Cherishthepast

Came home yesterday, feeling sore and tired. Everything went well, my incision comes around toward my back - beyond hip to hip as I initially thought. PS moved my port and did lipo on the entire tummy area. My lapband doc came by to visit me at the hospital which was really nice. I'll touch base later as I'm a little loopy to say the least.

Not sure, he told me I could take it off to sleep and to wear it during the day while I was up. It has helped me sleep better without it during the night.

I was cleared to drive Tuesday (13 days post op) and went shopping for 3 hours, actually felt great and very liberating. My only problem these days is pain in my back - sort of left shoulder blade. I no longer have to wear the compression garment to bed - YIPPEE! I also no longer have to wrap myself like a zombie in gauze. I was instructed to use a good lotion on the area of the incision. I could actually return to work but since I'm not scheduled to return for another week, I'll just chill and enjoy the time off. I plan to post pics later today - before and after.

Over a month ago I received a letter from the insurance stating that I was approved. However, I received a call from the PS office 2 days ago that they only received approval of the panniculectomy CPT code 15830. After 2 sleepless nights and nothing resolved, I called my insurance company again today and spoke w/ a knowledgable rep who informed me that both the abdominoplasty CPT code 15830 and panniculectomy CPT Code 15847 have been approved. Yes, I obtained the authorization/confirmatin numbers. That was one heck of a scare, with less than 2 weeks before the scheduled procedure. I'm back to being a happy camper again.

Other than the fact that the PS said I have wonderful insurance (whatever that means...) I made it a point to note rashes on the questionnaire the LB doc has us fill out at every appointment. I also mentioned the same to my internist during regular appts. I did this from the first month of having the band until my most recent fill a couple months ago. I also talked with the folks at BCBS MA member services, they actually directed me to the policy that spelled out the coverage. I sent a copy of the policy to the PS and noted for him the pages (19 & 26 in my case) that referred to the coverage, asking that he submitted this information with the claim for pre approval.

It went very well. My incision wasn't hip to hip but about 5 inches or so around my back on both sides. I had muscle repair and some lipo along top of my stomach, especially under the breast were it was lumpy and rather weird looking due to the fat pockets. They removed 4 lbs of skin and fat and also moved my port. My drains were removed today, that was great as I no longer feel like or look like I have tubes running in every place. I've actually started chronicalling it on my thread "had tummy tuck Wednesday". Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions. My lapband and PS have asked me to come to a lapband seminar and talk about my experience and how I was able to get it covered by insurance - they are also amazed that insurance covered everything.

Decided to use this Thread to chronicle my experience. Had post op appt today - 6 days since surgery, The drains were removed today along with the onQ pump (I highly recommend) the onQ pump numbs the area requiring less pain meds (narcotics). for the past few days I've only taken 2 pills a day, 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening. The doc told me I could walk around more and use the steps more now, so I went to TJ Maxx for 20 minutes this afternoon and walked around, then went to starbucks - it felt good to be out and about but at the same time I didn't want to do too much and came home and am resting. Resting, healing and happy to be in the flatlands...

Thanks Sue, I'm starting to feel better, taking a lot less pain med and sleeping through the night now. My DH realizes that I'm starting to feel better as I'm getting cranky. I go in tomorrow for my post op appointment, crossing my fingers that I get the drains out and can't wait to get the onQ pump out as well - I feel and look like I'm tethered with all these darn tubes hanging from me. Right now the thoughts of getting the girls done is completely out of the question. I'll rely on Victoria Secret to keep my secret (that the girls are flat and deflated ; } I'll post pictures once I'm able to sit at my computer comfortably, currently I'm using my son's and it's like pulling teeth to get my hands on it, needless to say, the thought of uploading pics to his computer would cause a war. Anyway, I'm doing fine and the head cold I had prior to surgery didn't stop anything. I actually no longer had the cold, suffiness, head pounding... right after surgery - not sure what happened but the awful headcold was gone. Again, doing fine and will touch base later.

Any ideas how get rid of this cold? I'm drinking lots and lots of fluids and have been taking sudafed to eliminate the congestion. I'm thinking that I should be fine and they won't postpone my procedure since it's not a chest cold. Any thoughts, suggestions, remedies...?

Hello! I'm a week away from my TT w/ lipo and MR... Do you have any suggestions to promte successful healing? I will follow Dr's orders to the letter and have already given up smoking (I'm now 15 days smoke free) to eliminate smoking related complications, such as: • Poor and/or delayed wound healing • Increased risk of infection • Longer bruising period • Skin loss • Hypertrophic or keloid scarring • Increased risk of pulmonary problems • Flap necrosis (as with "flap" procedures) or tissue breakdown Do you have any insider tips? Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

Thanks Sue, I'll add additional Vitamin C and will definately work on getting more rest. Right now, I'm excited and nervous at the same time. Can't believe this is actually about to happen. Thanks Bandit, I also read something about dial soap, I had completely forgotten - thanks for the reminder, I'll make certain I use it from this point until the day of surgery.

I have BCBS MA, I'd suggest contacting member services and asking them for a copy of the medical policy document - for me it was Policy #068. This is a 33 page document which outlines plastic surgery coverage. I would never have known that they covered an abdominoplasty if I hadn't read this document. Also, if you speak with someone (insurance rep...) DON"T mention tummy tuck, refer to it as abdominoplasty.

I get them when I eat to fast. I've also learned that I can't talk while eating, seems I take in too much air and have both hiccups and burbing episodes.

I'd suggest that you mention skin irritation at every appt. My lapband doc has his patients fill out a form w/ each visit and one of the questions is do you suffer w/ rashes... I also mentioned rashes to my primary doc who suggested an over the counter med. It appears that the PS didn't get any info from either doc. Once I made my decision and informed the PS that I was going with him, his assistant contacted my insurance and I received the letter of approval in less than a week. Not sure the reasoning behind the approval but thankful that it went so smoothly. Lellow - yes, I plan to talke before/after pics and will provide details along the way. I REALLYL appreciate and have learned a great deal from reading your posts re: plastic surgery. 20 days and counting....

Though the procedure was listed as covered, I still had some doubts and thought I'd need to jump through hoops... PS submitted the paperwork Monday and I received the letter yesterday. I could barely sleep last time due to the excitement. I've never had a flat tummy and can't believe that for the first time in my life it's going to happen. I'd scheduled leave for the Christmas holidays earlier in the year and believe that I'll add another week to my leave and do it then. I'll keep you posted.

This is the first cold I've had since being banded and I feel like crap to say the least. However, the thing that bothers me most is the fact that my band feels tight. No, I haven't had a fill recently. Is it common to feel this way with a cold?

For the first year I avoided going out to lunch with people at the office. Many were aware that I was losing weight and assumed that I was not eating out as I was bringing lunch in to suit my dietary needs... Anyway, I'm almost there and it seems more and more I'm at lunch both business and social and feel a bit odd being the one who never finishes the meal, plus the fact that I eat R-E-A-L-L-Y slow. Initially, I limited foods to Soups, crabcakes... from the appetizer menu. However, I get the looks.. followed by, that's all you're eating? I've given every excuse in the book from I ate a late Breakfast or I'm just getting over a bug and want to eat light. No, these people are NOT my friends and it's none of their business that I have a LAP-BAND®®. Eating out w/friends is fine as they are all aware and know why I'm pacing myself. The last thing I want is to get stuck while at a restaurant and yes, it's happened twice in the last year - not a pleasant experience - once with a co-worker and once w/my family. Any advise is greatly appreciated.

I experience the same, especially on days that I have boxing (Tuesday & Thursday mornings). The nutritionist and instructor says that the body needs fuel after a vigorous workout, which I tend to agree. I just eat extra Protein on those days - usually I increase my protein to 80-100 grams from the usual 60 or so and that does the trick. Lately, I haven't experience any weight loss; however, I've lost inches (as mentioned in a previous post I've gone from a size 14 pant to a size 10 since June w/o losing a pound) building lots of muscle and losing fat. My dear husband calls me thunder thighs now since they're no longer shaking like Jello We're burning fat and building muscle and need the increased protein to fuel our bodies.