kagead

I have BCBSIL, my BMI was 40 and I was using a Blue Cross Blue Shield Bariatric Center of Excellence, so they were very familiar with the paperwork requirements. It took 12 business days to receive approval and I called almost every day. I was very nice and so were the people in the predetermination department, but it still took over 2 weeks. kagead

Read these boards- this is very, very, very common. This is a slow process and there is just no way around that. I am 6 weeks post op, had my 1st fill on July 16th and have only lost 10lbs to date. All of that loss was the first few days after surgery. As expected, the 1st fill, although a big one, did not give me any restriction yet. Met with my nutritionist yesterday and she assured me all is as it should be. She said I can expect restriction around the 3rd or 4th fill and in the meantime, just keep making good food decisions, watch my portions and stick with the workouts. It will happen. This board is full of posts just like yours and pretty much everyone went on to great success once the fills started making a difference.

Dress for Success is an excellent program that helps women rejoin the workforce and gives them appropriate interview outfits. They have locations in many cities and they are always looking for work attire in all sizes. (I am not affiliated with them in any way, I just like the work they are doing.) Link below: Dress for Success kagead

I expected this to happen (and it sounds like you, did too) :grouphug: so I'm just using this time to get used to being banded, learning good habits and focusing on what needs to be done to be successful in the long term. I was banded one month ago (June 14th) and am sitting at a 10lb loss. My first fill is Friday and I'm not expecting too much from it. There are tons and tons and tons of threads on this. Many people have been where we are right now and have had incredible success. We will, too. I'm not going to judge (or sabotage) my future on the few weeks immediately post op and hope you don't either. Wishing you the best of luck! kagead

I needed two letters- one from my primary care physician (PCP) and one from my surgeon. The surgeon gave me a form that I gave to my PCP and that satisfied the requirement. My PCP was great about it, but my surgical practice does work closely two PCPs that specialize in obesity so if I ran into a problem, I would have switched to one of them. If you don't have a PCP already, I'd start with an in-network surgical practice and ask them to refer you to a PCP. Then make sure that Dr. is also in network. You can also call your insurance company and ask them to refer you to a PCP that specializes in or has a special interest in obesity. Good luck to you! kagead

Yep. Had my period during my surgery. Probably too much TMI ahead, so consider yourself warned: They let me put in a fresh tampon before I went in (actual surgery was only 45 minutes and that included a hiatal hernia repair!), but I was in recovery much longer than expected so said tampon had to come out at some point. They didn't have tampons in the PACU, so I was given some "boy short" panties and a huge pad to wear which was not fun, but not horrible in the grand scheme of things. kagead

I found the seminars were listed by the hospital, not individual surgeons. I just started looking at well known hospitals in my area. Since you still seem to be having trouble finding a surgeon on your plan, I am going to re-suggest you start with your insurance company. They will have a list of Drs. who are all on your plan. That part of the process is no different than it would be if you were searching for a PCP, an OB-GYN, etc. They have a provider listing for you. It might even be available online. Good luck to you- kagead

I am going to put out a word of caution here: Every insurance POLICY (yes, policy, NOT company) is different as is every surgical practice. We all do the best we can to help each other here (which is fantastic!) but everything needs to be taken with a grain of salt since there are sooooo many variables. My best advice to everyone starting out is to contact your insurance company first. Almost all of them will say the surgery must be "medically necessary" and will then give you the list of requirements they have. Minimum BMI, required supervised diet time (3 mos, 6 mos. etc.), allowable co-morbidities if minimum BMI is not met (sleep apnea, hypertension, etc.) psych evaluation and other medical tests. Then, ask them to give you a list of approved bariatric surgeons and facilities in your area so you can be sure you are going to someone in-network. Most insurance companies also have a providers list online so you can look up surgeons that way. (My surgeon is a gastro guy who specializes in bariatric surgery, so be sure to look up both specialties.) Then, call those surgeons and attend their seminars. Ask each surgeon what their individual process is in regards to testing, nutritionist visits and the like. From my experience, and what I have learned reading this forum for the past 8 months, the bigger and better practices will walk you through everything so you aren't trying to figure it out on your own. They will advise you of what you need to get from your PCP as well. My surgeon had a form that my PCP needed to sign. It said that she not only supported my decision to have WLS, it also said that she would continue to treat me after the surgery. That went into my file that was submitted for insurance approval. Good luck to everyone. Be patient as the process can take a long time. Remember to be your own best advocate, no matter how much you trust your Dr. Nobody will be looking out for your own best interest more than you will. If you are not getting the information and answers you need from one practice, look for another. If the insurance company is dragging their feet, be aggressive about calling back and getting the answers you need. kagead

I have thin hair to begin with, so based on everything I have read on this board (do a search for "hair loss") I have also started taking Biotin. I am 3 weeks post op and hoping to get a jump on the problem before it really kicks in.... Good luck to you, kagead

I'm almost at 3 weeks post op and have had no trouble at all with pills. FWIW, when I took Tylenol in the hospital the night after banding, they brought me pills, not liquid. As Betsy said, this may change so I'll be careful once I start getting fills. kagead

After I was told it was covered by my insurance company, I attended a seminar given by a bariatric surgeon at the hospital where I wanted to go (both the hospital and the Dr. were in-network.) At the seminar, they gave me a large packet to fill out and instructed me to return the packet to the surgeon and make an appointment with my PCP to get a letter of medical necessity (the surgeon provided the form they wanted my PCP to fill out.) I worked with both the surgeon and my PCP at at the same time, so you might want to contact whomever did your seminar and ask them to walk you through the best way to proceed. kagead

4 weeks post op. Was banded on June 14th and going for my 1st fill July 16th. Can't wait!! kagead

I was banded 3 weeks ago. My band is empty and I have no restriction whatsoever (hello bandster hell!) Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I get the lovely shoulder pain so many before me have mentioned when I eat too fast. It happens immediately and the only way to ease it is to stop eating for a few minutes until it passes and then slow waaayyyyyyy down after that. In a weird way, I'm glad it's there! kagead

As I'm sure you know, Chicagoland is HUGE LOL! Both my mom and I had our bands done at Northwestern Memorial hospital downtown. My mom had Dr. Eric Hungness and I had Dr. Alexander Nagle and we both were very happy. The surgeons and the nurse practitioner both do fills. My mom had her PS (tummy tuck and breast reduction) done by Dr. John Kim also at Northwestern and she thinks he is the cat's meow. He works extensively with bariatric surgical patients. Good luck and welcome to Chicago! kagead

Double check your discharge instructions, but the previous answers are correct. My instructions said if they did not come off on their own, I could remove them 14 days post-op. They were tenacious suckers and only one had come off on its own! I was thrilled when I peeled off the 4 remaining ones because they were itching me like crazy!:tt1: kagead

A spell checker won't help in most of these situations because the words themselves ARE spelled correctly. The problem is the WRONG word is being used!

According to my Dr. and my nutritionist, NONE. They told me the first month was for healing, not weighing. If you continue to read these boards, you will find that most people don't have significant, sustainable losses until after one, two, three or four fills. Hang in there and follow your Dr.'s instructions. It will happen (for both of us!) kagead

Wow!! 30g???!!!! I would have gone crazy. My pre op was 10 days of high protein/low carb and the guidelines were: 117-133gm Carb, 61-96 gm Protein and 870-1070 calories total. I don't eat beef or pork (and very little turkey or chicken) so I was downing fish like crazy. I didn't lose that much (they didn't tell me I had to lose anything LOL!) but I think that was also affected by the fact that I had to go off my birth control pill right in the middle of my cycle and I got my period 2 days before my surgery!!! Good luck to you! kagead

Baba ghanouj (ganush) is a great middle eastern eggplant dip and a huge favorite of mine. There are a million different variations of this, so here are a few: Baba Ghanoush Recipe - Allrecipes.com Baba Ghanoush - the Best in the World! - 67570 - Recipezaar baba : food Network Enjoy! kagead

I was banded two weeks ago and had an extremely easy time of it. An unexpected asthma reaction kept me in the hospital overnight but once that was under control, everything went very smoothly. The fluids they pumped into me meant I had to go to the bathroom every 45 minutes or so ALL NIGHT LONG, so every time I got up, I also did a couple laps around the hospital floor. I think this helped tremendously. I switched to Tylenol around 2 am and never even filled my prescription for my pain meds. I live alone so my sister came and spent the night with me my first night home but I was on my own after that. No problems at all. There is a whole thread here of surgery day stories. Just do a search. Good luck to you! kagead

I am 12 days post op and both my surgeon and my nutritionist said (repeatedly) that I should NOT be paying attention to losses or gains during my recovery period. In fact, they told me not to even get on the scale between my surgery and my first fill (4-6 weeks post op!!!) Of course, I haven't listened to that, but I don't expect the weight I have lost to stick around. I was on full liquids for one week, mushies for one week and have just started progressing to soft foods. I do expect to GAIN between now and my first fill. I also know that between my first fill and however many fills it takes me to get to my sweet spot, I, not the band, will be doing most of the hard work in terms of watching what and how much I eat. I know it can be discouraging, but the whole point is to eventually EAT properly, in small amounts and be satisfied. Now is the time for healing, not weighing. :smile2: Good luck to you! kagead

I was banded almost 2 weeks ago. I did not have any Fluid retention because I had to pee every 38 minutes!! :smile: My pain was very minimal, so I stopped taking pain meds in the hospital and switched to Tylenol every 4 hours (took it whether I felt I really needed it or not.) I walked and walked and walked. Every time I got up to pee, I did at least a lap, sometimes 2, around the floor. Seriously, I wish I would have had a pedometer because I walked almost nonstop from 2am until I was released at 9:30am. The gas I had was intestinal gas (could feel it rumbling and gurgling around in my stomach) so the Gas X did help. From what I hear, it does not help with the surgical gas, but YMMV. Per the suggestion of the NP and everyone here, I did not weigh myself at all the first week. I am about 10lbs down as of today, 12 days post op. Good luck to you! kagead

Not there yet, but as soon as I shrink out of it, it will be GONE. Nicer work clothes will go to Dress for Success, some things will be shared with the banded "sisterhood" and everything else will go to charity. Good bye and good riddance. I have lived like this my entire life and don't need any reminders of what I am leaving behind. kagead

Every Dr. is different, but my guideline for the blended/mushy stage is anything the consistency of applesauce. Good luck to you! kagead

I was banded last week (June 14th) and wasn't nervous either. I thought I'd get a bit antsy the weekend before, but it never hit. My recovery has been INCREDIBLY easy and I have not had one minute of "bander's remorse." :biggrin: Best of luck to you! kagead