Sunshine37135

Well, all but one of my claims have been submitted to insurance. All I can say is that if you are going in as a self pay, try to get something in writing up front on the costs. Dr. Houston was $6K, The hospital (excluding the anesthesiologist) was $41K. This was the surgery and hosptial stay. I have the prices for the upper GI and nutrition consult that were done pre-op as well. I don't know if your insurance plans to pay for that testing. I think the hospital quote for self pays is around $26K. That may be about right because their reimbursement for the surgeon, surgery and hospital stay was $27K.

I am going to jump in here. I was sleeved 9/3. I have lost 16 pounds since surgery and 26 since my surgical consult. I had my post op visit today and was advanced to full liquids....Next step real food I can chew! As for the FB groups, take advice with a grain of salt. Sassy Sleevers is popular and has a lot of members but it's pretty catty and full of poor advice. The September group is going well right now and it's set as Closed/Private so that any posts made there do not show up on your Facebook wall.

Centennial really does seem to have a great aftercare program. I believe that they are concerned about the long term care of their patients and not just about getting their money and they're done with you. I think Dr. Houston probably has one of those personalities that are easily misunderstood at times. You know from listening to him that he's intelligent. As a nurse, I knew right away that he was the dr that I wanted. One girl said that he changed after surgery; she thought that maybe he saw so many consults that never followed through that he didn't get too involved up front. My pre-op consult was interesting. I had to bring all three of my kids (7,4,4) to the appt. He was running late. They had been good the hour we had been there but were getting restless toward the end. He apologized for being behind and said he didn't know I had kids waiting with me. Then he proceeded to say that it was my fault for bringing them in the first place. Now, I THINK that was supposed to be a joke......I hope it was.

The doctor came in every morning to see me. I also got a visit from their office manager as promised pre-op. It's really a good atmosphere. My follow-up is Thursday. Today is the best I have felt so far.

My insurance covered the procedure. My hosptial stay was really good. My room was away from the nurses station so there wasn't a lot of noise. I was awakened at 12 and 4 for vitals but they left me alone other than that. All the rooms are private so it doesn't matter if you are insured or self pay.

This week has been up and down. I slept most of the time I was in the hosptial. When I got home, I continued taking my Dilaudid the first day. Now, I am a little sore during the day but I have only been taking my pain medicine at night to help rest more comfortably. I have been able to lay on my sides for a period of time at night. Getting in fluids has been a challenge. My new best friend has been my Unjury Chicken Soup flavor protein. It's nice to have something salty and warm in stead of everything being sweet. I am taking back all my Isopure bottles tomorrow. The stuff is alright when you taste it preop but post op, the after taste is just too much to handle. The Unjury and Nectar powders mix really well and have decent flavor.

I just had my surgery Tuesday with Dr. Houston. He is a man of few words but I was very happy with both him and Centennial. My insurance covered the procedure, but the office is great about telling you exactly what to expect as far as charges. If you are able to scrape the money together, 20% off for Prompt Pay helps.