mom007

Great picture! Keep up the great work! I know what it feels like to get this done show you can show your kids that a healthy lifestyle isn't toxic. Yes, a Happy Meal may be good for the moment, but eating healthy is good for a lifetime. What spurred me on to do this was my 4 year old telling me that when she grew up she wanted to be "fat like you, Mommy". I wouldn't wish this on her for anything! Hope we can start making changes together as a family!

Woo!hHoo! I am finally aproved for my surgery! Took damn long enough! And I know there weren't as many hoops for me to jump through as a lot of you guys out there but I am SO relieved! Next step set a date! I'm getting banded! OMG I'm literally bouncing up and down at my desk! Better stop before my boss starts giving me the evil eye!

I just set up my appointment for my pre-op visit on Wednesday. They told me I'd get my diet and surgery date then. I actually started SlimFast, cut out sodas, and went low fat-high Protein almost 2 weeks ago. This weekend I cheated a little. Had IHop and 3 Dr. Peppers yesterday, but this morning I'm back on track. I can already tell that it's working, my pants are fitting a little looser already! So I'm hoping to get my surgery date soon, since I can tell them I already put myself on the pre-op diet. My ideal date is March 7th. Less than 2 weeks! But we'll see, they may have other ideas.

Actually, I just went through this. The direct number for their Care Coordination Department is 866-365-3701. (not sure if you have that number) And I had been calling every day finally, I got someone who actually helped me. She told me that after the "review" had been in their system for 10 days she could "accelerate" the process so I would have an answer in 24-48 hours. That was done for me Tuesday afternoon and first thing yesterday morning (thursday) I found out I was approved! Hope this helps! Good Luck!

Secret Agent Mom, right on! I do have 3 kids of my own plus 3 step children, 1 that lives with us, so 4 total at home. My son, who is turning 14 next week *faint* (I'm not that old) hates that 007 thing! :tongue2:

Here's my update: I finally got my approval from the insurance this morning, have been drinking SlimFast and having small meals since last Wednesday, am down to just 1 Dr. Pepper a day. Still haven't plugged in that treadmill in the garage yet, but it's on my "To Do - Eventually" list. So after talking to the insurance company this morning, I put a call in to the coordinator at the Dr.'s office to see what's next and am still waiting for a call back. The way my luck's been going, she's probably on vacation for the rest of the month! But if I haven't heard from her by the time I come back from lunch (just running errands with SlimFast in hand, no eating!), I'm going to give the main office a call and see what I can find out. Soon to be a Bandster! WooHoo!

I am STILL waiting for approval from UHC. My paperwork was originally submitted Jan 29th, denied, then resubmitted Feb 8th. I'm still waiting. When it was resubmitted, they put my surgery date as Feb 22nd and so I've been calling everyday. In the past few days, I've even began calling in the morning and again at night. All because I had read about the 2-3 day approvals, so surely mine won't take that long, right? No, I'm still waiting. And to top it off, this morning when I called, the guy on their end was looking at my case and said, "you've been calling EVERY day?" With a shi++y tone in his voice. Um, yeah, I have been calling every day because last week 2 different people in your department told me to do just that because it looked to them like it was just a matter of days before my approval would come through. I'm just frustrated. Congrats to the rest of you tho! I'll get there one day just apparently not soon!

I am having problems getting approved through UHC but not because of UHC, because the Dr.'s office submitted it with an out-of-network Dr. and facility. It was originally submitted Jan 29th, found out on Feb 8th it was denied because of the out-of-network thing. That same day I called the Dr.'s office and had them resubmit it with their in network Dr. and as of this morning "it's still in review". I had read about the quick approvals with UHC so I'm disappointed that it was submitted it wrong to begin with and that just drug it out another 10 days. Otherwise, I think I would be getting banded tomorrow if it had been done right in the first place. BTW-I'm now using Dr. Marsden but originally went through TrueResults in Dallas. Good Luck!

OK, my paperwork was submitted on Jan. 29th and I've been not-so-patiently waiting for approval. I've been calling every day. Well, I called this morning and was told my claim was denied because the Dr.'s office submitted it with an out of network Dr. and facility. WTF?!?! They knew what my insurance was on my first visit. They made me choose which of their surgeons I wanted to use on my first visit. I figured they would know which of their Dr.'s were in my network and let me choose one of them and be smart enough to submit it with an in network Dr. Apparently not. So I called the Dr.'s office and they're going to resubmit it today with an in network surgeon, Dr. Marsden, and different in network facility. Otherwise my insurance said it was covered, just as long and it's all in network. So I'm going to call them back late this afternoon and see if they got the resubmit and if I can weasel an approval out of them today. Good luck with that! UGH! Just had to vent. But was wondering if this had happened to anyone else? :tongue2::cursing::drool::cursing::cursing::wub::cursing::tt2::cursing::cheers2::cursing::iagree::cursing::lurk5::cursing:

I've calmed down a little now. I guess it was just frustrating and I needed to vent. I'm not mad at UHC, they told me that the procedure was covered, just not with the out of network Dr. and facility that they submitted it with. So as long as the Dr.'s office gets the right Dr. and facility submitted today it shouldn't be very long at all. I'm just in a rush because if I can't get this done by the 20th, I'll have to wait until the end of March or first of April, because of my work situation. All better now.........

I think I will do that! Thanks for the advice. Geez, and I though I was being a little too agressive just by calling every day! Will let ya'll know when I find out something!

I'm waiting too and it's driving me crazy! Since I joined this board all I've read about is how others with my insurance (UHC) have been approved in 3-4 days. My paperwork was submitted on the 29th of January and I didn't find that out until the 4th of Feb. so I have been calling every day asking if it was "still in review status". And all they tell me is "we have 30 days to review it". B.S. Ugh! At least we're not alone!

P.S. my daughter's name is Chloe! I just love that name!

I'm actually not sure. I have UHC too and my deductible is $250 with a max out of pocket of $2500. When I met with the insurance coordinator she told me my portion of the surgery would be "about $2800". WTF? If my max out of pocket is $2500 how can I have to pay $2800? I used to do payroll only so my limited understanding of insurance was you meet your deductible ($1000) then pay the 20% in addition to that up to your max out of pocket. So by my math a $15000 surgery would be: $15000 - surgery less $1000 - deductible = $14000 x 20% = $2800 but if your max out of pocket is $2000 you should only have to pay your deductible plus $1000 of the $2800 (20%) balance. Leaving $1800 paid by the insurance company? If I'm wrong someone let me know. But that's how my logic works!

I just got an email from the insurance coordinator at the surgeon's office and she got all my paperwork and submitted it to UHC on the 29th of January. So it's been 4 days (including today but not the 29th). But since I just found this out, I didn't know I've been waiting since the 29th. Make sense? I will let ya'll know as soon as I hear something!

OK, I was apparently being paranoid for no reason. I just got an email from the insurance coordinator and she got all my paperwork and submitted it for approval on Jan. 29th. So now I just have to wait and see! WooHoo!

My insurance (UHC Choice Plus) requires a 5 year weight history, do any of you have any idea (or experience) on how long it takes your previous doctors to get that info sent back in? (I know they're all different but maybe a ballpark estimate?) I faxed the requests 2 weeks ago and my surgeon's office has only gotten 1 response back so far. I was thinking 2 weeks would be plenty of time. I think on Monday, I'm going to start calling them and harrassing them about it. I have 3 other doctors I'm waiting on. I'm just getting impatient. I figured that they'd all be back in by now and it would already be submitted to my insurance. One of the girls in my office is having back surgery on the 20th and will be out for 4-6 weeks. I was hoping to get my band done before then and be back by the time her surgery came up. We only have 4 people in our office and both of us can't be out at the same time. It just seems so bleak to me. If I can't get everything in and get my surgery scheduled before the 15th, I'll have to wait at least another month and a half! :biggrin: I guess I will most definitely be a March Bandster!

Last night at Wal-Mart I discovered something even MORE evil than just Girl Scout Cookes. Ice cream blended with GS Cookies. I think it was Breyers or Dyers brand and it was ice cream blened with you choice of Thin Mint, Samoas, or (my personal favorite - and the flavor I bought being pre-band myself) Tagalong. Yum! Of course I had one bite just to taste last night but I also have 4 kids at home, especially my ravenouse 14 Y.O. son who eats enough for 3 people and is still miraculously thin so I'm not thinking I'll get much more. But I had to at least taste it once. But besides that, I have personally ordered 4 boxes from my boss, selling for her neice. kinda felt obligated............

Count me in! Gotta end this "last supper" syndrome, too! I have/had a 8-10 can of Dr. Pepper a day habit and as of yesterday I have replaced 2 of those with bottles of Water and am going to progress until I am off ALL sodas. I can't gain 20 pounds before I even get my band. With my crazy schedule and 4 kids, I may not be able to jump right on a new exercise program tho. I will figure out something to get some sqeezed in. Um, maybe plug in the treadmill I have sitting in the garage? I'm in!

My dad died almost 10 years ago waiting for a heart transplant. We would have paid ANY price to get one for him. UNOS had him listed at the #1 priority spot in the nation for over a week and we still lost him. The point isn't about selling organs, it's about educating people to be donors and letting family members know that. There could have been someone who was willing to be a donor, but wasn't in any capacity to tell hospital staff that and maybe their family didn't know their final wishes. So in the end two families ended up losing a loved one. It happens time and time again. My best friend's brother and nephew were killed in a car accident just over a year ago. He brother died en route to the hospital and her nephew was on life support for a week before they finally declared him brain dead. When she called to tell me that, I asked her if the family would even consider donation (she knew of my dad) and she said no. The next day she called to tell me that his mother had agreed to donation and he ended up helping 5 people. He was 12 when he died and in the end gave hope and life to 5 others and their families. So he still lives on in some way. And even though I was at the other end of the spectrum with my dad, the hospital staff does not act like "vultures" just hovering around hoping for death. That's ridiculous! My message is, PLEASE consider donation, just for the sake of helping someone, not money. And if you do decide to be a donor, let your family know! Of course every one im my family are donors, but when I brought it up with my husband after we got married, he is against it. Everyone else in my family knows to go against his wishes if something were to happen to me. Because in the end, it's what I want to happen with my body, not him. Sorry this is long but think about it.

Yes I have "Last Supper" Syndrome too! I have been eating everthing in sight for the past couple of weeks. The sad thing is I don't even have an approval or a surgery date yet! I'm not worried about getting approved but I know I can't keep on eating every meal like it's going to be my last! Today was "Jeans Friday" and I couldn't even get on my "fat" jeans without laying on the bed to zip them then I had to take them off because they hurt too bad! UGH! :redface: I know I'm crazy because I will be able to eat once I get the band but my I have two sides of my brain telling me two different things. One is saying, "Eat or you're going to starve!" the other is saying, "Hey babe, maybe you should slow down there. There will be food on the other side." geez, just tell me this doesn't last forever. I'm actually getting sick of eating so much junk though so maybe I will start being more practical. (i hope!)

Thanks Destiny. I know I still have to wait to get my weight history back from my Dr's but I'm hoping that shouldn't take too long. But once I know that everything is together and submitted I'll probably start calling and checking on it every other day. At least! I'll keep ya'll updated on the progress!

I have had my initial consult, did my cardiac stress test the same day, got my blood drawn for all the bloodwork Saturday and have faxed medical records requests to my doctors for my required 5 year obesity history. I have UHC Choice Plus and have spent all this time reading of folks who were approved in just a couple of days (Destiny79) with UHC. I spoke with the insurance coordinator at the surgeon's office this morning and she told me that it would probably take up to 30 days! Do ya'll think she just did this so I don't start calling her every day bugging her? I've already given myself a two week time frame for my doc's to get my weight history in so it can be submitted but I don't want to have to wait another month on top of that! I want to be banded ASAP! Anyone else get told something similar and it only ended up taking a few days? Am I just being crazy and impatient?

Texas, DFW area. you?

Shoot! I've told everybody! My mom, my brother, my boss, all the girls in the office with me, my friends and if I'd been able to catch him, the mail man when he dropped my mail Saturday! LOL! they all know I'm fat, (hello-look at me!) and I'm excited to be doing something about it finally! Hell, I'd even shout it from the bow of the Titanic like Leo if I could! I'm embarassed by being fat not doing something about it! But every one that knows has been very supportive of me. The only person I'm getting crap about it from is DH, and I'm with Kudo on that one, I just don't think he can handle it.