Newbie

[natt67 0]

Hello, I have struggled with weight for years. Been on every diet and pill possible. I have been looking into this Lap Band now for a few months and have decided to call Hickory tomorrow and make an appointment. My questions:

1. what happens the first visit?

2. what will be my next steps after the first visit?

3. is there certain reasons insurance will decline the surgery?

4. how long of a wait from first visit to the actual surgery date?

5. do you really stay hungry until you get the right fill you need?

6. how long out of work?

any info would be great!!! Thanks

[*susan* 1,709]

Hi and welcome to LBT, I will try and answer a few of your questions.

Hello, I have struggled with weight for years. Been on every diet and pill possible. I have been looking into this Lap Band now for a few months and have decided to call Hickory tomorrow and make an appointment. My questions:

1. what happens the first visit? Generally, the doctor will get a general idea of your overall health, your previous history of dieting, your reasons for wanting to try the lapband, etc.

2. what will be my next steps after the first visit? This will vary with different doctors. But, most require a psychiatric evaluation, nutritional consult, sleep apnea test, EKG, blood work, start of pre-op diet, etc.

3. is there certain reasons insurance will decline the surgery? I was self-pay, so I am not the most knowledgeable in this area. But, yes, some insurance companies specifically exclude weight loss surgery. Some require a certain amount of recorded diet history before they will approve it. Some require you must be above a certain BMI or have co-morbidities.

4. how long of a wait from first visit to the actual surgery date? Again, this depends on your surgeon, insurance requirements, etc. For me, being self-pay, my surgery date was approximately 3 weeks after my first visit with my surgeon.

5. do you really stay hungry until you get the right fill you need? Well, the band is designed to work by being filled. So, yes, once you have recovered from surgery and the swelling in your tummy has gone down, it is very likely you will not have any restriction and feel no different than you did prior to surgery. The time immediately after having your band placed is for healing, not losing weight. During this time, many people experience no weight loss, and some even experience a bit of a gain. It is important to be patient during this time and follow your doctors orders to a tee. Once proper restriction is reached, then you will start seeing the weight come off.

6. how long out of work? This is another question that depends on the person. I have read of some people going back to work within 3 days. I believe a week is a good general rule of thumb though.

any info would be great!!! Thanks

Check out our frequently asked questions forum, as you will find a lot of very good information there.

Frequently Asked Questions (NEW!) - Lap Band Talk Forum - The largest forum for Lap Band Surgery Discussion and Lap Band Surgery Support

Best of luck to you.

[kathystrick 3]

Hello, I have struggled with weight for years. Been on every diet and pill possible. I have been looking into this Lap Band now for a few months and have decided to call Hickory tomorrow and make an appointment. My questions:

Answers in RED

1. what happens the first visit? Have you been to a information seminar yet? Most doctors require you to attend one of those before you can make an appointment.

2. what will be my next steps after the first visit? The doctor's office will check your insurance and make sure they cover the surgery first of all. They will then set about making the necessary appointments for any pre-op testing required by them and your insurance to make sure all of the prerequisits for approval are met before submittal.

3. is there certain reasons insurance will decline the surgery? I believes this varys by company. Most commonly would be not meeting their requirements (prerequisits) such as proof of doctor supervised 6 month diet.

4. how long of a wait from first visit to the actual surgery date? Again, varies by insurance company (how fast they turn around approvals) and how busy the surgeon is.

5. do you really stay hungry until you get the right fill you need? This one I can't answer because I am not banded yet. :biggrin:

6. how long out of work? Varies by person. Some people are only out a couple of days. Others have taken a couple of weeks. A lot depends on your personal pain tolerance and the physical requirements of your job.

any info would be great!!! Thanks

Hope I have helped at least a little. Like I said, I am pre-op as well. Good luck to you and let us know how you're doing!

[natt67 0]

Hope I have helped at least a little. Like I said, I am pre-op as well. Good luck to you and let us know how you're doing!

Thank you for the great info. Are you scheduled for the band any time soon?

Natalie

[natt67 0]

Hi and welcome to LBT, I will try and answer a few of your questions.

Check out our frequently asked questions forum, as you will find a lot of very good information there.

Frequently Asked Questions (NEW!) - Lap Band Talk Forum - The largest forum for Lap Band Surgery Discussion and Lap Band Surgery Support

Best of luck to you.

Thanks for the info, have you had the surgery yet?

Natalie

[cleanteeth 1]

Hi Natt. I'm pretty new here too. I can tell you my experiences so far. First off I went to an informational seminar. They got my insurance info and my medical hx. They verified that my insurance woudl conver the surgery with my BMI and sleep apnea. I had been on LA Weightloss for the past year, and I had heard that some insurance co's want a 6 month physician approved weight loss. I was happy that I had already "done that", and I went in to my PCP for an appointment with him. He would be sending the letters and the approval. I'm a bit concerned because I didn't see him for 6 months straight. It may put me back. My PCP said he would do all he could for me.

The other thing.. Don't tell alot of people what your doing. It's just easier on you. so now.. I'm just waiting on the next move

Molly

[kathystrick 3]

Thank you for the great info. Are you scheduled for the band any time soon?

Natalie

I should have insurance approval in a couple of weeks, but since I work in the school system, I am not planning to ahve surgery until June, after school gets out. We'll see how firmly I hold to that once I know the approval is there and all I have to do is say the word and I can be in Bandland!:smile2:

[natt67 0]

I should have insurance approval in a couple of weeks, but since I work in the school system, I am not planning to ahve surgery until June, after school gets out. We'll see how firmly I hold to that once I know the approval is there and all I have to do is say the word and I can be in Bandland!:huh2:

well i just got news from my insurance that they would not pay for the lap band!!!:thumbs_down: So my doctor is going to see what he can do for me since i do have so many health problems. I was also looking and searching the web and found several people that my insurance did cover their lap bands, so least to say that really made me mad!!!:thumbdown::mad: I am just hoping for a miracle that my doctor can pull something off for me. where are you from? reason asking, i was wondering where you were going for your surgery. this is a long process isnt it?

natalie

[skinnyme2be 0]

Great info in the first reply... I just started the 6 month diet with family physician that my insurance requires. I do not have any co-morbidities, if I had a bmi of over 50 they would have covered it right away. kind of stupid.. if you ask me. My first consult with weight loss surgeon is april 22nd though to get the ball rolling.

[Queen of Hearts 2]

:biggrin2:

Hello, I have struggled with weight for years. Been on every diet and pill possible. I have been looking into this Lap Band now for a few months and have decided to call Hickory tomorrow and make an appointment. My questions:

1. what happens the first visit? Like you I have been on EVERYTHING!! I even told my lapband doctor that the hoodia I was taking did help curb my appetite! :huh2: My first visit was with my family doctor who then referred me to my lapband doctor (Jun 06)

2. what will be my next steps after the first visit? I went to a seminar where everything about the lapband was covered and checked into lapband.com for more info. (Dec 06) After that I had my first office visit with the lapband doctor in (April 07) He accepted me for my co-morbidities and I had over 40 BMI, then he referred me to a nutritionist for the following 6 months. I then waited from Oct 07 to Jan 08 and chose 2 weeks from finding out the insurance will cover my surgery to 8 Feb 08. During that whole time I was doing research on the lapband and checking out the my emmi info and read more info that my nutritionist gave me because this is a life long journey.

3. is there certain reasons insurance will decline the surgery? Some insurance companies will cover the bypass surgery but not the lapband. Just this year my insurance opened up to cover the lapband which will save them money in the long run because my blood pressure meds have already been reduced by half and my cholesterol meds are going to be weaned off of me in 6 months to make sure everything stays in limits. My blood sugar has gone down as well. Every thing that is happening to me is saving my insurance company money! That's why I can't understand why so many insurance companies don't get on the band wagon and cover this surgery! In Australia they have done research studies on patients with diabetes and 93% of those that received the lapband are no longer having to take medication for their diabetes! That should sell this surgery to the insurance companies!! I am participating in a research study group as well and hopefully those of us that are on this study will substantiate the need for insurance companies to accept this surgery in their plans!

4. how long of a wait from first visit to the actual surgery date? As you can see I have been in the waiting line for almost 2 years. I've always been told that good things comes to those who wait and I did!!

5. do you really stay hungry until you get the right fill you need? I can feel hunger once in a while..less often than more. When I do get hungry I will usually drink an apple juice or Water and it seems to take care of that pang!

6. how long out of work? I had my surgery on Friday and went to work on Tuesday and felt great, some people can and others need more time. I have a sendentary job so I didn't have any problems. My doctor didn't know I went back to work and all he wanted to know was how I felt, which was really good but I did notice that I was getting tired at the end of the day.

any info would be great!!! Thanks

I hope these answers will help. A lot of the questions you have can be based just on each individual and how they respond to surgery and fills. Good luck and happy banding!!:thumbs_down:

[kathystrick 3]

well i just got news from my insurance that they would not pay for the lap band!!!:thumbup: So my doctor is going to see what he can do for me since i do have so many health problems. I was also looking and searching the web and found several people that my insurance did cover their lap bands, so least to say that really made me mad!!!:thumbup::mad: I am just hoping for a miracle that my doctor can pull something off for me. where are you from? reason asking, i was wondering where you were going for your surgery. this is a long process isnt it?

natalie

Oh Natalie! I am so sorry! I know it is frustrating, especially when you come here and others with the same carrier have the surgery. Your employer must exclude it though. I'm glad he is going to work with you and try to find some way to do it. Good luck and let us know how it goes!