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I was told that any pill larger than a birth control pill could not be taken whole. However, you have to ask your doctor what pills can be crushed as all pills cannot be, especially any of those that are timed released.

I ordered my vitamins from www.bbvitamins. They are especially formulated for bariatric patients. There are some for lap band surgeries and some for gastric bypass. I was given some samples and they tasted really good.

Thank you, Rumar for your prompt response. I knew it was the Surgery Center, but the brochure for the Surgery Center says they close at 5:15 weekdays. That's why I was Confused. By the way, Buttercup. Congrats on your approval. Your surgery won't be far behind now.

By the way I lost another 2 pounds this week and I am on 3 food meals, a snack and one Optifast shake per day now.

For those of you who had your surgery at DeKalb, I have a question. Did you have your actual surgery at the Surgery Center or at the hospital. My instructions tell me to show up at the Surgery Center at 6:00 am. Their brochures says they close at 5:15. I am confused. Did you spend the night after surgery and if so, where did you stay?

One suggestion for coping with the holidays is to tell people you are having some stomach issues and doctor prescribed eating only soft and pureed foods for a while.

Buttercup, you should hear soon. BC/BS approval took less than a week for me.

Good morning, everybody. My name is Shirley and I live in Lilburn. Dr. Scott Steinberg will be doing my surgery at DeKalb Medical Center in Decatur. I just got my surgery date yesterday and I am so excited. I attended my first seminar at Emory back in April. I began their Optifast diet on June 1 and will complete their program in two weeks. For 14 weeks I had nothing but liquids. At least prep and post-op for surgery is not daunting for me. I began slowly reintroducing solid food 5 weeks ago. I will be dieting on my own until surgery. Emory is not approved by Medicare for bariatric surgery at the moment but is trying to get approval. I found out the DeKalb was so I attended their seminar in July. I am so glad I did because I was much more impressed with their surgeons that I decided to go ahead and pursue surgery with one of them. I had a hard time choosing which doctor because both seem quite personable, professional and knowledgeable It didn't take me long to get all of the pre-approvals including secondary insurance approval. I am now scheduled for surgery on December 6. It was my choice to put off until December because I have a vacation scheduled for the end of November and thought it was too soon to leave the country if surgery were between now and then It was nice to find some fellow Georgians to chat with.

Brez, keep up the good work. Your dieting is working and the end of the year will be here soon. Then you, too, can have a surgery date.

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. I got a surgery date today. I will be banded on December 6 at DeKalb Medical Center in Dectur, Georgia by Dr. Scott Steinberg. I am so excited to have this part of the journey over with. Now I can start the next one - getting ready for surgery.

I am 65 and will be banded in December. I do not have a date yet but will have one by mid-week. My doctor performs surgery in one of Medicare's 'approved' bariatric centers. So far he has not had Medicare pay for 20 of his patients although Medicare paid for their other surgery charges (ie, hospital, anesthesiologist, labs, etc). His insurance clerk said they just haven't figured out how to bill Medicare properly yet. Anyone else experience this? Also, Medicare doesn't pre-approve. They just approve or disapprove after the surgery. My secondary has given me approvall though.

By the way, I live in Lilburn and know the Brookhaven area and have been to Monticello.

Hello, Michelle and Charise. My name is Shirley and I am hoping to be banded in December at DeKalb Medical Center in Decatur. My surgeon will be Dr. Scott Steinberg. DeKalb is a bariatric center for excellence and I was so much more impressed with their initial seminar than the one presented at Emory. DeKalb has two surgeons and I had trouble choosing between the two of them. All I am waiting for is the actual date of surgery. All tests done and all approvals received. Should find out today or tomorrow.

Medicare did not have any prerequirements. My secondary is BC/BS Federal Employee Program. They required the usual but did not require the 3 or 6 month diet documentation . I had to see a pulmonologist, a psychiatrist, a cardiologist and my PCP. I sailed through all the tests and BC/BC sent approval in less that a week from when the paperwork was presented to them. I have been on a doctor's supervised diet on my own. I have been doing the Optifast program because I needed to lose weight before they would do the surgery. My BMI had to be below 60. This was a requirement when I was thinking of pursuing surgery at another hospital. But I changed when I found out the first one was not a Medicare approved center. They are in the process of getting approval. I am thankful for that though. It made me go to another consultaion meeting at the second hospital and I liked their doctor's so much better. I am very pleased with whom I have chosen.

I have been reintroducing solid food now for 4 weeks. One of things I am trying to do is practice and make a habit out of small bites and chew, chew, chew. I was a very fast eater and tended to gulp down my food. We are opposite in that. I have never drank while I ate. I drink after I am through. I am having to work on waiting to drink too. Going to be hard when eating out with others. I am retired and will be glad to take all the time I need to heal before having to tackle anything. I may be looking at holiday decorations until February.

Sonic, where did you find the medical cups (3 oz)?

Wendypoo, good luck with your weight loss goal. I, for one, know how hard that is. I have been dieting since February. Seriously, since the first of June with a liquid diet. It's a long slow process. I saw the surgeon for my second visit on Friday after I had an upper GI done at the hospital. I signed my consent form while I was there. All my i's have been dotted and t's crossed. I am so ready. I was extremely disappointed when I didn't get a surgery date while in is office. He told me I would but his girl was too busy with patients and won't call me until Tuesday or Wednesday with the actual date. I am planning on December since I have a cruise scheduled the last week of November. I feel like I can organize my life again when I have a date. I have a lot of planning to do like a trip to Pennsylvania to see my father (either mid-Nov or early Dec). I have to order my Vitamins, Protein shakes, and other meds and helpers. I'm sure y'all know the drill. I guess I will have to decorate for the holidays in November before my cruise. I got my pre-op instructions. He would like me to continue losing weight and said it would me in surgery. I only have to do two days of a liquid diet before surgery and have some pre-op lab tests at the hospital. My liquid diet will be Clear liquids only for those two day. Again, good luck.

My BC/BS approval took less than a week to get.

Hello, Buttercup. I am having my surgery at DeKalb Medical with Dr. Scott Steinberg. I looked into Emory but Medicare doesn't pay to have bariatric surgery there but does at DeKalb. Emory is in the process of getting approved by Medicare but I didn't want to wait til after the first of the year. I liked the seminars at DeKalb better than Emory and was really impressed with the surgeons at DeKalb. I am currently enrolled in the Optifast program at Emory though. I like their support system. I am doing the Optifast on my own - not a requirement by my insurance companies. I already got approval for surgery from all of the doctors and my primary and secondary insurances companies. I am just waiting for a date for surgery. I see the surgeon again on Friday and the date will be set up then. I have a vacation in November so I will be having surgery in December.

Pamela, where in Ga did you have the surgery done and who was the surgeon?

Another banner week. I lost 3.2 pounds this week. I started gradually adding food back 3 weeks ago and it must have kicked in my metabolism. That's 10 pounds in 3 weeks. I love it. Just waiting for surgery date now. I see the surgeon again on October 5. I have received all approvals including my insurance company.

double post - sorry

Lost 3.8 pounds this week to put my total at 54. As you can see I have no trouble losing but have trouble maintaining. That is why I am having the lapband surgery. It will help me with portion control. I usually pick the right things - just too much of it.

Got the news last Thursday that I passed all my pre-op testing and got clearance for surgery. Today I found out that my secondary insurance approved me for surgery. Looks like I won't have to pay a cent out of pocket for the procedure. I am so excited. The surgeon scheduled my last medical appointment before surgery for October 5th. I have to sign consent form and have an upper GI done that day. He will phone a few days later with an actual date. I can wait that long. We are aiming for early December as I won't get back from my vacation until December 2nd. I will only have to do 2 days pre-op liquids. I can do that since I drank nothing but liquids for 15 weeks Last Friday I got solids for the first time on this diet. I get to have 2 oz. meat, 1 serving of vegetables and 1 serving of fruit for dinner. This Friday I get to add another serving of vegetables. Then each week for 7 weeks I get to add back more food like 2 weeks from now I get to add lunch. I will be back fully on food October 19th. Then the dieting is on my own until December. I really do need to get off as much as possible before surgery I like the name Merry Losers

Well, I had the stress test yesterday and the worst part of it was being at the cardiologist's for 4 hours. The actual test was pretty anticlimatic. I hope the results are too. No pain, no problems at all. Hopefully, I am finished with all of my pre-op testing now and will be approved. I see the surgeon again next Tuesday, Sept. 5.