation. They want you to stay away from carbonation because it MAY stretch your pouch. I guess they don't know for sure, but I've decided not to test that for myself. I was never much of a beer drinker anyway. I did love my diet coke and gin & tonic is my favorite mixed drink. But, I've given them up now in anticipation of my surgery (less than two weeks now).

Personally, I love wine and one of the reasons why I chose the band over bypass is because it is safe to drink w/the band (in moderation). It goes into your stomach normally just as it did before the band. With bypass, you really should not drink at all FOREVER. Any liquor is ok too as long as you don't mix it w/a carbonated mixer.

All that said, if you are someone who likes to drink daily, you might want to consider giving it up entirely for a certain period of time. When I went for my psychologist visit and told him I drink wine almost every day, he highly suggested I give it up totally for six months or longer because of the empty calories. He said its better to be more strict in the beginning and really focused on getting your weight down first. Then, once you're at goal or lost a significant amount, then start playing around w/what you can add back in and still lose/maintain. I think that makes sense so that's what I'm doing. I figure I had to give up my wine/gin for my babies when I was pregnant before so I can certainly do it for my own health this time. I can't lie, though, I miss it already! But, it helps to know that its not forever. :->

It strictly depends on your insurance company/group policy. I had BCBS of Louisiana, but it depended on the requirements my employer placed on it that determined the hoops I had to jump through, which were very few. I had to have 5 year weight history which was obtained through various medical charts and a BMI of 40 or higher with co-morbidities. They also asked for previous weight loss attempts, but I didn't have to have verification of it. I attended a seminar at the end of May in '08 but didn't even call the surgeon's office for a consult until June 23, I was approved June 26, did all my pre-op and had surgery on July 14th. It took a total of 3 weeks from the phone call to my surgery.

As far as time off of work, I would suggest at least a week, if you can. It depends on the demands of your job. I am a teacher, and I had my during summer break. You aren't going to feel like going to work when you are on the liquid post-op diet. You don't have much energy and you really need some rest. If you have a job that is physically demanding, you may need 3 weeks off or a "return to work with restrictions". I was told not to lift anything over 15 lbs for 3 weeks.

Problems that went away:

-had sleep apnea(undiagnosed, but would wake up GASPING for air); this is gone

-GERD, gone

-joint pain, gone

Well said! thank you!