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For me the journey to having lap band surgery started back in December when I went to see my new cardiologist because I was having heart problems again and while I was talking to him he asked if anyone had ever recommended weight loss surgery because I have a problem keeping weight off. I replied no and he referred me to a weight loss surgeon here in Northern Kentucky that he works with from time to time. Fast forward to Jan. My appointment with the weight loss surgeon was scheduled for Jan 24 and prior to that I had already been back to the cardiologist office and found out that I have to have surgery again to correct the issue with my heart. I met with Dr. Sonnanstine on the 24th where they took my blood pressure, my blood sugar, weighed me and things like that. At that point from the time I had started seeing the cardiologist to my first appoint with Dr. Sonnanstine I had managed to lose 6 pounds even with the holidays in the midst of all this. After talking to the girl that does the insurance there and contacting humana myself to see what all needed to be done, humana said I needed to complete 6 months of a doctor supervised diet, they handle their weight loss surgeries thru a company called active health who pretty much managed to confuse me more than anything so I called Dr. Sonnanstines office back and talked to them again to get clarification. Also in the midst of all this going on I got extremely sick and am just now recovering from that. I had an appointment this morning with my regular doctor to start the 6 months of supervised diet and when she weighed me, according to her scale I weighed a lot less than what I did at Dr. Sonnanstines office on the 24th...I didnt think it was possible to lose that much weight in such a short period of time even being sick like i was. When I was weighed at the cardiologist's starting out I weighed 368, when I went to see Dr. Sonnanstine I weighed 362, and when I saw my regular doctor today she said I weighed 343...Is this possible???

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Hey blue,

I just read your post and yes it is possible...but if either of them used an old scale or a scale that has not been serviced that could account for those numbers as well. Good luck

Lana

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After the doctors appointment this morning, I kinda figured one of the scales was off, both the Cardiologist and Dr. Sonnanstine use a digital scale, while my regular Doctor has one of those scales where you move the thing along the bar. Right now I am just trying to find out what my surgery date is for the heart surgery up at the Cleveland clinic, that in itself is a headache (I have been waiting on paperwork for 5 weeks). So right now I am just trying to take care of that and keep going with the Doctor supervised diet and work on getting everything together and ready to go.

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I also had some heart issues that required surgical intervention. Your cardiologist might be able to have the insurance company waive the 6 month diet consideration. Call the insurance company and ask to speak to your case worker. Explain the cardiac issues and ask what can be done to either waive or lessen the supervised diet requirement.

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Humana is aware of the heart issues, but it doesnt make a difference, I get such a headache when I have to call them to try and figure things out because half the time they don't know whats going on. The lady I talked to about what the requirements were to have it covered by insurance was probably the most unhelpful and confusing person I have talked to there yet. What I think made it worse is that I could bareley understand her on the phone.

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    • BabySpoons

      Sometimes reading the posts here make me wonder if some people just weren't mentally ready for WLS and needed more time with the bariatric team psychiatrist. Complaining about the limited drink/food choices early on... blah..blah...blah. The living to eat mentality really needs to go and be replaced with eating to live. JS
      · 2 replies
      1. Bypass2Freedom

        We have to remember that everyone moves at their own pace. For some it may be harder to adjust, people may have other factors at play that feed into the unhealthy relationship with food e.g. eating disorders, trauma. I'd hope those who you are referring to address this outside of this forum, with a professional.


        This is a place to feel safe to vent, seek advice, hopefully without judgement.


        Compassion goes a long way :)

      2. BabySpoons

        Seems it would be more compassionate not to perform a WLS on someone until they are mentally ready for it. Unless of course they are on death's door...

    • Theweightisover2024🙌💪

      Question for anyone, how did you get your mind right before surgery? Like as far as eating better foods and just doing better in general? I'm having a really hard time with this. Any help is appreciated 🙏❤️
      · 2 replies
      1. NickelChip

        I had about 6 months between deciding to do surgery and getting scheduled. I came across the book The Pound of Cure by Dr. Matthew Weiner, a bariatric surgeon in Arizona, and started to implement some of the changes he recommended (and lost 13 lbs in the process without ever feeling deprived). The book is very simple, and the focus is on whole, plant based foods, but within reason. It's not an all or nothing approach, or going vegan or something, but focuses on improvement and aiming for getting it right 80-90% of the time. His suggestions are divided into 12 sections that you can tackle over time, perhaps one per month for a year if a person is just trying to improve nutrition and build good habits. They range from things like cutting out artificial sweetener or eating more beans to eating a pound of vegetables per day. I found it really effective pre-surgery and it's an eating style I will be working to get back to as I am further out from surgery and have more capacity. Small changes you can sustain will do the most for building good habits for life.

      2. Theweightisover2024🙌💪

        That sounds awesome. I'll have to check that out thanks!

    • BeanitoDiego

      I've hit a stall 9 months out. I'm not worried, though. My fitness levels continue to improve and I have nearly accomplished my pre-surgery goal of learning to scuba dive! One dive left to complete to get my PADI card 🐠
      I was able to go for a 10K/6mile hike in the mountains two days ago just for the fun of it. In the before days, I might have attempted this, but it would have taken me 7 or 8 hours to complete and I would have been exhausted and in pain for the next two days. Taking my time with breaks for snacks and water, I was finished with my wee jaunt in only 4 hours 😎 and really got to enjoy photographing some insects, fungi, and turtles.
      Just for fun last week, I ran two 5Ks in two days, something I would have never done in the past! Next goal is a 10K before the end of this month.
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