tina.. it's so good to see you here... with that divine NASCAR guy... you're asking all the right questions. you've done ALL your homework... and now it's time for the process.

the REAL lapbanders will be around soon to give you the REAL DEAL [especially the diving miss chickadeedeedear.. ] in the meantime, remember that the emotional eating has to stop in order for any form of WLS to work.. so use this time NOW to take care of this... give yourself a running head start...

i'm so glad to see you here... lapbands DO work. it's not the right choice for everyone, but then again, since when did one size fit all anyway???

and chickadeedeedear... salvation army can help. second hand stores, too. i got a GREAT pair of LL BEAN JEANS for 10 bucks. the best purchase i ever made. they didn't even have elastic in them!!!!

Good morning glories!

Barb - Ebay's a great idea! I sell on ebay for a living, but it never occured to me to look for clothes there. You're so smart!

Phil - Are you still on track for July 27? I hope all your tests are going well and are over soon. I don't know if you have to have the ABG (arterial blood gas) test, but that was the worst one for me. I figured though that if that was the worst thing I had to endure it would be worth it, and I was right!

Jiffypoo - Your LL Bean jeans are exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Send them over! I guess I'll be hitting the second hand stores this week. My wardrobe is getting sparse.
Remember a while back when you posted your photo and I was green with envy over your lovely collar bones? I'm starting to get my own. How cool is that? Other women dream of having great butts or boobs - I want collar bones!

Tina, Tina, QueenaBeana - Oh no, you're in trouble because I don't even know you yet and I'm giving you nicknames!
You have no idea how much I could identify with the things you wrote in your post. My main reason for having this surgery was because I was tired of watching life pass me by. I wanted to participate, dammit! And, only 3 months out I am!

First off, there is no way that any type of surgery is the easy way out. That statement always yanks my chain. As I'm sure you've read over and over, it's a tool - a tool we have to work with to make work. There's nothing easy about making the decision, fighting with insurance companies, second guessing yourself and recovering from surgery. If someone has a c-section, did they take the easy way out? No, they did what was medically necessary and so did we with our weight loss surgery.

I don't know who your insurance company is, but I was pleased that I was approved on the first go round. I think it helped that I came prepared with a chart I made detailing my weightloss history. I included the diet, amount of time on the diet, pounds lost and pounds regained. I know my surgeon's office sent that in with all their paperwork. Also, before I got to that point, I had to change insurance companies to get this surgery. Fortunately, my husband's work offers a few insurance choices and I was able to change. If you research on ObesityHelp, you can find what companies are the most band friendly, if that's an option for you. Hopefully you'll be approved right away.

I think Jif is right that it would be helpful to start getting a handle on the emotional eating as soon as possible. (Yeah, yeah I know. Easier said than done!) Unfortunately, it's still an issue after surgery and one I'm working on controlling. There have been a couple of times I am frustrated/bored/angry/whatever that I've wanted to turn to food and find that I physically can't. That's both good and bad because you have to deal with the emotion somehow and the tried and true is gone. I have found that exercise helps. Hopefully when the weight starts to come off, that will be an option for you too.

Please come back and post and ask questions or just talk. I am so happy I had my band put on and like to help other people if I can. This little piece of plastic is changing my life!

Chickadee

Thank you SO much jiffypop and Chickadee for all your help! I have Cigna insurance and I am so nervous about the whole thing. I went to Obesityhelp (thank you SO much for that webside Chicky) and looked up a lot of responses to see how they are.... but what I am hearing for the most part is that you are denied the first time and they ask for documented or a physician supervised weight loss program for 4-6 months.

I don't have these things. I am basically a scaredy cat when it comes to doctors. I have seen my doctor 3 times in the last 4 years and that's only because I HAD to. Granted.... my weight was never under 300 lbs. and he pointed that out, but I just don't know if that's enough. The first time I saw him was in 2000 and that was because during a physical for a job, blood tests came back showing I had low liver functions and they said I had to show them I had went to the doctor and that everything was ok within the first 20 days of hire. I had a bloodtest taken and it was mentioned at that time that my cholesterol was high and he gave me a paper to follow for a low cholesterol diet which I promptly went home and threw away. The next time I saw him was in 2002, when I had a kidney infection and my weight was not discussed. The last time I saw him was two weeks ago when he mentioned weight loss surgery to me after I complained of hypertension, edema, lower back pain.... etc. I don't have any medical history of a "doctor supervised diet". I didn't keep all my WW journals. I didn't write down all the times I've counted calories.

The only thing I have as far as "physical" proof, I did find a WW stamped booklet (you know... where you WI and then they stamp the date on it) from 1995 and it shows where I went to WW for almost 6 months, but that was nine years ago.

I'm so frustrated and nervous now. I know they are going to want me to have or show some type of proof of a "supervised" diet that I just don't have.

P.S. I'm going to my PCP on Thursday to inform him of my decision and to have the letter of medical necessity written. Wish me luck.

tina.. don't give up hope!!! that WW book counts. and as long as your doc is on your side with this, START NOW with a doc-supervised weight loss program... it'll take a few months for the approval anyway...

just get started... taking care of yourself. and getting what you need MUST be the highest priority right now. if the insurance company says that you have to have 4-6 months of MD-supervised weight loss, talk with him about how to deal with this... after all, you already have a 2-week head start!!!!

and tina... your face is very sad in this picture. we love you. don't give up!!!

Hey Chick & All: I am still on track for 7/27 for banding. I have already seen the psychologist, am scheduled for nutritionist for 7/8 and the upper G.I. for 7/15. I can NOT Wait!! I will keep you posted.

YOU'RE the best Jiffy and I *promise* I won't give up.

Thanks again for all your help and advise. It really helps to talk to you guys about it and I'll tell you this.... Cigna is in for the fight of their life!!

Hey Tina QueenaBeana,
I just found a link that I thought might interest you. Apparently Cigna is not the most WLS friendly company, but people are fighting them successfully. Anyway, I thought you might want to check this out.

http://health.*************.com/group...squeakywheels/

I found this on the Obesity Help LapBand message board. Here's the addy in case you haven't found it.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobe...and/posts.html


The Chickster

Thank you so much for the links Chicky.

I checked them both out and joined the yahoo group. I've been thinking about this too and want an idea as to what you guys think.

6 - 8 women that my dh works with have gotten gastric band surgery. THEY chose United Health as their insurer vs. Cigna. I chose Cigna because looking at the two plans side by side, Cigna truly is the best.

However, I have heard wonderful things about United Health and as I said, every single woman that he is aware of that had surgery, has that insurer. Open enrollment is in November. If Cigna gives me too much grief, what do you think about me switching over to United Health? The only thing I'm worried about with them is that here I will be switching over to them the first of November, (possibly) and then within a week or two, they will be getting letters from the surgeon and my PCP that I need to have surgery.

Do you think they would pitch a fit with me only being covered a short amount of time?

I know I'm probably driving you guys crazy, but I'm so worried about how Cigna is going to react. I just want to get all my ducks in a row because if they give me too hard of a time and I don't switch, then I'd have to wait till NEXT November to switch over and I'd HATE to have to do that. Know what I mean?

check with your state insurance department. in joisy, as long as you have continuous coverage, they can't do the pre-existing condition exclusions. but if you're without coverage, they can deny you on the basis that your weight is a pre-existing condition.

otherwise, they should indeed cover the surgery. but please, check with the state to get the low-down on what's legal and what's not.

Heya Tina,
Guess what? I switched from Kaiser to United Health Care for just that reason - because they covered LapBand surgery. I had to wait for the open enrollment (in our case, December) and the insurance to take effect January first. I called the WLS surgeon in December, had an appointment set for mid-January and surgery in April. United didn't say a thing about not being with them very long. I was concerned about that too, but they approved me on the first try. My only complaint is that it took eight weeks to know if I was approved or not and that was complete ****. The ladies on this board showed endless patience with my whining! I called United with the Group Plan number to make sure my surgery would be covered and that there were no exclusions before we switched. I know different employer's plans have different benefits. I suggest you call the 800 number (your DH should be able to get from human resources) and check on bennies, just for your peace of mind.

Oh my, I'm just full of advice aren't I?

The Chick

Chicky....

You are wonderful and have taken a load off my mind. I have the # for United Health and hopefully all will go ok.

I went to my PCP today and he took me off the Lasix (ankles swell) and put me on bp medicine that has stuff in it for water retention too. I talked to him about the lapband and he thought that I had made a very good decision.

I'm kinda at a standstill right now because I can't do anything else till I attend my surgeon's seminar. It will be July 22nd and then my initial consultation is set for July 27th. They will gather all the necessary information and my pcp told me today he will write a letter of medical necessity that "will leave no doubt in Cigna's mind that I need this surgery". He is fantastic!

I'll keep you guys updated!

I vote on UHC too. Through my vast experience with insurance companies by spending years as a biller for doctors, I can tell you the from the doc's side, we had much less problems with UHC than any other. Mainly the difference with United Healthcare, is that they are pretty upfront and well tell you what they will cover and for how much, and what they will not even consider. They pretty well stay with what the say at the first. When we startetd looking around for a new carrier for our employees, I chose UHC for us too.

Hi Guys. I went for my consult with the nutritionist today and all went well. I do the upper G/I on 7/15 and hopefully I'll be a "bander" by July 26 (not the 27th as I thought!!); My PCP, wife, friends who are physicians and health professionals are behind this ALL the way. I am so PSYCHED!! Next year at this time, hopefully, I will not mind taking off my shirt at the pool!! Health To All!! Phil.

Congratulations! Good luck!

Hi Everyone,
I haven't posted for awhile, but thought I'd do a little updating.

As of this morning, I've lost 43 pounds. I was so happy when I got off the scale that I ran screaming through my house about my loss. The reason I was so happy is because I've been a little stuck weight-wise and now I'm not.

As all of us veteran dieters know, plateau-ing is always a part of the process and it happens to everyone - not fun, but something that's pretty much inevitable. This time though, I didn't get upset or depressed about the stuck scale, because I know my band is working, no matter what the scale says. I'm eating well, exercising and following all the rules, so there's no way it won't work. I will be 46 in a couple of weeks and this is the first time in my life that I had a positive attitude about a little plateau. It was such a relief not to be worried about it or just to say "to **** with it" and eat everything in sight!

This band has given me my confidence back. I am doing whatever I want these days and I'm not even halfway to my goal. Imagine how I'll feel when I've lost it all. I am speaking my mind much more freely (very scary!), saying "no" more often to things I don't want to do, and not feeling so self-conscious when I go out. It's just amazing what a little piece of plastic (and my hard work) can accomplish.

The best thing is that I'm not dieting. I eat what I want, when I want, but always in smaller quantities. It is so wonderful not to have to deny myself things. In the past when I've dieted, I've always had incredible willpower - to a point. Then all **** breaks loose because I start feeling sorry for myself. I always had a deep-down anger that I couldn't have what everyone else was having. Now, if I want it, I have a little. A lot of times though, I don't even want crappy food, but it helps so much to know that I can have a little if I choose. I'm so much happier this way. I would probably lose faster if I stuck to a diet, but that's never been what this is about for me. I just want to be normal and happy.

This post is a novel, but I'm just bursting and had to get it out!

Phil - I wish you much success on your LapBand journey and hope you are as happy with it as I am. It makes what once seemed impossible within our grasps!

Chicka-happy-dee