Jeanmarie

OMG Yes! I encountered that 2 days ago. It was so bad i actually called my doctor to see if he could suggest something and he said there's nothing i could do but wait it out. But the good news is, it only lasted that one day. Sorry i couldnt help but i can relate!! Good luck. Hope you are feeling better soon!

Hi Lisa! Sorry to hear you're having so much pain. My Dr gave me Tylenol with codeine so it helped me get thru the night. I had my surgery on July 29th and felt MUCH better by August 2nd. And today i feel absolutely no pain. I promise it does get better pretty quickly.It doesnt help that we cant eat to "ease our pain" lol. Good luck and hang in there!!!

Hello! I also have Aetna and the process took me a year because they also kept denying me. I started the process 8/7/07 and my initial surgery date was 2/14/08 but it took until the 3rd level of appeals before i was approved and finally was banded on 7/29/08. Almost a year later! What happened for me was my office sent in a second appeal with all of the records. Then Aetna set up a telephone conference (with reps and drs and nurses from Aetna) with me where they asked me lots of questions. After that was denied it was sent (by my Drs office) for a third level of appeals where they had outside physicians review my chart and make a decision and THEY finally approved me. Just be patient. My drs office told me they usually do ultimately approve you. Hope this helps. Good luck!!!

I am a billing manager in a hospital and they are not allowed to bill you for the procedure because they havent provided them with the requested info, its not legal to do so. Just call the billing manager at the hospital and talk to them, they will straighten it out. Have you received a bill from the hospital? Or just a denial showing the denied charges? Trust me, you are not responsible for this bill. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!!!

Hello there! I just had my banding done on July 29th and i had the same thoughts you are having leading up to my surgery. The pre-op liquid diet was hard for me but i stuck to it because i knew i had to so my surgery would be safer. Now that i have had the band and i am feeling much better i can tell you, and this from someone who wouldnt ever THINK of skipping a meal, you are NOT hungry. I have absolutely no appetite and i have already lost 20 lbs since i started the preop diet. Trust in your decision and enjoy your new life. It will all be worth it! Good luck and take care!!!

Hi seconds. I was banded on 7/29 also and i was told i could only drink a shot of clear liquids per hour for the first 2 weeks until my band settles in. Then i see my doctor on 8/13 and he will move me to mushies from there. Its hard but i am afraid to damage my band otherwise. I havent had any problems and i think i could tolerate mushies but i was told not to. Maybe all drs are different but those were my strict instructions. Good luck!!! Hope this helps.....

Dont lose hope! I went for my initial consultation on 8/7/07 and FINALLY got approved 2 weeks ago and my surgery is 7/29/08. Took a whole year! Go get the sleep study, the results helped me get approved. Good Luck!!!