carissarenae1986

I had surgery at approx 8:00am, I was on my way home by 10pm the same day. I probably could have left sooner but my surgeon was in another surgery and they couldn't get ahold of him to see if I could go. Everything went well so I was released. Today is my first day back to work. I was off for exactly one week and I am fine. I'm a teller at a bank and am not having any problems. A little soreness getting in and out of the tall chairs we have but nothing major.

Hello all! I was banded on March 9th at 7:30 am at The Medical Center in Port Arthur, Texas. I arrived at the The hospital bright and early at 5:15 am. As soon as I arrived since obviously I was their first patient of the day i didn't have to wait at all. I was put in a bed, given a shot in my tummy, I think they said it was to thin my blood, heprin maybe?? The shot stung a little and left a bruise. They also made me put on these really tight compression hoses to help with blood clots in my legs. After that I was taken into the pre-op area where I was given an IV and some medicine they said would help me relax. The next part is a little hazy, I guess the medicine they had given me really worked. I remember them saying that I was going to surgery and being put on a really small table. I'm pretty sure this was the surgery table because I saw all the cameras and gadgets above me. After that all I remember is waking up to about 3 nurses telling me that I needed to wake up and take deep breaths in and out. It really hurt to breath and it made me cough alot which hurt also. I guess I had bitten my lip during surgery because my lip was swolen. I was also surprised to find while I was asleep I had a catheter put in and also another..bigger.. IV. Which I am very grateful they did this while I was asleep I think I was in recovery for about an hour and then I was wheeled to my room where my mom and husband were waiting for me. My room was nice and comfy, I had 2 nurses who were checking on me often and took great care of me. I was so thirsty, but my doctor didn't want me to have anything for the first little while so I remember the mint mouth swabs were my best friends. Finally it was time to get up and walk, this was painful and I kept feeling like I was going to fall because my legs were so weak. I did manage to make several trips around my room before I got back in bed. The next big step was the respiratory crew coming around. They gave me a device that I had to suck air through to the point that I would cough. This hurt really bad, but they said that I needed to cough to clear my lungs from anesthesia. I was discharged from the hospital at exactly 10:00pm and was home snug in bed by 10:30. It has been an adventure so far and I can't wait for whats to come. I've already lost 14 pounds.yay!

Your very welcome. Good luck with everything.

Mine is going to be all together $17000.00. My out of pocket is $4500.00, insurance is paying for the rest... That price is not including all the pre-op testing I had to do. I don't really know the exact price of all that. I heard one of my nurses say that I did about $10000.00 in testing. sooooo. That would be a big difference depending on what tests your doctor wanted you to do.

Hi, I have UHC choice plus. They did not require for me to be on any sort of diet. My requirements were that I had to have proof of being overweight for 5 years or more, have a BMI of 40 or more, and be on my job for atleast 18 months. I did have a cap though. They would only pay $12000.00, so that only covered the hospital and anesthesia fees. I had to pay my surgeon the additional $5000.00 out of pocket. What really threw me off was that my policy stated that UHC would pay 100 percent of eligible expenses. Yea, they will pay 100 percent up to my cap. So be sure to make sure what your limits are so you are not surprised if you get a bill.

Ok.... So evidently I just read the first page, lol. Lucky Losers is even better.

My surgery is March 9th!! Yay! I like the March Melters. It has a certain ring to it. And hopefully a true statement as well

Hello Everyone! It has been a long road to get here, but I am finally going to be banded on March 9, 2009. I am so excited I can hardly sit still. I really enjoy this site and have learned a lot from everyone here. I think I have packed my brain with all the information on the lap band it can stand, but I'm sure theres something I've missed. Does anyone have any advice for a new bandster?

Hi ms1. Dr. Speigel is not going to be doing my procedure but I can share my story with you. When I first decided to have the lapband it was almost 2 years ago to the day. I had heard Dr. Speigels ads on the radio and on tv so I decided to give him a try... I went to a seminar at his office and met with him and his staff. I was not impressed. He was very impersonal and his staff treated me like a number and not a person. I went ahead and decided that he had the experience and it didnt matter about how I was treated as long as he was good at what he did. So I started the process of getting approved through insurance. It was a constant struggle every day to get through to someone at that office. I left messages with everyone I could and never got a return call. I got so sick of dealing with his staff that I decided to change doctors. I did my research and found Dr. Stan Hahn in Port Arthur. He is very nice and friendly, a little shy, but a really nice guy. He sat and talked with me for about 2 hours and addressed everything that I could possibly need to know(opposed to the 2 minutes I had with Dr. Speigel). My surgery is scheduled for Monday, March 9th. and I couldnt be more excited. My first visit with Dr. Hahn was about 5 weeks ago and I have already been approved through insurance, had all my pre-op tests and am scheduled for surgery. My aunt and uncle have also had their surgeries done by Dr. Hahn, she works for a local lawyers office and he works for a major hospital, through their professions they have heard bad things about Dr. Speigel. I don't want to say the specifics, I just wanted to let you know my story. Hope you have better luck than I did.