Maitai

Hello everybody, I was approved for surgery by Aetna HMO of FL and I was wondering if there are any out of pocket expensed that I will have to incur that is not covered by the plan.

I eat about 4-5 prunes at least 3x's per week. And I find it helps.

Hello ya'll from Tampa. As my ticker says, I was banded in May and although I have not updated my weight loss ( I'm waiting for the official weigh-in at next fill) I think I doing pretty well. All I keep thinking is ...why the heck did I wait so long to do this?! Good luck to all and I hope we can all keep in touch.

It is a decision you will not regret! Good luck!

I too had to do the six month medically supervised diet and provide weight history for the past three years. And I have pretty much been overweight all my life. But I think it is something most insurances do. Just be glad you don't have medicaid...they have to do an 18 mo. medically supervised diet. Trust me, before you know it the six months will have passed and then everything starts moving PRETTY fast. I wish you the best! I forgot to say that I have Aetna HMO. So it is pretty much normal procedure I believe for all insurance companies.

I had insurance and all I have to pay is my hospital copay which is $250. But I did get a copy of the bill from the hospital that they were submitting to the insurance company and the bill was for $44,000. I also that at the general orientation the cash price quoted was at $16,000. So what is the difference, I'm not sure.

My doctor had me go back to full fluids and then mushies for two weeks. (one week of fluids & one week of mushies) before starting back on solids. Right now I am on the mushies. I believe he'll have you go back on fluids, the length of time is different with every doctor, basically because your pouch will be irritated and swollen after the adjustment. But I am sure your doctor will tell you what he specifically will want you to do.

Try using elastic cami's or shaping tank tops ( available in lingerie sections of dept stores) for support. Two months after surgery I still wear them because at times I feel my port tug when I make sudden moves or twists. They really helped me especially after surgery. I felt it gave proper support and pressure for my port incision without being too tight. ( I bought the barely there brand). And they make you look thinner.

I have the same problem with afternoon hunger. What I have started doing, like Vegas said, is eat. I tend to have trouble squeezing all my Fluid in during the day because I work in a medical lab and we are not allowed to have any food or beverages around. So when I pack my lunch I put in a bottle of Water with those crystal light single servings for water bottles. I drink that on the way home ( which takes about 30min) and then after I get home I grab a quick healty snack. Then I have dinner between 6:00pm. and 7:00p.m. That's how I stop myself from really screwing my diet for the day.

The Centrum chewables were around $10 for a 100 tablets(walmart) the calcium citrate chewables around $13 for 60 tablets and the whey Protein powder was $20 for a 12oz plastic jar. I don't know if you have a health food store or maybe a Vitamin shoppe close by but I would suggest you buy individual protein packets which cost between $2-$3 first in case it turns out you don't like a particular one. And also make sure that when you pick a Protein Powder that it does not contain and excessive amount of carbohydrates. Good luck!

Are you interested in the diet pills because you want a faster weight loss? I ask this because to me it seems you have lost an pretty good amount of weight. I know that we want this to go fast but a think slower weight loss in a lot safer and healthier. If you are trying to compare the band to gastric bypass....gastric bypass offers you a faster weight loss in the beginning compared to the lapband . But the lapband catches up later. Considering you have not been banded a whole year yet, I would at least wait it out until your band anniversary before you look into taking diet pills. And remember , you cannot take diet pills forever because they eventually affect your heart to say the least. I've only been banded two months and from where I am your weight loss looks impressive to me. Keep up the good work!

Hello Dolly, I had my surgery done in Tampa , at Tampa General Hosp.( a center of excellence ) with Dr. Michel Murr. Awesome dr and his personnel are so organized that they make the process a breeze. The ones that make us jump through the hoops are the insurance companies. I had Aetna HMO and I did have to do the 6 mo. of a medically surpervised diet. Anyway, one of the best ways to inform yourself is to go to one of the seminars where they discuss the procedure, the insurance approval process and how to get ready for surgery. If you go to www.lapband.com you can find doctors in your area and when the seminars are offered. Good luck and I wish you the best.

GDC, I don't have pix of my scars but I tell you they are not bad. I only have 2 although the average I believe is between 4 or 5. The smallest one is half inch long and the other one which where the port is and usually the biggest is just 2 inches long. Mine are located between the braline and waistline. For the outside I did not have stitches, my dr uses the steri-strips so I have no scars from stitches. And I tell as the days go by you start to notice them less. So don't be afraid...It's one of the best decisions you will have made in your life.

Hello John and welcome. To qualify for WLS you have to be morbidly obese with a BMI of over 40 or with a BMI of 35 and comorbidities such as high blood pressure,diabetes, sleep apnea or any other health issues you might have that are weight related. As far as which one you get depends on which one you prefer.

Cortney, Yes, pretty much I believe everyone uses the Protein shakes. According to my nutritionist, I'm am to have between 60-80 grams of protein per day in order to not lose muscle as I am losing weight. It becomes very difficult to get that much protein just from food since we are supposed to be eating small amountsof food at a time. And because we are getting so little food at one time, we have to also take Multivitamins and extra Calcium. All this is so that you do not deplete the calcium from your bones and the Vitamins help maintain your health. And trust me, a lot a times those Protein Shakes help keep feeling fuller longer.

J Hi, I just had surgery 2 months ago...and like everyone I was nervous but mostly because we don't know what is going to happen and are not quite sure what to expect. To answer some fo your questions: First, I was not nauseous at all after the surgery, and I hear that if you do start feeling sick, they give you medication for that. You are also avoid throwing up at all, that could affect your pouch. From my experience I do believe that I went through a short mourning period and many people go through the "last big meal before surgery" syndrome. I tried not to succumb to neither one. Yes, we probably cannot eat as much as we did before the band, but on the positive side...I look at it as I will finally be able to have a "normal" relationship with food. That is, I can have a small amount of everything and be satisfied and not want to eat all of it and then feel guilty about afterwards. You can't feel the band, you do feel restriction from the band..that meaning that you will feel satisfied with a small amount of food. What you do feel is the port. In the beginning ,of course, since you are still in the healing process it hurts a little, nothing unbearable, and later on depending on certain movements you will feel it, but not all the time. As for people asking you about eating small amounts of food, you can say that you are on a new diet, which you are! They don't have to know that you had the surgery if you don't want them to know.

I haven't really been counting calories nor was I really counting my Protein grams. Needless to say I've been pretty much around the same weight since my initial weight loss. I started again keeping track of my calories and protein intake. I also started excercising for at least 30min at least 3x's per week. I go for my first fill on 7/3 and I want to have some kind of information so that I can ask my dr. for any advice if needed. I am not too worried since I know I am still in healing mode and before the first fill I don't think you are expected to have too much of a weight loss. Yet, I am honing in on my diet skills so that I will be able to be successful in the long run! Good Luck to all....we can do this!

penny I was given one to wear a few hours after surgery and for me it was a God sent! It definitely gave me much support and it made it a lot less painful getting up and sitting down...I also used my for sleeping the first few days. I must confess that I used mine pretty much all the time for the first week and after that I've used a bra shaper to give myself support. As many I found the incision where the port is placed was the one to remain sensitive for the longest time and the binder and shaper gave me support making it less painful to move around.

Hello all, I had my surgery also on the May 14th and feel pretty good. My surgery was originally scheduled for 1:30pm. but at 4:00p.m. May 13th I received a call from the hospital notifying me that my surgery time had been changed to 7:30a.m. and had to be in the hospital by 5:30a.m. So there went my plans to take it easy before surgery. Anyway, the day of the surgery everything went pretty good and according to my parents (which were there with me) the surgery only took about 1 1/2 hrs. but I was kept in recovery for a long time because my blood pressure was very low and they had me in observation for a while. I do recall waking up twice and each time I was in pretty bad pain which the nurse kindly reminded me that I was in pain because I had had stomach surgery....(and although she was nice) I was thinking to myself ---no sh_t sherlock! I am still in pain. She did give me a shot and off to lala land I went. That wore off a second time and I woke up...I waited for a little while because I was assessing how bad I hurt and I had enough sense to know that as the anesthesia was wearing off I hurt a little more...so again I informed the nurse . Her response .." Yes, you are in pain because you had stomach surgery." This time I told her, I know but the pain is getting progressively stronger. She then said," Okay, I will give you some pain medication but you have to breathe!." Again, I thought to myself, BREATHE!!!!! I am breathing but I AM in pain!" She did give me pain medication and off to lala land I went. I guess she did not want to keep me asleep much longer after that because of my low blood pressure, but that I did not know. I must say that thankfully the anesthiologist had informed me during my pre-op not to take my HBP medication but because mine contains a diuretic and since I was scheduled for afternoon surgery she did not want me to pee a lot and be dehydrated before surgery. Thank God..I didn't take it. Anyway, I must say after I woke up from the second pain shot, the pain subsided enough to where I was able to remain awake for about an hour in the recovery area without anymore good drugs...the pain then was tolerable. I was then wheeled to my room and was given a crushed vicodin and that was if for the rest of the day. I was pretty much told that if I pee'd within the following six hrs. I could possibly go home that evening. I pee'd, TWICE! When the dr. came around to do his rounds that evening I asked him if I could go home and that I had 'urinated' twice ( I was using my formal english language). He asked to look at my incisions, which by the way I only have two and one is where the port is, and talked with me a bit and said ...your ready, you may go home.! YAY! So I was home by 11:00pm that night. I must say the pain has been tolerable for the most part...I had a rough night Thursday night but mostly because of the gas. On day two I was out walking and day four I went to Walmart and shopped for about an hour. Took my pain pills and liquid Tylenol just in case but I did not need them. So other that being a bit sore I must say the wait was worst than the actual procedure. Good luck to all the other May bandsters and those of you who have already have it MAY you continue to recover !

I just had surgery on May 14th and I ended up with 2 holes.

Hopeful, I would call them back and ask them to explain. Because if I'm correct the lap-band was approved by the FDA since 2001. So I don't think that would still make it an investigational procedure. Maybe call your dr's office also to see if they have any idea what your insurance is referrring to.

Bored, Thank you for the overview. My surgery is this coming Wed and I'm getting a little nervous. Thanks for reminding me that right after surgery I will hate myself for having surgery but that will soon pass. I will try to remember that in case I do start having doubts. Hope you continue to get better and keep in touch!

hello blondie, I haven't had the procedure yet, but I'm sure one day won't really make that much of a difference. Also, although we are not suppose to be eating a lot of carbs, pancakes really shouldn't be that hard to digest. And remember this is real life and there will be many moments where you will be confronted with situations like this. Everything will be okay as long as you know when to stop and go back to what you are supposed to be doing. Which it seems to me that you did. Keep up the good work and forge ahead!

Hello thin, Keep up the good work with the liquid diet you don't have that much longer to go! It'll be worth it in the end. I will come back and let you know how it goes and how I feel. You do the same. Where are you getting banded?

Hello LOL mommy I too live in New Tampa and I'm due to be banded on May 14th. I hope that you get a reply from your insurance soon! Keep in touch as we can support each other once we are banded.