tsteves1

Yay for us! Pre-Op diet started today! Its already pretty rough! LOL im excited though!

So looks like I am scheduled for 2/27 instead of March. I am a February Bandster as it stands! Im super excited and a little scared but definately ready to roll!!

Looks like I just went from a March Bandster to a February Bandster. My Dr just scheduled my surgery for February 27. Bittersweet feeling right now. It is great that it will be early than I originally planned but kinda scary that I dont have those few extra weeks to prepare. Anywho, hope all goes well for you all. I guess its time for me to move over the the Febryary side. Ill be back if anything happens to push my date!

I will most likely have my official date tomorrow but sounds like either the first or second Monday in March. Fingers crossed!

This is very intirational! I havent set my surgery date but it seems that it will likely be the first or second Monday in March. Hearing stories like yours helps to feel confident that I am making the right choice and feel like the new me is judt around the corner.

I am so super excited. I talked to my Case Worker with my insurance's Bariatric Resource center today and she gave me the okay to have my surgeon call for a surgery date. She sees no reason why March will not work. I told my surgeon that I would prefer the first or second Monday in March so we will see what happens. I am so happy today that I am dancing in my desk at work. Pre-Op class is tomorrow and it would be amazing if they could tell me my date then. WoooHoooo March Bandsters!

Just found out that I have pretty much the whole month of March available for time off at work so I am hoping for a speedy approval. It would be great if I could have the surgery the first Monday in March but I am not holding my breathe. The latest I can have it is the last week of March, otherwise I will have to wait until June do to scheduling at work. That would make me so sad. Still waiting on my Psych Eval. My surgeon got the results last Tuesday but the lady in the Behavioral Health department for my insurance company claims she hasn't gotten the multiple faxes. HAPPY THOUGHTS is all I got!

I am starting the process as well! Just did my psych eval, waiting for it to get turned in for approval. Hoping to have surgery the week of March 12th I am in SLC, UT and my surgeon is Dr. Darrin Hansen.

When I am at goal I would like to have my wedding dress altered to my new size and re-new my wedding vows in a fabulous celebration! Yup that is my goal. As with most others I would like to go to the beach in a great swimsuit and not be ashamed. HAHA maybe a beach photo shoot lol. I am just starting the journey though and I am sure I will come up with a crazy goal or two.

I am hoping to be a March Bandster, my goal is to have the surgery on March 9 or 12. I have been working with my insurance and my insurance on the process. My insurance requires and BMI of 35 with co-morbidity or at least 40 without and I am about 42 so I have that down. They also require a psych evaluation which I did yesterday and he will send a copy to my insurance and surgeon by Tuesday. When my surgeon gets it he will send in the approval letter to my insurance. He is having me do the Pre Op class on 2/8 even though I don't have my surgery scheduled yet and I will start the pre op diet when I get back from Vegas the week of February 13. I am so excited for this and I hope it works out the way I want it to and from what my surgeon said it should. I have been doing everything that I can on my end to make the process nice and smooth and I am hoping my case worker will do the same. Tracie Steves

I'm kind of worried out this too. My arms and legs are my biggest concern as I have no hope to have some bangin bikini rockin body but it would be nice to feel comfortable in shorts and a tank top in the summer time. I am hoping that age is on my side with this one. I have been told that they key is to lose weight slowly, exercise plenty, and keep hydrated and moisturized. I am not sure how I feel about having surgery to remove excess skin but I guess after working so hard to get in shape it may be something I would consider, not until after babies though. : )

My rep sent me the requirements for my insurance in writing which is great. I now have a major concern though. She sent me a list of surgeons and website where I can view their requirements. I read that they will want a letter of medial necessity from my Primary Care physician and I do not have one. I have always gone straight to the Dr that I know can fix the issue. For my PsuedoTumor Cerebri I have a neurologist, for my fertility problems I have an OBGYN, for my back problems a chiro. I have never went to a primary care physician for my weight because my neurologist said they would just subscribe pills and told me to do WW, which I did many times as well as the HCG diet and many other fad/crash diets. I can get a Primary care physician if they want just hoping this doeskin derail me.

Thanks all for the information and advice. This is information that my insurance company gave. When you call/go online for my insurance company they refer you to the Optum Health resource center to get information and start the process. The lady at the resource center was very specific in telling me that there are no supervised diet requirements, just a psych eval and a BMI of 40+ or a BMI of 35+ with co-morbidity. She actually sounded very surprised and told me that my company had picked a great plan. The only reason that I doubt what she is saying is my own pre-conceived notion that insurance companies say one thing and then do another. I do believe she may be sending it to me in writing in the next few days, if not I will definitely request that they do. Seeing your responses really helped me feel more comfortable though.

They cover 80% after I pay my 2K deductible and my OOP max is 4k. My company gives me 1k to put toward it and count toward my OOP max so I only have to pay 3k OOP.

Hello! My name is Tracie Steves and I am just started my attempt to take the Lap Band journey. I will attend the seminar on January 11th and turn in the paperwork at that time. I plan to contact the insurance company next week, I have just switched from Select Health to United Healthcare and all I know so far is that they cover it but I don't have the requirements for my plan yet. I found this board that night and it had a lot of helpful information so I decided to join early. It sounds like this is a roller coaster of a journey but I am excited at the prospect.

Thanks for the welcome. My new insurance company finally had all of my info up on Monday so I called yesterday and got the ball rolling, sadly in a different direction I had previously started but everything sounds ok so far. I cant use the surgeon I originally chose because my insurance requires i go through their resource center. They explained my benefits, what is covered and what percentages I will be required to pay and sent my info to a case worker who will call me in the next 2 days to explain the requirements further, get me set up with a surgeon and get a nurse case worker set up for me. Now I am just trying to figure out what I will have to pay as my deductible is 2k and the insurance company pays 80% after I meet that, however my OOP max for my insurance is 4k. I am trying to figure out if that means I will have to pay a max of 6k or 4k. I am sure the case worker will explain it all to me.