kdlee

Some cover it, some do not. You need to call your insurance company and ask. I have Anthem BC/BS and the surgery is covered, but my fills are not. Good luck!

Hi everyone who's day is the 30th!!! It's getting so much closer and I'm getting nervous! How are the pre-op diets going? I'm 1 week in tomorrow and I've lost 10 lbs on it. Another week to go!

I have Anthem BC/BS PPO also. My coverage will not pay for any fills or aftercare, either. Luckily, my Dr. gives the first year of fills for free. After that I'm on my own. It just depends on what plan your employer bought into. Sounds like your employer bought into the same plan mine did. :smile:

I have done this before with weight loss. You will wake up one morning and have a "whoosh" on the scale. You're obvisouly doing something right, to have dropped so many sizes! Good job! KUTGW:thumbup:

Actually, this is not always true. There is ALOT of scar tissue caused by GBS on both your stomach and intestines. It can not always be reversed. Of course it is based on each person. I never said your skin would return to normal all over your entire body. What I said was that it gives your skin time to catch up. Have you seen some of the turkey necks on GBS patients because they lost so quickly? Not true at all. Check out this website. Compare Gastric Bypass and Lap Band Weight Loss Surgeries It is a good comparison of the two surgeries.

I am 4 days into my pre-op diet right now. I get a Slim-Fast low carb shake for breakfast and lunch. It has 20g of protein in it, so keeps me pretty full. I also drink 2 20oz Special K protein waters during the day. For dinner I have 4oz of lean meat and 1 cup of veggies. I then have another glass of water sometime in the evening.

I do remember talking with you there! You should come over there and join our WLS forum under the Century Club. We post on there daily and I have gotten alot of good advice from the girls there. The psych eval was a requirement of my insurance, but I believe it is a requirement of the banding program also. I didn't see Dr. Kaplan until 3 months into the program. Jeanie is the Nurse Practitioner that does the info meeting you'll be going to. She is the one that you will deal with most. She is good. I have emailed her multiple times with questions and she's quick to get back with you. I'm like you. I did alot of research on-line about the band and once I made my mind up I was ready! But, be patient and don't get discouraged. I thought the process would go pretty quick since my insurance didn't require the 6 month diet. However, the program you go through at Camden-Clark requires 6 nutritionist visits at a minimum, and they are 1-2 weeks apart. My info session was on March 15th and my surgery is going to be June 30th. So, a little slower than I had hoped, but the time flies by so quickly! Good luck and let me know how things go or if you have other questions. :biggrin:

Lol...I've lost a little more than the amount of pizza an average American eats in a year. They must not have asked me how much pizza I ate, because I bet it was more than that!:rolleyes2:

A little more information would be helpful. What kind of diet do you follow? Do you exercise? Have you had any fills? The band on its own won't make you lose any weight. You have to work at it, just like a 'diet'. Just curious to get some more info from you about why you dislike it so much.

Hi Cheryl. I am on my 4th day of the pre-op diet. I get a Protein shake for Breakfast and lunch, 4 oz lean meat for dinner with veggies and that's it. I have also been drinking about 60-70oz of Water a day in between meals, sometimes plain water and sometimes protein water. It was very hard the first day, but it's getting a little easier. Today is the first day I've had a headache and I was also nauseated after my shake this am. It's probably carb withdrawal. I haven't had any caffeine since March, so that's not it. The upside of it all is that I've lost 8 pounds since Monday! You can do this. I just went in with the mindset that I can do anything for 2 weeks. My surgery is on the 30th and I think that doing this pre-op diet will help me to get into the mindset to do the post-op liquids only phase. Just think of the results you're getting and know that it will all be worth it in the end. :rolleyes2:

My Dr. says minimum of a week. I'm taking 2 just to be safe.

Good luck! Let me know how it went. I started my pre-op liquids/high Protein diet on Monday after my EGD. I have lost 8 lbs since then! The diet sucks, but the results are great. Hopefully my liver will be nice and small!

Yes I was so nervous about this but it was pretty easy. The worst part is the bruise the IV left on my arm!

I met with him in the office last week and he did my EGD this past Monday. I was very happy with him. He was very nice and took the time to answer all my questions. I'm pleased with my choice of having him do the surgery!

I have BCBS PPO and they didn't require the diet, but mine is based in Ohio. Go to tickerfactory.com to make one and then it gives you the code to post in your signature line.

Stand by what you believe in! I chose the band for several reasons. The main one being that my intestines won't be touched! You're just about my age and right now we're pretty healthy. But what happens down the road when we do get sick with something like cancer (god forbid)? We won't be able to absorb the extra nutrition with the bypass, but with the band, we will. I know that bypass seems so tempting because we just want to get this weight off (trust me, I've considered it!). But, in the long term, I just feel we're better off with the band. The recovery time is shorter, it is reversible, and it gives your skin time to catch up. Maybe you should discuss these things with your Dr. or perhaps find another surgical group? Good luck in whatever you decide. :drool:

My goal is 150. I'm 5'6. The goal is set by Jeannie, the nurse practitioner in the banding program. You won't actually meet with Dr. Kaplan until about 3 weeks before your surgery. I have been in the program since March, and I just met with him last week. Everything is handled through the nurse practitioner. I had my EGD yesterday. It's a pre-op requirement of his. I started my pre-op diet yesterday and it's not enjoyable at all! My hunger was pretty bad today. But, on the bright side, I'm down another 4 lbs in 2 days! Where are you at in the process? Have you went to the seminar yet? There are 2 other people on here that I know of that have went to or are going to Dr. Kaplan. One is having surgery in November, because of a 6 month diet restriction from her insurance and the other one was one of Dr. Kaplan's first bandings back in March.

My husband and I are both having it done, too. His will be sometime in July. We had talked about doing the surgeries together, but decided it would be better to space them apart.

I'm in Belpre. Dr. Kaplan is doing my surgery on June 30th!

My surgery is scheduled for the 30th also! I started my pre-op diet today. I can do a protein shake for breakfast and lunch and then a 4 oz piece of meat and some veggies for dinner. Each Dr. is so different on their pre-op instructions. I say just follow your Dr's orders and you'll do fine.

Hi all. I start my liquid diet on the 16th and I am supposed to do it for 2 weeks before surgery. I am to have a protein shake for breakfast and lunch. I can have a 4-6oz piece of lean baked meat with veggies for dinner. My question is...who else has had this type of diet and how much weight was lost during your 2 week diet? Just curious.

When is your surgery? I hope the whole 2 week thing goes pretty quick. Good luck to you, too. :frown:

I hope so! :biggrin:

I'm not going to slam you like others have. That said, I am a nurse who is experienced with ports and I would not feel comfortable accessing a port which is so deep in the abdomen. Has your friend who is a nurse ever accessed a port this deep? Where would you get the non-coring needles at so you didn't hurt the port? I understand your frustrations, but it just doesn't sound like a safe idea to do something like this at home. Your friend could also risk his/her nursing license by practicing out of the scope of his/her nursing practice.

Thanks for the replies. I feel like right now I'm in last supper mode, but I'm trying to be good and not put back on any weight that I have already lost!