ZiggyLove

My surgery is scheduled for Monday and I don't have to stay overnight at all...in at 7:30am, surgery at 9:30 am, then recovery and out probably by 2 or 3 pm. While there I'm told they will make me walk and do breathing treatments (they are concerned with blood clots and pneumonia after surgery).

My doctor doesn't actually require me to go on a pre-op liquid diet, but I've learned so much from these boards that I mentioned it to him and he said if I wanted, I could do it for a week and it would be beneficial to get a jump start on weight loss. From what I understand as well, it helps with the surgery because it shrinks your liver...if you have a fatty liver, they won't do the surgery. I assume because he said I didn't need to diet pre-op that my liver was fine, but I'd rather be safe! Besides, I want to try it out and see how I do. I think I can handle a week! I'm so sick of being fat, I can't "weight" to get started, haha. I'm starting my pre-op this Monday, Feb 2nd, and my surgery date is set for Monday Feb 9th - so excited (and nervous too!). Good luck to everyone out there. :redface:

My psych eval was pretty stress-free. Basically he wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing. He was impressed that I had studied up on it so much. He also wanted me to be aware that my life would change in many subtle but not so subtle ways after losing weight. He wanted to make sure my relationship with my husband was strong enough to weather it...he told me that other people would look at me differently, and being faced with so much attention might make me go a little crazy, lol. Overall it was a very interesting conversation we had! Just be strong in your conviction that this is the right decision for you, that you are aware that you will have to work hard to accomplish your goals and that lap band is just a tool to help you get there. Also, make sure to let him or her know that you have a strong support network at least in your immediate family and/or close friends. You'll be fine.

My experience with Cigna was similar to what others have posted. 6 month waiting period, during which time I had to see my PCP monthly so she could fill out a form, psych evaluation, meeting with a nutritionist, EKG, blood tests, Upper GI. Once all that was done, my surgeon's office submitted it to Cigna, and it took a month to get approved. I now have my surgery date set for February 9th Overall, it was a long and discouraging process, but it was worth it to save the $18k - $24k price tag. And now that I'm nearing the end, even better. My only regret is not starting the process sooner! Good luck to you, jumping through a few hoops now will be worth it later.

I just got the word about an hour ago...I got approved!! My date is February 9th. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!! I'm soooooo looking forward to it, I know it's not a magic pill or anything but it is a step in the right direction and it gives me hope and motivation to do better for myself. YAY!

Wow that's great, and congratulations! How rewarding to lose so much in just a few weeks. I haven't been banded yet (waiting for approval, but hoping to get it done in January 09), but results like yours make me even more excited! Looking forwarding to reading more about your progress!

I also have Cigna and am awaiting approval. I've gone through the 6 month waiting period, did all the evals required now just waiting. Not once has anyone mentioned to me a 5 year medical history thing. Maybe because I have PPO? No idea. I've been waiting now for over 3 weeks for notification, apparently the surgeon's insurance person had some personal problems and was out of the office (how irritating, like nobody else in the office can submit insurance forms?). Anyway, let's hope we all get approval and can move forward from this! I'm really excited about it, and if I don't get approved I might just hit someone, haha.