TracyJo

Good point, I am not banded yet but have been the recipient of many rude and/or invasive questions or comments about our quadruplets, sometimes right in front of them (they are 3) and our 7-year-old. It is amazing how easily people will confuse one procedure with another (bariatric or fertility). I guess at the end of the day, people are ill-informed and just kinda dumb :puke:

The last 3 lines of your post are very inspirational, thank you for sharing that and sorry to hear about the car accident!

Good except being so overweight! Life is good, dh stays home with the quads and big sister. He is thinking of getting banded too as we have both always been quite large. Congrats on the pregnancy!

I'm glad your family is supportive;however, your last two sentences are a huge (no pun intended) stereotype. I know far more outspoken/outgoing obese people that aren't afraid to speak their minds and make their own decisions versus what you described. I agree that dynamics of a relationship MAY change for SOME..but this is one fat chick who is not afraid to speak her mind no matter what size she is

Yeah that is what I was thinking...I previously had Blue Care Network and they required 6 months of supervised dieting by your primary. I completed 4 months and then we moved 20 minutes from where we currently lived and my insurance switched to PHP-Mid Michigan. Their requirement was only 12 weeks of supervised dieting which I had already completed within the last year under the old insurance plan. I meet all the other requirements (bmi of 45, sleep apnea, hypothyroidism, borderline diabetic, pcos). I am also wondering if I was quickly approved because the bariatric center of excellence I went to is run by the same hospital (sparrow) that runs PHP of Mid Michigan. Who knows. At any rate, I am glad to hear it sounds like my letter is the real thing! I am hoping that the fact that my gallbladder has already been removed and I have already had a sleep study in the past year and have and use my apnea mask that this will also speed things up.

I already introduced myself and explained that I went to a WLS seminar and they sent my records and primary dr.letter into my insurance company to see if I could be approved for treatment (i.e., surgery as outlined in my dr. referral letter). I received the letter about a week after the records were submitted and am waiting to hear back from the WLS place for moving forward with the other steps of meeting with the dr. etc. After reading several posts it sounds like most people had a surgery scheduled before they got their approval letter? Why did I get approved so early in the process? Not complaining, wondering if this is "too good to be true"...

I have not been banded yet but have PCOS. We used minimally invasive fertility treatments (not in vitro) and have had 6 children this way. One set of twins (one survived) 7 years ago and one set of quadruplets that just turned 3.

I've experienced this a little..so I have narrowed down whom I will even tell..it's a personal medical decision. I keep my eye on the end goal "In 2 years I will have lost most or all of the weight and be reaping the reward of a healthier mind and body"...I'm pretty sure by then I won't care what people have said. It's easy and maybe even fun for some people to judge a situation they've never been in.

That is an impressive number, good work!

Hi all, I signed up and have been lurking for awhile and finally decided to post I have been overweight/obese/morbidly obese my whole life. Currently I am 33 and 267 pounds. I am a happily married (10 years this month!) mother of 5. I work as a secretary and have for many years - probably contributed to weight. I have tried numerous diets and pills and programs over the years with success, but of course, not long-term. In the Fall of last year I began the documentation process via my primary doctor to be considered for WLS. She referred me for Lap-band®/gastric bypass. I attended a WLS seminar last month through our local hospital who is also a bariatric center of excellence. They offer banding and gastric bypass and the class I attended covered both topics. The WLS place submitted my records and support letter from my primary for approval to have a bariatric surgery medical evaluation. I received my letter of approval in the mail on Friday, Oct. 1 from my insurance company approving me to be treated by the bariatric center and assume I will hear from the WLS place in the very near future to begin psych eval and all of the other numerous requirements. So that is where I am at so far in this process. My insurance covers everything other than those overpriced Optifast shakes and some copays for a total out of pocket expense of around $600-$800 total between pre-op and post-op. My understanding is that most of the cost can be put on my medical flex spending card that I am signed up with at work. I have PHP/Plus of Mid-Michigan for health insurance. I actually had an appeal letter drafted because in the back of my mind I thought I would be denied...I am sure that is because I am use to being let down by weight loss efforts! I look forward to getting to know everyone, so many of the stories I have read on here are so encouraging, I am really hopeful for the future and am looking forward to a healthier lifestyle for myself and my family. :smile2: