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New to the site and my first post. My question is this I called my HR Rep and asked if this type or any weight loss surgery would be covered by my insurance Anthem BC & BS. He stated no. that was an option the group could do but it would cost to much for all the employees. Has anyone ever had this problem? If so how did you go about getting this approved thanks.

Ok now I am officially confused. I went over a week ago and got a fill. I only had him do .25 cc's because I was afraid to be too tight. I did fine for about 4 days and actually lost 4 lbs. but now everything gets stuck. I can get down oatmeal..or wheat thins if I chew them to mush. Otherwsie its coming right back up. Last night I took one bite of a turkey brat, with no bun and the bite was TINY. It instantly got stuck and I was dry heaving for an hour. And it wasn't just "BP-ing" I literally threw the food up, stomach acid and all (sorry tmi) So I haven't eaten much in the last 2-3 days and I weighted myself this morning and NADA! It still hasn't budged. How is that possible? I know if you don't eat enough calories you will not lose but I thought that was over time. I just don't get it. I'm miserable and I'm still not losing. I don't know if its stress related or whatever reasons behind it all of a sudden getting tight but I don't feel stressed out-and I'm not a person whos terribly prone to stress. So I don't really know what to do but I am back at this awful place that I was at about 4 mos ago. My band is so unpredictable and touchy I am terrified of eating with other people or to go out to eat bc I literally have no idea what its going to do. That is not a normal way to live and I can't keep throwing up. I'm so confused :smile2:

I am going back to the Dr today. I do eat very slow, since I am a year our I know better than to get pushy with my food esp after a fill. Its not even that half way through my meal I get stuck so its not that I'm eating too fast or too much, it will literally be the first bite. I am finding that I look for things like chips, pretzles, Cereal, salad (slider foods) because I know they aren't going to get stuck. That is where I came to my conclusion to go back in and have the .25 taken out. I don't get my period...ever. I have the Implanon and haven't had a period since 2008. I also don't drink any liquid calories unless I'm going out and then it'll be vodka and Water, otherwise I only drink water, diet tea, crystal light etc. But beleive me I haven't been drinking for weeks-my stomach is pissed enough. What I don't really get is that I was up to 6cc's before, and being two weeks out with 5.25 I can't handle it. I dunno this band can freak me out some days if I think too hard about it. All I know is I can't sit on the bathroom floor crying bc I'm freaked out I will have to do this the rest of my life. There has to be a happy medium..

Thanks for the Tums info, BUTTTT,. I eat two every night, I keep the large bottle in my nightstand, otherwise my back kills me, but as soon as I pop two, it's gone instantly :thumbdown:. I will keep that in mind though, because during my TT recovery I didn't really use them, but I'm back on them now. I can sleep on my tummy now, woohoo. Sherry, I fed my critters today too, I took three bags of chips and old bread down to the pier and threw it overboard, it was so funny, I thought I was going to be chit on for sure, those seagulls come out of nowhere! Oh yeah, loved the Tattoos, I always wanted a little Casper on my outer thigh, but I was chicken, NOTHING chicken about our Sherry! I fixed a crock of soup today, then tonight made a soup run, took containers to my mom, my son, and my grandson. It was good, but hubby said it needed more "soup", so I had a bottle of Bloody Mary mix I bought today, then didn't like my drink, so I poured almost the entire bottle in the soup, hey it's soup now! I had steak I had cut up for kabobs this summer and used the foodsaver to freeze them, well, it sure made the soup delicious . OK, I'm outta here.

My all in one Bariatric Choice chewable wafer supplement has Iron in it~ and it is like sucking on a candy- yum But just in case your tiredness isn't from low iron, the nurse at my clinic always says that if we start to feel that way to start charting: 1)how much Protein we are getting in 2)how many fluids 3)how often we are taking our Vitamins and are e taking enough? She said that often we will find that we aren't doing what we are supposed to be doing and that's why we get really low energy. Also~ my sister had extremely low Bs. It affected her very badly with low energy. She ended up getting a B shot every week. She said she felt so much better right after getting it too. If it continues def go to the dr and see what's up! I hope it passes quickly, I hate that feeling

Well hello, Texas ladies! I was over filled 3 months ago. I didn't say anything bc I was finally losing. 10. Pounds a month. Steady. BUT I paid the price. Vomiting and sliming and choking on my own spit through the night. They ended up un filing me 2 weeks ago and I have been on mostly mush, except for the delish prime rib I ate yesterday. Since the un fill I haven't vomited once nor have. I had any sliming. Scared to get on the scale. Guess I will see it on Monday. The x ray showed an enlarged stoma and the band was starting to slip to 2-3 o clock position. I am praying. That. Come Monday it's back in its original 1 o clock position. I have a very hectic life, and I do not make good food choices. I hate chicken breast. And I love ranch dressing. And i am from NOLA with 2 years in culinary school. I am a foodie! This is very hard for me. It was easier when I was vomiting and losing. But since that is not the way this is supposed to work, I. Have to start over as well. If I. Can get. In the green zone, lose steadily, and not vomit, I would be happy. But it seems that the losing is paired with the vomiting. What are your thoughts on this? I know there is a happy place.

I'm happy with the 65 pounds I'm just nervous I'm falling into bad habits bc my sleeve can handle so much more!!! Mentally it sucks to not be able to eat anything for 2 months and then you wake up and ur able to eat half a turkey and egg white wrap!!! I guess I just have to stay positive a lot has happened to me these last fee weeks and I'm just feeling down n out what happen for u to be able to eat more do u think your pouch stretch out? What r u eating because this is so hard for me!

WOW! It looks like BCBS Fed covers all ranges, 3 days to 4 weeks for approval. Well my surgeon's office is "swamped" with insurance authorization requests to send out. My appt was Jan 24 and they havent sent my stuff to BCBS yet so .... I'm waiting for them to catch up. I guess I'll call at the end of next week and hope to know something from BCBS Fed sometime in March or earlier.

The latest and most definitely not the greatest!- I called Horizon BC/BS of NJ today to check the status of my referral/authorization. I had previously called and was assured that they had received my letter of Medical Necessity and was then given a case number. Silly me, I think having a case number will expedite things. Long story short, The first comment I hear after being on hold for about five minutes, is "Please don't be mad but"...Gotta love that. Apparently my letter didn't sprout legs and walk itself to the appropriate department--they will get that darn letter there pronto..... Crap like this, along with the extra weight keeps that blood pressure up!! I was assured (?!) that I should have an answer in 15 days, or by the end of the month. I hope she meant the end of this month.

Today needs to double time bc tomorrow It's back to reality and work for me. Oh boy..

I am 33 years old, a RN, and a mother of 2 daughters. I weighed 237 as of this morning. I actually work on a surgical floor that performs hundreds of bariatric surgeries a month. I have struggled with my weight since I was in elementary and have a huge "fluctuation" problem. Just last week (yes last week) I weighed 231 and three before that I weighed 242. It just hit me one day that I was fed up with struggling with my weight and dealing with diabetes, so I made the call. I started my pre op liquid diet yesterday.. Man it's a head game for real!! My surgery date is 12/16/14. I am nervous and excited at the same time. I really enjoy reading all of your posts! So inspiring. I just pray I have success with this as I would like to watch my children grow old, and live to enjoy their children too!

Had lap band surgery, 3 days later ended up with blood clots in my legs and both lungs which normally kills you... well I lived... after 4 months finally got the clots to dissolve after multi med changes blood thinners etc... lost 130 pounds with no fills was loving it.. til December 2014 couldn't swallow food water nothing, for 29 days total couldn't swallow anything severe dehydration malnutrition had to be fed by tubes and IVs.. multiple swallowing tests later found out the band caused esophageal dysmotility which is a common complication. Which is basically where the band won't allow any food of fluid to go down your esophagus. Had to have the band removed. Blood thinners for life for the blood clot risk. Still can't swallow like a normal person. Never be the same. Brain damage and nerve damage from lack of fluid, Lots of other crap. Just a nightmare.

I was told no Advil (ibuprophen), Tylenol (acetaminophen) or aspirin. You can use Aleve or call your doctor for a liquid prescription pain med. My headaches seem to go away much faster now and they are fewer than before I was banded and I have only had to use something once (BC Headache Powders) I'm not sure what medication is in them, but I needed something and knew that this would go down easilly. It helped almost immediately.

To tell or not to tell... this is such a hotly debated topic and there are valid reasons for both. In the end, do whatever makes you most comfortable and makes your life easier. I chose not to tell. I'm very proud of my decision to have WLS but I have low patience for BS. I love a spirited debate and don't mind a difference of opinion, but most people are uninformed about obesity and WLS and carry some serious prejudices. I don't want to hear anyone's uneducated comments, no matter how well intentioned they are - or worse, get watched like a hawk. I don't want that kind of irritation in my life. I told everyone that I was following a doctor supervised liquid diet for a few weeks (like medifast). It helped answer the rapid weight loss questions too.

I know that I am in perimenopause. My GYN diagnosed that last year after I kept complaining about hot flashes. This year is the first time that I have skipped periods without being on some type of bc pills. I am hoping that I won't have to go the route of hysterectomy. My mom had hers done in her 30s. I am already starting all of the problems she had plus PCOS. Thanks EVE for screwing it up for all womankind! lol

I got on it bc I was stalled for 9 months. And that’s not necessarily true. I eat right and I still couldn’t lose more. I wanted it to help with the last few lbs. it’s pretty common. And I increased it cuz I didn’t lose for 2 weeks of the 4 week intro on 2.5mg so we tried the 5 and it’s just been absolute hell. I’m scared to even do the lower dose.

Everyone is different and I had heard stories about people going back in to work the next day, well let me tell you, that was not the case with me! I am only 29, and I have a generally high tolerance to pain (I have had surgery before and refused morphine & the pain killers and only took tylenol). So I was quite surprised when this surgery had me down for so long. (in my mind, I thought I would be back to yoga, running and step classes on day 3, but was surprised when I still couldn't get out of bed by myself by day 4). I think that by day 6 I felt that I would be able to go back to work. I went back to work on day 7, but it was still hard for me, so I worked from home most of that first week back. The most pain I had was around the port area bc they stitch it to the muscle, so I had to be really careful about getting up from sitting and sitting. I couldn't sleep in my own bed until about day 6 (slept in a recliner). Good luck!!

I have BC/BS HMO and I had my surgery on the the OCT 29. Today I got a bill for around $5000 is that normal? I thoght they covered it all.?

Hey Dblex, We had our surgeries same day, and I am also feeling much better today. Had to fly home yesterday so that was a tough day, but only little over 1 hour flight from bc. Is your post-op 1 or 2 weeks liquids? Katie

I am feeling a little better now, spoke to psych she said that it don't seem im ready that we can talk more about how I feel. I told her I know I want this surgery bc I have tried so many time gained and lost. that I know I can't eat like Im used to, that its hard all day just drinking the shake and that if I eat even a small amount I will continue eating. im going back next week to tlk more about it. Im also so scare of the pain, I been on here for a while have been reading every post, some of them really hit home. I live only with my 15 son and need to cook for him and my adult nephew. so its hard. yesterday I did ok, I had two shakes, my Water, ham,cheese sandwich, diet coke and a cupcake. at a friends house I don't keep junk food in my house anymore. ok today is another day its 7:09 am and having my first shake. Have a great you all.

Told my husband, my mom and my daughter. My mom has a big mouth and told my brother. His wife had RNY and lost A LOT more weight than me. I had VSG. I feel judged by both of them which sucks. Wish my mom had kept it to herself like she promised. Huge betrayal. Anyway, like someone else said, no one cared or asked how I got fat so why do they need to know how I lost it? If I had an abortion would it be lying to not tell anyone about it? Should I walk around saying “Hi, I had an abortion, that’s why I’m not pregnant any longer.” I find it ridiculous that some people on here say it’s lying not to tell people you had the surgery. That’s BS. I’m extremely private about all of my life and this is no different. I am 18 months post-op and I am so happy I kept it to myself and my immediate family. It’s my body, my business. I had 70 lbs to lose so my weight loss was fairly slow and that probably made it less obvious to others. I feel that telling people (when they ask) that I eat low carb, smaller portions, very little processed food and I do 50 minutes of cardio four times a week is an accurate description of HOW I lost the weight. Seems honest enough to me. But everyone is different.

One would think that a concerned and engaged parent should at a minimum be able to recognize something isn't right and seek help to deal with the problem. Education is all fine and good, but saying you're "too busy" is BS only demonstrates the level of neglect. He's 14. In most places I know that pretty much means he's unemployed and entire dependent on at least one adult for support, even if that support comes ultimately from the state. She -- practically guaranteed -- controls what money ends up in his wallet for food. She -- again, practically guaranteed -- controls what food goes into the pantry. If her son is sneaking food from the pantry, there are locks available. If she's too busy to cook consistently, she also is in the ultimate position for placing orders at restaurants. Did she even exercise the lowest level of parental control about his eating behaviors? When ordered to hand the child to a foster home, she skipped. Under any circumstance, that alone is worth jail time (as her $50k bail shows). And, of course, where was everybody else? I'm sure she felt she was trying to keep things under control, but so does a drowning man -- do you wait for him to speak clearly and coherently before diving in to assist? There's some accountability there to be scrutinzed. To be honest, I *want* that Pandora's box openned. Parental rights are cute and all, but a lot of "parents" seem to view their children as hobbies they can dabble in, or simply a potential side effect of a night in the back seat of the Oldsmobile.

My psych appt was in and out probably 10 min and I did this 3 times bc I was scared of surgery so had to redo paperwork multiple times

Now I don’t want to make anyone else jealous, but I just finished my psychiatric evaluation over the phone and it took all of 15 minutes. That’s it. No paperwork. No questionnaires. Done over the phone. No sweat. Granted, this did cost me $400 and it is not covered by my PPO. There was also the option of doing it via skype but since I'd have to do it during work hours and i can't use my company laptop for personal use, so I opted for phone. We arranged for a time for me to call her last week so I called her right on time as planned. She first asked why I was pursuing the surgery. I explained that while my eating has not gotten out of control, my various ailments including a bad back that may require surgery, arthritis in my shoulders and bone spurs in both big toes have made it difficult if not impossible to exercise without pain. I have not been increasing my portion sizes over the last few years as my weight climbed, but without the ability to burn off the excess calories I just kept getting bigger. Next, she asked some medical history questions (I never drink to excess because I’m allergic to alcohol and I’ve never smoked or taken illegal drugs) then asked if I was an emotional eater, a binge eater, a habitual eater or a miscellaneous eater, i.e. problems like portion control, which we’d already covered and I’d already identified myself as being. We went into a little detail about my current eating habits and previous weight loss attempts, which had mostly been successful when I could exercise freely. She asked about the kind of support I’ll have for the surgery and during my recovery at home. I explained that my daughter (who graduates from college this Friday with a BS in psych and a 3.7 GPA, thank you very much) will be taking me to and from the surgery. That’s because when I have it in late May/early June, my wife will still be recovering from knee replacement surgery. So, my kids (my freshman son was nominated by a professor for membership in an honors society that only admits 15 kids from each graduating class at his school, again, thank you very much) will be taking care of both of us. We consider it only a tiny portion of the payback they owe us for putting them through a private college. Finally, she went into a little detail about the required post-surgical changes in habits, such as measuring and logging food and sticking to the prescribed post-surgical plans, and asked if I thought I’d be able to handle. Having read through this board, some FB groups and all the literature I got from the surgeon’s office at my initial consult, I repeated everything back to her chapter and verse to confirm I know exactly what’s expected of me. I also told her that I’m far too cheap to spend all the money on the surgery only to throw it all away with bad habits. She asked if I knew about the types of complications that could arise, so again I referenced this board and the FB groups, explaining I’ve learned a lot about the types of problems that come up most frequently. She asked if I had any fear of the surgery and I said I’ve had many surgeries in my life, so I’m not afraid of it, plus I know that for each person who complains about a post-surgical ailment, there are probably fifty who do not have that problem so the odds are clearly in favor of not having complications. That was pretty much it. She said the approval will be on its way to my surgeon by the end of the day. I gave her my email address so she could send me some literature she likes to send all of her patients and her contact information in case I had any further questions. I am not kidding when I say it took me twice as long to write this as the phone call itself. With this and my endoscopy both out of the way, all I’ve got left before submitting for approval is my final visit with the nutritionist and the pre-op visit with my PCP who’ll also take care of my chest x-ray and EKG. The only real problem between now and the surgery is avoiding the temptation of pigging out at my daughter's graduation party...

Hi! I also have BCBS FED.... My last NUT appointment is in April. They best advice I could give is to read through your policy and call customer service if you have any questions. My BMI is 40 with no co morb. BCBS doesnt make you lose weight but your surgeon may have you lose some. I had to lose 10% of my excess body weight and that was 8 pounds. It is my understanding that BCBS uses your start weight.