mrsyellis

That is great news! I got approved last week and I still don't have my date! I am getting anxious.. I am going to start calling the dr's office everyday! Lol- good luck to you

I just got my approval last week and i am waiting on a date - everyday, i just wanna pick up the phone and call the surgeons office. Congrats on your approval!

Hi, all - just posting to say i have been approved for surgery! woot woot! I recieved my letter today - will send it to surgeons office tomorrow and schedule surgery.. So excited.:cursing:

The rules changed on 07/01 - so if you havent been to the dr. since then , you should definitely ask. the relaxed the diet to only 3 months and you only have to have the psyche evaluation - no 5yr weight history. Good luck and lets keep in touch, sounds like we might go through everything at the same time.

Hi, all - just posting to say i have been approved for surgery! woot woot! I recieved my letter today - will send it to surgeons office tomorrow and schedule surgery.. So excited.:sneaky:

woo hoo, i have bcbs il and i was approved on thursday! they did away with the 5YR med history and the diet only has to be 3 months - you pretty much just have to do the diet and the psych eval to get approved. i got my letter in the mail today! so excited!!!

Hi all, it has been a while since i last posted but here goes... Since my last post, i have been trying to sleep with my CPAP machine - I hate this device, i feel like i am gasping for air each time i use it.. now this $2300 machine is collecting dust sitting on my nightstand. i have to take the card out and take it to the sleep people for monitoring next week- i am sure they are not going to be pleased with my non progression. Any way, i weighed in for the 4th time last week. i was down a total of 6lbs. I went in thinking oh well i have to do this only two more times and it will be over.... then the nurse at the surgery center said she had good news! The first piece of good news was that BCBS was lowering their standards and you only had to do the diet for 3 months instead of 6! :thumbup: so with that being said, she said "you are in month 4 and i have your psyche evaluation" -which i passed - so i think you have met all of BCBS IL's requirements - i am submitting your paperwork for approval on 07/30 - WOOO HOOO!!!!! That is 2 months sooner than expected!!! NOW I WAIT!

Hi all, it has been a while since i last posted but here goes... Since my last post, i have been trying to sleep with my CPAP machine - I hate this device, i feel like i am gasping for air each time i use it.. now this $2300 machine is collecting dust sitting on my nightstand. i have to take the card out and take it to the sleep people for monitoring next week- i am sure they are not going to be pleased with my non progression. Any way, i weighed in for the 4th time last week. i was down a total of 6lbs. I went in thinking oh well i have to do this only two more times and it will be over.... then the nurse at the surgery center said she had good news! The first piece of good news was that BCBS was lowering their standards and you only had to do the diet for 3 months instead of 6! :smilielol5: so with that being said, she said "you are in month 4 and i have your psyche evaluation" -which i passed - so i think you have met all of BCBS IL's requirements - i am submitting your paperwork for approval on 07/30 - WOOO HOOO!!!!! That is 2 months sooner than expected!!!:hurray: NOW I WAIT!

Hi all, I haven't posted in a while. Been kinda busy getting all of my testing done and out of the way. So far I have passed my psych evaluation! Whew, all of those questions drove me crazy! LOL - i have also passed my cardio exam which included a stress test (uuuggghhh) - at least the blood is flowing. Last but not least, i had to have a respiratory test done - while i breathe just fine, the problem is i have sleep apnea ! Yeeeaaah- another comorbity ! i was fine with all of the breathing exercises but the sleep test was a bit much:sad:. i felt like a caged animal with people looking at me. i barely slept at all - then i was diagnosed and had to have another test to measure oxygen levels - this one was much better - i used the cpap machine this particular night and slept much better. i had my 2nd weigh in on may 14 - i was down 5lbs - i was told to only loose 9lbs during my insurance required 6month supervised diet. i have my next weigh on 06/18. i am slowly gathering up my medical records. i will be done with everything by september - hoping to be banded sometime in october. i am well on my way :biggrin:

Hi all, I haven't posted in a while. Been kinda busy getting all of my testing done and out of the way. So far I have passed my psych evaluation! Whew, all of those questions drove me crazy! LOL - i have also passed my cardio exam which included a stress test (uuuggghhh) - at least the blood is flowing. Last but not least, i had to have a respiratory test done - while i breathe just fine, the problem is i have sleep apnea ! Yeeeaaah- another comorbity !:wub: i was fine with all of the breathing exercises but the sleep test was a bit much:sad:. i felt like a caged animal with people looking at me. i barely slept at all - then i was diagnosed and had to have another test to measure oxygen levels - this one was much better - i used the cpap machine this particular night and slept much better. i had my 2nd weigh in on may 14 - i was down 5lbs - i was told to only loose 9lbs during my insurance required 6month supervised diet. i have my next weigh on 06/18. i am slowly gathering up my medical records. i will be done with everything by september - hoping to be banded sometime in october. i am well on my way :biggrin:

i just took that test last friday and it was so long. i was irritated by the end. i finished it in 1hr 15mins and then there was a paper test. i have to go back for the actual evaluation on 03/20 - ought to be interesting !

I finally went to my first Dr. visit with Dr. Lahmann in Joliet IL. It went well. He asked some questions and suggested the band for my particular needs. While I was there, he gave me a list of people i need to see while i am preparing for the surgery and fulfilling my insurance companies 6 month diet obligation. I meet with the nutritionist in 6 weeks - must be a high demand clinic since it takes soo long to get appt??? but once i meet with the nutritionist, the ball will be officially rolling :smile: when i went in on 02/25 - is was 5"3, 290.5lbs with a BMI of 51.5 - my PCP just put me back on BP meds for the next 6 months. Psych eval and cardio - 03/06/09 Nutritionist and Pulmonary - 04/07/09

I finally went to my first Dr. visit with Dr. Lahmann in Joliet IL. It went well. He asked some questions and suggested the band for my particular needs. While I was there, he gave me a list of people i need to see while i am preparing for the surgery and fulfilling my insurance companies 6 month diet obligation. I meet with the nutritionist in 6 weeks - must be a high demand clinic since it takes soo long to get appt??? but once i meet with the nutritionist, the ball will be officially rolling :cursing: when i went in on 02/25 - is was 5"3, 290.5lbs with a BMI of 51.5 - my PCP just put me back on BP meds for the next 6 months. Psych eval and cardio - 03/06/09 Nutritionist and Pulmonary - 04/07/09

Today I received a letter from bcbs/il about the necessary procedures to be deemed medically necessary... The letter was everything I expected from reading all of the posts on LBT but when I turned it over,it stated I needed 12 months of supervised dieting- I liked to died on the spot!! I called them right away only to learn that I was sent an old version of the letter and it is in fact only 6months needed. WHEW what a scare. I have a question- are you supposed to loose a lot of weight on the clinical diet? What exactly is the insurance looking for during the 6 mont period? Any help would be appreciated!! Only 22 days left to my consult-BTW - BCBS/IL is sending me a new corrected letter!

Today I received a letter from bcbs/il about the necessary procedures to be deemed medically necessary... The letter was everything I expected from reading all of the posts on LBT but when I turned it over,it stated I needed 12 months of supervised dieting- I liked to died on the spot!! I called them right away only to learn that I was sent an old version of the letter and it is in fact only 6months needed. WHEW what a scare. I have a question- are you supposed to loose a lot of weight on the clinical diet? What exactly is the insurance looking for during the 6 mont period? Any help would be appreciated!! Only 22 days left to my consult-BTW - BCBS/IL is sending me a new corrected letter!

Yesterday I received a phone call from the surgeons office to set up an appt.. i called back this morning to find out what the appt was for and when i could get in - the nurse said that itwould be for my first consultation .. She said that BCBS/IL does cover 80% of my surgery and the consult would be to go over my general health and to discuss whtat BCBS/IL would need me to do in order to cover the cost of the surgery. I couldn't get in to see the surgeon until 02/25/09- that is about 1 month from now, so until then, i will be waiting to hear more. I guess I am on my way and i know there is still a very long way to go!:cheatfree:

You go girl!

Yesterday I received a phone call from the surgeons office to set up an appt.. i called back this morning to find out what the appt was for and when i could get in - the nurse said that itwould be for my first consultation .. She said that BCBS/IL does cover 80% of my surgery and the consult would be to go over my general health and to discuss whtat BCBS/IL would need me to do in order to cover the cost of the surgery. I couldn't get in to see the surgeon until 02/25/09- that is about 1 month from now, so until then, i will be waiting to hear more. I guess I am on my way and i know there is still a very long way to go!

Hi all, I am just starting out on my journey and will definitely need support. Since I decided to do the research on the lap-band procedure, I have been checking out this site. I have gained some valuable insights from everyone here. Today is my first official day starting my new way of life- I have waited and wondered many years about the surgery but never had the guts to actually pursue it until now.This morning I went to a center by my house for a seminar. My DH went with me and I appreciate him for it. I am officially nervous about my insurance (BCBS/IL) having read all of the info here.my next step is to fill out my paperwork and get it back to the surgeons office.The surgeon said they do the six month diet in their office bcause they know what theinsurance companies need.I am getting a little excited at the thougt of being less than 300lbs.I have been overweight my whole life but after my 3kids, it really went down hill...I have a BMI of 51 and hypertension! I will post as I make progress..

Hi all, I am just starting out on my journey and will definitely need support. Since I decided to do the research on the lap-band procedure, I have been checking out this site. I have gained some valuable insights from everyone here. Today is my first official day starting my new way of life- I have waited and wondered many years about the surgery but never had the guts to actually pursue it until now.This morning I went to a center by my house for a seminar. My DH went with me and I appreciate him for it. I am officially nervous about my insurance (BCBS/IL) having read all of the info here.my next step is to fill out my paperwork and get it back to the surgeons office.The surgeon said they do the six month diet in their office bcause they know what theinsurance companies need.I am getting a little excited at the thougt of being less than 300lbs.I have been overweight my whole life but after my 3kids, it really went down hill...I have a BMI of 51 and hypertension! I will post as I make progress..