michiganer

Well good news. My doctor called me today and they said my records are ready. These are the last 5 years with just the pages that have my weight written down. They are charging me $14 to get them which is fine by me.

<p><p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Hi! I live in St. CLoud and I work downtown Orlando. I plan on having Dr. Kim at US Bariatrics do my surgey. I just have to get Cigna to accept him as a provider which is hard. Cigna wants me to go to Dr. Jawad in Ocala but I don't want to. When I called them, the lady that answered the phone asked me about my weight. I told her and she said because my BMI is over 50, Dr. Jawad would want to do gastric and probably wouldn't do the band. I don't like being told that by the person that answers the phone there. I think it sounds like Dr. Jawad is out to make more money because he charges more for gastric. I am praying Cigna will see that US Bariatric is about 50 miles closer to where I live. Right now I am in month 5 of my 6-month diet program so I am just waiting to send all of my paperwork once that's over. Keeping my fingers crossed that they will approve me! www.myspace.com/michiganer1981

Thank you so much for your encouragement! I truly feel as if God has led me to the lab band. I heard about the band years ago but always thought I could lose weight myself. I just turned 26 years old three days ago so I figured I had youth on my side. I am 5'4 and I now weigh 335lbs. I am insulin resistant, have polycystic ovaries and have hypothyroidism. My body aches and I am getting to the point where even wiping myself is diffucult. I realized that I cannot continue to kid myself. I need help now. The problem before was that I had no insurance. I knew I wanted the surgery but as a college student living on my own, could no afford. I have worked at the same company for 8 years. Always part-time. Last year, a full time position opened up with benefits. I applied and got the job. I told myself before I got it that this was my chance. I prayed and prayed and honestly felt that God would give me this job to literally save my life. (funny, I always thought working more would kill me, not save me). I purpousely chose Cigna because I knew they covered lap band. In fact, I called cigna before I even knew I got the job to ask them about coverage. Then I found out about the 6-month diet program and all of the other hoops you have to jump through. I was discouraged but I knew this was all part of God's plan. Like I said before, I have two more visits with the nutritionist and I am almost there. In the meantime, I am looking for a psychologist and going to get letters of medical necessity. The one question I have is, did you send all of the paperwork to Cigna or did your doctor do it? I am trying to get my records for the past 5 years from one of my doc's and it is proving to be difficult. Did you gather everything yourself and send it? I guess if it was easy, everyone would do it right? Thanks again for your inspiration. I will continue to post and let people know how my journey is going. God bless! Trisha

Congratulations! So far I have 2 more visits with the nutritionist and I am going to my regular doctor in July. He said he would write me a letter of medical necessity if I went to a Cardiologist and was cleared. I did that and the heart is good. So now I just need to tell my regular doc and he will give me the letter. I am also getting a letter from my endocronologist. I figure the more doctors on my side, the better. Then I need to find a person to do the psych eval. I am hoping to find one that takes insurance and hopefully Cigna will pay for some of it. We shall see...

Wow thanks Tanderson! I am getting everything together so I should have everything they ask for. I am hoping to submit everything in about a month. My last Nutritionist appt is July 25th I think so as soon as that is done-Its GO time!

I also have Cigna and would love for more Cigna people to respond. Right now I am in month 5 of my nutritionist diet program thing. I have an appointment set with my doctor to get a letter of medical necessity and my insurance covers lap band. I would be devastated if after all this, I get denied. I am praying that once all of my paperwork comes together, Cigna will approve it for me. Any other out there with good/bad Cigna stories?

Hi Slowkat. I have hypothyroidism and I am not banded. I have gone through the same thought process as you. I should be able to lose the weight without surgery. My hypothyroidism didn't hit me all at once, I have dealt with it since puberty. Since the age of 12, my weight has gradually increased until I am now over 300lbs at 25 years old. I take my thyroid medication and I have gone on countless diets. I am tired of it all! I have decided that I need the band to help me. Even my endocrinologist has said he will write me a letter of recommendation to get the surgery. This is what he said when I first met him years ago, "With hypothyroidism, you are like a handicapped person in a race with fit people when it comes to dieting". What he meant is that our bodies are fighting weight loss so dieting for us is much harder. Remember that the lap band is a tool that we can use to make us even with everyone else. As for telling people about being banded, I have also wrestled with that problem. It is up to you to decide IF you want to tell people. I have already decided not to tell my Dad and other family members because they would try to bring me down. If they ask, I will tell them the truth, that I am eating much less and I am exercising. I plan on being banded within the next few months. I am not going to let anyone get in my way.

Wandam, I had some of the same fears you did until I went to a seminar today. I have also been reading through this forum and found that it is impossible to over eat. It is not impossible to gain your weight back though. I went to Florida Hospital in Celebration FL and Dr. Kim did a presentation about the surgery. He was really informative and let people ask all the questions they wanted. He said that the band is not a magic cure. You still have to make food choices. He said it like this, "Its like always having a car without power steering and now you have power steering. You still have to drive the car but it is easier. You can choose to drive the car into a ditch or stay on the road". I thought that was a really good way to put it. Ultimately, we still have to eat right and excersise. But with the band, the weight will come off much easier. I really hope you can find a seminar near you. I think it is the best way to get answers directly from a surgeon. Good Luck! Trisha

I am scheduled for a seminar this Monday in Celebration. It is Florida Hospital.

Hi everyone! I am new to this forum and have a few questions. I am a 25 year old female and I weigh just over 300lbs. I have tried many diets including Atkins and Weight Watchers. Like many others here, I have been overweight my entire life. It seems that one of the biggest regrets of others is not having this surgery sooner. I am wasting the best years of my life right now by being overweight. I am seriously considering the lap band. I have a few questions that hopefully someone will answer. First, I am worried about the amount of fluids a person can drink. When I excersise, I tend to drink ALOT of Water. Can a person become easliy dehydrated because they are restricted from drinking alot of Fluid at once? The second question I have is about throwing up. I understand that throwing up can cause band slippage. But what happens when a person has the flu or gets food poisoning? There may be times when a person will throw up alot. How much can the lap band handle? I have read on alot of sites about how the lap band is a great tool to lose weight. I also have read that people have them removed. In general, is the lap band a temporary solution? Is it meant to help you lose most of your excess weight and then removed? How long do people usually keep the band in? And finally, because I am 25, I expect to be very active once I lose my weight. With gastric bypass, hernias are a problem and people are not supposed to lift heavy things. Are there physical restrictions to people with the lap band? Can I do sit-ups and ab-crunches without disrupting the band? I really appreciate the time people will spend responding to me. This board has already been really informative. I am on the verge of taking the step towards surgery. I am so glad to know that if I do, there are many friends out there that have already been down that path. Trisha

Hi Monk, I am not banded yet so I don't know if he does fills. I expect my new position to include Cigna insurance and I called them to see if they cover it. They said they do for my company. I won't be in that position for a few months so right now I am just gathering info. :girl_hug:

Thanks Ginger! I will probably take you up on that offer to ask questions! I am really learning alot about the procedure. I will definitely look into the doctor you mentioned. I should be getting insurance in a few months so I may wait until then. Thanks again! Trisha

HeavenlyHands, I understand what you are going through. Although I am 25 and you are 43, years don't matter when it comes to understanding how it feels to be morbidly obese. When you said, "I am the person in the motorized wheelchair at Wal-Mart", I could really relate. I feel the same way about many things. I am the person who asks for an extender on an airplane. I am the person who can't fit into a plastic lawnchair. I am the person that isn't comfortable in many cars. The great thing about these boards is that we are all those people, or have been those people. I am seriously considering the surgery too. I have found in the short time I have been reading these boards that this is a safe place we can come to. I am so happy to hear that you are taking the first steps towards a better life! I will be getting insurance soon and hope to be following (in your soon-to-be) much smaller foot steps. Please keep posting to let us know your progress. We are all in this together and together we will lose weight!

Thank you both for your replies! I appreciate the informative website Jahar! I am so glad I found this site. Everyone understands what it is like to feel the way we do. I will continue to research but I am 95% sure I am going to have the surgery. Right now I am gearing up for graduation with a BS degree and I am moving. By November, I am planning on going to a seminar and I should have insurance by then. I heard that the Insurance I will get with my new job covers the surgery! Just another sign that this is the right thing for me. Thanks again for your help! Trisha

Hi everyone, I live in Altamonte Springs. Does anyone have a recommendation for a surgeon in Central Florida? I am considering surgery and am hoping someone can give me a good recommendation...