MrsAEF

Hi everyone! I'm highly interested in getting "banded" and I called my insurance company (UHC) to see what the requirements were for me to get approved for the surgery. They said.... -I need to be 21 or older. Check -Have a BMI of 40 or higher. No check, my BMI is 38 and only 10 lbs will get me to 40. Maybe I should drink lots and lots of Water and wear heavy clothing on my weigh-in!:rolleyes -I need to have documentation that I have been morbidly obese for the past 5 years. No check, I'm a yo-yo dieter so there have been times where I was 160 lbs within the last 5 years and this weight has obviously, decreased dramatically since then. I'm feeling a bit discouraged because I meet only one of their requirements but at the same time, I'm not going to give up. I'm going to start the journey and hopefully they will see that just because I don't have diabetes or high blood pressure, I'm still physically unhealthy and dieting just isn't working for me. Anyway, do you guys have any tips or advice before I get started on this journey?

Good evening, everyone! I am a 21 year-old with a BMI of 38 and hoping to get the lap band surgery sometime in the near future. I have tons and tons of questions and I have heard that this board is incredibly helpful so here they are! Firstly, my husband and I don't have insurance yet. He changed jobs which caused us to not have insurance for a couple of months. Our new insurance is going to kick in as of June 1, 2007 and this is when I'm going to start my journey of trying to get approved for the surgery. I don't even know if our insurance covers any of it but I am hopeful and I still want to get as much research as possible within me. We are going to have UHC so my guess some of it could be covered but who knows, I will find out in June once we get our cards, info packets, etc. etc. Anywho, here are my questions.... 1) It's been a little over a year since I've had a pap smear. I'm going to go once our insurance kicks in and I'm going to let my doctor know that I haven't had a period in 7 months and that I am interested in having a weight loss surgery. I'm very sure it's due to my recent weight gain, do you think she would be willing to write a letter of recommendation to the insurance company that the reason for surgery is a health issue? 2) How will I know what other procedures I need to get done before being considered for the surgery? Does the insurance company tell me this or the surgeon? 3)After that, do I just call up my surgeon (I'm wanting to go to Dr. Spivak in Houston, TX) and say "Hey! I'm interested in getting the lap band surgery!" and do they just guide me from there? 4)Is it possible to lose weight w/ out fills or are they necessary? ...Grr, that's all I can think of as of right now. I took a shower earlier and I swear that I had questions coming out of my ears! Anyway, thanks in advance for all of your help!

Thank you all very much for answering my questions! BestyJane-I think it's awesome that you have the same surgeon that I am considering. All of your info helped me tremendously and I'll be sure to go to one of his seminars! azmensan-The first thing I'm going to do once our insurance kicks in is go ahead and get a pap smear and make sure that my recent weight gain is because of me eating cakes and Cookies and not a tumor, lol. My OB/GYN told me last year that I do have a slight condtion of PCOS and this could be why but I am really wanting to go and get this under control. Thank you so much for your concern!

Hi everyone! My name is Sally and I am a hopeful 21 year old from Houston, TX wanting to get "banded". I'm 5'10'' and currently weigh a whopping 265 lbs with the BMI of 38. Fortunetly, I don't have any health issues (other than obesity, of course) but I am well on my way seeing as how both of my parents are diabetic and have high blood pressure. My mom is currently in the process of trying to get approved for a gastric bypass surgery. I tried my first diet (the Atkins diet) at the mere age of 15. I lost 40 lbs and found myself gaining some it back within a year,so I tried Weight Watchers. I lost another 20 lbs and was at my lowest weight ever-160 lbs! It was my junior year of high school and I felt and looked great, little did I know that I would put all of that hard work down the drain. By senior year, I had gained 20 lbs but was still "skinny". Fast forward through college and to tell you the truth, I don't know how I got to weigh 265 lbs. It's insane and really depressing. I am trying extremely hard to watch what I eat and I just end up yo-yo dieting. I haven't had a period in 7 months and I'm sure it's because of my obesity. My weight has fluctated drastically within the past 6 years and because of this, I find it extremely hard to "diet" and stay on a "diet". I'm at my peak and don't know what else to do and I try my hardest to put a smiling face for my husband, when deep inside, I'm the saddest that I could be. I am so young and newly married and I have my whole life ahead of me, I don't want to live it being obese and sad. I felt like my prayers were answered last month when I saw a commercial for the lap band surgery. I quickly approached my husband and mom about it and they both said I was crazy (yes, even my mom). They said that I'm not "big enough" for the surgery and I just need to get on a diet. I listened to them and figured they were right. Then last night I had a dream that I got the surgery. It felt so real and words cannot explain how excited I was in the dream. I woke up to sadly realized that it didn't really happen but I feel like this was my sign to go for it. I am now excited as ever and I approached my mom and husband about it once again. My husband gave me his blessing and surprisngly, my mom said I should go for it. Now I'm doing tons of research and taking my first steps to getting the surgery. I am a newbie at heart so any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm sorry for the long novel but once I start, it seems I can't stop!

I thought of another question! 5) I know that some insurance companies require you to have a 6 month weight loss documentation. This is no problem for me considering I have joined Weight Watchers numerous times in the past. How do I get my information from them? I have long thrown away all of my weigh-in cards but I assume they also keep them on file?

By the way, let me just add that my mom's choice of doctor was Dr. Spivak from Houston, TX. I'm going to be going to same one and just wondering if any of ya'll had him as your surgeon.