Mvpo8961

Congrats on the banding. Sounds like things are going well Myra

Congrats on your banding and welcome to LBT. There are lots of smart folks here with lost of good answers to any questions you might have. Myra

Lean Cuisine sphagetti and meatballs. 250 calories. I use about 4 - 5 whole grain wheat crackers with the sphagetti for a total of around 300 calories. Myra

Donna congrats on that handsome guy. What an honor for you. By the way what was his DI's name? My sister-in-law's son is a DI down there. Just curious. Myra

I have to respectfully disagree with JMO. My insurance states in our booklet that if we go to an out of network facility (when the services are available in an in network facility) we pay a 2000 dollar penalty and are responsible for 75% of the charges. This is for either a hospital or outpatient surgery facility. Now the hospital that I had my surgery charged 48,000. My in network negotiated price was 16,000. Had I gone outside the network I could have potentially been responsible for 38,000 assuming the out of network facility charged the same charges as my hospital charged. That's a pretty good chunk of change. Some facilities will only charge what a contract price would be whether you are in or out of network. Still if your insurance makes you pay a percentage of that fee it can still be pretty steep. In my case it would have been 75% of 16,000 plus the 2,000 dollar penalty making my out of pocket 14,000. You definitely need to know the requirements for your monetary responsibility in regards to YOUR insurance. Myra

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Congrats on your decision to pursue lapbanding. I was out a couple of hours, minimal pain only needed prescription pain med twice after getting home. One fill so far painless. Read on LBT there is lots of good info here. Myra

WOW that is fast. READ READ READ Best wishes for a smooth surgery and speedy recovery to you. Myra

Congrats on your soon to be banding. Best wishes for a smooth surgery and speedy recovery. Myra

Congrats on your approval. The time will fly by and you be banded before you know it. Best wishes for a smooth surgery and speedy recovery. Myra

Not clear on what second stage is for you. Do you mean thick liquids or mushies? My post op diet went 1 thin liquids 2 thick liquids 3 soft food (mushies) 4 normal food M

I saw an independent RD/nutritionist. Was sent to her as a referral from my PCP. We went over my food history. What I liked to eat what I didn't etc etc etc. Then we discussed what would be on a 1200 calorie diet. She had plastic food in correct portion size that we talked about. Gave me a list of good, okay but not the best choice, and bad foods. Made an appointment for a follow-up to see how well I was doing and if I understood everything. She wrote a report saying that I had good understanding and willing to follow a prescribed eating plan. This report was sent to the insurance company by the surgeon. Myra

Diva that barium is GGGRRROOOSSSSSSSSSSSSS. I almost threw up on the radiologist at the hospital . They took me to radiology right out of the recovery room for one. The place where I do my fills has flavored barium. Much more tolerable the the hospital barium:puke:

No hablo espanol. Wanted to say WELCOME. Myra

Many insurance companies have a web sit for healthcare providers that have guidelines for procedures/surgeries. But generally these are not published to the general public. Your surgeon/office staff will/should have the ability to look at the guidelines and tell you what you need to meet the insurance companies criteria. You also can ask the insurance company to send you the requirement guidelines or perhaps they will tell you over the phone. Although my experience has been that whomever answers the phone at the insurance company usually has a different answer from the next person that you might talk too. Seems like you never get the same answer twice from a phone coversation. So getting the requirements in writing would probably be best. M

Jenn if you doc is like mine he will use the information to help formulate his letter of predetermination for the insurance company. So fill it out as comprehensively as you can. Myra

I believe they have patients that also post on this board. Dr. Hekier/Dr. Keilin husband/wife surgeons from Texarkana Patients Judy Ann, Nanahanna(went to a seminar but elected to have RNY in August) Dr C - did the fill for GreatDame Dr. Pleatman http://www.laparoscopy.com/pleatman/AboutDr.htm This is his website. http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=6651 This is a thread by some of his patients. Any others? It would not be difficult to set up an account and label yourself a doctor. But there are a lot a healthcare providers on this board. It would not take long if someone were a fake for it to be figured out. Just the way they answer questions and the medical terminology used would give a fake away. I know I had a question about a biopsy that Dr. Hekier answered with an answer that someone without medical knowledge wouldn't have been able to answer. M

Congrats and RUN WITH IT!!!!!!!!!!!! Myra

Welcome to LBT. Congrats on your decision. Lots of good folks and info here. Look around and ask lots of questions. Myra

YEAH DOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I been waiting to hear how your app went. I am so thrilled for you. I know it has been a long time coming. Best wishes for a smooth surgery and speedy recovery. Myra

VQ are you sure you don't have some bulldog in your background? My husband says once I get my teeth into something I won't let go like a bulldog. Hoping things go smoothly for ya. Myra

Swashy Lizzie? Now what does swashy mean? Well according to dictionary.com swashy means soft like fruit that is too ripe. So yeah I guess I'm swashy. M

It is a learning curve. But thanks to LBT I have been pretty well prepared. I have had one fill 4cc in a VanGuard band. I have had two instances of not chewing well and food getting stuck. The first time for a good hour or so. The second time for about five minutes. Trying to eat my first few bites too fast. Went out to eat with my DH and DD yesterday. By the time they had finished their meal and was ready for dessert I was just getting started good. So I can say eating is definitely slower. Lost almost 30 lbs so far. But I am a stair step loser. Lost ten pounds over a couple of weeks and then nothing for 3 weeks or more. But as long as it is going down and not up that is okay. Do you have any idea how long you will have to wait for a band?

Congrats on your decision. You will be surprised at what a difference it will make in your life. Welcome to LBT. Myra

I slept on my side the first night in my bed. Just not as far on my side as I would like but I took a dose of pain meds just as I went to bed. This is what my doc told me to do. No problems. Myra