Ms_Kb718

Whether you tell them now or right before surgery, they are not obligated to hold your job while you are out. You are having a medically necessary surgery, but it is elective and pre-planned and I think they may hold it against you for not telling them. Is it a large company? Do you have a contact in HR that you dealt with during the hiring process that you can talk to? I don't know about your insurance, but my approval is good for a year. Since you already have a start date I would talk to HR and your boss and tell them that you need to have a medically necessary surgery but you are waiting for pre-certification from your insurance company so you don't have an actual surgery date. Get their feedback as to when would be a good time for you to take 2-3 weeks off to recover and schedule surgery based on their feedback. Maybe by asking for their input and "permission" (for lack of a better word) they will be more receptive. In 2010 I started a new job on April 5th. I received insurance approval for my LapBand at the end of April and surgery was scheduled for May 21st. Three weeks after starting my job, II spoke with my boss and I explained to her that I was having outpatient laparoscopic surgery and that it was scheduled on Friday May 21st and that I could be back to work the following Monday, but I wanted to let her know in case I had some sort of complications. I also offered to push the surgery back to a date that was better for the floor ( it was a hospital). She was very understanding and told me that I could take the whole week off if I got a note from my doctor. I ended up only taking Monday off because I felt fine going back to my desk job. Now I know that RNY is a far cry from getting a LapBand, but my point is that I spoke openly with her and asked for input and she was very receptive. I am also hoping I don't have a similar problem. I received an email last week from a state government job I applied for 7 months ago. It said that I was placed in the "best qualified" category and that I will be called for an interview. This is a great job with great pay and benefits and I have been trying to get a Federal or State government job for years. My husband and I are praying that they continue to move slow and don't contact me for an interview until a few weeks after my surgery on June 21st. Good luck. I'm sure everything will work out. Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

My blood work the week before surgery is only for a Type and Screen in case I need a blood transfusion. It is a hospital requirement, not my surgeon's. The pre-op blood work that goes to my surgeon can be done anytime within 30 days of surgery. I had my labs drawn this past Tuesday which is within the 30 days but only 2 days into my pre-op diet, so I'm sure he isn't looking for compliance with the diet. Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

Congratulations! Good for you! Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

Sorry, I didn't see this before I posted. Maybe I should read through all the posts before I reply! Lol

Hi, I'm still pre-op, but I also have Factor V (heterozygous). I've never actually had a clot, but I did have 3 miscarriages prior to the birth of my 4 beautiful girls. I took Lovenox during my first two successful pregnancies and combination of Lovenox and Heparin during my 3rd. For my last pregnancy I kind of took more control over my care and was able to go off of Lovenox towards the end and switch to 2 baby aspirin a day so that I could have a medication-free delivery with a midwife at a birth center. My surgeon will go over the details of how long he wants me on anticoagulants after surgery at my pre-op visit on June 5th. Knowing that I would be having surgery this year, I spoke with my hematologist and he said that I could go on the mini pill, which I started at the end of last year. But that didn't last long because you have to take it at the same time every day. If you are more than an hour late than you can become pregnant and I kept forgetting. I went back to him and for an alternative and after speaking with my midwife, he said that since I have never had a clot I can do the Mirena. I had that put in about 2 months ago I take baby aspirin everyday. I haven't had any problems, my labs are great and I've had 2 dopplers of my legs in the past 2 months and those have been fine. This may not be an option for you because you have actually had a clot, but I thought I would share my experience. Take Care!

Congratulations! Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

MyFitnessPal

I just never really felt like I even had the band. I lost around 20 lbs in the beginning which I believe was just because of the swelling. At about 6 weeks, I felt no restriction and was hungry all of the time so I had my first adjustment. Time after time I would have fluid added to my band, but it never made a difference. I felt no restriction and was always hungry. It was a daily struggle and my former surgeon would just tell me to try harder and kept offering me a prescription for Phentermine. I felt as if I was doing it all on my own and I was failing. The only time the stupid thing worked was when I was pregnant. And when I say it worked, I mean that I went from no restriction to not being able to tolerate liquids overnight. I had to have all of the fluid removed and then after delivery we began the process of gradually refilling my band. It was the same as before and I felt nothing. When I practically begged my doctor for an upper endoscopy or upper GI and he said it wasn't necessary, that's when I decided to get a 2nd opinion and I'm so glad that I did.

When I had my initial consult at George Washington University Hospital back in December, my surgeon also told me they no longer place bands. He said that the complication and conversion rates were too high. He is the chief of surgery and the one who performs most of the hospital's bariatric revisions and conversions and he has a very low opinion of the band. I went in armed and ready to convince him that I had been compliant with my band. All of that was unnecessary because he very familiar with band failures. The first thing he did was order an upper GI and an upper endoscopy which revealed that my band had slipped up and was sitting at the base of my esophagus. I was so relieved to finally have confirmation that the band was the problem and that I wasn't a failure.

Did you find out the time of your surgery yet? My surgery isn't until June 21st, but since I'm the first case of the day I already know that my surgery is @7:30 am. I can't imagine having to wait until the day before to find out your time. Everything will be fine, it's normal to have last minute jitters before surgery. I'm sure you are making the right decision. Good luck tomorrow!

Congratulations on your medical clearance! I still have my pre-op nutrition class (includes a tour of the bariatric surgery unit) on May 22nd, my pre-op physical with my PCP on May 28th and my final pre-op appointment with my surgeon on June 5th. My surgery is scheduled for June 21st and I am so excited.

I'm scheduled for June 21st.

My revision from band to bypass is scheduled for June 21st. I am also excited and nervous. I have to do a 4-week pre-op diet so I start next Thursday, the day after my nutrition class. I am so ready for June to get here!

I live in Anne Arundel County, MD and I'm having surgery on June 21st at George Washington University Hospital in DC.

How can they possibly find the RNY medically necessary but not the band removal? That makes no sense! You can't have the procedure that they determined is necessary if you still have the band. It's usually the other way around and the band removal is approved, but the RNY is denied. My insurance company took a total of 2 weeks to approve my surgery. I later found out that the band removal was approved in 2 days, but the rest of the time was spent gathering more info and determining whether or not the conversion to RNY was medically necessary. Insurance companies are full of it. The sad thing is that because it's 2 procedures in one, the insurance company probably won't even have to pay that much for the band removal. Do you have the option for an external review? My insurance offers an external review if your appeal is denied.

My surgery is June 21st and my pre-op diet starts May 23rd. Four weeks seemed like a long time until my surgeon said "If you can't stick to the 4-week plan when you know you are having surgery, then why should I believe that you are ready for the life-long commitment that comes with RNY?" My diet is 3-4 Protein shakes and 1 lean protein meal for dinner. I can also have sugar-free beverages and Jello. My doctor said that his pre-op diet is as much about helping with post-op "head hunger" as it is about shrinking the liver.

When I had my band placed in 2010, I had Carefirst BCBS (Maryland). My BMI was only 41 and the insurance coordinator for my previous surgeon told me that if I lost more than 5lbs or so during my 6-month pre-op diet, that my insurance company would probably deny me. Without saying it directly, she basically told me to fake my pre-op diet. My doctor did want me to lose 10lbs before surgery, but to avoid problems with the insurance company, he had me lose it with a liquid diet after I was approved. Good luck!

Good luck with everything. I'm sure it will all work out.

In addition to what everyone else said, I also had to walk fast and do "laps" in the hallway to test my oxygen saturation level with a higher heart rate.

Yeah, waiting for the insurance approval can be a killer. It took a little over 2 weeks for my approval. After 1 week I called to check on the status. My case manager told me that I could call everyday if it made me feel better, but that she would call me as soon as a decision was made. Well, she never should have told me that because I did call everyday. Finally, about a week later, my phone range about 8 am in the morning. It was the nurse from my insurance company calling to tell me that I had been approved. She said that she wanted to surprise me and call me before I called her lol.

Will this be the 2nd weight-loss surgery for anyone else? I am having a band removed and converting to RNY.

Hello Everyone, I am scheduled for surgery on June 21st. Hubby and I are booked for a weeklong trip to Jamaica to Celebrate our 10-year anniversary on July 13th. I spoke with my doctor's nurse and she said that unless there are any complications, they usually clear patients for travel 7-10 days after surgery. My question is whether or not you would have been up to going on vacation 3 weeks after surgery? I am just fine with lounging around and relaxing all week and I also understand that my diet will be limited and I am prepared to take my Protein supplements with me. We did purchase travel insurance so I am trying to decide if we should reschedule the trip or just try to stick with our plans. I know every person and their post-op experiences are different, but how did you feel 3 weeks after surgery and would you have felt comfortable traveling to a place like Jamaica?