time2Bthin

Hey Roze... Good Luck to you... I don't know too much about you but if you are anything like me, my weight was everything!!! I hated being overweight for years!! I was at the point of just giving up and thinking I would never lose any weight... This operation has definitely changed that thought for me... It is not something that just happens overnight and it may not be the solution for everyone, but for me, it has been wonderful... With the band, some people lose weight really quick and some it takes a bit longer, so it is hard to say just where you will fit in. But my thought, no matter where you are starting, how much you have to lose, and how long it might take, the point is, hopefully you will be going down in weight and not up in weight... Soooo, to me it is a new beginning, and a new kind of hope!!! Good luck and let me know how everything goes for you....

I have the same insurance, BCBS IL HMO... Because of my insurance I had no choice but to go to Sarker, and it turned out great... With the HMO it was 100% covered... Gotta love that one!! The first time I went to Sarker she gave me a paper that had a list of several tests that needed to be done prior to the surgery... At first it seemed like a ton. But one by one I knocked them out and finally the insurance approved my surgery... I think my initial appt with Sarker was April and my surgery was finally in October... Gives you an idea of how long it took me... Also, I had to do a weight management class once a month for a year which I started the September prior to the April I met with Dr. Sarker... But you might get lucky and not have to do the weight management class for a whole year... Maybe they will have you do it for 6 months, or maybe not at all... It will all depend on what the insurance will require, and I do know that everyone is different and that the requirements are always changing... Just hang in there and be patient because it is worth the wait!!! Good luck and let us know how you appt goes next week...

Hey Roze, Yes... I was banded by Dr. Sarker on 10/16/08... Before I was banded I was curious as to who had Sarker as their dr. too... She is good, I have been happy with her. I have had a few fills too, she does all my fills as well... Good luck on June 16th... Have you had your other tests, etc. done yet? It all seems like alot to do in preparation but it will all go by pretty quick... I am soooo glad that I had it done, you are starting a great journey and I hope you LOVE it...

Hi Judymarie, I had surgery with Dr. Sarker on 10/16/08... It has been a great ride so far. I really like Dr. Sarker, she is great... When is your surgery scheduled? Have you been approved thru your insurance or are you a self-pay... I have had 3 fills so far but everyone is different in getting a fill. My last fill was in January... I have been pretty tight since then, it took a couple of months (from Oct.-Jan.) until I had pretty tight restriction. The recooperation time is not bad at all. You will just need to be patient with it all. All in all I LOVE MY BAND!! If you want to talk anymore, feel free to email me at suedrews@sbcglobal.net Good luck to you and the start of something GREAT for you!!

Hi NFaith, Turns out I do not need to get a machine for sleeping... Dr. talked to me about my sleep study... He said I had mild Sleep Apnea and with weight loss it should go away. He cleared me for surgery! So now I will be working with my surgeon's office to make sure they send all my papers to the insurance company and then I will just wait for the approval!! I feel like it is just right there. I hope I don't run into any snags.. I have heard different things about the CPAP machine. Lots hate it, but I have heard also that it has helped get a good nights sleep too... Hang in there. Are you still working on all the pre-surgery testing? Take care, Time2BThin!!!

Hi dperson, Wow!! way to go about your 9/4 date... My dr. is Sarker as well and I am so motivated to get this thing done now after hearing from you and others. This next week I will make sure all is in to the insurance and get this thing approved. I was told I needed a 12 months supervised diet... So I have been doing this for a year now... It is so weird that people are told so many different things. But, I won't let that get me down, I just want to do it and be wearing a cute bathing suit in March... Going to Florida with the family... Even with a small loss of weight at that time compared to how I feel now would be GREAT!! Then next summer, hear we come!!! We will all be feeling pretty cool about then, hopefully!!! Well good luck to you and let's keep in touch. I am right behind you and will let you know when I get my approval... Time2bthin

Hey Marie715, Way to go!!! Sept. 4th here you come!! Good luck to you, Time2Bthin

Hey Slim2bnik, Good luck to you with your approval... Keep us all posted... We are all getting close to being banded... Take care, Time2bthin

Hi There, Congratulations on your date of Sept. 4th!!! It sounds like once you submitted everything to the insurance you were approved pretty quick... I can't remember... are you a BCBS HMO IL? So it sounds like the insurance did not have a problem with you not losing weight on your own? I was told that I failed my Sleep Study so I have another appt with the dr. this Friday, 8/29... Everything else is done... But I am soooo nervous because I have not lost anything on my own... I wish I was where you are right now!!! You are so lucky to have your date set.. Did they put you on a presurgery diet? Fill me in and let me know what I am in store for... Thx, Time2BeThin

hello iwalktheline, I did some work on this stuff today. I called my medical group and they said that it is different for each group. I am with Northwest Suburban IPA and they told me that they still require the 12 months diet... It is just my luck that I am the one with the 12 month wait.... But this month is my 12th month and I have finished all of my testing. I am waiting for the results on my sleep study (takes about 2 weeks I heard) Sooo, I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything comes together quickly. How are you doing... So do you have a 6 mo. wait? What month are you in and have you had any tests done yet... I am glad to talk to you too... it is amazing, I just joined last night and have already met some people exactly where I am.... Thanks for your responses....

I will die if I did not have to do all this for the past year... what do you mean when you ask what med. group... I am BCBS IL HMO, Blue advantage... Dr. will be Sarker out of Loyola, Maywood, IL... I think I will be checking on all this today to see if this is true... I am just dieing to get the band already...

Hey Marie... Thanks so much for your reply.... I just registered and you are my 1st reply!! So fast too... This is great!!! Sorry to hear about the hold up for you with the psych eval... I just had my last test, the sleep study this past Thursday night, as soon as that comes in everything can be submitted. I have had to do a supervised diet for the last 12 months!! Started this last September... But, my weight has just gone up and down all year. My total loss has been about 8-9 lbs... I am so afraid that the insurance will deny me because of this. I was told that they wanted 10% weight off before they would approve... That would mean about 24lbs.!!! Well good luck to you too and I would love to keep in touch with you too... I don't know too much about Dr. Sarker as well. I was told I had to go to her because she was with my insurance group.... Sure hope she is good!!

I am new to this forum... I had to do a 12 mo. diet with my insurance... BCBS HMO IL... Just finishing up my 12 mo. this month and I have not lost... Can the insurance deny me because of this?

Hi, This is my first post to the forum... I am just finishing up all my testing and getting it in order to submit to the insurance. My surgeon is Dr. Sarker too... and I have BCBS IL HMO... Have you been approved yet? I am worried because I have not lost weight on my own. Could the insurance deny me because of this? I have been working on this for 12 months!!!