youknowit

Most welcome, and I'm hoping all clears up for you quickly! Sending healing vibes your way... I'll be on the sleeved side with you here in three days. AH!

Tonya, I have a LOT of experience with this question, due to my band. First, it is against the LAW (Federal) for a hospital NOT to see you for any reason... not for lack of insurance, not for having surgery out of the country, not for being "illegal", not for ANY reason. Period. You can and will get assistance if you need it, regardless. Sometimes I had to reiterate this to the people at Urgent Care, but they shut it once I let them know the deal... Second, your PCP being at least somewhat objective sounds like a relief. I never told my PCP when I got the band, and I only told ANYONE at my medical group when I had complications. I am NOT recommending you do this. I have told my PCP person I have now that I am getting surgery, about my previous surgery, and he was like "ok". His non-verbals didn't seem to LOVE the idea, but he didn't react badly in the end. As for insurance, I am not an attorney, so don't take my advice as gospel, but I think it depends on what your insurance contract says about what they will and won't cover, for what reasons, etc. MY insurance says they will pay up to $5000 (for LIFE) on complications of Bariatric Surgery, but only in 50% increments (meaning for me, a bill for $100 would only be paid by them at $50, up until the $5000 is exhausted). However, I was lucky in that the PCP and the Urgent Care people never "coded" my problems as Bariatric related, so my $15 copay covered everything when I had complications of my band (I still couldn't get any docs here to help me with removal, they wanted like 10k to do that, WITH the insurance part, so I had to go back to Mexico). At any rate, when I had problems, they HAD to help me. They didn't have to LIKE helping me. On a side note, one guy at the Urgent Care bitched me out so bad, that I told them to put a note in my record that I do not EVER want to be treated by him again, and they said that is my right... When he got all up on my case I asked him, "If I was a foreign-national with this problem, would you tell me I shouldn't have gone to Germany (or France, or Mexico or wherever) for surgery or medical treatment? I mean, if I was from there, you would be saying the same things?" He got really pissed about that... and told me we weren't going to discuss it further, did I want help or not? I said clearly I did, and that I don't want to debate this right now... That was the end. (On a side note, I looked him up on the medical group website AFTER I saw him... guess where he went to medical school? OUT OF THE US. What a jerk!)

Yes, congrats Brenda! Sounds like you're flying right through this! :smile: I'm glad to hear everything is still outstanding down at Dr. Aceves. This makes me feel a bit less nervous, and happy for my decision. Barbara - how is the arm? Hope it's getting better!

Plum, You are right... people don't know. My thoughts on that are, I can lead a horse to Water, but I can't drown them in it. It's not my job to educate the world on behalf of "fat people everywhere"... I wish I could believe the people around me wouldn't be completely judgmental, but I know that's not the case. I applaud those who choose to tell it from the rooftops, that's just not me in general, let alone with something this "personal" (for me). I may change my mind as time progresses (after my sleeve), but as for now... leaving on Sunday morning, not telling a soul. I guess regardless of the "judgment" part, I don't feel like it's my job to educate the world on this issue. My being fat, and people being bigoted against fat people, is enough. Best to all! :smile:

I'm down 3 lbs, so that's good I guess. Fell off the "low fat, high protein" diet a couple of times this week, but nothing too crazy to stop me from losin those 3 lbs. LOL.:cool0: You are KICKIN BUTT! :smile: Nice work! I don't have the compression garment, but I do know what you're talking about... They put it on us at the hospital. I bought a new suitcase, as the bag I had wasn't in good shape. Have started to pack, will finish it tonight. As I type this, I'm starting to feel nervous... Thinking I won't sleep much tonight or tomorrow night. AH! :smile: Are you ready to go? What are you taking with you? My doc sends a list of things that might be good to have... heat pad, gas X, etc. All that stuff is packed, I just have to get PJ's and such all ready to go... Can't wait!

Hey Loser... How's the pre-op diet going? Gettin' ready? :smile:

Bumpin' one more time... Anyone?

Does anyone know who makes the staples they use in the sleeve? I could have sworn I read this somewhere once? Not that these companies would advertise "staples" but I was just wondering why they might not try to "market" the procedure...

Hi all. Just ordered this book. I'm thinking it might be helpful... anyone else read this? books / The Emotional First + Aid Kit: A Practical Guide to Life After Bariatric Surgery Best!

Cool! Let me know what you think... I'll do the same. I know there was an older edition that was on Amazon pretty cheaply. Glad you found it, we'll compare notes!

Thanks, Brenda! I've actually been to Dr. Aceves (and Campos) before... for my band removal. I was supposed to get a revision to sleeve at that time, but unfortunately my band was very eroded, so I was not able to do that. I think knowing where I'm going, and the procedures, etc, I'm much more comfortable and calm this time than the last time I was down there. I am excited, but I must be 100% honest, I'm very freaked out as well. Got my cashier's check today, bag is in the process of being packed... I'm on my way. I wish I was able to go tomorrow, I hate waiting until Sunday, but it will come soon enough I suppose. :smile: How are you doing and how are you feeling? How are your incisions healing? I had a bit of trouble with that last time, so I'm hoping all goes smoother this time... Anyways, thanks for the cheers, and I hope to hear how you are doing! :thumbup1:

Hang in there! I'm sorry this has happened to you... and I hope you feel better soon! :smile:

I bought it at Half.Com through the page I noted above... The original price was about $85 they were selling it for, but I wrote the seller, told them if they wanted to make a sale, I would buy for $25, and they lowered the price. It is up for that price now... so I hope you can get it! :laugh0:

I'll let you know what I find out ASAP! :confused1:

Hey Mini... Glad you're on the sleeved side. How are you feeling? Hope all is well with you, and that you're feeling great! :confused1:

I'll certainly let you know when I get it and read through it...This is the 2nd ed of the book, so perhaps that means the 1st edition was popular? Hopefully it's useful.

Hi Mountain_Lover... Thank you for sharing this. I must admit, I didn't know what you meant by Tardive, but when I looked it up, I knew exactly what you were referring to... Odd stuff. Glad to know that information, I think I shall avoid ALL drugs with those possible side effects. How are things with your sleeve? How's the losing, and how's the acid? Best!

Thanks for sharing, as that might be a good idea for me as well... Anything that will WORK and that is cheaper, even better. I've heard of Protonix, so I may mention that to my PCP here in the future... if needed. Wish me luck guys. Leaving for Mexicali on Sunday morning, surgery Monday. Scared and excited! AH!

Wow, it's so interesting how much the post-op procedures vary for this part of our journey. I will take the Nexium as directed until I run out, and will then switch to the Prevacid. If that does not work, I know my doc here will prescribe the Nexium, but it would be cheaper and easier to do the Prevacid. I did read on another forum that Prilosec doesn't work on the same acid production ducts as Nexium and Prevacid does, which is why some people have various luck with it... some of us need it, some of us don't. I guess whatever works is fine for each of us. Thanks to all for your insights! -

Hang in there, sister! Do they have any idea how or why you got this clot? What can they do to treat it? Thinking of you lots, and hoping you feel much better, soon!

Hang in there, LAN! You're doing the best you can, and we're here for you! :smile:

Tiff... it sounds like it's the stress, and also quite likely the Wellbutrin. This "side effect" of loss of appetite and/or weight reduction on Wellbutrin, in my experience, doesn't last. However, this could be something to do with the dose you are on. If you don't mind my asking, is this a 75, 100, 150 or 300 mg your taking? Also, is it XL (long-release/24 hours) or SR (short-release/12 hours)? Hope this info might be helpful to you! Have you considered Chantix? Not sure if that might be helpful with the smoking.

Sending you good vibes! Here's to a quick and easy recovery! If you guys need company, give me a call while you're here! :smile:

Hi Tiff, He's not against the Nexium, but his reasoning is that Prevacid is now over-the-counter and getting Nexium past my insurance might be tough because of that, especially if I haven't "tried" other remedies first. (Can you tell my big-fat HMO kinda sucks?)... Also, my co-pay for Nexium will be $60 a month, Prevacid, about $15 a month OTC (very inexpensive at costco I've found). My doc told me they work the same, but Prevacid comes in a smaller dose than Nexium, which he says will make it easier for me to ween off of it later, if needed. He does have experience with VSG, another poster here also goes to this primary care doc... Thanks for your insights. I just wanted to see what others are doing, for future reference. I'm going to do the Nexium and then try the Prevacid and see what happens. Will keep you all posted after my sleeve! :001_tongue: