erinjkenben

I guess I was kind of lucky in this department. I did tell a very few friends and family a few months back that i had put a team together (doctor, psychologist, dietician) to take control of my health...which was true. I even told them I was going to NYU because they had an amazing program for weight loss (not every who goes there opts for surgery)...which was also true. I knew I would be on a liquid diet, so that was easily explained as being doctor supervised to help me shrink my stomach and the doctor and dietician would help me introduce solid foods again slowly...which is also mostly true. What I did not count on was a trip to the emergency room about a month before the surgery. It turned out I had several large stones, air in my kidneys and a kidney infection that spread to my blood and i needed emergency surgery does to make it through the night. I was pretty sick and admitted for 8 days. I'm doing fine now and have added my urologists to my weight loss team and all my changes in eating habits and weight loss are easily explained by the need to prevent future stones from forming. I don't think anyone will be surprised by my behavior as this was my fourth time in the emergency room in 12 months for kidney stones. So I guess I agree with the others, pick a story that is as close to the truth as you can, that way it will be easy to repeat and remember without telling the whole world the "real" story. Time to take care of us and not worry about others advice or opinion on all of this. Just a side note for lap banders with kidney stones - if you can be diligent about getting in all your fluids between meals and eating a measured amount of Protein, studies show you could (no promises) be less likely to develop stones. Unfortunately, for our gastric bypass friends, due to absorption issues, it is likely they will develop stones more easily after their surgery.

I had my surgery on Friday and although its not constant, I do get this tight feeling in my chest every so often. I'm pretty sure my band is wide open and I'm on liquids, but could I be doing something wrong (drinking too fast or too much) or do you just think that is common post op soreness or just swollen insides?

Just following up on my original post about Aetna PPO. I was approved quickly and easily - I think in about 2 days. Aetna is very organized in their approval process, but also lots of credit has to go to Dr. Fielding's insurance coordinator who knew exactly what she was doing and was extremely organized. I am convinced a good insurance coordinator is the secret to getting first approval, so when your checking out surgeons, be sure to try and meet or at least speak to coordinator on that initial fact finding visit.

I was banded Friday, June 14 at NYU by Dr. Fielding. I live in NJ, but I get over to Celbridge every so often to visit my family. I was just there in May. Hope your feeling ok and your recovery is speedy!!

I would like to know more about bandster hell without searching through loads of past replies. What is it and what questions should I ask?

I have Aetna Open Access PPO and will have my surgery at NYU with Dr. George Fielding...anyone have experience with getting approved through Aetna - how long, how many hoops do you need to jump through? Three questions: 1) The doctors office said I was required to have two comorbidities, but when I called the insurance company and wrote them, they said both times it looks as though I only need one (I weigh about 200lbs, 36-37bmi with high blood pressure and high cholesterol). Then they sent me this link http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/100_199/0157.html for the official Aetna CPB (clinical policy bulletin - actually some of it is very interesting & informative) and went on to tell me that they were not really sure as each member's coverage varies from policy to policy - very confusing. 2) Three months supervised diet - when you read the CPB, it looks as though you either do 3 months of weight loss to see if you can lose the weight on your own OR 3 months of pre-op diet preparation and supervision. 3) When does the doctor's office actually apply for precertification and is this differnent than applying for approval? If there is anyone out there that can speak from experience or who has Aetna or has had surgery through NYU's weight loss program, I would be very grateful!