luvmy2dogs

After all the months of fighting, I got my insurance APPROVAL today. HOOORRAAAYYY! I'm so excited. I'm on my way to being a bandster!!

I go to the WLSC of Hampton Roads as well. My Dr. is Dr. T. too. I've been fighting my insurance co. for months, and today, I GOT MY APPROVAL!!!!!!!!!! HOORAAAAAAAAAAAAY!! I'm so excited I can't stand it.

Hi, I'm from VA, and have been going through the approval process with my Insurance Co. BCBS of Georgia since February. What a nightmare. Gary, If you're still out there, I would love some help if you could give it to me. First denial came because they said I wasn't a covered member. Obviously an admin mistake that took about 5-6 weeks. Second denial said I needed a nutritional eval, which I got and Weight Loss Center resubmitted. Next denial came today (several weeks later), saying I needed all sorts of things, that have already been done and provided to them. Ex. Psych eval, letter of necessity, etc.... These have all been given. They are definitely giving me the runaround. All my insurance required from the beginning, was a letter of necessity from the surgeon. So they say... It's been a crazy frustrating ride. Pls. help anyone if you can.....Is there anything anyone can recommend to help me fight them?

Libra. Thank you for your response. I too believe there are many means of support. I have a wonderful husband in my corner backing me all the way with this. I didn't tell a lot of people, but my Mom seems pretty supportive. My brother not so much. I thought a lot about this, and just want to be a happy healthy person. You've lost a ton of weight. CONGRATULATIONS! 120 lbs is amazing. It's a new life for you! That is so awesome. I'm excited to get started. I too have 100 lbs to lose. A lot of people say you don't get to goal with lapband compared to gastric, and that you only lose about 25-40% of your excess weight. People like you and Harleynana, and others show that is not the case. I'm willing to work as hard as necessary to get there. I hope I too can succeed the way you guys have. :-)

Carla, you're right, don't think I want to drive to Gloucester for PCP. heeee heee, Harley: I know you feel it's the best thing. You've done amazing. I've been reading your posts. :-) Thanks for responding girls!

Hi Molly: Thank you so much for responsing. It was quite awkward. I was really surprised at how much religion was involved in this test. Not sure what it has to do with it, but the Dr. said it was because they want you to have support, and feel like if you have a strong faith you have support. Anyway, I did ask... She said she doesn't see any reason why I couldn't do it. Weird answer. She said her only concern was maybe the fact that I am a social eater. Well.... who isn't?? She said I would have to find other things to do with my friends. DUH!! I have researched to death, and am completely aware of what I am giving up. I did not make this decision lightly. I'm banking on it improving my health a great deal. I would love to know your thoughts on the surgery so far! I know you were just banded in November, but how are you coping so far? I have posted on so many threads, and no one ever responds. I think I had one response. THANK YOU AGAIN!

Hi Girls! I too live in Virginia and have Dr. T. I am at the very beginning stages. I did my test and my psych eval last week, which I'm quite nervous about the results. I'm not crazy, I just thought some of the questions were very dumb. Tons of relisious questions. It was weird. I'm not an athiest, I certainly believe in God, but don't feel like it's a part of my every day decisions. I had to answer NO to a lot of those deep religious beliefs questions. I asked the shrink at the eval what that had to do with the surgery. Anyway, I'm afraid that may affect their decision. I'm waiting for that approval to come back before proceeding. Harleynana: I've been reading quite a few of your posts. I'm amazed at your success! It's wonderful. Carla: Who is your PCP. Mine is pretty stupid. I had a great one, and he moved to NC. The guy that took his place is such a big dork. I asked him about lapband, and he said I wasn't big enough and didn't need it. I'm really on the hunt for a new Dr. I asthma, high cholesterol, plantar fasciatis, and weigh almost 250. How does he think I'm not big enough. Anyway, I don't need a referral from him for my insurance, but I'm sure an approval would not hurt. I'm not sure if he'll give it. I'm just going to submit my paperwork without it and hope for the best. I have BCBS. GR8: You look amazing! I'm so excited to get started. But very scared too. :tongue2: It would be great if I could join your VA group. There are tons of questions that I have. BTW: I live in Chesapeake!

I'm worried about mine. I had mine last week. She asked me a lot of questions, if I'm depressed, coping after surgery, emotional support (which is mostly my husband) etc... On the computer test I took before the eval with the shrink, they asked me a lot of religious questions. They were very vague. Most of them were things like "Do you have deep religious beliefs, Do you feel God with give you support for this surgery, etc... Like 15 of them. But all of them seemed really questioning deep religious beliefs. I do believe in God, but don't feel like it surrounds my every day life. So, most of the questions I answered NO. When I got to the eval, she showed me thest. It showed that I had no religious background, and that I should look for other means of emotional support. That's bogus. I do have a religious background, and do believe in God, It's just not an active thing every day that runs my life. UGH! They probably think I'm an athiest. I did question the Dr. about what this had to do with the surgery. She couldn't answer. They mostly want to make sure you're not crazy, and you know what the surgery entails, and that you have support after. She said some people get divorced, start drinking, doing drugs, etc... It changes your life, and some people don't know how to cope. I also told her I don't feel like I would do the drinking, and drugs thing, as it's a problem in my family. My brother is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. He's been sober for 1 1/2 years. She did write all this down. Now I feel like I shouldn't have told her all that. I feel like I was honest, and now it may hurt me. Am I being too paranoid? I'm not crazy, and have a wonderful support system (my husb and who I've been married to for 18 years) He's totally supportive of this surgery, as he knows how miserable I am with all this weight, and unhealthy. Have you ever heard of anyone getting denied because of the eval. I'm a little nervous. Oh... and she tried to get me to come back for another appt. saying she does hypnosis, and stuff. I don't really believe in hypnosis. Sounds like maybe she was just trying to make more money off of it. What do you guys think??

Hi Susie, I did talk with my dad, and he said they took him off his blood thinners 4-5 days before the surgery. He said most Dr. do take you off. Hope everything works out for you. Good Luck!

HI! I too live in Virginia, and Dr. Terracina is doing my surgery. illdeal, I live in Chesapeake, so I'm really close to you! :-) How have things gone since your surgery? Were you happy with their office? How long from seminar to surgery did you have to wait? I have just started my process. I did seminar two weeks ago, am doing my psych eval today, and have gotten all my insurance paperwork together. I already got pre approval. Waiting on final. I'm excited, but scared! I guess that's normal. I'm afraid I wont wake up. :-(

Hi Susie, I don't have a lot of these issues, but my Dad had the surgery 1 1/2 years ago. He's about your age. (a little older at 62) He is also on blood thinners. I will ask him. He lost over 140 lbs, and looks and feels amazing. I'll get you some info on this tonight.

Hi, I too am a newbie. I have been reading this site for days, and have learned a great deal. I'm in the beginning stages as well. I did my seminar, took my computer psych test, seeing the shrink tomorrow, got approval from Dr. and insurance. Just waiting to see the shrink before I can proceed with the surgery. It's been the greatest finding this site. Good Luck with your surgery. Susan, I saw your postings a few times, I would love to PM you. I'm so new, and have soooo many questions.

Hi, I'm struggling with this same decision. I told my closest friend that I'm having it, (she had gastric bypass several years ago) and my mother, who after asking not to, told my brother. My brother totally freaked out and started yelling and screaming at me. He said I was stupid, that it was unhealthy, and that I was going to die. GOOD GRIEF! He's so dramatic! My father knows, as he had lap band 1 1 /2 years ago, and has lost 140 lbs. These are the ONLY people I will tell. OH, of course my husband knows who is extremely the most supportive, important person in my life. These are the ONLY few people that I will tell. I feel like it's not of anyone's business. I too worry about people noticing if I'm out to eat with them, etc... or seeing me eat pretty much nothing. I feel like they will think I took the easy way out. None of them know how hard I struggle to just drop a couple lbs dieting. It was great to read how others feel about this. I don't want the rest of my family knowing, as most are thin and healthy, and I feel they will be too judgemental.

SGT. Bob. Thanks for the reassurance. I definitely know there are risks with any surgery. I guess I felt pretty safe knowing that there weren't any deaths caused from it. I guess they don't include those from sepsis, etc.. since it's not actually from the band. That's kind of what I thought. I am definitely NOT changing my mind. I've been fighting pretty major health issues for some time, (high cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea, etc...) I made this decision based on the hope that it will greatly improve my health. I know that it will just deteriorate if I continue with this weight and these medical issues. I researched the surgery quite a bit before making this decision, and still read. (Maybe I should stop reading so much) My father had lap surgery almost two years ago, and has lost 140 lbs. He not only looks, but most importantly feels amazing. If I can get off just some of the pills I take a day for asthma, etc.. I will all be worth it. I guess just reading about these two deaths freaked me out a little, as it's the first I had heard. I'm definitely not taking any of this lightly. I"m petrafied to have the surgery, but think it will greatly improve my health. I think I will not live a very long life if I don't have it. I'm only 41. Neveragain: I too would love to see that link! :-)

Hi Kbug, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. I was very suprised and scared to read this. Because..... I have read that there have been NO deaths caused by the lapband surgery in the entire US. I confirmed this with my surgeon. I read on your profile that there was another (a family friend) Can I ask where you live? I'm so suprised to hear this after the statistics that I was told. 0 deaths in the US. I know there were some in Mexico, etc... Please advise. This freaked me out a little. I'm pre surgery! THX. Again, I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. I wonder if the statistics show this because it was a cause of the surgery and not the band. Don't know. Makes me wonder what the real statistics are?

Good Morning Virginia! I am new to this board. Just starting my process, and have been reading up on the procedure like crazy. I'm scared, but excited at the same time. I have struggled with my weight for so long. I am 40 years old, have high cholesterol, and asthma. My father had lap band surgery about 1 1/2 years ago, and has lost 140 lbs. He looks amazing! Anyway, I live in Chesapeake, Virginia, and go the Hampton Roads Weight Loss Surgery Center. Dr. Terracina is doing my surgery. Anyone in this group go there? If not, it's ok. I like to talk to you all. :-) I have done my seminar, and my psych test. I'm meeting with the shrink in a couple days. I have submitted my paperwork to the center to submit to Insurance. I am fortunate to have BCBS, and I hear the process is very easy with them. They pay 100%. I'm ready to go in and have my surgery now!!:cursing:. How long does it normally take to get a date once you attend the seminar and get your psych eval? Anyone know? I'm looking forward to talking with you all, and getting some great support. I know I will need it. I hear so much that this sugery is a tool, and not a cure. I'm willing to do what it takes. I don't want to fail with this. I have heard some discouraging things about the long term results/success of this. I have heard that in Sweden, and Spain they stopped doing lap because after 5 years the results were poor. People tended to gain the weight back, have issues, etc... This scares me. Anyone else read this, and have any thoughts on this??? It would be awful to have this done lose all the weight, and in 5 years put it back on. Also, I have not gone to a support group yet? Does anyone know a good one in this area?? WOW! That's a lot of questions. THANKS ALL!