RestlessMonkey

Call your regular doctor.

I'd suggest actually calling your surgical center and asking them. For some people it's vital, others, not so much, and it may be a requirement of your insurance. They will be able to tell you for sure.

That is excellent news! :wink: I'll bet you are beside yourself excited! :yikes: Good luck!

I'm truly happy for you but...what are you going to do for fills etc? One thing I learned AFTER getting the band is that the after care (fills, someone to call if you have an issue, etc etc) is VITAL....and many many surgeons will NOT touch you if you were someone else's patient, regardless of where your surgery was performed (next door or 1/2 a world away). Make SURE you have someplace to get fills etc BEFORE you get the surgery. Good luck!

I don't know your mother, of course. That makes it hard to know what will motivate/reassure her! I assume she'll be worried about your health, so I say take her to a seminar. THe surgery is fairly non-invasive, it is REVERSIBLE, and you control how much you can eat post op. (you control the fill level). A seminar should put her mind at ease.

Hello and welcome if you have any questions just ask! We'll all try to help!

There's one more thing to consider. For example, as a rule, my surgeon has his patients stay overnight. (if you stay 23 hours that is considered outpatient and you aren't billed as much) He almost ALWAYS keeps patients overnight. That's his standard. SO If, before my surgery, I called and asked his staff (receptionist, Nurse, NP, anyone) they'd say "Yes you stay overnight". Sensible, right? HOWEVER....I personally asked him, if I was recovering well, could I GO HOME? I explained my husband is an RN with 20+ years experience and I am a nursing student. I said if I started to tank we'd go to ER. He said I could GO HOME. So until that surgery day, if I'd called and asked his nurse, she would've said "NO you stay overnight" The insurance woman said "you stay overnight" The HOSPITAL planned for me to stay overnight. BUT...it's the doctor's call. He MUST approve my discharge. And I knew he was discharging me that afternoon, because he said he would. And that is exactly what he did. Don't get mad at your surgeon for "not doing" something or flip flopping until you hear HIM flip flop. What some hospital clerk tells you is nothing. What the SURGEON does is what matters. HE will decide to keep you if you need it, or discharge you if you want to go and don't need to stay.

Do you have an insurance advocate or "person" in your HR department? IF so, make an appt, go to him/her, and get some help. If you pay tha $200 deductible, then how do you get to $500? Do you pay 20% of some charges and they pay 80, for example? And do they have a "network" of surgeons and hospitals? You need someone who "does" understand insurance to sort this out for you, and that should be someone in your HR department. for example, because I used an "in network" surgeon and hospital, my insurance paid them a contracted amount. ( don't know how much that is...it's a deal between my insurance and them) I paid my deductible and then my "co pay" portion (that's 20% of "covered" charges). Once I reaced a maximum copay (in my case, 3000) my insurance covered the rest. They will only pay so much for lap band surgery. NOT what the doc or hospital wants to bill, but the amount agreed upon (it's contracts) So WHATEVER the hospital and doc want to bill, the max I will pay is 3000 (that catastrophic cap) Since I'd already met my deductible and had other charges, it ended up being less. IF the doc and hospital tried to charge me more, that would be illegal. You are in another state (not familiar with Ind. laws) and since you are a cop, if you're like here, they have a union and negotiate benefits. You should have a rep or HR resource to go to to help clarify this for you. I still think your potential max outlay will be $500 (like mine was 3000) and they can NOT charge you any difference, but it's kind of like sorting potatoes in a dark room...if you know what I mean. Don't give up....see your HR advocate.

Call your surgeon and ask. It's entirely possible the person who called you is wrong.

Honestly you may be overmedicating...not sure though! Your safest safest bet is to call your surgeon. Clear your regimen with his office, and see if he wants to "see" you! :thumbup:

Careful with a heating pad it can speed your stitches dissolving! (seriously...if they are the type that dissolve over time, that's based on body heat, and too much heating pad can mean premature dissolve) WALK! WALK! It's the miracle cure.

doodleallday: Maybe the poster means "Sequential Compression Devices" (SCD's)....those things that go around our calves and compress/decompress (pumping) to help keep blood flowing in legs and prevent clots? Mine didn't go on my feet (most don't) but that's what I thought OP meant.

I hope you find coverage you like and can afford. I know of some who've looked for private coverage and because they are obese, can't find it. Insurance is really tough. Hopefully some options will open up for you!

Ok where's this post that covers politics, prostitutes and animals? I'm up for a break! And I agree that this is a public forum. If you dont like a post, don't read it, or don't respond. Simple.

If necessary, tell her you are having "abdominal" surgery. That's what my surgeon put in the letter I got just in case my school (I'm a student) needed it. It's vague, so if later you DO need your gallbladder removed or whatever, you won't be caught in a lie. AND abdominal surgery is the truth, just not the whole truth. By the way if you have to lift her at all you may have problems...most of us have a lifting restriction.

It's REALLY individual, but I had surgery on a Friday am and back to school Tuesday afternoon, although I'd have liked a little more time off (week 1 we were clear liquids only...no protein etc....and it was a little hard to pay attention to dull lectures when I was starving!)

This is true in Texas, I don't know if it's national. If you are covered under insurance and then change, it's as if there was total continuity of coverage. So no pre-existing, no waitiing for ins. to "kick in" etc. AND if he was laid off you can KEEP his coverage (Federal law) but you have to pay the cost of it.

There are 2 things I'd do differently, if I could. 1. I'd follow my doc's instructions to the LETTER for my first preop diet, instead of thinking that because other people cheated and "got away with it", I could. I lost 15 pounds but my liver was still too thick MOST important: 2. I'd have done this MUCH MUCH sooner!

I found this website months ago Compare Adjustable Gastric Bands - LAP-BAND vs. REALIZE Band It may help you. Most of us can't really "compare" them since we only have experience with one type! LOL I have the Lap Band AP L. I like it so far! It's the one my surgeon prefers, but he said he prefers it only because it's the one (Lap Band, that is,) that he trained with and is familiar with. He said they both work, are safe, and "do the trick".

If most foods make you sick, then you're too tight and you need an unfill. I have no experience but on the other hand, I'm a "newbie" enough to remember this point that our surgeon stresses over and over...if you're too tight, "healthy" foods get stuck and "unhealthy" things like cookies, ice cream, candy, goes through easily. I hope you find a support group that will work for you but I think you are also too tight. Worth checking out, any way.

Good luck! Do you have aftercare lined up (fills...place to call if you have questions, etc?)

The sleeve is also invasive. It cuts up your stomach. And fyi there ARE more than 3 types of bariatric surgery; maybe he just does 3, or something. There's the duodenal switch (VERY high success rate), Vertically banded gastroplasty...others. I wanted something reversible if necessary. I didn't want my insides cut up. And 3 years out, loss rates for bypass and band are comparable (in Australia, anyway!) Each person has to pick the right path for him/her, but I wouldn't want a surgeon to push me into one. They all have pros and cons.

Restriction. and I only WISH I had it with 4.5 cc in my 14 cc band. RIGHT after my 3rd fill, I felt the love for a few days and it was like a glimpse of heaven. I can't get in to get another fill until Feb 5 but I expect wonderful things then.

Why not, instead of asking for the discounted rate, ask the hospital how much you will need to pay out of pocket? For an insurance company to contract with hospitals and surgeons for special rates is NOT uncommon. For you not to know your own out of pocket, is. Does your insurance have a deductible? a Co Pay? If you can tell me this, I maybe can help you.

I think you should go with a surgeon who will support you, not push a certain surgery. Seriously, the care you get AFTER the band is almost more important than getting the band.