Elisabethsew

Welcome and best of luck getting the surgery approved. You're on your way to a new you!

You're going to need the psych person and the nutrition person to each write a letter or an addendum to their reports and send it to the insurance company. You're also going to need a letter from your diet program stating that nobody is 100% compliant put that you were in the top 5% of people who "work the program as designed and intended." Insurance companies are in the business of making money and will do anything they can NOT to have to pay. Call the company and ask to speak to your case manager so you deal with the SAME person throughout this difficult and trying time. Stay strong.

You look absolutely gorgeous and you're going to look wonderful in a bikini. Congratulations on your success and fabulous PS results. Enjoy! You EARNED it.

Yes, I could access my own port because I have the medical training to do it and it's part of my job as a health care professional. That said, WOULD I ever even think about accessing my own port? Not in a million years!

For my insurance to pay I needed to have a BMI of > 40 and tons of pre-surgery evaluations such as cardiac consult, cardiac stress test, cardiac echocardiogram, pulmonary consult, pulmonary function tests, sleep apnea evaluation (mine was negative), GI consult and an EGD, nutrition consult, psych consult, surgical consult, medical clearance consult, thyroid function tests, computer based patient education program, and a general WLS meeting. The insurance company also wanted a 10 year diet history with evidence of a 6 month medically supervised diet plan. My advice it to call your insurance company and see what they will and will not cover.

Hi Yoda, I was banded 10 days ago and I told only 2 people, my boyfriend and my closest friend at work. My last attempt at weight loss was through diet and exercise and resulted in a 2OO+ pound weight loss. Over the past 4 years I have regained all but 110 pounds. Rather then deal with comments, I chose to keep this surgery to myself. I did the surgery for me to afford me a healthy life. The band is a tool that will assist me to achieve a healthy life and I see no need to share that with anyone at this point. The exception to this would be somewhere down the line. If an overweight or morbidly obese person noticed my weight loss and asked for help for him/herself, I would gladly share my surgery and subsequent experiences. Having been overweight/morbidly obese my ENTIRE life, I prefer to keep my current surgery private. Of course, it goes without saying that each person needs to weigh (no pun intended) the pros and cons of going public vs remaining private and make his/her own "right" decision.

Welcome and congratulations on your upcoming surgery.

Jamie, Chinese restaurants add a lot of oil to their Soups. This could explain why you react badly to their version of the egg drop soup. Since the recipes offered here are Water based, you might have better luck trying them.

I had my surgery 10 days ago and just checked what was billed to the insurance company... 20,500 for hosp and overnight stay, 2,800 for the surgeon and the anesthesiologists bill has not been submitted yet. I was also denied surgery for lack of a medically supervised 6 month diet but had all my MDs write letters. I also faxed parts of my medical record to the insurance company. It was a fight but I finally won the appeal.

I am 10 days post-op and noticed a big difference about 2 days ago. As the swelling and soreness subside, food goes down much easier. I am counting the days (4 more) until I can advance off the full fluids to the soft diet. Hang in there, you'll feel better in a few days.

Hi Michelle I am an RN also and only know one other person who was banded. He lost nearly 100 pounds since his banding in July of last year and started out at 350 pounds. Although I can't comment on your surgeon first hand, I can tell you I had read a ton of posts and not one was never concerning him or his skill. Like you, I am very familiar with patients undergoing RNY bypass. Best of luck to you.

Welcome Yoda. I am 10 days post-op and wish I would have found this site prior to my surgery. The people here are very willing to share experiences and give helpful advice. Discuss all your concerns with your MD and also the anesthesiologist when you meet with them.

Just keep in mind that carbohydrates begin to be digested in the mouth (unlike fats and proteins) so spitting it off does not mean a zero calorie intake.

While restaurants don't allow you to bring food in, they will never know if you bring your own salad dressing. Walden Farms make delicious fat-free, no calorie, no carb dressings and are found in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. Order a salad that has Protein and garnish with your own dressing. Have you and your friends ever planned a brown-bag lunch in the park rather than buying out every day? Would your friends agree to one or two days as "bring your food to work" days? There are tons of recipe sites on the web... just Google low calorie recipes.

I am post-op day 10 and was placed on full fluids 2 days after surgery (protein shakes, pureed soups, fat-free/sugar-free pudding and yogurt and jello, etc.). Because I am not a yogurt lover, the dietician allowed me to have ricotta cheese (lite, 4 oz, 140 cal) once a day. On week three, I move to a soft diet for 3 weeks and then onto solids on week 5.

It seems to me that the fair thing would have been for that person to give you back at least half of your money. I hope fillcenterusa gives you some favorable options.

I had coffee the day after surgery without any problems. The only thing I noticed was that my regular size cup (12 oz) filled me up. I used an eight ounce cup until yesterday (post-op day 9) and now tolerate the regular size. Enjoy YOUR coffee!

I am 10 days post-op and have my first weigh-in at the post-op appt. on 4/14. I do have a friend (male, 41) who was banded in July of 2005 and has lost just under 100 pounds (start weight 340 pounds). Of course, we all know men lose faster than women... so unfair.

Everyone's tastes are different. I absolutely love the crystal lite lemonade but have been sticking to mostly water since my surgery 10 days ago. Maybe you'd be better brewing some fresh iced tea?

I am now 9 days post-op and am starting to feel hungry. After surgery, I felt full just from drinking a cup of coffee but over the last two days have noticed that I don't feel full anymore. I'm on a full fluid diet which includes frozen yogurt and pudding (both fat-free/sugar-free), lite ricotta cheese, protein shakes, pureed soups, and skim milk. I don't know what size inamed band I have but the swelling has come way down even though it's still very tender by the port and badly bruised. Is it normal to be hungry at this stage of the game? I'm following the diet which allows 650 cal/day After 2 weeks post-op, I move to soft foods for 3 weeks at 850 cal/day. Could it be the decreased swelling that has taken away the full feeling? I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you. :help:

Hi Diedre The dietician that had to meet with at my surgeon's office went over the post-op eating regime and provided me with a booklet of what to eat that even contained sample weekly menus. I looked at the one week pre-op and two week post-op full Fluid diet that includes 60 g Protein a day and made a comment that 650 calories seemed too low for someone my weight. She countered and told me that the shakes provide the nutrients and protein and that weeks 1-2 were 650 cals. This increased to 850 cals for weeks 3-5 (soft diet) and then went to 1000-1100 cals for solids on week 6. Donna - An icecream shake sounds wonderful. LOL. Thankfully, I found EDYs fat-free/sugar-free frozen yogurt. Four ounces has 100 cals and it's delicious (praline and cream flavor is to die for). Thank you all for your advice. I actually live for my 4 oz of lite ricotta cheese every day. LOL.

I am post-op day 9 and still cannot turn onto my left side. I have been able to turn to the right but only for the last 2 nights and some pain is involved in that also. The port site is still bruised, swollen and very tender. Everyone heals at a different rate... just make sure you get in all the required protein daily to facilitate the healing process.

Thank you for responding, Vegas. It felt so strange to go from feeling full all the time to not feeling full at all.

I am nine days post-op and know how you're feeling. Drink tons of water, walk as much as you can, and bend over as if you're picking something up whenever you can... this moves the gas out. Finally, get off the codeine ASAP... it causes constipation and can make gas pains worse. I hope you feel better soon.

Congratulations on your amazing progress and improved health status. Why did you regret having the surgery post-op? I am 8 days into being banded and finally starting to feel human again. LOL.