lynh564

Congrats to all the April Bandsters that have had their surgeries. I am scheduled for Monday morning and I have to be there at 7:30am. I have been doing my pre-op the last 3 weeks and have done ok. I am down 12lbs. The next two days is clear liquids only - that will be a challenge but I can survive two days. I am ready to get the show on the road.

Good luck. I am due to be banded in a little over a week. I also feel nervous and excited. I am ready and I don't want to fail. I think knowledge is power. We'll do great.

Good luck! I hope everyting goes smoothly.

does your insurance have a specified number of years that you have to be a 40+ bmi? If not. you could gain some weight. I was like you, I needed to gain about 7lbs. I gained about 10. I got my approval and I started watching what I ate. I have started the pre-op and now I am down 8lbs. I still have two weeks to my surgery date. I felt that if I kept ging I would probably gain the weight anyway.

I know what you mean. I started watching what I eat right after I found out I was approved. I read on my surgeon's website about their pre-op diet. I am supposed to start it two weeks before surgery, that is tomorrow. I thought I would start it early. I was doing well until last night and I gave into McDonald's. I have done much better today. I have lost 7lbs since I was approved but it has been hard but I am hoping the jump start will help me in the long run.

:thumbup: I am so excited to finally say that I have a date and it's been approved by insurance. My date is 04/05/2010. I can't wait to begin my new life. I started today making little changes. I am ready!

Thanks for the support. I have started making little changes and trying to lose some weight now that I am approved. It's going well - I can't wait!

It really depends on your surgeon. I went to a seminar in Sept '09. I filled out the surgeon's paperwork and submitted in November. I got a letter from the surgeons office in December telling which clearances that I needed to get. I had to gather my entire package before I could submit it to the surgeon's office. I started scheduling but due to the holidays, I didn't finish my clearances until the end of January but had to wait on letters from each of the specialists. I finally submitted the complete package on 02/17/2010. It was submitted to insurance on 03/03 and approved on 03/04. I got my dates - so my initial consult is until 03/18 and my surgery is 04/05. So about 6 months for me.

It's official. My surgery date is 04/05. I can't wait.

I found out Friday that my insurance approved me. I have to wait on the formal letter to schedule the surgery but it is looking like it will be April. i am excited and nervous at the same time.

Good luck! I found out on Friday that I will be submitted on Monday. My wait should only be 5-7 days. This waiting is tough. I finished up all my clearances that end of January but had to wait on on the letters from each of the specialists, etc. Then had to wait 5 days for surgeon review. That is done .......

I became interested in LAP-BAND®® surgery about 3 years ago but my insurance didn't cover it - I worked for a health system that had bariatric surgery. Last Fall, I saw a commercial for the Realize band. I decided to start looking into again. I found out that my husband's insurance (Feb BCBS) would cover it. I went to my first seminar in Sept 2009. I followed through with another seminar for another surgeon and started doing my homework. I finally submitted by initial paper work to the first surgeon. I received my letter from the surgeon in December telling what clearances I would need to get and submit. I started making appointments but because of my work travel schedule, I didn't have my appointments until after Jan 15th. I completed all the appointments and have spent the last three weeks waiting on the letters to come so that I could submit my package to the surgeon. I finally was able to submit the package yesterday. I have to wait for two surgeons to review my package and then if approved, it will be submitted to insurance. I am really anxious and hoping that I will be able to get the approval to move forward. I feel like I am walking a tight rope. I am just at the minimum BMI with no co-morbidities. I cant' lose and I certainly don't want to gain. I am ready to begin this journey.

i am in the waiting game as well. I have completed all of my appts. My PCP was supposed to have written my letter. The office called on Friday to tell me the letter and history were ready for pickup. I went yesterday to pick it up and there is no letter. I asked about the letter and the response was they didn't know about the letter. I looked in the notes that were printed out and it stated about the letter. I told the nurse that I had given the doctor a sample letter. She pulled my chart and found the sample letter. She said that she would have the doctor do the letter today and fax it to me. I called this morning and left my fax number, still I didn,t receive the letter. i am waiting on that letter and the letter from the nutritionist so that I can submit my package to the surgeon. It is lloking like it will be April before i will be scheduled. 3his is soooooooooo frustrating.

I have been reading on this forum for about a month now. I finally made my decision and have sent in my paperwork to the surgeons office. I orignally started out wanting the band but I am now in favor of the sleeve. I hope to hear this week about my consult. My goal is to have the surgery early in 2010. My biggest concern is hunger - that is my biggest battle.

Thanks for the warm welcome. I hope that I can get the sleeve approved through insurance. I have Fed BCBS - it's a toss up whether they will approve. I have read where they have and have not. So the bumpy journey begins......