val144

I am scheduled for surgery on August 30th. I am a medicaid patient, and here is my question for anyone out there who might have an answer. It took me a very long time to get approved, and my insurance approval is good for 6 months, from June 2011 to Dec. 2011, and I was told that medicaid will pay for fills. However, I was told by another medicaid patient that there were restrictions on how many fills they would pay for, and that in the event you wanted the band removed, they would not pay for it, unless you have proof your health is at risk. Does anyone know if this is true.

So, then is it simply mind over matter....?

I plan on reading thru all the comments when i have more time, but i wonder since its been awhile, how you feel now....did u get the band out or still have it, did it seem to get better or worse over time????

I still havent had any answers on this, I was going to switch doctors and the one I was going to switch to requires a payment of 250 dollars, if you are a medicaid patient, I was never given a reason for this, but, I was told I had to pay that even to get a consult with him. I asked what if I come for a consult, pay the 250, and change my mind, do I get a refund, I was given dead silence on the other end of the phone, and they couldnt tell me if medicaid will pay for a removal, even though they have done a couple of band removals. The only other info I got was mixed, my surgeons office told me that medicaid will only pay for a couple of fills, while the other doctors office told me they will pay only for the first year, no matter how many you have, and after the first year, you have to pay and its 150 per fill.

Thanks to those who responded with offer of information and help on my last question about irregular heartbeat. I saw my doctor today and had an ekg and she pulled up my records from May when I had my echo and stress test and told me it all seemed ok, the reports showed no signs of abnormalities, which furthers my belief that the cardiologist had his own agenda. That said, I have a new question for anyone who may have experienced this. And, before anyone answers, yes, I do plan to speak to my surgeon before surgery about this. My next question concerns blood thinners before or after surgery. I spoke to a lady who had the same irregular heartbeat as myself, and after her band surgery, she was put on Coumadin, a blood thinner. She has been on them ever since her surgery, she has lost around 80 pounds, but my concern is more toward long term blood thinner use. I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to spend the rest of my life or any part of my life on blood thinners!!! This hasnt come up in any literature or any information that has been told taught discussed with me by my doctors, surgeons, nurses, anyone. I had no idea this was even a possiblity until I spoke to the lady. Anyone had this experience???

They postponed me, my surgery, I mean, due to my un resolved irregular heartbeat, my doc thinks its medicine related, i dont know, but I go for more tests on Aug 31 and for my follow up with the surgeon on Sept 7, if all is clear, he will put me back on his schedule.

have you had your band, i wasnt sure??

I spoke to a friend last night, who had her surgery in Feb. 2010, She told me, she hasnt seen a doctor...(since her surgeon left town), in 8 months. She hasnt had any fills in her band. I know about 2 months ago, she was trying to find a new doctor to take her. I dont know what reason she has for not finding a new one, I know she has insurance. Is this soon enough for her to stop getting fills? How long do fills usually continue? She had alot more weight to lose, she didnt give me a reason and I didnt delve, thinking if she wanted to discuss it more, she would have. But, does there come a time when you just stop getting fills? and what happens to the band when you do???

Today, on top of everything else I have been dealing with, i.e, postponing surgery so I can have another heart test done. and the fact that I have already done nearly 2 weeks on the pre-op diet, I go to my doctor, because, i felt so sick and my back was hurting so bad...I find out I have a UTI, so Bactrim for the next week. I went to my old heart docs and picked up my test reports from my last echo and stress, I can only make out that there is an arrymthmia present and further testing may be necessary. He had very clearly made sure to put on there he wanted to do a heart cath, but no reason was listed. This could very well be why they approved me. But I called and spoke to my surgeons nurse and he told me to go have the new heart doctor look me over and decide if I need more tests or if I am good to go. This will be August 31, and I go back to my surgeon on Sept 7, if I am good to go then I am hoping for a new date of Sept 15. I lost 6 lbs since I was in her office on Aug 17. If I could stick to the pre-op diet for a few more months I might lose enough I wouldnt need the surgery, lol.

I am six days away from surgery and this morning I get a phone call from the doctors office I had originally hoped to do my surgery. Here is the back story, About a year ago, I attended a seminar of a relatively new surgeon, and I really liked him and hoped to get an appt with him, however, I was told he didnt currently accept my insurance, which is medicaid. So, I began looking for another doctor and found one in a town about 45 miles away. I have gone thru the process of getting my approval and am only days away from surgery, but have been struggling with the decision to have the surgery and if I should take a little more time, get some counseling on my decision, make sure I am both physically and mentally ready. I have recently had a recurrance of an electrical problem with my heart that causes my heart to take longer intervals between beats, it feels like a rise and fall and while I was approved for the surgery, my Cardiologist didnt want to approve me until I had further tests, now, I had been going back and forth the last week about should I have the heart tests and put off the band a while longer until I find out if this recurrance of this heart blip is anything I should worry about or not. So, this morning the doctors office I had gone to to begin with calls and says he is now accepting new patients and I am on his call back list and am I still interested. My heart jumped and I was so excited, then I rememebered, wait, shew, I am already getting ready to have the surgery, I had been asking for a sign and praying and asking friends to pray for me to make the right choice and now I have to wonder, is this a sign? Is this a way for me to take a little more time and really give it some thought, or do I just go ahead and get it done???

I am a medicaid patient and I am here to ask if anyone else is and what your experience has been AFTER surgery? I have a very good friend who had surgery in early 2010, her surgeon left less than a year later. She was referred to a hospital over 60 miles away and even though there were 2 other doctors closer, she was told they wouldnt see her unless she would pay for each visit and each fill would cost her $150 or more, according....She has been 8 months now without a doctor, and this is all because medicaid wouldnt pay for her to go to the closer doctors, now she could go to the one farther away, but so far has chosen not to. But even if she did, she was told that medicaid will only pay for a certain amount of fills. My doctor also told me she had one patient who had to have his band removed after a couple of years and medicaid wouldnt pay for that surgery, without alot of effort and jumping thru hoops, it took the man months to get medicaid to agree that it was a life saving surgery. I am concerned that if any of these things should happen to me after my band, I will be in the same boat. So, does anyone else have medicaid and have you had any problems, Please share.

I am right there with u, I have exactly 6 days until my surgery and I am doing my Protein shakes, but the diet they gave me includes yogurt, canned fruit, bananas and broth. cottage cheese, pop and fudgescicles...so i am not totally starving. but it sucks watching my honey eat manicotti and chicken breasts, which i cooked for him, cause i figure i have to get used to the smell of good food around that i cant have. i have been struggling with my choice to have the surgery and questioning if i should wait awhile longer and get my heart blip checked out or not, and get some psychological counseling first, well last year i had gone to a seminar and the doctor i really wanted to do my surgery wasnt taking my insuracne at that time, but this morning of all times, they call me and tell me i am on his list of call backs and hes taking my insurance now and am i still interested. i am more confused than ever now.

i dont like the term banded....it is too close to branded for me, does anyone else feel like that? like you are labeled, like you had to resort to some intervention to lose weight or get healthy???? i know that is nonsense, cause if you had to have any other type of surgery no one would label you, but with the band, you are a bander, or banded, i just get weirded out by it.

OK, so unless I read this wrong, TUESDAY IS TODAY??? OR NEXT TUESDAY?? I am scheduled for surgery Tuesday, August 30th, and I have been having the same quesitons, I have postponed the surgery once, due to my dog having to have 2 surgeries during that time and I really wanted to be able to take care of him, and also, my Honey had just gone back to work from summer vacation and he needed to give advance notice that he needed to take several days off work. So, they pushed it back 6 weeks, and that is nearly up, and I am freaking out today and have been for a week now and have been struggling with the pre-op diet and sick as ever with worry and stress and asking myself can I, should I, what if I regret it. I hope you will post an update, no one will judge you harshly if you chose to back out or postpone, At least I wont. Please keep me updated, as I am having the same doubts. I go back and forth back and forth, I will, I wont, I will postpone, I will cancel altogether, No, I can do it, No I cant!!!! So, you are not alone.

my surgeon told me he does it the morning after, the xray that is, that i will stay in the hospital the night of my surgery and if my xray goes good and everything goes as it should, i will go home the next afternoon, if not, i will stay another night. where i have pretty bad blood pressure problems, he says it might be necessary to keep me 2 nights.

I have had several surgeries, including gallbladder removal, artroscopic knee surgery, and a lump removal, non cancerous, so I am aware of the tube, and the sore throat afterward, mine didnt last all that long. But then again, I was able to drink all I wanted. I am more curious about the xray after surgery, to check the band, did you have to drink some type of barium or something for that???

"I coudnt take it any longer, Lord I was crazed, when the feeling came upon me like a tidal wave"...So, I had instant oatmeal and toast!!! with butter

I began the 2 week pre-op diet on Sunday, August 14, by the 18th, I had added some chunky soup and I talked to my doctor, who herself is a 2 year lap bander, she told me it was fine to add some more solid food. I had made it 4 days on broth, yogurt, protein drinks and popscicles. She told me I could add some boiled eggs, raw veggies and fruit and she said she even ate tuna right up til a few days before her own surgery. AND SHES A DOCTOR? so, I assume it was ok. I went ahead and ate sparing amounts of tuna, eggs and tomatoes. and turkey. But today, I have gone back to the all pre-op strict diet.

Ok, but what happens to the band? does it just stay right there? I have heard it can errode or even grow down into the stomach??