KCbigguy

I was disappointed to see no posts here, so I decided to make one. My name is John - I am not banded yet but am in the process of getting insurance approval. I have selected Dr. Hitchcock at the Bariatric Center of Kansas City (Shawnee Mission hospital.) Any other KS area Bandsetrs posting? John

OK - So it's only been a week since I submitted my paperwork to the Dr.s office to get this process started, but I am starting to get antsy to get the process going. I need to lose about 50 lbs before surgery, so I have started eating better and exercising. I also know I need a psyc eval and insurance approval. All things considered, I am probably six-seven months out from surgery. (A rough guess, hopefully not much longer than that!) How long did everyone else have to wait? Any tips for to shorten the process and or to keep me on track? John

299???? WOW !!!! Awesome :thumbup:

Sorry things are going so rough.... Glad to hear the SMMC folks are so responsive. Will check back here for an update. Best wishes - John

Hey - Like most people on this forum, I was surprised and disappointed to hear this too. Specifically my program says that most people will lose and keep off 55% - 65% of their excess weight. Let's say you were starting at 400 and your "ideal weight" was 200. You would have 200 lbs of excess weight and would lose about 120 of that and keep it off on average. For me, that the averages say I will end up at 280. Does that suck? Well yes, kind of, but would my life (Mobility, health, energy) be 100% better than it is today? YES! It is true that this is an average. That means some people who are motivated and work hard will beat it. In fact, we have some of those inspirational people here to prove it. But it also means, some people will not make it that far. I don't say this to discourage anyone. On the contrary, I see it as a rally cry. I know each and every one of us is above average and can do better than 60%. With that being said, I think it makes sense to ask yourself if 60% is enough improvement to go through with this lifestyle change. For me it is... but I still expect to do better than average :huh2: John

Hi - There are some great suggestions here. I am a big fan of walking because you don't to buy much to do it :huh2: If you do want to buy a treadmill, you may want to consider buying a re-manufactured one. I got a great one with a 400 lb capacity at from horizon fitness. (Website below) I got mine for under 1/2 the price and it works like a charm. I would have bought one new, but could not afford the high capacity model new. I started 60 lbs over that capacity and have had not problems walking 30 lbs away so far. The good news is, as you lose, you will have even more options! See you on the road to fitness. Horizon PST6 Treadmill

Wow - that is tough! What is the hangup, insurance? I am starting to make steady progress, I have 2 out of 5 approvals so far and am slated to have most of the approvals wrapped up in early May. It does seem like this process is designed to weed out those who really are not committed. Keep plugging away! John

Glad to hear it is going well Teri - I will be there tonight as well. Keep us posted on your progress

Good luck :thumbup: Keep us all posted! Lots of good news happening in this group recently. John

:thumbup: I'll say a prayer for you tonight and look forward to hearing how it went :Dancing_shocked: John

Chris - Great work :drool: Thanks for taking the time to give us details. I am going through preop screening now and hope to make the same kind of progress you are some day soon :tongue2: John

Thanks for the great tips :smile: I will probably check them all out. I need all the help I can get. J

All, Hey - I wanted to let you know that moved on to step 2 of the process at SMMC. I got the list of all of the appointments I need to make. I do not have insurance approval yet, but at least I can finally get the ball rolling. I have been waiting for almost 2 months, so I am jazzed to be heading the right way. John

SMMC is a center of excellence so I imagine it gets more than it's share of business. This is part of why I picked them, then again, that is probably also why I have been waiting for so loooooooong. :smile: John

Hi all :blushing: I finally have appointments set up for my 1st 3 pre-surgery items. Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect from Dr. Sabapathy and the 1st meeting with a dietitian? I am excited, but nervous to finally be moving on this. John

All, Hey - I wanted to let you know that moved on to step 2 of the process at SMMC. I got the list of all of the appointments I need to make. I do not have insurance approval yet, but at least I can finally get the ball rolling. I have been waiting for almost 2 months, so I am jazzed to be heading the right way. John

Best wishes on your surgery! Keep us posted on your progress. John

Sounds good to me. Here is some info on me. I live in Olathe, KS - a Suburb of Kansas City. I have been married for almost 5 years. I am a manager at Sprint, and work from home (I love it!) For fun, I play video games, read and love to Travel. (Which will be much easier in the future.) I am 1/2 way done with my MBA. I graduate a year from now. Maybe that will get things started. :smile: John

Anyone who says Innocent Fun, has not read "IT" :smile: John

As someone who is just starting this journey all I can say is... your problem is a good one to have :smile: Celebrate your progress so far and if you need to take other steps, they will come in time. (Any tips for people new to the journey?) Someday I hope to have the same problem :smile: John

Hey Lauren - How long did it take from when you recieved your "blue card" until you did your next step at SMMC? It's going on two weeks for me and I ma getting antsy Did you meet with Dr. Sabapathy before getting insurance approval? I am just wondering what to expect next? Steve - 450- 500 cal a day? Wow, that sounds carry low, like it might be too low. Is this what your Dr. said to do? I can see how that would be a major pain. Ikes! John

Do whatever you need to do Gibson, we won't judge......

I could not agree more. I look forward to going through the process and meeting new friends and supporters as I go John

Hi all - I have net some of you on other posts but thought I would say hi here. I am awaiting insurance approval for Dr. H. I hope this thread gets active again. I would love to work with other locals who have gone through this before me Hope to talk with you all in the future. John

Hi - Thanks for the feedback. it is disappointing to hear the support groups sound more like High School hopefully they have changed since you last went, but if not, there seems to be more than enough support tools and people to learn form here :wink2: Like everyone, I went to several places before picking this one. My main reasons were the comprehensive nature of the program and the quality of the Dr.s It sound like you had good luck with both of those aspects in any case. Thanks for the detail :wink2: John