ShirleyJ84

You are looking AMAZING! Have you gotten your knee replacement yet or is that still in the works? (I know you have mentioned something about it before)

It seems to me that ever since I made the decision to get my band (and has the insurance to cover it) I have been anxiously waiting and waiting to have my first surgical consult. I have gone to two different informational seminars (two different doctors) and now I am just waiting until the 12th when I meet with my surgeon for the first time. Only 10 days to go and my nerves are getting to me everyday. I am beyond ready to be banded and I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines when I take my daughter places and they cannot accommodate my 350lb body. I know it is going to be a tough journey but I'm ready to start this!!

The length off time between scheduling is actually why I chose to switch to the doctors office I am more going to be going to. The other doctor I was going to wad having me wait 2 months before my first consult with the surgeon. The one I just switched to is only having me wait 2 weeks while they fill the group (group appt I guess). I am super excited and anxious for the 12th

Well, I am on my way to getting my surgery. I have my first consultation on the 29th of August with my surgeon (I am excited). So I contacted my insurance company today and they told me that I needed a form from my doctor stating that it is medically necessary for me to get the surgery. But here is the kicker, I was told by the represenative I spoke with that the documentation can be filled out by my endocrinologist. This sounds a little weird because it seems like everyone else needs it from their primary doctor. Should I get both just to cover my bases? It will be hard to get in to see the primary doctor (my old doc moved so now I have to go to another). Thanks for reading my rant!!

I have the same problem with my android app. Hopefully they will update it soon to fix all the little glitches.

Well, after sitting in my doctor's office for almost a hour I finally came out of there with something that states "due to patients obesity and BMI of 50.78 please evaulate for bariatric surgery". I am not sure if that is going to work or not. But on a better note I did realize that ever since my primary doctor left the practice earlier this year I am no longer comfortable going to this practice. It is time to change doctors.

I am in the process of doing both. I went to my endocrinologists office and now I'm waiting at my primary doctor's office to speak with the nurse. I'm hoping that this is a painless processes. I have been waiting to long for this. Thank you for the advice

You look amazing! Congrats on the achievement!

So some of you may remeber that I found out earlier this year insurance would not cover surgery. Well, good news is I recently got new insurnace that completely covers surgery. I am estatic that I am finally going to be able to do this for me. My first consult is not until August 29th but I am beyond ready for all of this...

If the canned ones have carbonation then try the powdered ones (just like the Crystal Light). From what I was told they are just as good as the canned.

Well, once again I have been kicked around by the insurance company. After being advised by my benefits coordinator and several others at work that we are covered for banding now I find the information the says it's excluded. I am beyond frustrated with the insurance company and I'm starting to look into paying for my band myself. I don't know what to do anymore. I need to take care of myself but unfortunately paying over 10k for this seems a little out of the question right now. Frustrating!

I am looking around for other options. I keep running across one in Cincinnati all inclusive for 13k including fills. I am also looking into getting a second job to help finance my journey.

Apparently when my work changed plans not to long ago they excluded it. Then to make things worse my local doctor wants to charge me 21k to get it done here. I am beyond frustrated with the whole thing and Care Credit will not approve me past the 1500 (paid off) limit I currently have. Ugh, I am just ready to throw in the towel I've been battling with getting this done for almost 2 years and instead of me getting excited about it I'm just falling deeper into a depression...

I have been lurking on the site for a while (I guess you can call it that). I feel that it is finally time to tell my story. Hello everyone, my name is Shirley; I am currently at 344 (that is what the evil scale told me when I last went to the doctors) and am 28 years old. I have been looking into getting banded for several years and finally have decided to go for it. My current BMI is over 50 (I am 5’9”) but everyone says that I am very well built (I guess I hide my fat very well but it is still there, I know it every time I look in the mirror). I first started my journey in April of 2012 with all the documentation that I needed but all it took was one horrible phone call to my insurance company to derail me for over 8 months. I contacted to see what I needed to do to get a preapproval so I did not have to wait for it (being the impatient person that I am) well, the agent on the line then told me I did not have bariatric coverage (and also claimed that I never had it). That is all it took for me to quit and not even bother trying again. That was until recently, our health plans changed at work and I was informed by our administrators that we have ALWAYS had bariatric coverage and even better it is supposed to be covered at 100% (after our annual deductible is met). So now, I am just waiting until the 23rd for the seminar with the surgeon’s office. I am really excited to be finally getting this show on the road. I am beyond ready to start this new chapter of my life. Thank you for taking the time to read about me. From what I have been reading on here so far I love the atmosphere and everyone’s kind words of wisdom.

Everyone seems to wear a heart rate monitor (at least from what I've been reading) but does anyone have one of the fitness trackers that you wear on your upper arm? (such as the body bugg) I am very interested in which one to invest in to help me on my journey. Any advice is going to be greatly appreciated!

Darn, if the jawbone already had the Android app up they would be my clear victor. Guess I will just watch whenever it comes out.

Thank you for all the recommendations! I now have some research to do to find out which is going to be best for my needs.

Well, the scale doesn't lie... Its telling me I'm at 344... Its not where I want to be but its the highest I'm going. PERIOD! I have been looking into getting banded for several years now and last year I finally got the recommendation from my endocrinologist to have the surgery done. Well, long story short once I contacted my insurance (Anthem BC/BS) I was advised that it wasn't covered at all. This deterred me and I have spent three past year battling it out on my own. Now lets fast forward to the past few weeks. I have found out that my primary doctor recommended new get the procedure and the best news of all is the band is supposed to be covered 100% with by my work insurance. This is an incredibly stressful process but I know that the fight I'm putting up with now is nothing compared to what I am going to gain

A big congratulations! You look amazing and are a great inspiration! I hope that the ability to have this new tool in my belt is going to help me shed those pounds like it helped you!

I have been looking into being banded for several years now and I feel that now is the best time to do it. I would have had it done last year except I was misinformed by someone at my insurance agency telling me I wasn't covered when it is. Well, I can't live in the past, only the present and look towards the future

Hello and first of all thank you for clicking on my posting. I know that there is a lot of them out there and taking the time to read mine is greatly appreciated. Let me tell you a little about myself. I am currently 28 year old female. I am divorced but I am blessed to have that special someone in my life for the past two years. I do have a 10 year old daughter that my world revolves around. I am currently living in Lafayette, Indiana and have for the past almost seven years and I work in the special education classroom at my local high school. Now for the “fun” stuff: I currently weigh 344 pounds… Yeah, I do not like that number either but that is what it is… When I first started seeing my endocrinologist over a year ago I was at 350 then after being prescribed phentermine I was able to get down to 310. But unfortunately, depression once again set in and once I went back on antidepressants I had to go off of the phen… So that is why I am back up to the 344… I am hoping that I will be able to get back down to where I was 10 years ago (which was still high but it is still almost 200 less than what I am at now… Hopefully this helps with making your decision to buddy up with me and be my guide during this scary process… Thank you for looking! Shirley