Lynnem6

I had my pre op appt. today for surgery on Aug. 20. I have no pharmacy coverage for my insurance. He prescribed 4 meds. for post op. All in liquid form. Walmart price : $1,400.00! One for pain, one for nausea, one for acid reflux & one for prevention of gallstones. I told the pharmacy there was no way I could afford that & I would need to contact my doctor. He changed the 1st. three to tablets - to crush (much more affordable). The last one is $614 per mo. I need to take it for 6 mo. At that time he will remove my gallbladder. He wants to wait on that until that time due to the size of my liver. I spoke with his nurse & was told he said there was no other med. available. When I told her the price she said it was outrageous & she’d speak to him again. Anyone else have issues with their prices of meds? Ideas? I do have an appt. with a gastroenterologist this week & will talk to him also to see if he has something he could recommend to my surgeon.

If you have pain in your calf, it could be a blood clot. You will need to see your Doctor ASAP.

I have the Humana Choice Medicare Advantage Plan. I’m not 100% sure of the difference between the Gold plan and mine, but I know they cover everything Medicare does. I was also required to pay my dietician visits. If your plan requires a PPO and you don’t use one, you will pay more. I had co-pays for Pre-op tests like the cardiologist & psych visit. As far as the surgery itself, all I paid was $295 per night in the hospital. I was in two nights ($590). EVERYTHING was included in that - surgery, surgeon, anesthesiologist, labs, and anything else while I was in the hospital. Humana also covered my first couple of office visits with my surgeon after my surgery. Your Humana book should tell you what they will cover - just look under surgery. Humana also approved my surgery within 2 days of my surgeons submission. I hope,this helps you somewhat. Good Luck on your journey!

Maybe you could call your surgeon or have your PCP call to find out. My surgeon is ordering labs for me. I’m lucky as most of my medical people are connected on the same computer system (But not the same practice) so they can see what each other is doing as far as labs, tests & results, etc.

I was told to get Flintstones children’s chewable ( not the gummy ones) to start. About 2.5 months after my surgery I was able to switch to regular adult multi vitamins. I did have to cut them in half though.

I went to a restaurant for the first time since my surgery today. It was so great to be able to sit in a booth comfortably instead of asking for a table!

Two months before my surgery I ended up with gallstones causing pancreatitis. I was in the hospital for two days. After my surgery in August my surgeon put me on Ursodiol 3x per day. He’s talking about gallbladder surgery 6-9 months after I had my sleeve done. The surgery date depends on how much weight I lose.

Maybe write some questions down to ask him and take notes when he speaks. Also, is it possible to take a supportive family member or good friend with you to your appt. to help help advocate for you and help you to remember things that were said? Sorry you’re not feeling well and good luck!

I think if you’ve never seen this cardiologist before, you would be considered a new patient. I too have never had any heart issues. I had my appt. 4 mo. before my surgery. The surgeon thought I’d have to have a stress test but the cardiologist just did an EKG and that was it. He (cardiologist) said as long as I wasn’t presenting with any other problems, any further testing could produce a false positive. I think all surgeons (and maybe insurance co.?) just need a cardiologist to clear you for surgery. Good Luck with your surgery!!

Good luck! I had my surgery on Aug. 20. 5’6 age 56 1st. Surgical consult 374# April 2019 preop 328# August 20, 2019 Weight 346# on August 22, 2019 (post op at home) 2 days later The weight GAIN was a surprise as I thought I would have lost at least a couple of pounds, however, I was pumped full of fluids due to dehydration. Current weight 343# You’ll do great!!!!

I check in the hospital at 7 am tomorrow. Excited and VERY nervous at the same time.

So, I’m now at home after a 2 nite stay. When I woke up in recovery, I was in a lot of pain. They quickly got it under control for me though. After that, the pain wasn’t so bad. Getting up from a sitting position is the worst, but I hold a pillow to my belly for support when I need to stand up. I’ll be sleeping in my lift chair for a few days as my bed at home doesn’t have rails like the hospital beds do to help pull myself up. I’m looking forward to joining the rest of you losers on the bench quickly!! Side note: I actually gained 18 lbs. during my stay. I’m assuming it’s from all the fluids they kept pumping in me. My surgeon said I was actually dehydrated when I checked in, so he really pushed those darn fluids. I’m guessing that I I’ll be going potty a lot pretty soon. Thanks to to all of you for the encouraging words and for wishing me good luck!

My surgery is on Aug. 20th. I started my clear liquid diet yesterday. It was kind of tough yesterday, but seems to be better today. Good luck on your surgery!!

.

Mine will be 7 days w/up to 3 protein shakes per day. The rest is clear liquid diet. Broth, jello, popsicles. I start it on Aug. 13.

Yes. My surgeon said to bring it when I have my surgery. He said that I could go into respiratory arrest without it.

So, my Doctor switched all meds from liquid to pills. Pain med I will need to crush. Nausea med will dissolve on my tongue. 20 tablets were $97 at Walmart, but with a coupon found online (thanks to those of you who gave me that tip!!) I got for $21. I will need to open the capsules of Omeprezole for acid reflux. The $614 per month med for my gallbladder was Ursodiol. The doctor actually found capsules (which I will need to open) on Amazon as a generic OTC med. I ordered my 6 month supply for $87. He wants to wait on the gallbladder removal due to my liver size and some cirrhosis due to fatty liver. He said that with weight loss removal be easier. I spent 2 days in the hospital with pancreatitis in June. If my labs would not have come down he would have either have done the surgery at that time or at most with my upcoming Sleeve procedure. As the labs were much improved, he said he wants to do it in 6 mo.

Sooooo. I was just approved for my surgery on the 20th. I’m getting very nervous as the date came sooner than anticipated. I’m nervous about the pain but have been assured that my doctor keeps on top of pain & nausea after surgery. I have my pre-op appt. with my surgeon on Monday. Thank goodness he only requires 1 week liquid pre-op liquid diet. 🤣