gregw

KT~ Not trying to say I am a sweetie, but that was probably me walking. I was bored out of my mind on Tuesday waiting to go home, so I did a LOT of walking. Of course, I also did my Jack Nicholson impression (from the movie Something's Gotta Give) walking around with my backside exposed b/c the gown kept coming untied in the back! :thumbup: (Somebody who was waiting up by Michelle's office pointed that out to me one time. Thanks, if that was you.) Anyhoo, I'm going back to work today and will see how it goes. I sit at a desk all day, so it shouldn't be much different than sitting at home. ~Greg

According to the "official" Lap-Band brochure put out by the manufacturer, the surgeon typically leaves the band empty or partially filled when it is implanted. This gives your body time to adjust to the object. Then, an adjustment (i.e.fill) may be done 4-6 weeks post-op. In my case, my surgeon left it empty when implanted, then will do the first fill at 7-weeks, although it sounds lilke that is up to each individual doctor. If it is implanted "empty" then there would be no restriction on the size of the pouch, making it a difficult time for fighting hunger during the first few weeks.

Dr. Choban's office# is 228-0768. I called this morning to cancel my appt. out east and make one with Dr. Choban for the first week of April. Again, they said she was booked until May, so I said Dr. Choban insisted that they squeeze me in that week. So the receptionist checked with Dr. C's medical assistant and, lo and behold, I got an appt. for April 2nd. Dr. C said they would schedule the first fill at that time and that Missy might do it. That's all for now ... back to my cream of chicken soup.

Hi Jessyca, I came home today, too. At Mt. Carmel in Columbus, they don't add any saline until 6 or 7 weeks post-op.

Yeah, getting an appointment can be quite a challenge. When I saw Dr. Choban last Friday, she said to go ahead and schedule a post-op appt. on the way out. At first they didn't want to schedule it until AFTER I had surgery. Then the office manager said they could go ahead and do it, but got all huffy about how she didn't have anything until May, so she made an appt. with Dr. Miller at Mt. Carmel East. So today, Dr. Choban said to call the office and schedule an appt. with HER. When I said they wouldn't do that, she said, "Tell them I said to squeeze you in somewhere!" So that should be a fun phone call tomorrow when I call to schedule that. I guess I'll just tell them that SHE said to do it!

Hi all, It's the third amigo checking in. As Kathi said, Monday started out as less than stellar. My 1:30 surgery time ended up being about 4:15. I finally got into my room at 7:00. Then they said Dr. Choban would be in to see me at 8:00 this morning. That ended up being 1:00 PM, at which time she told me I could go home ... BUT, after waiting an hour and 40 minutes for discharge papers, I finally tracked somebody down. They couldn't find my nurse, so somebody else ended up doing the final instructions. Next - "somebody will be right here with a wheelchair." After waiting another 10-15 minutes, I finally just walked out on my own. Surgery went fine, but I had the ever-popular gas pain in the upper abdomen, and every time I went for a walk, the pain moved up into my left shoulder. It finally went away, but now I'm coping with the pain in the port area. I hadn't had any pain meds since 7:00 this morning, but I finally broke down and took some codeine this evening. The biggest pain was all of the waiting - but at least it's all over ... or should I say, "The journey is just beginning!"

Niki ~ So glad to hear everything's going great! Maybe you'll start a trend for the three of us on the 17th. Yeah, when I called to schedule the class, I wanted the 26th but they said that class was cancelled. And the 19th would only be 2-days post-op, so I had to go with April 2nd (which is Michelle's last day). Like you said, we'll be into pureed food by then and the first class didn't cover that. So I'm going to ask Dr. Choban about it when I see her Friday for my pre-surgery consult. Maybe I'll have my f/u and fill the same weeks as you. Keep on getting better! ~greg

In addition to nothing to eat or drink after midnight, I was told I could only have clear liquids starting at noon on Sunday. Oh boy!

Amen to that!

TM - insurance can be a real pain in the a$$! You can't live without it, but they sure make life miserable even when you do have it. The day before I had my psych consult, I checked and my psychologist was in-network. Then, mysteriously, when the claim was processed, he was out-of-network. Keep plugging away and we'll all keep praying for you! Sue - likewise, it's always good to be able to put a face with a name. See you on Monday. I wonder if we'll get a green I.V. for St. Paddy's Day? Special K - My testing time was supposed to be 8:30 but I got there around 8:00. It doesn't seem to matter what time you are scheduled. In fact, I think that maybe Charlene arbitrarily assigns testing times just so everybody doesn't show up at the same time. They took me right away and I was done with the chest x-ray and blood draw very quickly. I was actually pleasantly surprised. Then I had an hour to kill before the 9:30 class with Michelle and Melissa. By the way, Michelle (the dietician) is leaving Mt. Carmel. They will tell you to call 234-LIFE and schedule your post-op class. The last one she is offering is April 2nd, so I got in that one. She doesn't know when they will find a replacement. See you on the 17th!

ndwife, The bariatric team didn't require a pulmonary clearance or sleep study (just my cardiologist) and I don't think the sleep study results were sent to Dr. Choban. All that was sent was a cardiac clearance. So, no, I don't think the sleep apnea was included when my insurance request was submitted. ~greg

TM, I'm glad your CPAP has helped you. :thumbup: In my case, however, I wasn't aware of any problems before I got it and haven't noticed any difference since I've had it. The only reason I had the sleep study done is because my cardiologist required it for my cardiac clearance. Hopefully, once I lose some weight I can eventually get rid of the machine.

Hi nd, The bariatric team didn't require that I do a sleep study, but my cardiologist did. So now I have a CPAP machine and an oxygen machine. I think the whole thing is a big racket. Everybody I know that has ever had a sleep study ended up with a CPAP. I think it's a fairly new medical anomaly and the doctors are just milking the insurance companies. Oh well, I'll get off my soapbox. Good luck in your journey. I'm one of the Shrinking Shamrocks getting banded on Mar. 17th. Hope you get your approval soon!

My surgery is scheduled for 1:30. Sounds like there will be a mid-day rush in the bariatric wing. They better wax the floors since we'll be wearing a path in them Monday evening walking the halls!

Okay, gotcha on the theme song. I saw it when you posted it, but didn't know that was now the "official" theme song. :biggrin2: Yeah, I did about 1000 calories yesterday, too. It wasn't too bad. And I called and left messages for Charlene on Friday and Monday with no response. I know she's very busy and I try to give her the benefit of the doubt and not bug her much, but it does get frustrating sometimes. See you Thursday, I think!

Okay, I'll bite ... what's the theme song? :confused2:

Angie - congratulations on your approval! I know it has been a long time coming. I feel extremely lucky because my whole process only took about three months from acceptance into the program to my surgery date. I only had one scare - and that was the need for a heart cath - but that was a false alarm. I know many people have had numerous obstacles and drawn-out ordeals & denials. Now that mine is scheduled, I am getting the pre-surgery jitters. I'm not nervous about the surgery itself - moreso, I wonder about the food restrictions and things I won't be able to eat anymore that I really like. But I figure it will be well worth the result - which is living longer and being here to enjoy my family & grandchildren. In any case, I am happy for you! Greg

SpecialK - Dr. Choban didn't really specify any particular liquid diet for me. She just said to lose 10 pounds before surgery. I had lost some but gained a little back, soooo I decided to start a Slimfast-only diet today (5 or 6 a day) - with lots of water in-between times to get that bloated feeling - and I'll see how it goes. Hopefully, by the time I have my pre-op consult a week from Friday, I will have lost at least 10 pounds. Plus, I figure this will get me "in the mood" for the post-op liquid diet. Fun, fun!

It's just a two-page letter: one with instructions for the pre-admission testing, and the second page with the time/date of surgery, as well as pre-surgery consult with Dr. Choban.

SpecialK, Charlene called me on Monday (last week) with my insurance approval and said she'd be mailing a packet. On Friday, I hadn't received it yet, so I called her. She actually answered the phone ... I was shocked! Anyhoo, she said it was going out in Friday's mail ... then she said, "No, probably Monday." In any case, I got it yesterday. Hang in there! Greg

Hello, ladies! I guess it's time for me to jump in and join the group that I've been watching for a while. Looks like I'll be the only 'guy' on the thread. Here's my story: I started my journey with the Mt. Carmel educational forum in early December 2007. The psych consult was quick (although not cheap). My cardiac clearance opened a can of worms. I failed a stress test due to some shadows on the heart images, so I had to have a heart catheter done. It showed no problems, so that was good. Meanwhile, the cardiologist ordered a sleep study (even though Dr. Choban didn't require it), so now I have a CPAP machine & oxygen every night. Once I got all my clearances, my insurance approved the surgery in less than a week! So now I get to join the 'Shrinking Shamrocks' gang with my pre-admission testing on Mar. 6th and surgery on Mar. 17th. Hope you don't mind that I borrowed your shamrock picture! I guess I'll be meeting a couple of you real soon. Greg