happygirl65

YAHOO!!!!

OMG! That sucks! Keep calling them, they have to sort it out, demand a supervisor or a nurse advocate...you will get it straight. I hear BCBS is pretty fast...hopefully you will have better results once the holiday weekend is passed and they can concentrate on business again. Good luck!

I am hoping for approval soon, my dr's office is still gathering info at this point. I am chosing to do it beginning of Jan if I can because then my deductible will be met and if I need to see a therapist or dematologist or heck anything else it will be covered 100% I am looking forward to it! I have hit a tiny wall though considering my primary doc wont write the necessary letter of recommendation...thank kinda makes me mad...guess I will have to find a doc who will or contact one of my old docs and see if they will do it. I have faith I can get it done though.

According to my surgeon (who is a teacher of other LapBand Surgeons) the vast majority of patients who die after having lap band surgery are from heart related issues. They are required to include anyone who died within a certain time frame after having the surgery regardless of their other health problems or advanced stages of their various diseases. Some of the people that are included in these (relatively small numbers) are people who already have heart disease...one was even on a transplant list....only one death occured on the table and that was because of some gross negligence on the part of the doctor doing the surgery....ONE....the rest died later within the reporting time period and most of them had advanced heart disease. Every surgery does have it's risks but the risks of obesity (IMO) outweigh this surgery by far.

Way to go! I would SO revoke his mail reading privledges too....lol. I laugh because my hubby does the same thing....reads things then hands it to me and says...tell me what it really says....lol. EXCITING!

I have two schools of thought on this for myself. 1. It's no one else's business....do I tell everyone I know that I had my tubes tied after my third child....no....it's none of their business what I decide is best for me, even though that particular surgery was elective. They simply wont see me having another child. It's personal and it's no one's business but mine. 2. It's not for them to pass judgement if they do find out or even if I decide to tell. They are not me and don't know what I go through. The fact is I will struggle with my weight my whole life if I don't do this...and maybe even if I do...that is also personal. It is unfortunate how much people but in and think it's ok to be the food police or second guess anyone elses choices but we can't control what they do, feel or think. All we can do is be comforable with our own choices and know that we made the best choice for ourselves. I had planned to only tell a handful of people...my supervisor, my husband, and my sister in law because they are all my support team....then I find out my husband blabbed and now even people at his work that don't know me...know about it. I got to meet his boss and his wife last night for the firs time and couldn't help but wondering while I was meeting these very healthy athletic built people if they were judging me for being fat, if they even had an opinion about the surgery....but it never came up. I was just myself, and we got to know each other a little and it was fine. I had to tell myself...so what if they have an opinion...everybody does...but the fact that they didn't bring it up showed a level of respect that I am comfortable with. I hope that is how most will be. My dh says he told because he is proud and there is no reason to be ashamed.

I like the advice of the previous poster. Order one just a size smaller than you are now....then have it altered when you are closer. I don't know about you but it does take about 20 pounds for me to go down an entire size so if you expect to lose 40 lbs (ish) and your dress can be sized down two sizes then you may be right in there. I also agree if the dress is only fitted in the bust you can always stuff and have it a little big and it will still probably look great. Best of luck to you! And how about that...a bridesmaid dress that you will have to get rid of because it will be too big in a year...no reason to hang on to that something you will never wear...even though the brides always think they picked something you can use again...lol.

It is just the self doubt creeping in. That happens to most I think. I have not been banded but I do wonder about that too. Mostly though I am learning and reading and talking to people that really helps me understand that you can still have that steak...or burger but just less of it than you would have before....or maybe without the bun. You will learn what things you can eat and how much and you will adjust to that. Like anything else in life there will be a learning curve but once you get past that hump you will most likely be very glad that you did. Just remember this...It's ok to make a change for yourself that has nothing to do with what anyone else will ever think about it. It's not up to them. This is one thing in your life that truly is all about you...and needs to be. Best wishes to you!

welcome! and good luck!

It is usually clinical documentation (so dr.'s notes from your medical file) showing that you have been in a specific program. If it wants a structured program it wants you to show that you had regular weigh ins etc

Hi all! I have been obese for 16 yrs and morbidly obese for 10 of those. I have like many other tried everything under the sun to lose and always gained it back. So I fianlly decided Lap Band was the way to go for me, met with a surgeon who I like and have started the paperwork for my insurance. So here is my dilema...In the last 3-4 months I have lost 17 pounds. I have done it by cutting out processed flour and sugar, no HFCS especially and working out. I walk...or rather did until a couple of weeks ago when something got in the way of my schedule and I just stopped going to the gym. So for a month I was on a plateau still eating well, and kept bouncing up and down about 2 pounds over and over again and could never bust down past the 254 mark and was at 256 more often then not. Got discouraged and rationalized some junk food...:wink5: Started eating potato chips (thinking there's no white flour or sugar in them) and a bit of ice cream which I quickly stopped doing because I realized it was too dangerous. Got back on track with what I was eating but stopped logging the foods. THEN I decided on surgery and suddenly started making even better choices and tracking my calories again and I am down to 253. :thumbup: Part of me (the scared part) says I don't need surgery that I can do it on my own. The other part says...yeah, you can do it on your own but in a few weeks or months when you decide that you can't stand it anymore and want to "take a break" and pig out on junk food and fast food what is to stop you from gaining it all back? I am fighting cravings from time to time but I can handle it until that time of the month when I just can't eat enough chocolate. I am realistic and know that it is just something I have allowed myself to do, not that I need it but I do crave more when the hormones hit. So I am confused...should I just look at this as already practicing the new foods etc that I will be eating post band? Should I just see it as a jump start to my new life? Perhaps I wont even have to do liquids to lose for surgery if I am already losing on my own....and the band will just help me keep at it and not give up and return to the same old habits. I want to know what you guys/gals think! Thanks!

Hello all, I was wondering if this is normally an inpatient or outpatient procedure...I realize of course that you can start out as outpatient and have to stay for observation etc....but what was your experience???

You really just have to talk to him. I was having an issue with my husband a while back when he was fighting me on getting a gym membership, we had also been drifting apart and he was buying me candy bars and stuff like that in the guise of being sweet to me but was totally sabotaging me. When I finally got up the guts to tell him that I LOVE HIM for wanting to be kind to me but that it was actually kinder to talk to me and tell me he loves me and support my wanting to change the family diet and exercise routine, and really spilled that I was afraid he was thinking I was gonna succeed and then leave him...he confessed that he didn't really think so and hoped not but there was a part of him that was scared of all the change. It was pretty deep down but once we got it all out on the table we both felt tons better and he has been AWESOME at supporting me and not letting me talk myself out of the surgery or exercise or my new eating plan because he wants me to succeed. It can get SO much better if you can figure out how to improve communications...best of luck to you!

Melzie, That really sucks. I am sorry that you are not finding the support you need. It is hard when the people you love don't understand something important to you. Maybe you could take your husband to a consult with you so that he can get some real information and clear up some of his misconceptions about how hard it is to lose weight once you reach a certain size or have dieted your way into making it harder for your body to get rid of the excess. It doesn't sound like he is against it, but not really behind it either just making you feel like crap. Take it from me...in his mind he is being logical and he is talking to your emotions but there is a disconnect between the two. You have to find a way to communicate your concerns to him about how important this is to you. Tell him that no matter what you choose he has to be behind you 100% or it will never work (and could be part of why it hasn't worked thus far.) I wish you the best!

Good point. I think for me getting SUPER hungry is when I make bad choices so not letting myself get that hungry will help. I do worry about the learning curve but I know that will work itself out eventually and I will learn what works and doesn't. I am going to try and not over analyze this too much. I tend to do that...get obsessive. I need to just be patient and let it all happen in it's own time. sigh...just excited to start my new life and keep going on my weight loss.

Hi! I am having a consult on Monday and I have BCBS of AZ. I am wondering how long it took anyone else with them to get approval? Obviously it will depend on the docs office submitting paperwork etc. Their guidelines don't seem to be too strict and I meet the BMI without having to adjust for co-morbidities. Just curious what others have experienced with this insurance so I am not caught off gaurd.

THanks! I have to keep reminding myself that it will take TIME for my other docs to send the records etc and that it may be a month or more before they are ready to submit everything...it's so hard to wait! Patience has never been one of my strong points.

The support is SO GREAT! I appreciate it. I DO NEED to do this and I do WANT to do this so I will keep moving forward. I think I would even self pay if the insurance says no...it's time to change my life....for good. I have made some really positive changes in the last few months which you can see have resulted in a loss of 18 pounds now (yeah for me). I believe the band will help me stick to my new way of eating without the monster cravings that I get at times. And I also believe it will help me stay off the dreaded processed food including flour and sugar which I have had a love/hate relationship with for a very long time. As long as I stay away/limit them I will do very good. Since some people have a problem with them post band I am just trying to convince myself never to TRY them after...it maybe a total mind fake but whatever works!:rolleyes2: