Boadicea

Hello all, I'm in SE Ohio and it seems a whirlwind already. Providence, really as a coworker started telling me about her lap band last week. Because I considered a RNY 3 years ago I didn't need to do all the mental work to return to thinking about a surgical option. I'd left off with the RNY because it felt wrong to scramble my insides quite THAT much. I have an appointment on 2/8, will have a psych eval before then and possibly in hand for my appointment. I've confirmed my insurance will cover this and possibly not require a 6 month diet supervised by physician. (Anthem BCBS) They told me today that if I show up with all paperwork ready to go, they can submit to insurance for approval the following week, another 1-2 weeks to know if I'm approved ... and if I am, another 2-3 weeks for surgery. To me, that seems a whirlwind and a sum total of 6-8 weeks. I've tried everything except prescription meds for weight loss and nothing is a long term solution. I get to thinking I've "changed my lifestyle" and get tripped up and return straight away to bad habits. I'm also already in therapy -- and discussed it with my therapist today. I'm free about why I'm in therapy, too. I'm a midwife and had a pretty bad birthing experience about 6 mos ago and just started down the path of talking it out with someone about 5 weeks ago. To be able to talk to someone about how I feel regarding the emotional baggage of excess weight is also nice. She apparently also specializes in body image therapy -- so that's going to totally rock. I really like her. She is also helping me get the psych eval ahead of time. I do have some questions for anyone on Anthem BC/BS -- have you been required to do the diet for 6 mos supervised by a physician at all? Was it because BMI was below 40? I'm really worried I will be denied for this reason and I have concerns about my insurance changing before that 6 mos would be up. My BMI is at 46. I'm doing a lot of reading on this board/site and sometimes it's reassuring and other times it worries me. I feel this is the right path, though. As I told my therapist today, I want to kayak with the Orcas...ride horses with my daughters ... try hanggliding...maybe learn to surf...learn to play soccer and take my kids camping (without getting eaten by bears, of course!) I'd be outdoors all the time if I could, but right now, I'm physically unable. I feel as though -- here I am -- 36 -- and I'm still waiting for my "life, my happy life" to start, even though I've done a tremendous number of things already and am happy otherwise. Thanks for reading so far! Boadicea

I'm in Athens and I went to Holzer in Gallipolis -- had Dr Grandia!

Boadicea: 3/18/08

Sharon, I'm also being banded on 3/12 and I'm nervous about the general "surgery" concept -- not so much the band, although the reality of that has been setting in, too. I went yesterday to get all the foods I can eat afterwards, which is basically jello, protein shakes and ... jello. I feel as though I'm going to be living on "air" for a while and well, at least that'll knock some weight off and get me going in the right direction. I've already been low carbing, and that has dropped me about 7 lbs, too. I hate the pre-op diet. I did ask the nurse what the point exactly of it was -- I wanted to know if it had ANYTHINg to do with the stomach and she said it didn't. That it is only designed to shrink the liver (remove the glucose) and since I'm in full on ketosis, I'm not too worried about it at this point. I know some docs don't require it, some seem to only require it for a few days, things like that. I'm excited, oddly enough, to move to the post-op diet just because the change is so significant -- a good slap in the face, really -- to get one accustomed to the realities of what life is going to be for a while. I'm excited you're getting banded on the same day as me!! Maybe we can chat as things go along. Where are you ? --B

I will be banded on 3/12 -- exactly 2 weeks from when I got approval, which is really remarkable. I'm getting nervous about it as the time is FLYING by. We have a lot of other stuff going on right now (house remodel, work stuff) and I've wondered if now is a bad time to get this done, but really, we've worked it into our schedule very pristinely, thus far. I don't think so much about it right now, but I'm 1 week out, so it's starting to settle heavier on my mind that this is a life change. I keep fearing it won't work, either but folks tell me it will and I've seen a lot of success stories. So, here's taking the leap of faith. :thumbup:

YAY!!!! Congrats!! I bet you get a quick surgery date! Mine is approaching rapidly and I'm terrified I won't get everything done that I need to at this rate. (We're refinishing the downstairs and I want it done before I go in for surgery) B

I'm not from NW LA, but I'll wave anyway. I'm from NE LA! :rolleyes2: Got married in Natchitoches -- does that count? *heh* B

I think that if they dont' lose the paperwork and the predetermination request is in front of them, they just go through a check list to see if you qualify and then push it through. Seriously, it only took hours once my paperwork (and I knew I met the qualifications -- I was only worried about having to do the medically supervised 6 month diet) was 'in-hand'. I'm really impressed. I'm starting to think Anthem is one of the better insurance companies out there for this. I had Medical Mutual before and I know they were harder to get through. B

Well, I was approved on 2/26/08 after my paperwork was lost. My surgery date is 3/12 and I start my preop diet tomorrow. I did an EKG, chest x-ray and blood work today. Everything is rather ... ready. Rather fast, really. I was approved within hours once my paperwork was located. I have my last meeting with my doctor next Friday and then it's off to be done the following Wednesday. I'm a bit shellshocked. --B

:thumbup:I have Anthem BC/BS. FTR, they lost my paperwork. I called for 2.5 weeks, daily, to see if they had it and they finally found it yesterday. And approved me in the same day. I do not have to have the 6 month monitored diet. YAY! This has all gone very quickly, really. Psych eval sometime late Jan, meet with doctor and staff for 4+ hours on 2/8 -- request for predetermination submitted on 2/8. Approval received (hunted down like the wild beast it is) yesterday and today, a surgery date was given for 3/12. I recommend proactively calling and keeping track of every detail.

A cup is 8 ounces. 1/4 cup is 2 ounces. So -- 1/16 cup. :mad: You can get even more precise measurements if you do it by tablespoons. 1 Tablespoon is .5 ounces. So. Use 1 Tablespoon per serving.

That is AMAZING. I think that's awesome. What a very neat cultural thing. I've always felt our culture (american) is too isolating. Kat, I'm also so happy to see your stats. I'm new to all this and I have to be honest that I'm terribly afraid that the lap band won't work for me so I love coming here and seeing that folks are REALLY losing weight. As for the folks who complain about or brag about their bad eating choices, or that they didn't have to pay for the surgery, that really shocks me, but I also like the bell curve explanation. That rocks. --Boadicea

16 oz/27 servings = .59 ounces per serving. :mad: Boadicea

That is really great to hear. I called today and they told me there was a 2-3 week backlog of things and that would be the earliest the nurse would even look at it. I was very disappointed and I hope that the info isn't correct. I'm in Ohio, though -- I'm assuming this makes a difference... *sigh* B

I had my appointment Friday and they assured me they'd rush my stuff through as I'm concerned about actually losing my insurance. I'm really hopeful this goes well, from start to finish.

Ya know -- why does he need to know? If there's some reason he needs to know, such as the possibility that you could die and your life partner has all the legal means necessary to come deal with it, then by all means alert him to your preferred guardian in the event you can't communicate, but otherwise..... I don't see why it would be something to bring up? I was asked who my support persons would be and gave relatives and significant others -- but otherwise, no other info. B

I'm from Louisiana, too, but now living in Ohio. I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did you choose to go to Mexico? Who'd you have do it, where'd you go -- what did it cost???? I had my psych eval today and I got a negative vibe from the psy-dr and now I'm wondering if she'll deny me. I find out late tomorrow. I just feel as though I don't want to bother with a lot of waiting around, either, if this isn't going to happen. I'm 36 .. I'm tired of waiting fo rmy life to start -- and I can't keep up wiht my kids, either. *heh* Boadicea

I've looked all over the Anthem BCBS site and this page is moved. I can't find it no matter where I look. Does anyone have it saved down somewhere or know where to find the moved file? thanks -- B