budinindy

Good evening to all. My wife asked a question for which I did not know the answer. I know that the gall bladder can be removed during the procedure, but must it be removed? The reason I asked...my wife found info on my insurance's website that says they require gall bladder removal at the time of Lap Band surgery. What is the benefit (if any) to it's removal and is this common or required? Thank you in advance for your insights. Take care. Bud In Indy

Ann...I'm new to the site myself...and have not yet had my surgery (have insurance approval though)...but I have done a lot of reading over the last few days. The one thing that seems to be a constant theme is that the time between surgery and your first fill are tough...as you have very little if any restriction....so you've gone through this endeavor...and you start to question "Why?" since you still feel hungry. From what I understand...things start to get better after the first fill...and it may take a few fills to get things where you really feel the restriction. It sounds though like what you are experiencing is normal. Hopefully someone more experienced will chime in and confrim or correct what I've said. I've also learned in a very short time that there are a lot of people here to provide insight...support...advice...just about anything you need. Just hang in there...as those who are futher down the road say it's all worth it. Take care. Bud In Indy

Jdsmith71….I’m pre-surgical…so I cannot answer your port questions…but I’d be happy to share my insurance experience. First…in answer to your question of time for approval, the short answer is: it depends on your provider. Each one has a different approval process and set of criteria, so the process could be simple…or a real pain in the backside. For me…the process started a year ago. I contacted my insurance company (I’ll call them company “A” as I do not know the forum rules of naming companies…either positively or negatively. Anyway…company A said I had to go through an 18 month physician supervised diet and exercise program…with all associated costs for visits, test, etc. 100% my responsibility. The fact that the previous year I had dieted and documented my weight loss was not enough…it had to be documented in my medical records and physician supervised. Fortunately for me, my employer allows us to change our benefits every fall for the next year. We were given three provider options…so I contacted them to inquire about bariatric approval. Company “B” said I either had to have a 6 month physician supervised diet and exercise regimen in my record from the last two years or I could participate in a 3 month pre-surgical regimen of diet, exercise, support, education, etc. So I chose company “B” and met with my (soon to be) surgeon the second week of Jan. For the last 5-6 months…I’ve jumped through every hoop…performed every pre-surgical requirment...met with every person…procured every piece of info from the last 5 yrs…all in an effort to get approval. I submitted my package (about 235 pages of info) on May 24th…and received approval on June 6th. The process in all honestly with my current company has been pretty painless…just time consuming. All I can suggest is to not to give them an excuse to say no….and not to get discouraged. I had to track down physician records from two different doctors who had moved to new practices. But…I needed records for the past 5 yrs (I gave them 7! J) As someone from the surgery center told me at the beginning…don’t give up! I hope this helps. Take care and have a good evening. Bud In Indy.