TxChick50

Hello all, I've been reading all the posts and following your journeys with the PS for the past few months. I've been banded since Jan 07 and am close to goal. Desperately needing several PS procedures but am limiting myself to a tummy tuck and neck lift due to finances. I was self-pay for my band and will definitly have to pay for the PS. Looking for info on a good surgeon in the Dallas area and some idea of the costs involved. I just got my band paid off and have about $5000 saved so far for plastic surgery. I've read about tummy tucks costing anywhere from $6000 to $10,000. Dont' have any idea about the cost of the neck lift. any advice -suggestions? Thanks for any help! Judy

I went in for my first fill yesterday. My doc does all fills with the flouro (sp). Before he looked at the machine, He asked me which band I have. I told him I have the Vanguard band. That's what I was told immediately after surgery and that's what the little card they gave me says (the one you are supposed to carry in your wallet). He turned on the flouro and said "no, you have the regular 4cc band." Not sure what to think about this. Does this happen very often? Should I care which band I have? I just thought the bigger Vanguard would be more "flexible" in finding the right amount of fill. But maybe not..... He put in 1.5cc's. I am required to go on full liquids for seven days so not sure about the amount of restriction I have yet. I did have a little trouble getting down a Protein shake this am, but drank most of it. I've never gotten a clear answer about why one band is chosen over the other one. Anyone know? Thanks

Hi All, 7 days past banding and feeling sooo much better today. yesterday was my first day "out and about" and was really tired. But ready to go today. I am so excited and feeling positive that I made the right decision for me. Good luck to all those concidering the band, I say GO FOR IT!

:clap2: Well, they just confirmed my surgery time. I am so excited and nervous! Last minute jitters about the money I'm spending on this. Just found out this morning that there's a tiny possibilty my horrible insurance would pay for it, (after months of being told there is no way they would pay for it). But I'm going ahead and self-pay. What's $15 grand compared to my health and well-being not to mention my sanity!!?? Will be back as soon as I feel up to posting. Thanks for the welcome and support!

I've actually had so little contact with Dr. Jay, I'm not sure what I think of him! I had a first consult with him in Dec. that lasted about 15-20 minutes. Because I was self-pay, I didn't have to go back until the day of surgery. I didn't see him before surgery, only the anesthesiologist. He spoke with my husband while I was in recovery. I assume I will see him for the second time on Thursday for my first check-up. I picked him because I have relatives that used him and spoke highly of him. I haven't met Arlene yetl Guess I will soon. Will let you know if she has the bike yet.

Susan, my BMI was 39.5, so not so low! I had/have high blood pressure,high cholestral, acid reflux and the beginnings of diabetes. It was actually my PCP that suggested Lap Band. Not because he does it, but he has had several patients get the band and be successful. He told me after being overweight for 35 years and yo-yo dieting with no long term success, that if I could get this weight off and keep it off, I could most likely get rid of the four pills a day I'm taking for the co-morbidities. I figured that if I was taking 4 pills a day at 52, what was I going to be taking at 62??? My mom took handfuls of pills the last 10 years of her life and died at 61 of renal failure. I HATE TAKING PILLS!! I'm really doing quite well, 9 days post-op. I got a litttle over confident in the past 2 days and screwed up by eating mushies too soon and lifting a bag of dogfood I shouldn't have. Had to call the doc last night because one of my incisions was bleeding! Guess I put too much pressure on the glue and broke it open. It's fine now. I did feel crappy for a few days and was worried that I wasn't getting enough protein/nutrition. The docs office told me not to worry about that for the first several days as long as I was careful not to get dehydrated. I'm still not getting the 40-60 grams of Protein but I feel fine and have plenty of energy. I really don't have any fantasies that lapband will be a miracle for me. I really do understand that I still have to do the work. I just hope that it will be enough of a help to get me through. I want to be around for a while yet and at the rate I was going, wasn't going to get to see my as yet unborn grandchildren grow up! I am a person that loves food, has a very slow metabolism and doesn't get much exercise. I hope to become addicted to exercise like I am now addicted to food. Everyone tells me it get easier when you're not carrying around an extra 100 pounds.... sounds logical to me! LOL! Thanks for your interest and good luck. Would be happy to answer any more questions you might have.

SueB, I am using Medifast post op because of the high Protein. A friend had ordered it several months ago and never started the program so she gave it to me. By far the best I've had is the Cream of chicken soup. It's ok just out of the package, but I "doctor it up" with curry powder, pepper, etc and it's tastes so much better! The shakes are also good, but I also add, strawberries, bananas, peaches, etc to them to keep them from that chalky taste. Good luck!

My surgery went great. Felt great the first day, lousy the next two and pretty good the last two days!. Had some swelling that had me freaked out a little bit, but it is much better now. No more pain meds, no gas pains to speak of, and I actually got down almost 50 grams of Protein today. So ready for something more than liquids! When my PCP first talked to me about lap-band, he thought the costs was in the $30,000 range. Apparently it is if your insurance is paying for it. The docs here that are a part of AIGB, have a self-pay "package deal" that is $15,000 including the first year of followups/fills. Not sure if this is the norm everywhere, but there are about 10-12 AIGB docs in the Dallas area that do it for the $15,000 self-pay. I think I've spent too much time on LBT looking at the "complications" stuff! Will try to stay in the more positive areas from now on. When you are just post-op, every little thing your body is doing is scary and I keep looking up symptoms! I'm down 17 pounds from the day I started pre-op diet so I am definitely thrilled and feeling positive tonight. Thanks all for your help and concern!

Thanks all. I'm feeling a little better today. The doc's office said to stick to warm liquids as that would help the swelling go down. Boy, I don't know how we're supposed to get so much Protein down when it's so hard to get anything down. The basically told me not to worry about getting enough protein for the next few days, just get enough liguid down that I don't get dehydrated. I'm know I'm going to be fine in a few days, just getting over this rough spot!

Had my band done on Friday. Felt great on Satuday and still feeling pretty good. No gas so far and not a lot of pain. However, since late Saturday night/Sunday morning, everything seems much tighter. Having a hard time getting anything done. Drank 3 Protein shakes during the day on Saturday, only got one down Sunday. Not worried about dehydration yet but it this keeps up..... Is it just late swelling or something? Can get 1 or 2 sips of Water down and then it hurts in center or chest (around the band?). Took me about 5 hours to get down 8 ounces of Protein Drink yesterday. thanks for any info.

Hi everyone. 3-1/2 days post-op and pretty sore but feeling ok. Just wish I could get rid of this headache. After the first 36 hours, it seems like the band tighted up or something.... maybe swelling set in?? The first day didn't have any trouble getting anything down. now can hardly get water down. I did get most of one protein shake down today and about 1/2 cup of cream of potatoe soup. Just a sip or two and a pain in the center of my chest where I assume the band is. Everything sound pretty normal about this? Think maybe the headach is from not getting enough calories the past 2 days but not sure.

OMG! I am so excited! It was much better than I expected... I was so scared of being put to sleep, I almost backed out at the last minute! But I want this too much. Was in some discomfort but not much. I'm not the hero type that won't take pain pills..LOL. I feel pretty good this morning, the incision where he put in the port is definitely the most sore but I'm up moving around and about to have my first Protein shake. Will keep in touch. Thanks to all for the responses the past few days.

My doctor requires 2 weeks of full liquids post-surgery. Meaning I can have cream Soups, smoothies to go along with the Clear Liquids pre-op. I tried a strawberry/banana smoothie with vanilla Protein powder this afternoon and couldn't get it down. Back to SlimFast Low Carb for me. Had some cream of tomatoe Soup last night that was wonderful. No gas pains yet, hope I can be one those that doesn't get them! Feeling pretty good, but definitely taking the liquid hydrocodone. Trying to be good and do the 5-10 minutes of walking every hour and the 10 deep breaths every hour. Can't wait for this 2 weeks to be over with so I can have some mushies! Who would have ever thought I would be excited about mushies!! LOL Is there any reason I shouldn't sleep on my side? My port is on the left side and I'm a little more sore on that side, but the doc didn't tell me not to. My niece said she was told not to sleep on her side. I did last night without too much trouble but don't want to screw anythning up! Thanks!

My preop was fat and carb restricted but not sugar restricted. I found that I could take a Slimfast low carb vanilla shake and add about 2 tablespoons of strawberry flavoring ( I used Hershey Strawberry milk flavoring) and it acutally tasted like a real strawberry shake. I put the shake in the freezer for about an hour before I blended it with 1/4 cup skim milk and the strawberry flavor. Good luck!

Thanks all. Dr. Jayaseelan is doing the surgery at the Surgery Center of Richardson. I hope he's as good as everyone says he is!

I was told by my insurance agent (broker) that BC/BS HMO Small Groups would not cover lap banding. In my benefits book under exclusions is the line, " Any treatment, drug, procedure etc. for weight control/ obesity... is not covered". Has anyone on a small group plan ( 50 employees or less) been covered in Texas?

OMG! I'm scheduled for surgery tomorrow. I am SO ready for this to happen. I called BC/BS this am and was told that my policy excludes coverage for obesity treatment.......However, the CPT code for lap band is not specifically listed in exclusions... Now what do I do??? The customer service rep told me that I could get my doctor to write a letter and go thru the denial/appeal process! Don't know if I could stand to go thru months of that and then be denied. I have been planning on self-pay all along but $15,000 is a lot of money. I AM the plan administrator for our plan. When we signed up with BC/BS HMO, wasn't asked any questions about this sort of coverage. (Small family owned company with only 3 employees.) I think I have just talked myself into going ahead with surgery tomorrow. I don't think I can go thru with the process. Especially after being on Clear liquids for a week!! LOL

Hello everyone! I have been looking at this forum for the past few weeks and decided to join for some support. I am having my lap band done this Friday, January 12th. A little nervouse, but mostly excited!. I've been overweight all my life and now, at 52, starting to have several health problems that my doctor tells me getting the weight off will cure. Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides. I'm looking for information and help to get through this procedure and do it the right way. Started on the pre-op Clear liquids last Saturday and not having as much trouble as I expected with it..... I hope that's because I'm motivated and want this so much. I'm not particuarly computer skilled, so I've had a little trouble finding my way around this forum. Hope to meet lots of people that can lead me on this journey. Would also like to hear from anyone on the east side of the Dallas metroplex (Mesquite, Sunnyvale, Forney) that might have a support group that is walking/exercising together.

Thanks for the welcome. Renebean, you are a little far for me to get through Dallas traffic, but thanks for the offer. Hopefully, I can find someone on this side of the area. Tulip, I travel to Houston occasionally to see family. Will keep in touch. I'm sure hoping everything goes well on Friday. Not sure if I'm responding the way I'm supposed to with a "quick reply" but if not, I'll figure it out soon. Thanks!