LB927

:help: Hello! I am new to this forum and will be having surgery with Dr. Benavides on 9/28/06. I am a 38 and started the process in late July and was just approved by my insurance company - Aetna - last week. I was surprised how fast everything moved. I have started my 2 week pre-op diet and had some questions that have come up since I found your forum yesterday. My understanding is that the purpose of the pre-op diet is to reduce your liver size thru the reduction of cholesterol, saturated fat, carbs and sugar. I have been give a Protein powder to drink 2 x's per day and can have 2 healthy meals each day i.e lean meat and veggies. The lady at Dr. B's office said I could have shrimp or crab on my salad, however this does not make sense to me since these two items tend to be high in cholesterol. Any advice??? What is the difference between Mycoll and Reclaim RX? I am nervous about the mechanics/process/steps of the lap band process and not the surgery itself as I have had 7 surgeries in the past for "female issues". I know the surgeon will do their job, however my friend is the anesthesiologist, since they make sure you wake up and not vomiting - thank god for phenegren (sp)? Does anyone know anything about the anesthesiologist used by Dr. Benavides and the richardson surgery center? Did they call before hand or did you meet them the day of surgery? What determines the size of band you receive? Are there different types of bands and does anyone know what Dr. Benavides uses? Do you receive your first fill 2 weeks after surgery and being on your liquid diet? What is the normal timeframe? What determine the your fill amount? How soon can you start exercise/swimming after surgery? Is there pain associated with the lap band and port? Can you feel it under your skin (port)? I sleep on my stomach and was wondering if this has to stop permanently or just after surgery? Does the surgery center of richardson offer support groups? Who does the fills and do they hurt? :puke: Thank you in advance for any advice words of wisdom you may have and for reading my brain dump questions. I appreciate it. Ann

I had my surgery and everything went okay. Dr. B. was great. My only complaint is the staff at SCOR. I felt like I was part of an assembly line and they were pushing me to leave. I was in horrible pain and asked for some more meds and you would think I asked them to give the entire pharmacy. The nurse was not nice at all and kept saying it does not hurt get up and the pain will go away. She kept referring to her surgery and that she did not have any pain when she was banded. Does she not realize that people have diff pain thresholds? She would not speak to me and instead she and the anesthesiologist spoke only to my husband - how rude, even though I was coherent and speaking to them asking questions. I wish I had the nurse who was with the bed next door. That nurse was nice to that person and had good bedside manor. My experience was not good and in hindsight I wish I would have had my surgery at a different facility. Did anyone have the same experience at SCOR? I am now on the two week post-op liquid and doing okay. I have not had any major gas pain and the incision pain has diminished somewhat. I hurt a little when I inhale all the way and if I cough. I am ready to begin the mushy food stage and hope that when I go in for my post-op visit everything will be good. Take care,

Thanks for all the replies and wonderful words of wisdom. I am counting dow till my surgery and cat't wait. My husband made me a great drink tonight. He mixed 6oz of OJ, 2 scoops of Reclaim RX Vanilla and some ice and it tasted very good. He also mixes 6oz of skim milk some frozen strawberries and 2 scoops Reclaim Vanilla and it comes out like a mix between a smoothy and mouse. It is very light a frothy. We purcahsed that bullet mixer that is shown on tv and it is perfect for this. Thanks once again. Ann

I did not have any problems with Aetna, which surprised me since I had problems with them when I was doing my IVF treatments/drugs, which they covered, but were being difficult. Like we cover the drugs but only of your Dr. injects them, yeah right, my Dr. is going to open at 8 pm (optimum time) to give me a shot! Finally, they came around and all went well. I began my LB approval process with Aetna in mid-July and was approved after testing, psych, cardiac etc... on 9/6/06. We have a PPO policy which does not exclude WLS. My out of pocket is $500 and then ins kicks in at 100%. Also, since my fills will be done at the surgery center they are treating these as a procedure and will pay for them. I am scheduled for surgery on 9/28 with Dr. B. When speaking with Aetna I asked how long the approval process would take and the rep said I would not have any problems getting approved. My husbands company is a large pharma and they have specific Aetna reps that work with the employees (maybe this helped). She did mention that not all policies are written the same and it just depends on what your company selects to cover. Good luck with your getting your approval. Just be persistent and it will work out.

I did not have any problems with Aetna, which surprised me since I had problems with them when I was doing my IVF treatments/drugs, which they covered, but were being difficult. Like we cover the drugs but only of your Dr. injects them, yeah right, my Dr. is going to open at 8 pm (optimum time) to give me a shot! Finally, they came around and all went well. I began my LB approval process with Aetna in mid-July and was approved after testing, psych, cardiac etc... on 9/6/06. We have a PPO policy which does not exclude WLS. My out of pocket is $500 and then ins kicks in at 100%. Also, since my fills will be done at the surgery center they are treating these as a procedure and will pay for them. I am scheduled for surgery on 9/28 with Dr. B. When speaking with Aetna I asked how long the approval process would take and the rep said I would not have any problems getting approved. My husbands company is a large pharma and they have specific Aetna reps that work with the employees (maybe this helped). She did mention that not all policies are written the same and it just depends on what your company selects to cover. Good luck with your getting your approval. Just be persistent and it will work out.