stept04

My insurance is 80/20 and I did not have to pay the Dr. anything upfront, and as far as the hospital they allowed a 300.00 down payment and then payments on the rest which was 1200 dollars because I already had another surgery this year and my deductible was lower because of it. Before that first surgery the lap-band surgery was going to be a deductible of 3000 and they were not going to allow a down payment, so it seems like what Mrsinto said they don't want to get stuck with a big bill. May be if you put down a big down payment they will consider payments. Good luck ~~~Stephanie

Sound like you might need to call your Dr. and see if they want to see you sooner. ~Stephanie

So sorry to hear your at a stand still. I'm just starting I get banded the 28th of May. I get nervous when I hear thing like this. Do you mind if I ask if your counting your calories or eating band size portions? If you are maybe you have just have not reached that "green zone" they talk about. Good Luck ~~~Stephanie

Congratulations for making it this far. It gives me hope, I start the pre-op diet tomorrow and I'm just going to grit my teeth and get through it. So it's good to hear from others who have been there. Good luck with the rest of your journey, and congrats on the weight loss also. ~~~Stephanie

Yes, pre-natal viatamins might help. If you notice they help with your nails grow and nails are made up of keratin which is the same thing that your hair is made of. It will depend greatly though on why your losing your hair. I am a cosmetologist and there are several reason you can lose your hair. If your losing it evenly all over it could be stress or nutrition if your losing it in patches it could be stress or alapecea (SP?) or something your Dr,. could diagnose . What we put in our body effects our skin, hair ,and nails along with other things of course. So the first thing is to try and get the nutrients from your diet then second would be from supplements, you could try a vitamin especially for skin,nails, and hair. Good luck and have a great day.

I just started walking around the block just about 2 weeks ago, I walk in the morning I live in Texas also, it is getting to hot now to walk any later in the day. What part do you live in? I live in Haslet north of Fort Worth. That's great you will have almost a month of walking under your belt that should help out a lot. I'll a have about 3 weeks, my surgery is the 28th of this month. Good luck with your journey. ~~~Stephanie

Very nice, you can most certainly can see the difference. Good job, just beautiful.

I'm just curious do you take a multi - viatamin? Or any other supplements besides the Biotin. I bought a liquid multi - viatamin, B-complex, Calcium, and powdered fruits and vegi mix. I think I'll add the Biotin too to be safe. May hair is super fine and thin I can't afford to lose any. I get banded the 28th of May. I hope all these help. Good luck with yours.

That is such a big NSV. I bet you are feeling good. Congratulations, and good luck with your next goal if you have anymore . ~~~Stephanie

It all depends on your dr./nut they should give you a list of what you can have and when. I am on a clear liquid diet the first week and then full liquid the second week and so on. I know some one on here who was on real food the second week. So all dr.'s are different in there requirements. If they did not tell you then I'd ask them. It can mess up the recovery of the band if you do it wrong. Good luck ~~~Stephanie

I would defiantly call your Dr. It could be the strips that are irritating you, but you need to be sure because any redness around a wound is a sign of infection especially if there is heat coming off it. I'd call about it. Good luck ~~~Stephanie

Could I get some examples please of what makes up a full liquid diet. The sample that my Dr. gave me were clear liquids except for the protein shakes.I was going shopping this weekend to get ready. I was just curious what "full" meant to everyone else. Then I was going to call the nut on Monday and check. For example they said broth but no mention of cream soups, I thought that was a "full" liquid? Thanks

Jello, Popsicle, Gatorade, Crystal light ,You can make slushies out of them by putting them in the freezer for awhile. That's all I can think of right now. Congratulations and good luck. I'm guessing you in the clear liquid stage.

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like you did really well with the by-pass, but I guess if your gaining I can see where the band would come in. What concerned me was would my insurance cover me if there were any complications and they said yes I was covered. Great to have you here.

HI Binx125, I go under the same day as you. I wonder too how in the world to you go from a regular diet to liquid for a full week, at least a week for me ,you? Hopefully someone will read the post and give some suggestions. I have a friend of mine who just did it a couple of weeks ago and she said you just do it. You stay focused on the future and why your doing this. So will see, I'll give it my best shot.I'm going to buy a lot of my favorite sugar free gum and Popsicles , and then keep my hand busy, maybe typing in the blog section. Good luck

I can't see why not. It won't hurt the band. I think that is a lot of what hypnosis helps with. If you really believe in it I would give it a try and see what happens. Go for it. Good luck, and tell us what happens. I'd be curious to know myself.

i got it fixed!!!!!!

Do you just have to exercise to lose weight? I was planning on starting to walk after my surgery. But I've been on a high protein low carb diet before my surgery, and I use MFP to keep track of my calories and keep in mind I'm not exercising. I'm suppose to be able to eat 1800 and some calories, seems like a lot to me , but that's what it said. I'm not loosing anything. I thought it was calories in calories out kind of thing. Is it simply a matter of exercise or is it to many calories or both? And yes I hate exercise and have a bad knee, but do plan I doing it I know I have to. But I was just curious why I am not losing something. I don't want this to be what happens with the band. Can you just be unable to lose. I am 5'3 and 277 pounds, plus I am 47 yrs old, and was thinking my metabolism might be shot or something. I do have a thyroid (hypo) problem but it is OK on meds. I'm guessing the answers going to be to exercise Actually I hope it is that simple. Not easy but simple. BTW my nut said he has no calorie or quantity restrictions for me he said just eating healthy would take care of everything when I get the band..

Yes I hate pictures too. I did my before photo already though and posted it. Why do you have to come off your meds for 48 hrs? ---Stephanie

I read this and called my insurance to make sure they will cover me if complications should arise, and they said yes. It does not fix all my fears but that would have been a big one. Thank you for sharing, very interesting information. ----Stephanie

Yea, my name is Stephanie too. I did reply to your text on subutex, so I guess everything went OK with the Doc. I hope these two weeks pass fast too, especially the pro-op diet. I have to be on full liquids for a week, and then clear liquids 24hrs before the surgery. Not as bad as some I seen though. Good luck to everybody and I'm sure we will all be posting about how we are doing.

Congratulations! My date is the 28th of May so will be close together. Keep us posted in how your doing. I start the pre-op diet the 22nd, you? ---Stephanie

You may want an ice pack for your stomach as well. I have not been banded yet ( 28th May ). A friend of mine was banded May 2nd and used an ice pack on her stomach to help with the swelling and soreness. Good luck

If it is not to much of an imposition, what happened with the by-pass? What made you decide to get the lap-band, and what exactly are you so nervous about. I was deciding which WLS I wanted, but the Dr recommended lap-band. I get banded the 28th of May. Just would like to hear from someone who had a different WLS and then decided to get the lap-band. BTW I'm nervous as well especially with some of the post I read, but it has not turned me off yet.