Talyn

hey I would recommend anyone in NSU. I had my band placed a year ago, -doing very well. I love Dr Wolgomouth, he didnt do my surgery however Mark A. Fontana, did. T

hi I work in a desk job as well. I had my surgery on a thursday, spent one night in the hospital9had a repeat barkium in am to check placement). And was home later that friday. I returnend to work on Monday, a bit tired but very capable of doing my job. I felt great and continue to feel better every day.

Kaykay The best advice is to find out exactly what your insurance company means. You could spend all day second guessing and wasting valuable time. find out what you need to know/do and then refocus. As a recently banded patient and an RN, who happens to work for a managed care company I wanted to put in my two cents worth. Losing the 10% should not be an issue, my surgeon required a liquid diet to shrink the liver prior to sugery, during which I lost 20 lbs in about 10 days. The diet restricted me to I think 10 grams Protein a day and less than 700 calories. It gave me an excellent "jump start" and showed that I could lose weight. Depending on how much weight you need to lose, the liquid diet phase may be extended. If so , you gain tthe advangate of more weight loss and therefore a lbigger edge. :whoo:Hope this helps. T

I had my surgery 9/19/07 and have thusfar lost 60 lbs. I have also gone from a size 26-28(tight) to a size 20/22 depending on the cut. And down 2 shoe sizes from a 10w, to a 9w. I have had one filled 10/04/07 and will see the doctor again at the end of January. I have good restriction in the morning. I have been working out atleast 3x week, and walking the other days. I have also signed up for a belly dancing class which starts next week. I see hugh(pun intended) differences in my stamina, outlook on life my sex life and how I sleep. All have vastly improved. I am looking forward to buying cloths next spring. (i've been getting clots off of freecycle.org). Why buy when my size seems to change weekly ? Also am glad the holidays are over. This was the first year that I didn't cook a turkey, why bother as I can eat poultry of any type--makes me way sick. so we had ham instead with yummy sdes. Funny how hard it is to cook without tasting things, but I survived it.

I paid $495 as a program fee. It was due at my first consult with the surgical group here in Virginia Beach. The fee covered the nutrition classes, all post op md appoitnment co-pays, the exercise class. After the consult if the group felt you were not a candidate they returend your fee immediately before you left the office. I think the fee serves two purposes; it shows committment on the part of you the patient and it covers all of the incidentals that the insurance does not cover. As far as "it is due to how the insurance companies search for ways to end up denying us". I have found that the reason for most denial is due to bariatic surgery not being a purchased benefit or that an MDO has not completed all of the necessary/required information needed to facilitate a favorable decision.

fyi: Medicaid is your primary, Medicare is always secondary if there is any other type of insurance. In your case the state (Medicaid) is rspoinsible before the federal govt is(Medicare). You would need a prior authorization for DMAS or from your Medicaid HMO if there is one(i am a nurse analyst)

sounds like you did the right thing ! I go to the gyn no less than 3x a week, I have meade it as much a part of my routine as drinking water. I miss it when I don't go. and the traners have been so supportive ! Keep up the good work !

I have always had a very active sex life. I was banded on the 19th of September and have thus far lost 58 lbs as of yesterday ! I have had 1 fill and feel amazing. My honey of four years is so supportive. He has always been complimentary about my body and that has not changed. His compliments have only increased. Sex is FANTABULOUS! I can get on top now and ride like the cowgirl that I am, lol. Also makes oral(me receiving) so much easier, as my fat stomach is rapidly dissappearing and no longer in the way. Not to mention how much more stamina I have. We can try different positions because we want to not just because they are needed due to my size. Oh and one more thing, he swears things are "tighter" below (lol).:embarassed: This morning we were snuggling before work and he chukled and said, honey I can feel your ribs and your belly is becoming concave. And you know what--he's right. I can feel a rib or two myself. One of the things I asked my bariatric coordinators about was sex after surgery, and it seems that very little has been researched about it--as if previously fat people never have or had sex. As a doctoral student I am seriously thinking about writing my dissertation on the subject. What do you guys think ? T

hey I just wanted to say congratulations ! What a great accomplishment.

Just got back from my 12 week checkup with my surgeon. I've lost 58, count em 58 lbs.. Time to do the belly dance ! LOL. So to Celebrate I''m gonna ....go to the gym! Oh did I mention I won a random drawing for working out. $200 visa card. I'm rocking this ! My journey has officially begun. Talyn:clap2:

LOL. One BJ= 1.5 gram protein. Beleive it or not one of my friends is a statistician and just had to calculate this, roflmao. It's not about the protein, this is his "reward' for stopping smoking when we got together about four years ago.

I was banded on the 19th of Septemebe,r I was back at the gyn on monday the 24th. I rode the stationary bike and walked on the treadmill. Talyn

lol, I asked my doctor the same question BEFORE the surgery. My husband is used to his BJ every morning before work. I was banded in September and trust me, as a southern lady( we never spit !). Actually, I may write my doctoral disseratation on sex after weight loss surgeries. There is so little information out there... Talyn:bounce:

Cali The letter means that your insurance company has denied the services as the are outside of your network. Most insurance companies will not cover out of network care, unless the care is not available from an inplan provider. Hope this help Talyn(rn, managed care nurse)

HI Megan I'm in Va Beach as well. I had my lap band 9/19/07. The best thing to do is to call member services and ask if yu have the welght loss surgery rider. I am a claims nurse for Anthem PHC . First thing first, make sure you have the benefit. If you do then boy have I got a group for you ! Sentara Norfolk Surgical Group. Talyn:)

Sosobizi I love Dr Wolgomuth. . They day after my surgery he was the partner down stairs reading the barium swallows. He was such a nice guy, I don't think you can choose a wrong surgeon in this group, bcaue I don't think there is one ! From their info session through their opst op follow up this group rocks! Talyn

Moongirl It was the best $495. I ever spent. That fee was the only thing I have pid since intering the program to the physiican that it. It covers all of the nutrition/wellness/1/2 pre op classses they require. They also give you a book that literally becomes your bible.I have lost 35 lbs since I was banded. I got my first fill 11/7/07 under fluro --because my port wouldn't cooperate, lol. I had a fantastic experience with thse doc and Jeannie and Jeannette , their bariatric coordinators. Also with Lola their financial guru. They are truly a class act.Check out some of my old posts(my intro for more about my journey from decision to surgery and my recover ). I have even lost 1/2 a shoe size!! T

:ranger:<p>Hey</p> <p> </p> <p>Talyn here I am an RN, graduated in 1988 ! YIKES. I just completed my Master's degree this past March and I am currently pursuing my doctorate. I work in manged care. My clinical speciality was; hospice and high risk antepartum nursing.But I love managed care it allows me to take care of my children and my husand and myself.</p> <p> </p> <p>I was banded 9/19/07 so far have lost 35 lbs. Feeling great, looking better. LIfe goes on!</p>

Sentara Healthcare here is one link to a lap band surgery

Hi Talyn here banded 9/18/07. I went to the norfolk surgical group thorugh Sentara. My Doctor was fontana. Bu tI have had dealing with dr Boustani and Dr Wilgomouth, they all rock. YOu might want to check thiem out. They provide extensive support both before and after surgery. I know that on the NN/Hampton side of the Water there is a comparable group. The groups just performed a lap band srugery on teh web via the sentara.com website last month. You really should check this group out. As a nurse I checked out their complication rates/reputation and certifications before I entrusted my fabulous body to them. Trust me you wont be disappointed. If you want to hear more about my surgery, check out my introduction on this site. Hope this helps.:clap2: Norfolk Surgical Group Ltd., General, Thoracic, Colon-Rectal, and Surgical Oncology in Southeastern Virginia Talyn

WElcome Sara and best wishes ! Tal

Hi Talyn here I was banded on Sept 19th of this year. My physician required a 20gram a day/less pre op diet. If you ar uncertain I would definitly call the md office to determine if there is a limit. the worse thing in the world would be to do the pre op diet but find out you ate too much Protein and your liver didn't shrink. Tal

I am a claims RN who works for Anthem. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up about a couple of things: Anthem does not determine whether or not they will pay for the surgery. It depends on whether or not your employer or your spouses employer purchased the weight loss surgery rider. Although you are correct in that there iare general medical necessity guidelines that Anthem follows concerning bariatric surgery ,first your policy must have the rider. If you or your spouses company did not purchase the rider, then you will receive a contractual denial since it's not a benefit that you have :ranger: Talyn

I had a appointment to received my first fill Nov 2. so off to the MD office I went. He tried, w/o success. We went to the US room in his office, he tried,and couldn't get access. I was offered lido, I declined. His partner came in NOPE. Nadda. So here I was thinking, great... a surgery with a port that no one can access. They told me not to worry , that often a first fill can be difficult(I had had problems with a large hematoma round my port, but that's a another story). On Nov 8 I went to the fluro room at a local hospital and my surgeon discovered that I was one of those "lucky" folks who fill could be easier obtained while I was standing up. LOL. so they placed 1.5 cc and I'm great. Feeling good, nice restriction. Doing just fine.. T

:clap2:hi Talyn here I was banded on Sept 9, 2007 by Dr fontana of the Norfolk Surgical Group here inNorfolk Virginia. I can only say I wish I had done it sooner ! The extensive program required prior to my surgery makes perfect sense now. they give you all of the tools you need to succeed. From my initial decision(3/2007) to consider the surgery it took just under six months total. First I had to determine if my insurance would cover the procedure. the answer was yes, "as long as it was deemed medically necessary". the I had to research local surgical groups complication rates and reputatations. I then attended a lap band information seminar sponsored by Sentara Hospitals. All of my research was confirmed, the surgeon in attendance answered all of my questions and then some. They provided information on their extensive bariatric program , cost, expectations, and a time line for how long most of the "hoops" usually take. I think I attended the seminar in late may. I made an appointment to see the surgeon for my consult in june. IN the mean time I attended a couple of support groups to gather more information and to reinforce to myself tht the lapband was for me. I attended the consult and paid my program fee (which includes all program co pays, wellness and psyiotherapy visits, post-op pysiotherapy vist and lots and lots of support). Of note, both of the program coordinators are biariatric surgery patients, so they know the struggles of dealing with obesity. In record time I had arranged and scheduled all of my pre op work up. I initially had called all of the psychologists on the list , most were booked solid so I rreqested them to call if anyone cancelled. Some did and I had my psych consult done 10 days after my surgery consult. Ultimately I had everything completed by mid august except for one last required support group meeting. I remember the joy of that meeting, I couldn't wait to get home to email the coordinator to tell her all ofmy required activities were completed. Less than a week later I had been approved for surgery by my insurance company ! I was thrilled. As I work full time as well as attend graduat school full time, I wanted to have the surgery bertween class sessions. This request was accomodated better than I could ever image. My classes for summer ended September 14th, I had my surgery September 19th, 2007 at Sentara Norfolk. What a wonderful experience, everyone from admission to the nurses on the short stay unit(which is where SNG puts their bariatric patients) were wonderful ! The nurse were caring and attentive, the room were spacious, and the pain was minimal. I had a patient controlled analgesic machine(PCA) so I was in control of giving myself pain meds. I was up and walking the hall a few hours after surgery. I fell amazing!!!!! The next morning I was up at the crack of dawn(Literally) I was ready to go home. but first I had to have a barium swallow to ensure proper placement and then it was time for breakfast(crystal light and jello) yummy ! After which it was home for me ! More later Talyn