Hi there,

Just wanted to encourage you to not give up. My best friend and I decided to get this done together that way we would have each other to rely on. She had tried before in the past and was turned down twice. But this time she has a different insurance. We started the process together in december and on February 29 i got the call that Iwas approved and 15 mins later she got the call that she was turned down. She had done the 3 month supervised diet with her doctor like the insurance requested, now they want her to continue for another 3 months. The nurse told her not to give up. Thats what the insurance company wants. You see she had a bmi of 44 but no comorbidities. in other words she wasn't costing the insurance company any money. I on the other hand was only 35 bmi BUT have sleep apnea and high blood pressure. My machine alone is $6,000+ (and I'm due a new one). They know its in their best interest to help me get the weight off. I jokingly told them when I called that they might as well pay for they surgery because if I was turned down, my next call would be to buy another sleep apnea machine......24 hours later I had my approval. The nurse also told by friend, that since she meets the bmi requirements and has passed all her other requirements....psych exam, dietian and supervised diet that there isn't anythiong else they can require from her and they will eventually be required (by law) to give her the sugery. So just hang in there and play the game.....and whatever you do don't miss one of your supervised diet check ins....the insurance company can make you start all over if you simply miss one visit by one day.

Good luck...it won't be much longer now.

Oh its so worth all the appts and test...

I was just talking with my sister about how far this all seemed a yr ago to me.

I went for my yearly phyical appt and the doctor mentioned that there is a nutrintion

Dr at the local hospital now and how she does lap band counceling.....well he made the appt for me...that was in april of 2011 the appt wasnt till aug 5th so for 4 months I thought about wow...am i to far gone.... am I to old.... do I have the will power to do it again ( loose weight)..... do I have time for myself to do it....well the 5th came and I went with my sister by my side to see Dr Vergina Whey and honestly I have never looked back once since that day...well maybe the day of surgery when all I could think about was ooooo the gas pains i have read abut...I didnt have to much pain with them after all....

I am only 11 days banded but for the first time in my life I have done something for just me !!! in a sence but in reallity I did this for my husband and all my children....I have 2 grown and 5 adopted children ranging from 35 to 7 .....I can honestly say I have never felt as good as I do right now ....Good Luck..You can do this !!!!

congrats to you on your decision to take this journey. i was also approved by my insurance for this surgery which i successfully had performed on 2-15. it was a process and there were times when i felt lost as well, but it all pays off in the end. i had a to have a year of weight history from my primary care physician, a psyche eval, 3 months of nutrition and exercise testing with a pre and post fitness eval, and my husband who will be banded on 3-13 also had to have a sleep apnea test. i was an easy approval as i have diabetes, hypertension, and sleep apnea. my insurance company fully pays for all of my diabetes meds and supplies and sleep apnea equipment so i am sure they were glad to approve my surgery! good luck to you on your journey and please keep us posted.

Thank you ladies for all of your kind words and for being so supportive. I really feel that if I am going to succeed, this board will be key as for support and knowledge. I may not always post, but I do lurk, lol. I read alot of posts and just process that.

Good luck to each of you!

Waiting Patiently, when are you scheduled for?

Dee257, I feel like you described. Finally, I am doing something for me 1st and my family next. Congrats on your kids, all 7 of them : ) How much have you lost already?

Phatkatblue, you really had a lot of wait time-huh? But kuddo's to you! You kept on keeping on and it paid off. I think it makes all the difference to just be reminded every now and then how good the result will be!

I will be looking forward to reading updates from each of you!

Just hang in there as a mom i know how you feel, this is about you, stick with it, do this for YOU! Don't give up!

UGH! So I just got off the phone with my insurance compnay and my doctors office told me wrong!!! I was told I need to lose 10% of my body weight to be considered eligible for the Lapband procedure. WRONG! I have to go on a diet/exercise program and if I DO NOT lose any weight, then I'll pass that guideline. If I do in fact lose weight with the new eating/exercise program, then I am automatically disqualified. This sucks because my doctor prescribed me soem diet pills at my last visit. I have been taking them and only having 1200 calories a day. I haven't really been exercising, other than walking alot at work and chasing my 2 1/2 y/o around. I've lost 8 pounds (by my scale) this month. I go for my monthly appt. tomorrow with my doctor for a weigh in. So this means that I have to start back over : ( This will be month #1 and I am so disappointed I feel like crying. I guess I could always wear bulky clothes and hide some weights under my clothes so as to not show weight loss. Would that be wrong? lol!

Okay, I just needed to vent and get that off my chest. I hope everyone else is having a good day : )