cunner

Actually I feel you may be a bit out of line responding as you did to Mariasha. I tend to agree with his advice. The advice from the others may be sound, but if there is any question a call to you doctors office would be the wisest choice in my opinion. When you ask for others advice it may be a good idea to take the advice you like and ignore the rest if you so choose. To chastise others for giving an opinion when you are the one that asked for it seems rather silly. You are certainly free to do as you choose though. Good Luck.

First off great job keep up the good work. I was banded the same day and have gone from 253 to 223 so far. I would feel that others setting my goals would be quite frustrating as it appears you may be feeling as well. In fact I don't discuss absolute weight with my wife, mine nor hers. I will mention relative weight occasionally as in "hey I hit the 30# lost mark today". For the most part I keep that to myself as well. If I feel better and look better then it will be noticed in both my appearance and also in the energy I put forth in day to day activities. I have a very broad weight range in mind for a goal but that is personal. (my ticker at the bottom of the post kind of alludes to it). Other than that my plan is to work hard and stay committed and see where this takes me. I am in my forties now. My body may simply not get to where I was at 22 years old. Then again it just may. I plan to work hard at this since I had almost a year long battle getting insurance approval my motivation is quite high. For you to have already lost 40 lbs. in just over 4 weeks is evidence of a very strong commitment to this already. Keep up the good work. You may be surprised at where you are 6 or 8 months from now.

I had surgery on Dec 28th. Yesterday (Wednesday) was to be my first day back to work. Well I got new snow tires put on my car on Tuesday evening. Got up Wednesday to drive to work and got about 1 mile from my house at 6AM and had a blowout. Clearly a defective tire. I pulled into a parking lot and had to change the tire. So much for not lifting over 15 #s for 4 weeks. I feel fine and I am sure (hopefully) nothing got damaged as I only jacked the car up just enough so that the lift was only 1/2 inch or so to put the new tire on but what a crappy time to get a blowout 1 week post-op. Also, I am suprised at how good I feel as I was expecting it to be much worse. It's kinda good to be back to work as I was getting bored at home when I can do very much activity.

I was banded on the 28th and I have the exact same conditions. At least I know this is not out of the ordinary. In fact I just had a cup of beef broth for dinner and I am gurgling away.

I was banded Tuesday. I have been doing a lot of walking everyday starting on Tuesday when I was doing laps around the hospital ward. Today I did about 1.5 miles. I take the pains meds which is just liquid tylenol now and the pain is fine. First couple days it just felt like someone punched me in the stomach. It was never too bad. The gas sucks. Its not painful but it gasx does nothing and it constantly rumbles and occasionally escapes. I was rather uncomfortable at the NYE party last night as it was not exactly a place where gas release was entirely appropriate. I did step out a few times to attempt relief but with little affect. Feeling much better today though. Happy 2011 to Everyone here !!

Happy New year to all from me as well. !! I have had my band for 3 days now and couldn't be happier about going into 2011. Best of Luck to all in 2011

Congratulations SouthernLeo. I did my pre-op yesterday and I am also scheduled for next Tuesday the 28th. What a great way to start the new year. Good Luck !!

Awesome Renee !! I can only hope I am as excited as you. It feels like I will be at this point. I am at day 3 of a 14 day pre-op and down 9 lbs since Tuesday. 15 lbs total since October. Good Luck and be sure to let us all know how it went.

The sleep study was not bad at all. I had a split study but the tech told me although I had several apnea events there were not enough to wake me. They made me come back for a 2nd night the next week. That was a bit frustrating. They told me that I should treat it like any other night. If I had a drink or 2 before bed most nights then by all means feel free to do it for the sleep study. Just DON'T drink and drive.. duh.. and don't bring it in the hospital. I brought a laptop with a DVD and parked in the garage at the hospital where the sleep study was done. I had a sandwich for dinner and a couple of glasses of wine while watching a movie and then went inside. I snore louder after a glass or 2 of red wine according to my wife. It was pretty much just as everyone describes. They hooks up a ton of wires, tuck you in and I think I watched TV for 1/2 hour or so then off to sleep. I get up early so by 5AM I was awake, cleaned up (lots of glue) and on my way. CPAP is a pain ins the @$$ but hopefully I will be off it soon. I have been using my machine for about 9 months. You will be fine. I'm sure after a few minutes they will make your evening as comfortable as possible.

I know so much what you mean. We have a swimming pool and have family and friends over several days a week throughout the summer. Even on the hottest days I would sit in the shade or maybe sit on the edge of the pool with my feet in but never felt comfortable taking off my shirt to go swimming. This always disappointed my 6 and 8 year old daughters who want nothing more that to have me swim and play with them. The only time I ever went into the pool was alone after dark. NOT THIS YEAR... I'M SWIMMING !!!

That is fast Tori. My date is 12/28 and I started my pre-op shakes yesterday too. I have no advice to make them taste better. I figured it is what it is and its only 2 weeks followed by a couple more post op weeks. I started this process 367 days ago. Insurance company issues made this a long process. I left it in God's hands with the assistance of a couple lawyers and it worked out in the end. With such a long frustrating battle to get the insurance companies denial overturned I believe is helping me find the mental toughness to get through this easier. In fact I was so looking forward to the day I was scheduled to start the pre-op diet as it was finally starting what I fought so hard to get to. As you drink those shakes think of how little consequence that unpleasant flavor will mean 6 months from now when you are so much healthier. Best of Luck to you.

Don't give up Evan. That's what they are counting on. I was denied last March and then denied again on my 1st level and 2nd level appeals. Many states also have a final appeal by an independent external review. Mine was overturned at this level and the insurance Co. was required to pay at that point. It took almost a year but I am scheduled for surgery on Dec 28th. You may want to contact obesitylaw.com. They will review you case and let you know very quickly if they feel they can get you denial overturned. It cost me absolutely nothing other than time and anxiety. The entire appeals process was handled for me. I believe the fees are all paid by Allergan (makers of Lap-band) to the attorneys office. Kelley and Walter are the attorneys and they are great. Best of luck with the appeal.

My BMI is about 38 but I have sleep apnea, hypertension, and a few other co-morbid conditions but was denied by Aetna. My first and 2nd level appeals were both denied upholding the original decision. I finally appealed to an independent external review where the decision was overturned. It took a year of appeal/wait/deny/appeal etc but in the end I got the approval. All I can advise is don't give up. If you do get denied I highly recommend contacting obesitylaw.com. Walter and Kelley handled the entire appeal process for me and it cost nothing. Kelley was the best and seemed to say just the right things when the appeal denials came in to keep me motivated to continue to fight the decision. I started this process exactly one year ago today and will have surgery on Dec 28th. With a BMI over 40 you will probably not have an issue. Keep a positive attitude and feel sure it will happen and it will. Good Luck !!

I have no advice Swan56 but just wanted to say good luck to you. My surgery is the 28th so I start the pre-op liquid diet tomorrow. It great you have such a supportive husband. I asked my wife if she wanted to do the Protein shake diet too, haha, not a chance. I do almost all of the cooking and meal prep for her and my daughters. She did agree to take over that duty for the next 6 weeks or so which is nice. I told her in 6 weeks I would make her a nice romantic meal of mashed potatoes and apple sauce to thank her for her support. Also, Happy 30th Birthday. What a nice present you are doing for yourself this year !!

I am scheduled for Dec 28th. I have the same issue of being embarrassed to tell people as well. My wife knows and last weekend I finally told my parents. I had so much anxiety about telling anyone but with the holidays coming up and me only being able to have Protein shakes I figured a lot of questions were going to come up. Turns out they said. "Good for you" That was it. I have been worried about this for almost a year now and it turned out to be no big deal. I told my wife yesterday that she can mention it to her Mom as well since we will be having beef tenderloin at her house on the 25th. Oops.. I mean they will be having beef tenderloin while I drink my "yummy" chocolate shake. Actually I haven't tried them yet. I get that pleasure when the 2 week liquid diet start tomorrow. I am actually looking forward to this as it feels like this is where it really begins. It is exactly one year ago today I attended the introductory session to begin this journey so it is kind of a cool date to start the real process. I had a long year of insurance appeals before finally getting approval Good Luck with your surgery on the 30th. I am hoping we all have good losses for 2011

Awesome !!! Way to stick with it. My sugery was scheduled for last march before Aetna started me on the denial path. Mine ended up going to external review before getting overturned. I got help from Kelley and Walter Lindstrom at obesitylaw.com. Kelley was so great I cant say enough about how helpful she was making me feel better throughout the process. I am scheduled for 12/29. One month to go. It has already been 11 1/2 months since I started this process. Good Luck and congratulations again

I just got my surgery date of Dec 29th. I first went to the seminar to start this process on Dec 14, 2009. This has been a long process. Anyway my question is about how soon one can usually start physical activity. I can ask my surgeon next week when I meet with him but I was hoping to get a feel for what to expect before that. This is right at the start of a very short snowmobiling season and it would be very upsetting if I had to tell my family that we would not have time to get out this winter because I had to heal. The sleds are fairly heavy but we have reverse so there is not usually a lot of muscling them around. Am I being too optimistic about hoping for mid-January? My plan is to heal fast. Thanks Cunner

My BMI is about 38. I went 1 pound below 35 in June 2008 because I was dieting and therefore did not have a 2 year history above their threshold. I did have medical records, weight watchers records etc. back as far as 2004 showing that I was well over a 35 BMI even as far back as that. Hypercholesterolemia and GERD both of which I have been taking medication for are not considered co-morbidities by Aetna. My blood pressure is controled by medication so therefore I do not qualify under that co-morbidity. Finally my diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea of which they covered the cost of CPAP therapy they have in their medical wisdom changed the diagnosis to "snoring therapy". I was a very frustrating process. It was if I was being punished by trying to take care of myself by seeing my doctor regularly, taking my medication and exercising.

Thanks for all the replies. There really isn't much lifting involved. I drive the sleds on and off the trailer. Maybe this is a good opportunity to get my wife more involved with that part. My six year old girl will be moving from in front of me (between my arms) to behind me this year and will have to learn to hold on for herself. I will have to ride much gentler this year for that fact alone so that may work out OK. I expect I will be riding more later in the winter to early spring which will put me in the 4-8 week range. Hopefully I will be OK by then.

I was scheduled before I was approved. 36 hours before the surgery last March the hospital canceled my surgery and rescheduled it as they did not get the approval yet. The denial came 24 hours after the original scheduled date. The 2nd denial soon followed leading to the 2nd canceled surgery. Over the following several months I got denials on the 1st and 2nd level appeals before having the decision overturned in an independent external review. I am now scheduled for surgery 12/29 exactly 1 year and 15 days after I first walked into the introductory seminar. It can sometimes be a long frustrating process. I would recommend getting the approval before getting scheduled. It can lead to a huge emotional rollercoaster doing it as I did.

The only one I have told is my wife. My almost 9yo and 6 yo daughters do not have to know anything about it. My surgery date is 12/29 so I don't have the anxiety of dealing with the holiday questions with the family. As far as anyone else has to know I am making a new years resolution to eat less and loose weight. My wife and I told the girls that we are now eating healthy and they have been actually enjoying eating salads, grilled chicken breast and they loved having fruit salad instead of fries with their burger yesterday. In fact it was hard to get them to eat any of the burger over the fresh fruit.

Please don't let my wife see this thread. She had 2 c-sections and came through like a champ with no complaints. Hopefully my Lapband will be in place within a month after my recent approval that took 9 months of appeals. I'm sure I will complain about pain a ton more than she ever would after 2 children. We will be married for 11 years tomorrow. I hope that by our 12th anniversary I can be much closer to my size when she married me. It would be nice to have a 2nd honeymoon and not be ashamed to take off my shirt at the beach. :eek:

I don't even know what to write to express how disappointed I am right now. Have gone through every required appointment including Upper GI, Endoscopy, 2 EKG' 2 sleep studies up though completing my pre-surgery admissions and was less than 36 hours from my scheduled surgery date at one point a couple weeks ago. The only thing missing was insurance approval. The surgeons office does not submit an insurance packet until a surgery date is set. With my date set at 3/31 I find out that they didn't submit the packet until 2 weeks prior. With me calling Aetna everyday to check the status and being told it is still under review I finally get a call from the surgeons office on the morning of 3/30 telling me they will have to reschedule. My denial came on the morning of 4/3. According to my surgeons office it was due to the fact that I had been diagnosed with Sleep Apnea but had not had my CPAP long enough before surgery. The hospital didn't schedule the pulmonary consult until 3/29 so until that time I didn't even know the results of the sleep study. So now I am on CPAP and have a new date scheduled on 5/12 and insurance packet is resubmitted for new date. Yesterday I got a second denial stating that according to the submitted records by BMI fell below 35 at a point within the past 2 years. On December 08 I was 1# light. Prior to that I had been lower due to working very hard to lose the extra weight. I am now a 38 BMI and have records indicating a BMI of 37 as far back as '04. I went up and down constantly during that time. I also have high blood pressure, high Cholesterol, GERD and Sleep Apnea. It seems my biggest mistake according to the insurance company policy is trying to lose weight. I thought that is what they would want me to do. I was now told by the surgeons office that my only recourse at this point is the write an appeal myself but that in the meantime I will be removed from the active patient list and they couldn't help me anymore. Due to 1 pound my next record showing my weight wasn't until June2009 and I would need to maintain where I am until June 2011 or abandon it all together. The NP coordinator at the sugenons office told me that was a poor decision and I should try to live a healthy lifestyle and decide if I want that extra piece of cake or if want to be take care of myself better. WTF have I been doing for the past 10 years and look where it got me. Maybe I will lose weight as I didn't sleep at all last night and I haven't been able to eat anything today since I am so disappointed. It is so hard to have any confidence that an appeal with be met with any other outcome than I have already heard.

It amazes me the way these insurance companies work. I have Aetna as well. A 38 BMI along with mild sleep apnea, high BP, high cholesterol, acid reflux, all well documented along with letters of medical necessity from 3 doctors and was denied 4 times by the insurance company including the 1st and 2nd level appeals. It was finally overturned this week by independent external review. Now I just want to get this done right away before something else bad happens with them.