dustout

Are these places ones that do a lot of these surgeries or do they do other stuff to? Support group is included for life at my doctor for free but then again this is mostly all they do. The support group has about 50 people that go. It's amazing. My doctor does a TON of lap band surgeries and people come from all over to have him do it. The difference might be that the 'bigger' places that do more of these surgeries and more easily afford to not charge a fee since it is so core to their business. I must say that my doctor's place was definitely the most professional and impressive place I've been. Tons of friendly people that remember your name, hardly any fees, and tons of free classes and access to nutritionists and tons of reading material. I would definitely recommend them to anyone. It does make me wonder though how many doctors focus their entire business on lap band type procedures rather than doing a mix of things.

My doctor doesn't have any program fees... It's all free. It makes me feel a lot better about them too that they don't try to charge fees all over the place. They submit insurance properly and handle an appeal for free which makes sense since if you don't get accepted, they don't get paid. Why should the customer have to pay the doctor to try to get the doctor paid? Oh well. There's not really anything you can do about it if they charge that. $2800 seems awfully high! Is this refundable if you get denied? Does this include everything you need or something? Out of pocket I paid: A few $10 copays for the first office visits, $35 after insurance paid for psych eval, $75 for dietician, and lots of money on Vitamins and Protein supplements but I kind of don't count those since it replaces a lot of food too.

The liquid diet is SO hard! I have to agree with you on that. It sounds like mine was easier than yours though. 10 days before surgery I started mostly liquids with one small meal of solids a day. Then 3 days pre-op I went full liquids. By the time I started more solid foods 2 weeks post-op I was dying for crunchy food or anything that wasn't sweet. Just hold out until mushy foods! If you like eggs at all you will LOVE them then! You can do a lot with mushy scrambled eggs for variety. It seemed like forever I was on mostly/only Protein drinks. I got so sick of Soups and stuff too. Bleh! I still stay away from anything mushy or soup-like if I can. I think it will be a while until I can like those things again... but I guess that's good for the band anyways. It may not be the best thing to do for avoiding those cravings for solid food but I spent a lot of time researching recipes for stuff I could cook once I could get solids again and learning better cooking techniques. I want the little food I can eat to taste good. I'm an awful cook still though. How long do you have to stay on liquids after surgery? Have you found any good Protein Drinks? My doctor requires we use 'New Direction' Meal Replacements during the diet. They have I think 28 grams of protein. It's a powder you mix with 9.5 ounces of Water. The chocolate flavors are the only ones I can stand though. They remind me of hot cocoa with powdered milk mixed in or something.... it's better than it sounds. Sorry for the rambling! I'm just so excited to hear about others getting this surgery too. It really does amazing things for people! Well, I better go.

Congratulation Ellisa!! I'm so happy for you! do you have a surgery date yet now that you've started Protein stuff? I got my first fill last Wednesday but it didn't seem to do much so they gave me another one yesterdat. I'm on liquids until this evening. I can't wait to have more restriction BUT I've lost about 33 pounds now since I started my pre-op diet!! You will love this thing! It's a wonderful tool. Keep us posted as you go and best of luck with all of it!

I had my first fill today. They asked me how much I could eat at one meal, how long until I got hungry, how closely I've been following the diet, any problems, if I wanted to ask the nutritionist anything, etc, etc. The doctor/my surgeon came in and had my lay on my back. He put on gloves and sterilized the port area. He then felt around the port and pressed some. It was a LITTLE sore but not bad. Just like pressing hard about anywhere. Kind of like when a doctor presses on your stomach for who knows what reason at a normal checkup. He then warned I would feel a little stick and put the needle in. The first time he hit it but the angle wasn't quite right as my port was just slightly turned. He had my tense my muscles like I was going to do a situp which straightened out the port and it slid right in. I could fill a bit of a pop when it went in. He added the saline and quickly pulled the needle out. I then had to drink some water to make sure it went down okay. It was pretty simple and mostly painless. The needle stick hurt less than taking blood and the pressure didn't hurt much at all. Lastly, and this is what I really liked... he told me that if I feel like I didn't get much restriction from the fill to call next week and they will get me in quickly to "tweak" it and add some more. If I feel too full, to go on liquids a couple more days but if it then doesn't get better to come in and they will fix that too. I've heard on here that some doctors make you wait between fills even if the fill did NOTHING. He does make you wait between major fillings but if the first doesn't do much then they will put a little more. Tweakings right after a fill/unfill are free. I go back in 3 and a half weeks to get another fill or more tweaking. The first 90 days of fills after surgery are FREE. Unfills are always free. Very cool. I also like that the surgeon does the fills/unfills. Oh, and I've lost 30 pounds now since the day before the pre-op diet! I about stopped the last week so hopefully this fill will get me back on track. Drinking water I can already fill a little restriction if I gulp. It's like it goes down slowly. Good luck to all other October bandsters!

I hope all went well for you and that your port is healing quickly! Good luck with your journey and keep us updated! The band will get better once you're all healed up and filled so hang on!

I didn't get a bag from mine... I'll ask about this... I love free stuff and this stuff sounds good!

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy for you!! Keep us posted on your progress on getting banded and good luck to you on all of it! It sure is 'shady' how our insurance misplaces paperwork and faxes then mysteriously finds them when we bug them but at least we got it! Yay! I look forward to hearing more about your progress. I'm still loving the band even though I haven't had a fill and can eat more than 4 ounces. I'm still losing about 2 pounds a week though WITHOUT a fill! I eat so much less now than before surgery still. With a fill I'm sure it will be amazing.

I was definitely happy to hear that this is the band I have. I feel better knowing I have a potentially better band. Hopefully it will do as expected and reduce complications.

My doctor told me to get 112 grams of Protein. They said this is calculated off my height and gender. (5'11" male) How much protein were others told to get? 112 seems like a TON... especially on pureed foods! I am drinking Protein drinks (27 grams each) and throwing Beneprotein powder in everything I can and still can't quite meet this every day. :S I know it will be easier once I can eat solid food but man it's hard. My current personal reasonable goal is 90g/day since I can handle that.... barely.

The AP (Advanced Performance) Lapband was designed to address known problems with the original Lapband and attempt to mitigate them. It's new design is hoped to reduce slippage, erosion, and increase the speed of weight loss by blocking food more efficiently. They also say that they believe the new design will reduce blockages. It's new so they don't know how much these improvements help or if they even do. However, it's believed they will, hence the changes. New features: 1. Cuff - the cuff on the AP band is 360 degrees around, as opposed to about 300 degrees on the prior bands (there was no cuff around the buckle on the old ones) 2. Cuff length - the cuff on the AP band is 18mm longer/taller than on the previous bands, so the surface area in contact with the stomach is much greater, hopefully increasing the speed of weight loss and maybe reducing the risk of slips 3. Cuff volume - the AP small holds 10cc, the AP large holds 14cc 4. "Omniform" Technology. The inflatable silicon portion of the band in contact with the stomach is 'pleated' to reduce chances of slippage and grip the stomach better. 5. An easier release mechanism to remove the band. This increases the ability to use laproscopy should the Lap-band need removal. 6. Softer silicon is used in the new AP band. New band: Older bands: Normal on left; VG on right:

They "lost" my proof of student paperwork three times after they approved me for the surgery and kept trying to cancel my insurance without even notifying me this paperwork was missing. We kept having to fax them proof in. I think they can be a bit shady on this surgery. I think they really don't want to pay for it. It didn't actually stop the surgery but if we hadn't been on top of things it might have. The more I think about it the more shady it seems. Good luck with your appeal and keep us updated!

Called Lapband doctor today and the nurse said I have the 10cc band so it should be the newer AP band. Woot.

What reasons did they give? Are you going to appeal? If you meet the reasons listed on the policy and your doctor thinks it's medically necessary you can write a letter of appeal disputing their reasons. They may just be trying to get rid of you to save them the huge cost of it. Don't give up! At this point if you can I would certainly try to appeal this. They may just be hoping you give up. I look forward to hearing back from you. I'm so sad to hear they denied you though! I know I would be so disappointed in your place, even more after having spent money on this already.

I'm getting around 70-80 minimum a day... sometimes 90. I'm feeling pretty healthy. My biggest problem is getting enough Water. I am just NEVER thirsty! I have to keep reminding myself to drink even though I don't want to or else I will go all day and only get about 16 ounces of water which isn't enough at all.

It has some lapband info on it in case of emergency on the front. on the back it quickly explains it and how i cant eat much so I can use it to ask for children's or senior citizens specials at restaurants. On the front it has the doctor's name, address, and phone, my name, tells I have the an adjustable gastric band, and provides the warning "Caution should be taken when prescribing potentially ulcerogenic medications, inserting a gastric tube, or performing any gastric or abdominal procedure." It also has a picture of the band making a little pouch. It also says "M.R.I. Compatible" on it. On the back it says "This patient has had gastric surgery to reduce the stomach compacity and can eat only small portions at a time (less than 4 ounches, or 1/2 cup). We request that him/her be allowed to purchase a senior or child's portion. Thank you for your cooperation." I had to ask to get one. It looks like it was put together by my doctor's office and then laminated in thick hard laminating stuff.

About 6 weeks ago my AST began being somewhat elevated. It was mentioned to me before surgery but it was hoped to be caused by some other medication I was on (Avonex) and I was taken off of it. It's still high though. It's now at 139. The doctor mentioned I may need to get my G.I. tract looked through. Does anyone know what a likely cause of this would be? I've done a lot of research online and on Wikipedia but it's been really hard to sort through all the stuff. I'm really nervous about this as all the causes basically sound pretty bad. I've had NO problems though. I feel healthy, have had no digestive problems aside from the normal lapband liquid and mushy diet side effects . I don't drink alcohol and my only prescription I'm currently on is hydrochlorothiazide for blood pressure and it is controlling it great. In two weeks I get my liver function levels tested yet again to decide if I need to have that done. I'm 23/m and I'm pretty scared about this. I'm healing great from lapband surgery I had on oct 15 but now this has come up. I've lost about 25 pounds since the beginning of the pre-op diet and am feeling good. I wish I could hurry up and found out if there is a problem or not and what it could be!

That sounds like the problem I had sadly. It's definitely ridiculous.... I think it took me around 4 or 5 weeks. Once they got the paperwork in the system it only took a couple of days though so hopefully they can get to you fast! They left a note for the pre-determination people for me too around week four and a couple days later they returned the call and told me they started the process. I would keep calling like you are. They document every time you call so maybe they will see that and think 'hey this person is anxious about this so she isnt just going to sit around and forget about it for a long time!'.

I never had any trouble getting fluids down post-op. Even in the hospital and the day after. I felt like I could drink like normal and had no problems. I'm almost three weeks out and I do seem to have restriction since I can get full on two soft scrambled eggs which is pretty small once it's cooked (about 3/4th cup). I'm tryin to keep under that though since 1/2 cup is the recommended meal size although 3/4 is the max. It seems like I keep hearing everyone saying it was so hard to get liquids down and I had no trouble at all.... I hope that's somewhat normal...

My first fill is November 28 (surgery was October 15). My surgery followup was today and everything is going great. Got my 'lapband card' for my wallet too.

Yeah, prior to this new policy change a few months ago Lapband was almost always denied by Anthem BC/BS from what I here now they authorize it much much much more often! I was about 41 BMI when I went in. I drank a bunch of Water right before in case I like burned some ounces on the way from nervousness! lol. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you can get it! It will definitely be great for you health. Keep us updated too! I just started mushies. Scrambled eggs ROCK! I'm feeling so good and healthy. I'm so glad I did this so far!

Well when I wake up I will be one week post-op. Complications since surgery: Due to bleeding right after surgery my steristrips on port practically fell off the day after surgery. I replaced them with walgreens ones after taking sterilization precautions. Day 5 after surgery I got a fever that peaked around 102. The fever lasted a total of about 13 or so hours then broke and never returned. I had diahrea during this time but that has stopped although bowel movements are quite loose still. That's about it! Minimal pain and have been very active. During the fever I felt like crap and slept horrible but otherwise it's a billion times better than I expected. My only remaining side effects from being banded are my abdomen being a tad sore if I move around a lot but it mostly just feels like I bruised myself somehow... like if I bumped into something hard. Not bad at all. My other side effect is when I first stand up I tend to feel like I need to burp REALLY bad... sometimes if I pull if I contract my abdomen muscles I will burp a huge burp and feel great... other times it gradually goes away. All in all the experience wasn't bad at all other than the nausea immediately after surgery from anesthesia and pain killer. How is everyone else doing post-op? Anyone else about one week out? How are you feeling? I know I've been lucky post-op and I hope others are getting well fast too! A lot of my fast recovery is probably from being on the lowish end of the band BMI (40) and being 23 years old I'd guess.

I've gotten tired and dizzy a couple times. I took in more Protein and Water and it went away. I think that since I'm getting so few calories that with the healing and all it's easy to not get enough. Also dehydration is super easy. 64 ounces is a LOT to drink when you're not eating real food. I got really happy just now which is why I got on. My stomach is rumbling and growelling because it is so empty and hasn't even in a couple hours. BUT, I'm not feeling physical hunger. I'd love something that tastes great and isn't liquid but I don't NEED it. I was going to get some Jello then realized I don't really care to bother with it so I drank water. Very neat! I know things aren't going to be super easy in the future, especially once I can have 'good' food again, but I can already feel the amazing sensation of the physical hunger not being present when it would normally be. It is SO NEAT! I am SO excited now! At this point I should be crying for food but I'm mostly just annoyed at my churning stomach. Time for bed! I think I'm about 19 pounds down since I started the pre-op diet. I'm happy about that for sure.

My doctor has me on full liquids for 2 weeks after surgery. This includes protein meal replacement drinks, soups, jello, dilluted pudding, and uh... that's mostly it. I'm sick of it. The protein drinks make me sick just thinking about drinking them but I have to. The flavor of all of them but the chocolate flavors (chocolate, mocha, chocolate pudding, hot cocoa) grosses me out. Unfortunately I only got one pack of chocolate. I may have to make a trip to get other flavors before I go crazy! Seven days left of full liquids. Then it's only to mushies. I can't wait for scrambled eggs! I LOVE scrambled eggs! I will probably cry from the joy of having something edible in my mouth. lol

Day 5 (almost 6) post-op. I too still have the feeling of needing to burp or something but can't... this happens when I'm standing mostly. I figured out though that if I suck in my abdomen sometimes it helps me to burp a huge burp and this helps. I think the way the stomach is bent around the band from the temporary stitches causes extra air to get stuck.... plus some of the gas from surgery is probably not helping either. I'm hoping this will end up going away soon.