dwrd73

My wife also purchased some small plates, bowls and small olive forks at Kohl's.

I know exactly how you feel. I cannot wait until I am banded and start loosing this weight so I can enjoy the many active activities that my young boys want to do. I also have low BMI of 35.7 but I was approved by my insurance b/c I also have hypertension. I will be banded at the end of the month. Check with your insurance to find out what they require. Most insurance companies want at least a BMI of 40 or >35 with one or two co-morbidities. Hypertension and sleep apnea are generally on list so go call you insurance and schedule an appointment with your local surgeon. Good luck and keep reading this forum. You'll find lots of great information.

You'll then have to change your username to 2small4U.:teeth_smile:

OG - also keep calling to see if there are any cancellations. You may be able to get into see the nutritionist sooner. Good luck and hang in there.

:embaressed_smile: I'm Approved! :huh2: I posted this in the Indroductions section but I thought I would post it again here. I found out earlier this afternoon, after calling my insurance company, that I am approved for surgery. I also called my doctor and I'm scheduled for August 25th.

Elanye - The only secret i can give is to to stay on top of your appointments and know what your insurance requires. Keep your schedule flexible so you can take the first available appointment and ask for cancellations. I knew I was going to have to speak with my cardiologist due to my high blood pressure so I started seeing him some before my first consult with the surgeon. There was also some months of planning before my first consult with the surgeon. My wife and I started this process in the spring. The first barriatric center we started with had a six month educational wait that didn't start up again until August pushing the surgery back to around the end of February or March. Way too long! My wife found another center with no wait, so that is were we are going. It's farther away from home (about 1 1/2 hours) but to me the drive is better then waiting until next year to have the surgery. Consult was July 2nd, approved July 15th, and surgery will be on August 25th. The good news Elanye - you are on your way and you already had your sleep study. That alone can take months of waiting. Everyone's journey is different. Your insurance and your surgeon's office & schedule really determine how fast everything goes. Keep us up-to-date.

Renob, Hello & Welcome! Thanks for finally posting so we can get to know you. Good luck on your surgery next week.

:biggrin: Yes, Good Luck to All August All-Stars!! :biggrin:

Welcome to the forum. You will find lots of supportive people here who are on the same journey as you. I understand wanting to look for someone similar in age, but don't limit yourself to only "Old Goats". I will be banded soon and I have learned a lot from reading the threads posted here from both men and women of all ages. Anyway, welcome again. Where are you in your journey? Are you banded or are you in the beginning stages?

It's been a few days since your last post Bigrick. I hope everything is going better for you. Are you walking? Did your blood sugars settle down?

Did you ever see the Realize band up close? To me it looks like something made in someone's garage. It doesn't look or feel as sturdy as the lap band. I personally never heard or read that it is better for men. It would be interesting to see this research though.

My first visit with the surgeon was on July 2nd. I knew I had to see my cardiologist so I did that ahead of time. I still had to go back and get a cardiac clearance which I was able to squeeze in really quickly. My psych eval and nutritionist appt was the same day on July 5th. It took a week for the psychologist to get her report in. I didn't understand why it took so long because her report was the last thing I needed. I had all my pre op testing completed in about a week and a half. My paperwork was submitted to insurance on a Friday afternoon. I was approved by the following Tuesday. However, I am still waiting for the surgery. My doctor only performs the lap band on Mondays so his first available is August 25th. I really can't complain. It will be less than two months from my first consult until surgery. That's pretty quick compared to some people, especially since I am NOT self pay. The first hospital I looked into had a six month class (which did not start again until August) and then about a month wait after the class. If I would have gone with that hospital I would not be getting surgery until at least the end of February or March. I'm glad I switched hospitals. I meet with the surgeon again on August 14th to go over the procedure and pre op diet. I have to do a two week pre op diet starting on August 11th. So that's my story. Everyone is a little different, but it does sound like you are getting things done. One tip to get this done a little faster is to ask your doctor's office to pencil in your surgery on the schedule once all your pre op testing and appointments are finished. My doctor's office would not do this until I was approved by my insurance. However, they did it for my wife after they saw how quickly I was approved by the insurance. Anyway, you are on the way and soon you will be banded (maybe even before me). Good luck and keep us posted.

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on reaching your goal. Sorry I can't answer your question on experience. However, I have wonder the same thing. My plan is to get to my goal and after at least a year at my goal weight or below I will then think about getting an unfill. I figure I want to make sure I can keep it off and that my habits have completely changed before I try living with less restriction. I don't want to go through all of this and then gain it back. The lap band, I hope, will be the tool to help me keep it off forever. I don't want it to be an expensive yo-yo diet.

I have BC/BS as well and I kept calling to make sure they received all the information. It took a few days before everything got into their system but once it did I was approved. I knew before my doctor's office. I told them. Overall my doctor submitted the paperwork on a Friday and I was approved by Tuesday. Surgery is scheduled for 8/25. I wish it was sooner b/c I am a teacher as well. Students come the following week on 9/02. I hope to have everything reading in my classroom post op so I can just walk in on the 9/02 and teach. I will miss the first day for teachers. Oh well, just a bunch of meetings.

I am also a teacher and will be banded in August just before going back to school. I figure I will keep it simple for lunches b/c I do not want to risk having a PB while at school. It would be quite embarrassing if I :puke:right if front of the class.

That's great news! :wink2:

Wow what a great link! Thanks for finding it. I've watched some from YouTube but they were very short. It will be interesting to watch a whole surgery be conducted.

Whoo...oh! I got scared there for a minute. I thought you were going to tell me I HAD to wear makeup for the procedure. Never done that before. Unless clown makeup counts?!?:wink2:

The best thing to do is check with your insurance to find out what they required to be approved for surgery. I have independent BC/BS PPO in PA and they require a BMI of at least 40 or a BMI of at least 35 with one of their listed comorbidities (i.e. diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, and I do not remember the rest). I qualified with BMI just over 35 and hypertension. I hope this helps.

I also have to do the two week pre op diet. I'm not looking forward to it b/c I was approved for surgery with a low BMI of 35 and hypertension. If my BMI was any lower I wouldn't have been approved. I'm told I will not be weighed again but I'm trying not to loose too much weight before surgery. I'm scared my BMI will be below 35 and somehow after surgery find out my insurance will not cover it any more. I know these are just fear and my wife keeps telling me not to worry about it, however, has anyone else been in this same situation. Did your BMI drop below the required amount for insurance and you will still covered?

Yes, congratulations! You're banded!

After deciding to get surgery I received a few strange reactions and comments from some friends and family members. For example: 1. "That's just silly." 2. "You really don't have that much to lose." And my personal favorite... 3. "Are you really prepared to eat less." :embaressed_smile: (Isn't that the point.) What other strange, weird, or purely ignorant comments did you receive before getting your surgery?

Hi guys, just thought I would introduce myself. All my paperwork and tests are done. I'm now waiting to here back from my insurance. I have a BMI of 35.6 with hypertension. I shouldn't have any problems getting approved. My wife is also getting banded. We are hoping we can get the surgery before the end of summer. I'm enjoying reading all the previous threads. It's encouraging hearing your stories.

My wife and I are both getting banded during the last week of August. We were talking to my mom about it and she says "I guess you'll both be in misery together." I never realized that loosing weight, fitting into smaller clothes, improving one's hypertension and diabetes was considered "misery." :smile2: I'm sure she was referring to the soreness after surgery, but to me that is just a small step to becoming healthy again.

I completely understand. I am a fast eater. I've always been so the idea of eating slowly and chewing food over and over is a hard concept for me. I'm afraid I will also experience several PBs due to eating too quickly. I'm trying to practice now before my surgery, but old habits are hard to break. I'm sure it will be a wake up call once I have that first PB.