minpinmom

allycat, there is hope. I went through the same thing - I started 3 years ago, went through all sorts of hoops then realized Lapband was excluded. I felt horrible. I kept doing research and trying to find ways to pay for it. This past December, the policy changed and it is now a covered surgery. Keep the hope - and appeal - I have heard of all sorts of people getting the surgery only through extensive appeals. Good Luck.

The Support group is for anyone having wls, I found it in the support group forums before the updated look of the website, and the lady that I spoke to said that I was welcome to come even before surgery. I have met with Dr. Spiegel a few times. I really like him, I understand what people mean by "cattle call", you are put through really fast - however he has always answered any of my questions without hesitation. I have had other (not wls related) surgeries and every surgeon that I have had - was supposedly the "best there was" and they all had the same type of attitude - there time was best spent slicing and dicing :-) . and on the Min Pins - I LOVE my babies. They can't wait to have a skinny mom that can keep up with them. I have a chocolate and rust as well "Piper" :-)

I have Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery by Patt Levine and Michele Bontempo-Saray. It has SOME good information, but is mostly a cookbook with foods for after surgery. It is an OK book, I love to cook, but some of the stuff they suggest - wow, not something I would try.

I am from Conroe & will be banded by Dr. Spiegel - hopefully soon. There is a support group that meets in The Woodlands - I haven't gone yet, but plan to.

I constantly read all the blogs about weight loss - they are so inspiring. I never really imagined I would have the opportunity to become a wls blogger. Life changes fast. I have been trying to get Lap Band surgery for 3 years. My insurance company, Tricare Prime, excluded the procedure. Of course, I didn't find this out until I had done all of the leg work . . . let me take you back a few years. The year was 2006, I had been researching Lap Band and knew I wanted it. I checked with my insurance and the manual said wls is covered if you are . . . then it listed the types of surgery. One of the ones it listed was vertical banded gastoplasty. I just assumed that was lapband. I went to my PCM, he said that he thought it was a great idea, gave me a referral to the Dr. (Dr. Spiegel), who was in Network. I went to the seminar, met with Spiegel, he said that I was a great candidate. They said I need to have a psyh eval and to meet with a nutritionist. I waited forever for a psych visit. Finally got in. I tried to find a Nutritionist that was in network and couldn't find any - so I called my insurance company, I explained that I was trying to get a consult for lapband. They quickly informed me that lapband isn't covered. I was devastated. I couldn't believe it. Sure enough, I hadn't done my research well enough. It was an excluded procedure. (They quickly approved me for Gastric Bypass) So, I decided I would either change jobs to get medical coverage, or try to be self-pay. After talking with all sorts of people on lapbandtalk, I realized that most of them were under the impression that our insurance would change come January 2007. I waited with baited breath. January, February, March, . . . nothing. I made the decision that I was going to wait till the first of the new year, then go self-pay. Come December 10, 2007, the word came down fast - it was going to be covered. I had never been happier. I had to make another appointment with my PCM, to get another referral to see Dr. Spiegel. I met with Dr. Spiegel on December 20, 2007. I brought all of my paperwork with me, gave it to the nurse to put in my file with instructions how to progress with my Insurance. I should have been suspicious when she didn't write any of it down. I waited until January 3 to call back (Christmas and New Years). They had called, asked if it was covered, got a NO and sent it back. I explained that the change wasn't in the system yet. Explained again how to deal with it. Finally, they got it. My paperwork was submitted to the Insurance January 22, 2008 :eek: I am waiting ever so patiently for the approval. Please, please come fast.

I constantly read all the blogs about weight loss - they are so inspiring. I never really imagined I would have the opportunity to become a wls blogger. Life changes fast. I have been trying to get Lap Band surgery for 3 years. My insurance company, Tricare Prime, excluded the procedure. Of course, I didn't find this out until I had done all of the leg work . . . let me take you back a few years. The year was 2006, I had been researching Lap Band and knew I wanted it. I checked with my insurance and the manual said wls is covered if you are . . . then it listed the types of surgery. One of the ones it listed was vertical banded gastoplasty. I just assumed that was lapband. I went to my PCM, he said that he thought it was a great idea, gave me a referral to the Dr. (Dr. Spiegel), who was in Network. I went to the seminar, met with Spiegel, he said that I was a great candidate. They said I need to have a psyh eval and to meet with a nutritionist. I waited forever for a psych visit. Finally got in. I tried to find a Nutritionist that was in network and couldn't find any - so I called my insurance company, I explained that I was trying to get a consult for lapband. They quickly informed me that lapband isn't covered. I was devastated. I couldn't believe it. Sure enough, I hadn't done my research well enough. It was an excluded procedure. (They quickly approved me for Gastric Bypass) So, I decided I would either change jobs to get medical coverage, or try to be self-pay. After talking with all sorts of people on lapbandtalk, I realized that most of them were under the impression that our insurance would change come January 2007. I waited with baited breath. January, February, March, . . . nothing. I made the decision that I was going to wait till the first of the new year, then go self-pay. Come December 10, 2007, the word came down fast - it was going to be covered. I had never been happier. I had to make another appointment with my PCM, to get another referral to see Dr. Spiegel. I met with Dr. Spiegel on December 20, 2007. I brought all of my paperwork with me, gave it to the nurse to put in my file with instructions how to progress with my Insurance. I should have been suspicious when she didn't write any of it down. I waited until January 3 to call back (Christmas and New Years). They had called, asked if it was covered, got a NO and sent it back. I explained that the change wasn't in the system yet. Explained again how to deal with it. Finally, they got it. My paperwork was submitted to the Insurance January 22, 2008 I am waiting ever so patiently for the approval. Please, please come fast.

I am awaiting approval for banding, but I would love to do WW again and be successful long term. I really like their program - even the online version - I have been very successful at loosing weight for many months - it was keeping it off that I had trouble with. I wonder if you can become a lifetime member with ww once you have been banded? Hmm. food for thought.

I am still awaiting my approval, but I can't believe a 2 week diet is so close in my future. Keep me informed Dallman, I feel we have a "Tricare bond" :-)

great guys, thanks for advice, it makes sense in a round about way. :-)

Hey guys, I have been on tons of websites for Lapband & see that most Dr.s say no drinking 30 min before you eat. I understand why you don't drink with your meal, or after your meal, but I can't grasp why you shouldn't drink before the meal. Some of the websites say it is fine to drink before, but those of you that have been told not to drink before - why is that?

anyone have any ideas?

I haven't been banded yet, but maybe someone who has would buy them from you - I know a lot of people on here use that brand.

I had severe sleep apnea years ago - and surgery was the only option, it was 100% successful - however it was a horrible recovery and I was only 18 years old when I had it. However, mine was so bad that it wasn't all due to weight - If I had lost weight it would have helped, but surgery was the only option. Go to the otolarynxologist and have them give you their opinion. If you have a choice, I would do lapband first, and see, let throat surgery was bad, they had to break my nose, remove my uvula, 70% of my soft palate, they even severed some of the nerves? around my vocal cords - they said I may have to go through speech therapy classes (I didn't have to) it took 3 months to recover. It was really rough.

There are lots of things you can do - A friend of mine has a non-profit rescue, she has an agreement with one of the LARGE concert arenas in Houston, she guarantees a certain amount of volunteers each concert in return for a donation - like 12,000 a Year. She and her hubby and I think 2 friends go to all the concerts - they take tickets, take people to their seats, things like that. It pretty much supports her organization. Lots of places will give significant donations in return for guaranteed volunteers. (the money is tax deductible for them and they get free workers - what better way to play!

I had severe sleep apnea (since have had surgery to correct it), however the more tired I was . . . the worse my apnea was. So, if you have it mildly, I would suggest going in dog tired.

Wow, I am so sorry you are going through this. What a nightmare. I wouldn't take the reimbursement . . . yet. I would go through the appeal process and contact a lawyer to see if you have a case about the way they hired you. I think that if you are offered something when hired, and accept, your company can change in the future, but they can't offer you benefits that weren't available. Quite a few years ago I was hired, part time at a job and they offered me holidays off, the company changed that a few months later, (only available for full time) I threw a fit and got to keep my holidays, because I said it was part of the reason I took the job. I also threw the word ACLU around a lot. I know it is not the same thing, but it made me think of it when reading your post. Good Luck and please keep us posted.

I have never liked fish except fried catfish, my husband, on the other hand LOVES fish of any kind. I love to cook, so I am always trying new recipes. I found one that I LOVE - I am not banded yet, so I have no idea how band friendly this is. Also, I have made it without the sauce and I like it just as well. If you don't have lemon oil on hand, use extra virgin olive oil with a large lemon squeezed in. Hope you like it! Sorry it is so big, when I copied and pasted it in, it won't let me change the formating now. Sautéed Tilapia with White Wine & Lemon Sauce 1/2 Cup flour 3 Tbsp Lemon Olive Oil 4 Tilapia Fillets salt and pepper White Wine and Lemon Sauce (recipe follows) Place flour in shallow baking dish or pie plate and set aside. Pat fish fillets with a paper towel, season both sides of fillet with salt and pepper and let stand until fillets are glistening with moisture, about 5 minutes. Coat both sides of fillet with flour and shake off excess. Heat 2 Tbsp Lemon Olive Oil over high heat in a large non-stick skillet until oil is shimmering, but not smoking. Place fillets in a single layer and immediately reduce heat to medium-high. (3 Minutes on each side). Transfer fillets onto plate and if you're using the sauce, pour it over now and serve. White Wine and Lemon Sauce 1 Tbsp Lemon Olive Oil 1 shallot, roughly chopped 1/2 cup white wine 2 Tbsp butter 1 Tbsp fresh parsley 1/2 lemon In a sauce pan, heat 1 Tbsp Lemon Olive Oil over medium heat, sauté shallots until softened and beginning to color, about 1 1/2 minutes Add wine, increase heat to high and bring to boil, boil until reduced to 3/4 cup -- about 3-5 minutes. Whisk in butter and parsley -- and a squeeze of half a lemon Serve atop Tilapia.

Awesome! I am so excited for you - keep us informed with your updates and progress.

Hey guys - I got a call from Brandi (a supervisor at Tricare South) - they received an email today that the Lapband is covered, their computer software won't be updated until 1/25, but the email with the approval was sent system wide today, if you talk to them and they say it is not in the system, tell them to check their internal email, they received an email TODAY that states it is covered - the only thing is - the OPEN procedure is still NOT covered, it has to be done laproscopic. Can I get a hoo rah!

Hi Abeaher, We are very close - we should keep in touch so we can have a local support - I have read that there are Lapband support meetings in The Woodlands, but I haven't gone to any yet. I have seen the surgeon, had a psych eval, and they are submitting to Tricare (I just hope it comes through) Feel free to email me anytime (well, I guess not from work :-) wendy@beldwinkennels.com

Dallman, I am so glad you are the first. You have been so helpful to all of us, posting the links and keeping us updated. I couldn't be more happy. Don't forget us Tricare "losers" when your skinny! Keep us updated with your success - I want to know every detail! Congratulations

Hey there! I am from Conroe (just North of Houston) and awaiting my insurance approval as well. I am glad you made the decision to go forward with being banded, I know it is the right decision for me. I can't wait. Maybe we will be banded close together - I will be banded by Dr. Speigel. Keep us updated with your insurance progress!

Thanks for going to bat for us - what a confusing mess.

Did Tricare pay for your Nutritionist? When I first stared this well over a year ago, the surgeon's office had me do a psych eval, and see a nutritionist. I did the psych eval, however when I went to find a nutritionist, Tricare said they aren't covered, so I asked why they were requiring one and they said they weren't - then I found out that they weren't covering the band - I am wondering if the surgeon's office is asking for the "traditional" requirements since Tricare doesn't have anything posted for Lapband yet. BUT please let me know about your nutritionist, here they are 100-150 an hour. I would actually really like to go before and after the surgery, I just can't handle 100 more than maybe 2 times.

I have always been more comfortable with a rifle, but I like small ones. I have a little 22 that has been handed down, it shoots like a little pop gun, no kick, not loud and perfectly accurate. My handgun is a 32, the smallest cal we can qualify with here in TX. I am not as comfortable with a heavy handgun, after a few shots, my wrist (I guess) gets tired/sore, and I start loosing my accuracy. My husband took me to an indoor range last week (my first trip) - coming from the country, we always practice at the Deer Lease - but they setup the distances as if I were shooting to qualify, 3, 7 & 15 yards - and I had to put 20 shots in the first and second and 10 in the third - not one miss. I was pretty impressed with myself :-)