RestlessMonkey

Does your insurance have a network? Is your surgeon IN That network? Most insurance companies have a network of surgeons you may choose from; it's possible your surgeon has applied to be one but the paperwork isn't finalized... If that isn't it, ask your surgical center what it means and how long it might take. If your Ins does have a network and your surgeon isn't in it, you might want to switch...?

Skinnymommy I forgot to add....congrats on your band! :confused:

I'm a teller...I'll tell anyone who asks. BUT!!! I didn't want a herd at the hospital. I was happy to have my husband there (he's a registered nurse and handy in a pinch! LOL) but no other friends or family were invited or allowed. (I mean good grief I was having bariatric surgery, not a baby! LOL) I feel your pain about someone talking about you and embellishing the story. Will your mom honor your wishes? Sounds like she was blackmailing you a little. I'm sorry for that!

Honestly I came to in recovery HUNGRY and THIRSTY. I know some will say "no one is hungry post op" but they are wrong. I recovered fast, had no issues (the 2nd time!) was alert, felt great, and if I hadn't seen my band when they made me do a barium swallow before I left the hospital I wouldn't have thought I had it. I drank THIRTY TWO ounces of Water before I left the hospital... and stuck to my post op diet, but it was a misery for me because I was hungry through most of that time. No, it wasn't emotional hunger. It wasn't phantom hunger. It was gnaw on my cat's leg hunger LOL (ok he was really safe...too furry) Apparently some lucky souls after abdominal surgery aren't famished. I was not so lucky. I sailed through the surgery well and am grateful for that, but the downside of having it so very easy, I guess, was an intact appetite. And hungry still feels to me like it always did. As I SLOOOWLY get more restriction I feel it less often....but it's the same old sensation it ever was, for me anyway.

If you walk that should help with your pain some. I know it seems counter-intuitive but it's true. It can help prevent adhesions etc. Good to move around. And you're probably already doing this but get a pillow to hold across your torso. It helps brace your surgical sites so they don't pull and don't hurt as much. ICE pads can also help (no heat though....at least not on your abdomen...can accelerate the sutures dissolving) And for your pain; have you tried liquid tylenol? They have it for adults (or tylenol capsules if you can take them; I could but some can't) Watch your meds because too much tylenol can be dangerous and many combo pain meds (like Darvocet or Lortab or Hydrocodone) have tylenol in them. If you just take the tylenol you get analgesic effects without being put to sleep. It provides great pain relief for many; so try it if you can. Honestly if you really are just drugging and sleeping, making yourself walk around a bit will do wonders for you. Aside from mentally starting to feel a little more "normal" (and that is a big kick, let me tell you!) it is physiologically GREAT for your body. Stay hydrated and hang in there! It gets better. We all heal at different rates but some of these ideas should help you. And I'm a nursing student (soon to graduate, yay!) so these tips are what you'd be told if you were my patient. We're taught that a patient who is worried about becoming addicted to pain meds isn't addicted! :confused: So you're safe. But the liquid tylenol may help the pain but leave you awake and feeling better all around. Take care of yourself! And usually it takes a bit more than 5 days to become addicted to the drugs they give us post op so that is not a worry for you.

Mine itched, but it was just healing and I could make myself ignore it. Yours sounds worse, so if I were you I'd call my surgeon. You may just be healing, or you may have something else going on! S/he can tell you what, if anything, you can put on them. While we're healing, most surgeons do NOT want us messing with the incisions. You aren't even 2 weeks post op yet so I don't think they'll want you to put any topicals on there, unless they prescribe them. Good luck and hang in there! but do call if it's really bad...just to make sure you don't have an allergy or something.

Grannyky...you can either call your insurance and ask THEM what you have to pay and where they will let you go, OR you can call the facility you spoke of, ask them if they ACCEPT the insurance you have, and if they do, what costs you'll have to pay. That's the easiest way for you to get the answers you seek. Good luck!

Welcome! I'm another person who is fairly large; got my band in August. Please feel free to PM me if I can help you in any way! Good luck!

Another vote to call your insurance! :w00t: They will tell you if Lap band is covered and if so, what surgeons you may choose from (very few insurance companies still exist that will let you go just anywhere) Mine did not require a referral from a PCP or PCM, not all are like that. They can also tell you what requirements you must meet for the surgery....some require 6 months of supervised diet, some diet and exercise, etc. So that's the place to start. Good luck!

It's common to be nervous. May I address a couple of your concerns? The band is NOT permanent. You will most likely want it to be, and it's built to be, but if for some reason you want or need it removed, it can be. While there MAY be some scarring around the outside of your stomach, 99% or some huge percentage have no side effects (except weight gain!) once the band is removed. SO if they come up with a miracle cure for obesity, we're good. And I've read (and believe it makes sense) that once the band is in, insurance will cover you if you have issues pertaining to it. You can ask your surgeon for clarification but it is my understanding that once you have it in there, say you DO need it removed due to medical necessity. Insurance will cover that. (a caveat...I am just repeating what I've heard; if you are concerned, besides asking your surgeon it might be prudent to call your insurance company and ask them) What will cost is fills and aftercare and that is mostly frontloaded during the first year, so make sure your surgeon offers you fills included in your package. In the long run, only you will know what it costs you. I personally had prepared to self pay (my insurance covered it) and figured it was cheaper than having the comorbidities and costs of obesity....heart trouble, diabetes, hypertension, sedentary lifestyle, etc. The cost out of pocket, even at the more pricey surgery centers, runs about the cost of a car or small SUV. I figured I am worth a Kia or two.

I didn't really have a physical. I had an upper GI, psych, and nutrition visits and once I passed them, everything was submitted to my insurance. When I was "approved" I had preop tests (the week before surgery) consisting of a chest x-ray, an abdominal ultrasound, blood draw, quick visit with an internist, an ecg...and that's it. They asked when I'd last been to my gynecologist (under a year) and knew that I was under the care of an internist who prescribed my bloodpressure meds, and whom I see at least annually. That was it. HAD my ecg been abnormal my doc said he'd have wanted a cardiologist to clear me for surgery, but I was fine. Of course the surgeon's office weighs me and takes my vitals each visit, but that's nothing. No formal "physical".

Honestly you can go a LONG time and lose weight. As long as you're hydrated, and especially if you're taking Vitamins, your body will burn your fat for a long time. It is a myth that you won't lose if you go low low cal. At least that's what my PCP told me, and I belive him. That one pound you were up is Water retention either from having salty Soups or whatever and/or some hormonal issues. It is not HEALTHY to eat such a low amount unless you are on a very balanced replacement plan and under a doc's supervision, because our bodies need Protein, fat, carbs (and Fiber, vitamins, minerals) to function. We can get energy from the fat stores we burn, but it isn't providing us complete nutrition. Think of bypass patients. They don't eat a lot and their bodies don't absorb all they do eat, and yet they lose just fine.

What you can do is VERY carefully trim away the part that is curling up (if that's feasible for you) I did that because the parts that were stuck seemed to be necessary and I didn't want one accidentally tugged loose by me catching the end on something while I was dressing etc. SO...I carefully trimmed the loose ends. The strips should stay on at least 10 days to 2 weeks. I itched but it was internal/healing, so lotion wouldn't help. You don't want to put lotion on any surgical sites, of course!

i don't know where to go online to check...I didn't do that. The hospital where my surgeon is head of bariatrics handled all the paperwork for me. I've just read a LOT of people on here who were "borderline" (like just at a certain BMI, or 100 pounds overweight by one chart but not another, etc) having trouble. I didn't even need a referral; just had to go to a center of excellence.

I'm so glad you went! What a terrible weekend you'd have if you hadn't! :scared2:

I too am tricare standard and got approved in under 24 hours. I feel for the tricare prime people who have to struggle so much! Call your surgeon for the surgery date; it's set by him, not tricare.

Call your doc and ask. Since it's the weekend coming up you don't want to be in misery for several days...and you can dehydrate really quickly.

Do what YOUR doctor says. This place is great but the "evidence" isn't scientific, just anecdotal. What's right for someone here isn't necessarily right for you. The realize band is placed differently ... and is HELD in place differently. I don't think it's stitched in but rather clamped into place (not sure....not a doc! just read a lot) if so, digesting real food won't give you the issues others face, Please, trust YOUR doctor and do what he says, bottom line. :tt2:

Why not call the airline and ask them for guidance? Or get a direct flight.

Unless you're somewhere where the docs work on Saturday...why not call tomorrow and just ask what they recommend? (our doc told us if we didn't go to CALL HIM and ask...not just take "whatever") Your doc may not be so finicky but just in case? I know you think there isn't much to go, but something should be happening down there, believe me, even if it's just liquid. I was clear liquids (not even protein) post op and prior to that I'd been having shakes and 3 oz Fish each day is all....(and fish has no fiber in it! LOL) and I still went, which is normal. You don't want a problem so safest to just call tomorrow and find out what they recommend. Better safe than sorry, right? :tt2:

I do remember being in surgery...the first time I was shocked and interested because it looked nothing like what I expected (from TV)....that curiousity is part of what led me to nursing school. So you may remember a little then, or not, but either way it'll be over with and you'll do fine.

Don't feel badly about no preop diet...I was on one for over 5 weeks and you don't get used to being hungry! :biggrin: Post op is hard, regardless. But we bandsters make it through!

I don't have a gall bladder and don't have those issues. I have to say if your surgeon can't find anything, odds are we all won't be able to help you either. I'm sorry you're hurting; other than keeping a food/activity diary and trying to see what may cause it, (could be life stressors) I can't be much help either. Just will say from what little I know about the gall bladder (am not a doc) I don't see how having it removed could cause you such anguish. Sounds like trapped gas....have you asked your internist about that?

If you haven't already seen your surgeon, please call tomorrow and let them know you haven't had a bowel movement since 1/15. 8 days is a long time to not go, even with the austere post op diet so many of us are on. Your surgeon may want you to take something, or may not be concerned at all, but we were told we should go within 3-4 days. Since I had diarrhea it wasn't an issue for me, but they asked about it even at my 6 day post op appt .... it's a potential problem, especially if you are taking opiod pain killers.

Have you ever been anesthetized? For me, it's pretty much no big deal. The big difference, to me, between anesthesia and sleep is that with sleep I "wake up" with a sense that time has passed, but with anesthesia I don't. When I "come to" I always (well, have had 3 surgeries so for those times) look for a clock (most recovery rooms have one) to orient myself to what time it is. That always seems to center me. Anesthesia itself is very modern. They are easily able to take us down and bring us back up quickly. I'm sure it depends on the patient and the expertise of the anesthesiologist, but I always expect to wake up alert and oriented and that happens to me. Twice I had a mild sore throat afterward for a few days (due to the tube they insert, once you're out, to keep your airway patent...and 99% of the time it's removed before you wake all the way back up) but otherwise, nothing. Some have some nausea, but I never have. It IS scary any time one has surgery. But laparoscopic is non-invasive, your surgeon and his team are pros at doing it (and pros at the special needs of bariatric patients) and you won't have to be out very long so don't run as many risks as for other more invasive surgeries! Hang in there!