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thanks for responding! it's just freaking me out! i'm never full!

did you tell them you have high blood pressure? you should ask them how many comorbities they need to lower the bmi...have your doctor diagnose you with something else quick =) my pcp was super supportive of the operation...i have/had high blood pressure so he said i would probably need to so since my cholesterol was on the high normal so he diagnosed me with elevated lipids and since my blood sugar was on high normal so he then diagnosed with me elevated blood sugars too...so maybe that's an option

uhc was awesome to me...my only requirement was a psych eval and a bmi over 40 i think...the process from first appt to surgery took me 6 weeks...once my preop appts were done and the doctors office submitted my paper work to them i was approved in 3 days and scheduled for surgery.

i was told not too drink more than 2 cups a day because of the calories

if you told your doctor you wanted an unfill for a cruise...would he take it out? i'm thinking i probably wouldn't want that doctor...

do you have any co-morbities...i wonder if that would make a difference?

my process took about 6 weeks from the first appt to my surgery

I'm sorry!

haha i know! my doctor allowed me to take however much time i needed as well so i took just under 3 weeks...i used short term disability...so i only had to use 5 days of pto...wells fargo has pretty good benefits...

yean mnpls is about 3.5 hours away but they do reimburse you so that's nice...it's 50.5 cent a mile which comes out to more i paid in gas and then they pay $100 a day for food and lodging...they also pay for drinks and Snacks when you stop at a gas station and that money doesn't actually go into your $100...so pretty much i've been reimbursed more than what it cost me to travel which then took care of pretty much the whole cost of the surgery so really i will end up paying just a couple hundred dollars for the surgery so in a way it's kind of a blessing that it's further away. i don't know that she asked me why lap band over the bypass but if she had i would have told her my reasoning...so whatever your reasoning just be honest. they ask you why weight loss surgery and you just say you've tried other things...dieting...exercise...and you just need an extra tool to push you along and give you some guidance. same thing with the pysch eval...be vague but honest...you'll need to take the mmpi and another short pysch test...they're not bad...just tedious...again answer honestly...it's a statistically based test that compares you to other people just like you. mine came out that i have an addictive personality and that i don't like taking the advise of medical personel...which i found quite interesting and not exactly true but whatever...apparently i passed.

The nurse called me back...we talked...she asked me what i weighed..how tall...what i've done in the past...really easy questions like that and she was really nice. all that they required was a certain bmi...which i think was 40 and up...but i'm not sure on that...a psych eval and for you to use a center of excellence. if you have to travel over 50 miles they reimburse you for your expenses. so she gave me a list of doctors and i picked the office that i knew where it was...like i said before i'm in des moines, iowa and need to travel for a center of excellence so i chose minneapolis because we have family there. so she said for me to call them and make an appt and she would contact united behavioral health and another nurse would call me to set up an appt for my pysch eval. i had an appt with a different doc here but had to cancel. you will probably run into more hurdles from your docs office than with the WF uhc plan. my first doctors appt was on jan 14th...i got in for my pysch eval on the 17th. i had to go back to the docs office maybe 2 more times...one was to meet with the surgeon and the other i can't remember what i did. i then had to go up for a preop class and my surgery was on feb 28th...so about 6 weeks in all. the united behavioral health person calls like every 4 weeks to check on you and to set "goals"...it's kinda annoying that's kind of a run down...i can answer more specifically if you want to know anything in detail...just let me know!

yeah you may want to call that number...that's what I had to do... i hope you don't have to start the whole process over again... what have you done so far?

did you call uhc? i had to call them before even going to see a doctor. my plan required that i see someone at a center of excellence so they needed to approve of a doctor before i went. in my case there isnt' a center of excellence in iowa so i had to go to minneapolis. i also got set up with a case worker so anytime i had a question or when the docs office submitted my paper work they submitted right to her and not just a generic uhc number. my case worker also set up my pysch eval which was their only requirement other than my bmi...did you need to do any of that?

i have the wells fargo healthplan...where do you live? i think health plans differ a little bit depending on the part of the country...i live in iowa...the wells fargo healthplan is the only one through uhc...i had conventry last year and they do not cover it...the process was super easy for me...i would love to know about your experience...please update me =)

hmmm good question, i would like to know the answer to that too!

I've never seen someone so excited to be denied! =)

i have been drinking carnation instant breakfast mixed with 2 cups of milk since i was banded 2/28. i drink 1 cup in the morning between breakfast and lunch and the other in the afternoon after lunch and before i go home. i had my first fill yesterday and i can't seem to drink it? it took me almost 2 hours to drink 1 cup. does anyone else have problems with milk? i can drink water and eat muchie food but milk doesn't seem to be working...??

So my problem with the milk only lasted yesterday...Today I'm starving! is this normal? do you normally become starving right after a fill?

you'll need chapstick right after surgery

i have a 14cc band and he put 5 in at first but had to take 1 out because nothing was moving so i have 4...i was kinda surprised too...from what i've read most people only get a little bit...

i think that's what i have...i got my first fill yesterday and was told it holds 14cc's...yesterday i got 4cc's

i've heard that something with vitamin e helps so i got a palmers coco butter lotion for stretchmarks...i think it's geared more towards pregnancy. i've been using it everyday both in the morning after my shower and before i go to bed and can feel a difference...my skin feels firmer and smoother. i got the lotion at target in the lotion isle.

i take 1 chewable finstones complete a day-as recommended by doctor

sophie, do you have high blood pressure? i did...i took something for it...my blood pressure kept dropping in the hospital and then continued to be pretty low when i left...2 weeks post op i went to half my dose...still low...4 days later...pill free! i would get really dizzy and lighthead...espcially if i moved to fast. my blood pressure is now normal and i'm not quite 6 weeks out from surgery...just a though?

my nutritionist told me that i should be eating around 800 calories...i pretty much stay right around there during the week...sometimes a little over sometimes a little under but in the end it averages out. on the weekends...well i've never really counted...i'm sure i eat more calories because i don't stick to my usual "weekday" food but i can only eat so much and i still lose so i'm sure it's not too out of line. =)