CarmenPonce

I am a Health Insurance Broker and a fellow banster. If you have insurance questions I will try to help. Just know with so many carriers:eek: and many more plans:eek::wub: ( i.e. Individual, Small Group, Large Group, Riders, and Exclusions) I will not know what the specifics of your plan are, but I can help you to navigate the nightmarish rollercoaster that is insurance.

I had the same thing happen to me and My doctor ran tests and reported back that my potassium level was very low an he told me a low level of potassium will make you dizzy. He also told me people usually get dizzy spells when they are on a very low calorie diet due to W/L surgery. So try a banana in the morning. Talk to your doctor about it to see if it's not a serious medical condition. But otherwise, this is a pretty normal ordeal.

I have been banded for 6 months now and feel I’m doing just fine as far a weight loss (52lbs), but now the weirdest thing is happening. I have been experiencing the worst dizzy spells :laugh: lately. If I get up to fast or if I bend down I get really dizzy. I almost blacked out :cursing: the other day. I have heard that this can be a common occurrence for people who have under going weight loss surgery, but have any of you experienced this and how did you combat it?

FYI... My scale is Bi-Polar

3.6 in a 10cc band at the time of surgery. I did not have great restriction, but it really helped me not to have such a bad time in banster hell.

queenlil09, I have pasted a link for you to get some quotes for your individual health insurance. Individual health insurance is on a month to month basis, so you can stop at any time. As far as being denied due to your previous lapband surgery, I don’t think that they will deny you coverage for this but they may increase you premium and/or exclude preexisting conditions i.e. lapband http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/ehi/Alliance?allid=Yah26044&sid=tlp Generally, the rates shown in the quotes are "standard" rates for enrollees without any medical history that fall within the underwriting guidelines. Insurance rates are also based on age and residence zip code and medical history. The rates quoted are "standard" published rates for enrollees with no medical history. Enrollment will be based on the medical information included on the enrollment application. Enrollees without any medical history will be approved with the "Standard" published rates in this quote. If any medical risk exists, determined by the underwriting department and based on medical records, they can increase the monthly rate 10% to 75% per month.

Here are a few of the Aetna PPO plans, do you have one of these? MC $10,000 100 / 50 MC $1000 70 / 50 MC $1000 80 / 50 / 50 MC $2000 80 / 50 / 50 MC $250 80 / 60 MC $250 90 / 70 MC $2500 75 / 50 MC $500 80 / 60 MC $750 80 / 50 / 50 MC Basic Open Choice Out of State/Situs High PPO Plan $250 Open Choice Out of State/Situs Low PPO Plan $1000 Open Choice Out of State/Situs Medium PPO Plan $500 PPO $500 90 / 70 PPO $750 80 / 60

I would contact Member Services for your Health carrier. The phone number is usually located on the back of your card. You need to remember that the LapBand is still a fairly new procedure here in the US (only 9 years, I think). When the wording for your policy was drafted it is likely that LapBand wasn’t even and option at that time. So in this instance it may be covered. I am here to help you if you need.

I had the same experience after my first fill. It will go away after a few days. Till then take it easy with eating, dont push your self. Take smaller bites than you have and eat slower than before, remember each fill brings with it a new level of restriction.

Bad breath in the low/no-carb sect is often caused by certain chemicals that are released in the breath as the body burns fat. They are called ketones, and entering into a fat-burning state of ketosis is the hallmark of a low-carb diet. So the good news is that if your breath stinks, you're probably doing a good job of sticking to that low-carb diet.

I live in Garden Grove. I went to Oband Surgery Center and was not charged any program fees, but i have heard of doc's doing this.

Hope this helps :eek:

I am a health insurance agent and at this point (as far as I know) no insurance carrier is covering cosmetic surgeries post weight loss. Now panniculectomy (or a panni) is the removal of excess skin which may be medically necessary in some cases, such as in the case of the excess skin causing infections or ulcers. So, in this case the panniculectomy would be covered if you doctor recommends and insurance approves. An abdominoplasty (or a tummy tuck) is not only the removal of excess skin but also tighten of the abdominal muscles and lipo sculpture. This procedure is considered purely cosmetic and not covered by insurance. I hope this answers some of you questions.

You need to ask you current health insurance carrier or broker ( your HR rep may not know about this form) for a Continuity of Care form. You will then have to get the form filled out by your weight loss doctor. This form allows you (regardless of WL exclusions) to continue to receive care any condition or procedure which you were approved for by your prior health insurance carrier. I know this to be a fact, as I help my clients with this quite often. I am a health insurance broker.

Salads are ok if you can tolerate them, but they do go against band rules which say you should have protein first. A salad will digest faster than dense protein, so you will get hungry faster.

Thanks to you all for a great time :thumbup:

My daughter told me "Mom i can put my arms all the way around you now when i hug you". It made me tear up a little.

Would you like us to bring something? Food or what not? And then that begs the question what type's of food should we bring to a lapband support meeting? A 12 pack of protien shakes? ROFL, LOL. But really, would you like me to bring something?

My 10cc band had 3.0cc inserted into it at the time of surgery.

Well like most of you post op I am losing weight. Not to fast but still losing. I have lost a total of 34lbs so far and still losing. It's weird thought I can't see it myself yet, and even though I’m losing I haven’t purchased new clothing. My clothes are (so I thought) just baggy and I didn’t want to spend the money to purchase a whole new wardrobe just yet. You see I started out a size 26-28 and now am probably a size 20-22 (not sure but maybe less). Now to get to the funny part… Yesterday, I had a sales rep come by the office to see me. This sales rep knows about my WLS but hasn’t seen me since before my surgery. So, I go out to greet him in the lobby (now mind you the receptionist is there as well as another co-worker) and guess what happened (LOL,:w00t: ROFL) as I’m reaching out to shake hands MY PANTS FELL OFF:w00t::blushing::w00t:. I mean all the way to my ankles:blushing:. It happened soooooo, fast I didn’t know what happened at first. Well the sales rep says “Well I can see you’ve really lost some weight”. Man, we all started laughing. I don’t think I’ll live this down any time soon. I hope this brightens your day. Oh ya BTW I will be going shopping for draw string pants this weekend. Now tell me your funny weight loss story!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a funny one... Yesterday, I had a sales rep come by the office to see me. This sales rep knows about my WLS but hasn’t seen me since before my surgery. So, I go out to greet him in the lobby (now mind you the receptionist is there as well as another co-worker) and guess what happened (LOL,:w00t: ROFL) as I’m reaching out to shake hands MY PANTS FELL OFF:w00t::blushing::w00t:. I mean all the way to my ankles:blushing:. It happened soooooo, fast I didn’t know what happened at first. Well the sales rep says “Well I can see you’ve really lost some weight”. Man, we all started laughing. I don’t think I’ll live this down any time soon. I dont know how much of a victory it is but my clothes are "falling off" and its damn funny.

34 :confused: 317 Total!

I found out when i went in for my first fill (2 months ago)they had lefted the fluid in the band which they primed it with 3cc's (in a 10cc band) OMG.

5.5 in a 10cc band. i have great restriction (for me).

I agree with all the above posts about being tired. This was a very BIG issue for me. Now regarding the BM'S you should try introducing BeneFiber into your liquids. BeneFiber is non-tasting, water soluble powder. You can add it to anything. For me this was a life saver. I didn’t have a BM for 14 day post op and by that time I was so backed up it was painful. You have changed your protein to fiber intake and have lowered the amount of carbs. This is a dramatic change to your caloric intake, and in its self will back up the normal person. Then take into account the fact you are eating (drinking, lol) a lot less. The BeneFiber helped to set me straight and I haven’t had a problem since I started taking it. It does take about a day or so to regulate.