GeezerSue

Tell me about "all the fluids they pump in during eight hours in the OR." My nurse in the hospital mentioned my edema and said it's pretty routine, due to the above. But when I got home and got on the scale I wanted to die! What is routine for this sort of thing. (I still have to J/P's going out and one On-Q going in...but that's only 2ml/hour so I can't blame IT for much.) HELP!!

There are so many kinds of cancers--some might impact the advisabiity of a band, others might not. I've had cancer...but it was almost 30 years ago and nothing from that would influence the band decision. Michelle--my best friend has had to bury two of her children. That just is NOT the way it's supposed to be. I am sorry for your loss.

Jack...from what I've read over the years, they don't want it...

from Aetna.com... Vertical Banded Gastroplasty (VBG) and Laparoscopic Adjustable Silicone Gastric Banding (LASGB or Lap-Band): Aetna considers open or laparoscopic vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) or laparoscopic adjustable silicone gastric banding (LASGB, Lap-Band) medically necessary for members who meet the selection criteria for obesity surgery and who are at increased risk of adverse consequences of a RYGB due to the presence of any of the following comorbid medical conditions: 1. Hepatic cirrhosis with elevated liver function tests; or 2. Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis); or 3. Radiation enteritis; or 4. Demonstrated complications from extensive adhesions involving the intestines from prior major abdominal surgery, multiple minor surgeries, or major trauma; or 5. Poorly controlled systemic disease (American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) Class IV) (see Appendix). This is as of December 2004. If these conditions are NOT met, Aetna does not routinely cover the procedure. Go to www.aetna.com, then click on doctors on the left, then Medical Policy Bulletins, the look up Obesity surgery. Good luck.

He's around $10K. He used to have an option where you could pay him an the hospital separately and--usually--save some money.

There are not always signs. Who was your surgeon? I ask because some surgeons seem to have more erosion problems and if you've been to one of those surgeons, more of us would be encouraging you to get it checked right away.

Hi, Alex B! Thanks again for this forum. And, I think that people need to understand that anything they post anywhere on the internet is subject to being found. To assume otherwise is to invite disppointment.

She was off having unrelated surgery and I just got an email to her today. I hope she'll pop in here.

I know someone on another board...I'll see if I can scare her up.

I SOOOO have new boobs.

Back when I was but a lass of 42 (1989), I had purple hair, too. It was a mistake, but it was cool. They called it a cellophane...I think it was cabernet. All my grey hair--and there was a lot of it went PURPLE. It was a tad disconcerting when I had to speak against the new dress code at our daughter's junior high, with purple hair. It faded to pink. Then it grew and I cut it short. Returning you to your unjacked thread... (Except for, my kid--the one who didn't like the dress code--is also listed in imdb.) So we're related.

Hey...how come they make me pay $100/month to each of them just to let me keep posting here?

Probably not...except in some countries, they doctor might waive HIS fees to remove it. If it's any consolation, my husband's stent--put in after his heart attack--has no guarantees either.

My insurance approved me for a breast reduction. No problem. First request. I'm still MO. Actually, I'm MO again. This is not about weight loss or goals or anything except bigger than necessary boobs. Hmmm.

Just be sure to read the whole sentence...it might say, "...specifically excluded except in the event of..." Other than that, though, specifically excluded generally means your employer didn't want to pay for that benefit. Well, wait a minute, does it say that the LapBand is specifically excluded or that wls in general is specifically excluded? There are cases where the band wasn't allowed but bypass WAS, and the doctor wrote letters and it WAS paid for. So, can you be more specific on EXACTLY what the policy says?

I'm not sure...I think I weigh about 7-10 pounds more than I did at check-in. It's not monumental...but you know how "we" are about extra poundage. I had IV's going for only a day. Boobs and belly are swollen. But it's the scale that's got me irate!

As far as pain goes...neither our daughter nor I had any immediate post-op pain or incisional pain with the BR. My plastic surgeon--who is very good and very REAL (as opposed to what you usually find in the Beverly Hills area) says that that is more often the case than not with BR patients. The healing process is tedious...our daughter's worst week was the third week post-op...she wasn't really sick but whe wasn't back to normal and she was tired of being needy. Just this morning, I felt a few seconds of a stab of pain along the panniculectomy revision incision. The On-Q pain pump is in there. The model I have--I just looked it up--is supposed to give about four days relief. So, from Thursday afternoon to Sunday morning before feeling ANYTHING, is pretty good. I'm hoping to get another day and a half out of it. I will confess to taking a half a Vicodin, though, but not for what one might think. The crook of my right arm--where they had me tied down for hours--is killing me. And the getting up and getting down is harder at home than it was in the hospital...so arm and leg pain from the pulling is what I'm treating. Weird. Advertising for doctor...not on payroll, no discounts provided...but if you are in the Los Angeles area... http://www.drandrewcohen.com Advertising for the pain pump http://www.iflo.com/prod_onq_classic.php There you go.

Oh, Vera...you're so sweet to remember. In May, I had a panniculectomy, which was done to remove a huge apron of fat and skin. (Not just "empty" skin as in post-weight loss patients.) They told me going in that it would take two steps to get the desired result. So, I went to our daughter's PS and asked about his doing that work. the price was very reasonable and so we also talked about breast reduction. I figured that the breasts were cosmetic, given that our daughter had more removed and had to fight for coverage. He said we should submit to insurance. So we did. They said okay. Then he said we should submit the panniculectomy revision. We did and they approved again. First time on both. He has very god luck with Blue Cross...I'm thinking because he's out of network with them...that is, they pay him less than they pay other doctors...and he turns in photos and a report and...anyway. All went well except for intubating me. That was a disaster. I'll end up paying a bit more for that service...I think I pay 20% of about $500-600/hour. But I was a good ten hours with one anesthesiologist and probably a couple more hours with a second one...so instead of 20% of $1000 that I planned on, it will be more like 20% of $5000-6000. Fortunately, that isn't a problem. I wanted to spend the second night in the hospital. Because I got out of recovery closer to 6 p.m. than 2 p.m....everything was a little behind schedule. by the time I could have safely left, it would have been around 8:00 p.m. on a stormy night on the LA freeway system. Not a good move. But I was SURE ready to come home this morning.

My PS was the 10th. I was a problem for the intubation part and they almost cancelled surgery. But, finally, after an hour and a half and two anesthesiologists, they did it. My mouth and throat are sore. I have an On-Q pain pump in the belly and nothing else for pain, so far. In other words, I've had two and half pounds of boob hacked off and I haven't even needed a Tylenol. Amazing.

Are you still having trouble with liquids? Things going down any smoother? Tell!

I just had the opportunity to chat with "the attending physician" who supervises fellows where I could have had my plastic surgery (free to me, long story.) I asked him to inform "junior" that if he continues assuming that he knows what patients want without bothering to ASK them, that private practice might prove to be a food stamp experience for him, as well. (In this case, he figured that when an MO patient is going in for PS, she must want to look like Calista Flockhart and, since she won't, she won't be satisfied with the surgery. My Beverly Hills plastic surgeon said, "Tell me what you're looking for." I said, "Rubenesque." He said, "We're on the same page. My insurance will pay and my surgery is in two days.) Can you decline the services of the fellow, or is he a "given" with the coverage you have? I ask, because--and I don't want to scare you--but I wouldn't want a beginner doing my band. (And I'm not a total snob; I did have a beginner do my panniculectomy.) The band complication rate is tied directly to surgeon experience. Anyone who would want you to make a scale move in short order--and basically, the only way you can do that in time is by dehydrating yourself--is not practicing common sense, let alone good medicine. Best of luck...

EGBOK, Vera, EGBOK!! (Everything's Gonna Be OK.) He has a great repuptation and you'' do great.

Shelly, I'm not sure where I got it, but it's here, too: http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/state/foreignentryreqs.html

Just a thought...in the past, people in the UK have gone to Belgium or France for second opinions. Can she handle that or is she too sick/stuck with the medical services she has. On another board I visit, people have traveled quite a ways to get a second opinion from another doctor...and they were glad they did. I think the exam people meant was an endoscopy.

bumping for review