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Hi Everyone! Im looking to see what great things you guys are planning on doing once you lose weight after your band, that you cant do now. Lets start a ginormous list for everyone to review as motivation when you dont ever think the insurance will approve you, the liquid diet is kicking you in the butt, or your family is being unsupport. Please list 5 things that you hope to accomplish. I'll start being able to wear calf boots without having to worry about them digging into my calves being able to shop in the misses section of the stores, and not the womens/plus section being able to fing cute/comfortable bras (Yes, Im looking forward to getting rid of the girls) can we say cute coats without any X's on the tags?!? being able to wear belts!

Im 11/10/10 bandster too! My dr has me on a 3 week liquid diet. I can have up to 16 oz a day of regular juice, 1.5 cups of fat free cottage cheese or light yogurt, 2 protien shakes, and all the diet juice and low sodium broth I can stomach! Its very hard (and I'll admit I had some tuna fish today) but as long as I lose 15lbs in 3 weeks I will be okay.

I chose to participate in a fatty liver study. I get paid $100 for ever MRI they do and they will be taking a biopsy of my liver. Im not worried about it, and know they are taking it, and feel very comfortable about doing it. Maybe it will help someone else in the future?

My nutritionalist told me that my broth should have less than 150mg of sodium. Do you know how hard that is to find? There is a store called Trader Joes that I went to that had it, but that was the only place I could find it.

:wub:I know he means well lol. I havent even been banded yet, and at that point hadn't even started my liquid diet. He is in the navy and went out to see for almost a month. I started my 3 week liquid diet a few days after he left, and will be banded a few days before be comes home, so who knows what he will manage to say when he gets back.

I use the premade muscle milk light ones. I got a case of 24 at costco for like $28. I have 2 a day (hello 3 week liquid diet) and as long as they are really really cold they arent bad, kinda like thick chocolate milk

I had to pay to see the nutritionalist and buy my own food but thats it. They dont cover the nutritionalist because the could be considered "weight loss help that isnt surgery" and they dont cover that. But any visits you have pre surgery once your approved, and then so many visits post surgery are covered because they are billed as part of the surgery itself.

Hi Everyone! Im finally doing it. After being told by 4 or 5 different drs here in San Diego Im going to be banded at UCSD by Dr Jacobson on November 10th. I live in North Park, and will be going back to Missouri in January. Anyone got any helpful advice? I started the liquid diet today (although had to fast most of the day, so not sure how it actually went since I was hungry from fasting, but was sick (thank you daughter for spreading that bug lol).

As a patient you have a right to a copy of your records. You cant purge them after 4 years, thats crazy! Someone doesnt want to do their job. Get pissy if you have to! This is the step to the rest of you life, and dont let anyone stand in your way.

hmm I dont know what to think about this because I didnt get charged a program fee. I could think of a dedutable, but not a program fee. Isnt that what your insurance is for?

:thumbup:HI! I live in San Diego and have Tri Care too, and Im going to UCSD. They have the CTO (center for the treatment of obesity) and so far I think its a wonderful program. I was very aprehensive about the process (especially since Im only 23 and 283lbs), but they've helped me see that this is a good choice. Im set to do the band with Dr. Jacobson on November 11th. His staff worked very well with Tri Care. I think that it also helped that I knew what was required by TriCare first, but the whole process from my initial consult to approval was less than a month. They do require a pretty rigious liquid diet before hand (I start it tomorrow and it doesnt SEEM too hard to me) but offer lots of support. All I did was get my PCM to call Tri Care and get me a referral. If they dont give you UCSD, you can always call them and ask to switch to UCSD, and see what you think of them. If you have any questions, let me know! I'd be happy to help.

Good luck! I hope it all goes well.

hi, Im 5'2 and was 292 and got approved from my insurance for the band. My insurance (Tri Care) said that I had to have a BMI of 40 or higher with 2 comorbidities (which your leg might count as one) or be 200% (100lbs) over what was suggested for my body type (which was 145lbs). I would call up your insurance and ask they what is required for the surgery approval. It cant hurt to call. If you dont want to call, then go online and look at your manual.

Well tomorrow is my last day of "real" foods for awhile, and I start my liquid diet on Wednesday. I scrambled around for the stuff on my diet today, and finding a broth with less than 150mgs of sodium per serving is hard! But it is one of my "umlimited foods" so Ive stocked up. I also got my 2 shakes a day, my cottage cheese, and my sugar free jello ready. Wish me luck, these 3 weeks are going to be hard, but worth it in the future.

Im glad that they aren't worried about the 10lbs. My surgeon told me that if I passed the weight I was on my initial consult they would postpone my surgery, and wouldnt allow me to start the liquid diet until i was back down to that initial weight. Then, I needed to lose 15 lbs during my 3 week liquid diet. If I didnt do that, the surgery would be canceled in itself. Tough stuff, but they say it shows dedication to the program. I agree with them, it does, but its a lot of pressure. Dont they say stress in women helps you keep on the lbs?

I had this exact same situation. My dr wanted to do the sleeve because they only like to recommend the band for people whose BMI is 50 or less (mine was around 53). They also said that when they remove the part of your stomach it takes out the hunger horomone, so I will not feel as hungry. Also, with me being so young (Im 23) they arent sure if this would last 50+ years (bc it hasnt been around that long). The sleeve did scare me a bit, but I felt that if they wouldnt sign off on the band then it was a better option, and we submitted it to the insurance. They didnt approve it, so my dr's had me back, trying to convience me that they would do a bypass, found I had lost weight, and said that I could do the band because I had shown initiative and control. The reasons I liked the band over sleeve: 1. band is less invasive. 5 cuts and thats it. I can go back to work in 5 days, and can still live a normal life (i.e. chasing around my 1 year old daughter). With the sleeve I had to wait 2 weeks, and avoid picking my daughter up at all cost because there is a high risk of hernias 2. THe band gives me more sense of being in control. I can feel when I need a fill, or when I need something removed. With the sleeve its an "i hope this is right" thing. 3. the fix is easier if anything goes wrong. With the band, if you have problems (flipping, erosion, slippage, etc) its another small surgery to fix those things. The main concern with the sleeve is thatit will tighten (or harden) up and prevent you from being able to eat. They hafta go in and fix it, but that process sounds scary to me. If I had the ability to do make every thing ideal (Insurance pay for it, a live in nanny to help with my daughter, riches so I didnt have to go back to work) I might have actually chosen the sleeve. But, when I think about it, the band is more pratical for me. if your gut (hehe, there's a small pun in there) tells you to go for the sleeve, I say go for it! Do whats right for you!

I have tri care prime and beause i was 100lbs overweight they approved me without any additional test. Judging by your explaination of what they told you, they were just giving you an "in general" answering. Kinda like "oh tri care as an insurance company does cover it" (which they do) but not looking at your case speifically. It sucks that they did that to you. I would go to your PCM and have them write you a referral to go get a consult (thats where I had to start). They when you get your initial consult the dr's will work with you to see if they can truely see if you qualify with the comorbidities and such.

Hey, Id love to be buddies. Im 23 as well, and my daughter is almost 11 months old. SHes one of the main reasons Im doing this. I want her to be able to grow up and want to be like mommy, with good eating habits and onfidence in herself.

Hi Dave_NW! I just had mine done today and Id be happy to share my experiences. The endoscopy really was easy. Of course they had to admit me for an outpatient poceedure, and had me sign tons of PPW. THey put an IV port in my hand and had me take my top off (man, if I had a quarter for everytime I heard that hehehe) and put on the gown. They then had me walk down to the room (I hadnt received any drugs yet bc they wanted to confirm that I was the right person and such). I got on the bed, turned on my side, and got some oxygen put in my nose. After confirming my identity, they had me put in a bite plate (think a little bigger than a soda bottle cap with a hole in the middle) so the camera didnt chip my teeth, and gave me some dimeral (sp?). that took 1 minute to kick in and suddenly the room go wavery (pretty good stuff) then my eyes got heavy, but I didnt go to sleep. They told me to swallow, and down the hatch it went. they were in there for maybe 5 minutes (if that) and they pulled it out, and said "okay, you're good to go" and they wheeled me to recovery. I was in recovery for about 10 minutes (long enough to have some Water, sit up, put my shirt on, and get the IV port out), and went home to a nice nap :smile: It really isnt anything to worry about. My surgeon was in there with me, and I asked him just what it was for, and he wanted to make sure there wasnt any reflux or hernias that they needed to take care of or be forewarned about. I dont think you have anything to be worried about, and it will be done before you know it.

lol Im with you every step of the way. Im banded on the 10th of November AND I have to do the 3 week liquid diet. Luckily I have a very involved nutritionalist who has helped me do a great diet plan. I do get to have some cottage cheese and such, but for the most part its 2 Protein shakes a day, some pudding and cottage cheese, and as much sugar free Jello and low sodium broth that I can handle.

I think what you have to remember is that happy people dont have time to sit here as post as much as those people who arent happy. Happy people are out living life, and trying to get the most out of their band. Its like every other website, angry/unhappy people want people to know how bad it is, but happy people dont really spend as much time spreading the word. I havent got my band yet (counting down til November 10th! ) but Im excited about being able to use this tool, especially since I know that if I didnt have insurance I wouldnt have the oppertunity to do this.

Hey Im set for November 10th too! I just got my time. I hafta be at the hospital to check in by 7, and surgery time is 10. They told me I should be ready to go home at like 3pm! Nervous but excited. Whats the length of everyones liquid diet? I hafta do 3 weeks! Its a blessing (and curse) that my husband is gone to sea at that time because Im not sure if I could cook for him and not want to eat myself.

I think that we are all in the same boat. Im more excited than nervous. My husband is in the Navy, and we planned the surgery date when he was supposed to be here. Then they changed the date to being back on 2nd day post op, and now he's comming back on 5 day post op. Thankfully I have some friends to stay with to help me with my 11 month old daughter, otherwise I dont know what I would do. Im just worried about going back to work. Im supposed to be discharged the day I have the surgery, and my surgeon said that I could go back after 5 days because I dont lift anything, I just hope he is right.

that is so crazy! I went to 3 different doctors to try to find one to help me do something other than surgery (I was 20 years old and the thought of surgery terrified me) and they all suggested surgery (the band). Find another dr. surely your insurance wont say "oh, you have to be with the referring dr x amount of months" so switching wont hurt a thing.

Woohoo! We're growing in numbers. I hafta go for my upper endoscopy (I hope I spelled that right) next wednesday and am a bit nervous about that. Other than my weight Im pretty healthy and havent had any major proceedures like that. Anyone else have to do this? Also I have to do a 3 week liquid diet starting the 21st. My husband will be out to sea, and my daughter is only 10 months so pretty easy to please, so Im not worried about the will power, just dont want to feel hungry. Any tips?