kdlee

Froggi- You're welcome for the powder. I hope you will be able to use it. Thanks for the compliments. :cool2: You'll be in bandland before you know it! WVU-Fan- I would love to go to the class with you! That would be awesome. I love aerobics, but never go to classes, because I've been too embarrassed. Where is the class at? Elizabeth- Jeannie had talked about a clothing swap at the group meetings. I could bring some things to the next one if you're going to be there.

Thanks Saundra!

Froggi- Can you believe the things they'll print about WV?! I'm glad you called. They're pretty nice about letting you make payments. I had to do that 8 years ago when I had my son. Hope your protein powder works out for you! Nascarfan- I hope your surgery went well! You're probably just getting settled into home about now. :thumbup: Non-scale victory to report ladies.... I went shopping tonight for a new outfit. I have a meeting in Columbus this Friday and none of my clothes really fit anymore. I am super excited to say that for the first time in over 10 years I was able to shop in the misses section and not the plus size section!!!! I got a pair of pants in a size 17/18. I was a size 24 in March. Woo Hoo!!!:drool:

Here are some procedure codes from Anthem's website. Maybe this will help? :thumbdown: SURG.00024 Surgery for Clinically Severe Obesity

This isn't always true. My insurance covered the surgery, but will not cover the aftercare. Fills are considered aftercare and are thus out of pocket for me.

I have Anthem BC/BS PPO Ohio. I went to see my primary care doctor and he wrote a letter stating my previous attempts, such as Atkins, Weight Watchers, South Beach, and Phentermine. When I had my psych eveal, the psychologist went through my history and wanted to know every diet I had tried. Plus, when I had my history and physical done through the surgeons office, they wrote down dates and diets throughout my lifetime. What I did was just make a time-line and and wrote down every diet I could ever imagine being on. It all went through fine and I was not required to do a 6 month supervised diet. Good luck!:thumbdown:

Elizabeth's right. They will turn you into collection and possibly not let you have surgery, since it is an elective surgery. Camden's really good about setting you up on an affordable monthly payment plan. As long as you send them your agreed upon amount, it'll be ok. Just call them because if you don't make that contact, they'll turn you in to collections. Even though your Mom pays the bill, they probably want to talk to you since it's your account.

You're welcome :thumbdown: WHen I first called to check on the pre-cert for surgery, my insurance said point blank that the surgery was covered but nothing before or after surgery (meaning fills) would be. That said...insurance did cover my psych eval and EGD. They covered my husband's psych eval, but did not cover his EGD. So...I am sort of laying low on the radar right now and not calling and raising a red flag. I figured I would wait until Kaplan's office submitted the claims and see if they cover it or not. Your insurance may very well cover it. It's different for each emlpoyer. My employer just didn't buy into the aftercare portion. If you call them, I would just ask if they cover the after care portion of gastric banding, including the fills. I would also ask if fills are covered under fluoroscopy (Radiology). Good luck!

I'm honestly not sure what Kaplan charges. Most insurances cover the fills. My insurance does not, however. :biggrin: I will pay out of pocket. I haven't been too concerned about it yet, though. I figure that I must have the fills, so I'll just pay for it, I guess. I haven't gotten a bill yet.

It's a fill done in radiology. It's done like a normal fill, but they are able to take a live xray and see your port on a screen while accessing it. Dr. Kaplan could not get the needle to go into my port on the 2nd fill so I had to have it done in radiology to make access easier. It was really neat and super easy!

Saundra- I do not drink out of a straw. I too was told not to because of the extra air you swallow. I can, however, drink more than a sip at a time. In fact, I haven't yet noticed a difference in the amount I can drink in one 'gulp'. It is a good idea though to practice taking smaller drinks. It will work well with good restriction. Good questions. :cool2:

I am at 5cc in a 10cc band and I can still eat small amounts of any food that I want. That said, I can not eat large quantities of any food that I want and get full on much much less food than pre-band. I understand that you are frustrated. I feel the same way at times. But, in perspective, you have lost 17 lbs in 6 weeks! That's 5 lbs ahead of the 2lb a week max that my surgeon wants. You are probably feeling more hungry now because the swelling has gone down in and around your stomach and therefore you may have some less restriction. As others have said, this is a slower process but from your stats, you're doing well. Some weeks I have stalled but then make up for it by losing 4-5 lbs in one week. Just stick with it and wait for your next fill. :thumbup:

Good luck wvnascarfan!!!!!!

I understand. I can eat anything in small portions. I am losing 1-2 a week so I wonder if I should even get another fill. I can't help thinking though that if I had good restriction just think how much I would be losing! I too have a hard time fitting in exercise with a full time job and 3 kids. I bought a bike and have been doing that plus aerobics tapes. Good luck to you, I know how hard it is, but we can get through it! :teeth_smile:

Hi there. I'm an RN also and work in an administrative role. I have 3 kids (a 7 year old son, a 13 yr old step-daughter and a 17 yr old step-son). I was banded June 30th. Sounds like we have some things in common and pretty close in stats. I'll try to answer any questions you have and it would be great to have someone to compare with! :teeth_smile:

I'll pm you.

I had the exact same situation. I went in for my first fill and the Dr. wouldn't do it because I was losing without it. I went to my next appointment and explained that I needed the fill and that I had no restriction and he gave it to me. Just explain it to your doctor and I'm sure it will be ok. Believe me, I know how frustrating it is. :teeth_smile:

I could meet you somewhere in Vienna this week if you want. I'm just over in Belpre. It's pretty close to the Atkins shakes. If you mix it with water, it actually has less carbs. It also has more protein than the Slim fast stuff. I don't know how it would taste that way as I haven't tried it. But, I had the chocolate protein powder in the same brand and it tasted ok in water. The way I made the shakes was in a magic bullet with ice. They were kinda like a milkshake. Just let me know where you want to meet. Or, I could drop it off at Jeannie's office if you prefer, but I don't have an appointment there till the end of October. Let me know. :teeth_smile:

The cheapest place I have found them is at Sam's club. There are I think 15 in a case for less than $20. They only have chocolate at Sam's. Walmart has both chocolate and vanilla but they are more expensive there. These taste better than the Atkins shakes and have more protein (20g) a can. But, if you want, I have almost an entire container of Vanilla whey protein that I bought at Walmart that I will give you. I don't really like the vanilla, so it's just sitting here. I think I paid almost $20 for it, but you can have it. If you're interested, it has in 1 scoop 110 calories, 2g fat, 2g carbs and 26g of protein. 1 scoop makes 8 oz. I used the chocolate flavored after surgery to add to pudding and milk. You can add it to any liquid, too.

Good luck! That late of a surgery time will make a long day for you! My surgery was at 2pm and I didn't get to the floor until 9pm. Well, it won't be so long for you because you'll be out of it, but it will be long for your family. Tell them to bring something to do. The cafe is right beside the surgery waiting area, so at least they can eat dinner there. It was about 1 week before I drove. As long as you're on the Percocet and Phenergan, do not drive. They made me like a zombie. But, once I was off those, I started driving again. I'm not sure on the lifting. Ask him about that. Your follow up appointment will be 2 weeks after surgery and he'll probably say it's ok then. Again, good luck to you!!!

Good luck!!!!

Froggi- I know that you will lose on the 2 week diet. I don't have any shadow of a doubt at all. It is so low carb that it throws you into ketosis and the weight comes off. When I did it, it made me pretty tired so I didn't really exercise and still lost the 15 lbs. I drank 2 Slim Fast low carb shakes, which are 190 calories a piece, ate a small chicken breast and some veggies for dinner (~300 calories) and one string cheese for a snack (80 calories). So, I was having roughly 800 calories a day for 2 weeks! You will lose on that. :thumbup: Saundra- I know exactly what you mean about insurance. They covered my EGD but would not cover my husbands! I was too paranoid to call and complain to them because I was afraid that they would want the money back from covering mine!!!

My insurance worked the way I described. I did not have a 6 month diet, but was told if my dropped below 40 on the pre-op period (as I had no co-morbidities) that I would still be covered. In fact, my BMI day of surgery was 37.8 You should call the customer service number on your insurance card and ask them to mail you in writing their specific policy on this. My insurer has a web site also where you can search their policies and read about just how things are covered. But, I would ask them to mail it to you, that way you have it. And, make sure you always write down the date/time and specific name of the person you talked to. I have called my insurer and gotten different responses from different operators. Good luck!

Nope, you always weigh in your clothes at both Jeannie's office and Dr. Kaplan's office. Don't worry about losing too much. You're in the 6 month diet program to prove that you can commit and lose! Insurance goes off your initial weight that was logged on your first visit. Look at the pre-op period as a time to take off as much as you can to make surgery easier on your body and to start your new eating habits. :thumbup: