HappyMom

I found out the hard way that my doctor bills about $2400 for a fill under floro. I had my first two fills performed before I heard from my insurance company stating that the fills are not a covered benefit and I would have to pay for them. Since then I am self-pay for the fills at $350 a pop. I couldn't believe that they would allow me to self-pay $350 but will charge an insurance company $2400 for the same procedure. No wonder our health insurance is really expensive here in the states!

That is great that you are doing so well. The first few days are the most uncomfortable. By the time you reach two weeks out you will barely know that you had surgery. Except of course for the actual eating process! I really hope that you start to feel less nauseated when you can actually eat something. Take care and congrats!!!

Congrats Rchavez101 and judymurray9 on having your surgery! How did it go yesterday? Are you both doing well?

My two c-sections were much harder than the LapBand surgery. The pain from the c-section incision was SO much more painful than any of the 5 little incisions from the LapBand surgery. I really didn't have any pain associated with the the incisions. The only pain in my stomach area was an uncomfortable feeling from where the port was placed. What really got me though was the gas pain associated with the LapBand. I really wasn't ready for that. They don't inflate your abdomen to perform a c-section (at least not me). The trapped gas caused me all my pain after surgery. Don't worry....it does go away within a couple of days. Good luck and don't worry. The surgery isn't that bad!

Me too! Me too!

I received pretty much the same letter from BCBS too. I laughed at it and told my husband wouldn't that be a kick to have the surgery and then they deemed the surgery not medically necessary. I took the letter to my surgeon's office was adamant that I was approved. I had the surgery and BCBS did indeed cover the surgery. I would listen to the surgeons office. They REALLY want to make sure that the bill is paid. Call BCBS to make sure, but I am sure that all will be well. Congrats and good luck to you!

I would call your employer health benefits department. BCBS as a company covers weight loss surgery ONLY if it is a benefit allowed by your employer. Some employers put limitations on certain coverages to allow for lower premiums. I personally have BCBS and they covered my surgery....but my employer allows such coverage. A friend of mine with BCBS, that works for another company, couldn't get hers covered because her employer has a weight loss surgery exclusion in their policy that they provide their employees. If you are looking to get it done out-of-pocket I would check out Dr. Adam Smith in the Dallas/FW area. He actually performed my surgery here in New Mexico (comes over once a month to do surgeries in ABQ). He mentioned that the surgery in Texas is about $9,900.....here he performs the surgery for $15,000. There are self-pay patients here in NM that are going to Texas to have him perform the surgery because of the difference in price. I would highly recommend Dr. Smith.....he is a great surgeon who has actually had the LapBand placed on himself a few years ago. I really wish you a lot of luck with your dealings with your health care. I am NOT a fan of health insurance companies and the hoops that they make you go through to get pre-approved for any surgery. Again, call your HR department and see what they include and exclude from their plan with BCBS. Good luck and best wishes!

My doctor requires a two week Protein shake diet. I was allowed three Bariatric Advantage Protein shakes a day....and all the Water and no-cal iced tea I could drink! You will find that the pre-op diet greatly varies from one surgeon to another. My recommendation is to follow YOUR surgeons rules and advice. He/she has a specific reason for those rules and ultimately he/she will be the one that cuts you open! I wish you good luck!

It was really hard to still cook for my family and be on the pre-op diet. I have two boys (1 & 4) and a husband that still needed to eat 3x a day. One trick that I used was to down a great big bottle of Water prior to making meals. I also made some iced tea to sip while cooking. The great volume of water helped me to not nibble while I was cooking. I did catch myself many times starting to put something into my mouth! Good luck to you!

I chose not to tell anyone about my surgery except my husband, of course. I read so many stories on this website about people who really regret talking about their surgery. They had to deal with never ending opinions and criticism from their family and friends. Maybe I just don't give my friends and family that much credit....at the time of my surgery I didn't want to spend my energy explaining and defending my decision. On the other hand, telling people will provide you a greater support system. Sometimes I think that it would be wonderful just to chat with my mom or friends about what I am going through. Even if I could talk to them about this process, they really wouldn't understand since they have never been through it themselves. I have started attending support group meetings at our hospital for Lapband patients and I have all of you guys. No one has even suspected that I had WLS. I still eat what I used to before, but just smaller amounts. My friends see me out walking every day so they really aren't surprised at me losing weight. I may chose to tell everyone at some point. Maybe when I have reached goal. I am still not sure. Please remember.....once you tell even just one person (friend or family), PLEASE expect that they will talk to someone else about it, and so on. You can't UNtell! Good luck to you!

I have been banded for almost 6 months and have had 5 fills. I think that I have 7cc in my band. I still do not have the restriction that others rave about. I can pretty much eat any food that I want, and in the quantities that would make my surgeon scream. I knew ahead of time that it would be a process to get to restriction....but I am certainly ready to have some help with this! Everyone is definitely different and maybe you will be one of the lucky ones that reaches restriction with only a couple of fills. Good luck to you!

My doctor told me that there is absolutely nothing that we can't have post-band if it is chewed really well. He said to listen to your body. Your stomach will tell you if you personally can pass a certain food or not. Some people will find after banding that they just can't tolerate bread and steak but that hasn't been the case for me. I can eat steak in small bites with bbq sauce and pizza just fine. I take small bites and chew really well. The only big no no according to my surgeon is carbonation.

I haven't told anyone (except husband) about my surgery. I just decided that I needed to do this for myself and didn't really want all of my family and friends opinions at the time. I am considering telling them sometime next year or so. Even though I haven't told anyone about the surgery I still have some friends that aren't really there anymore since I have started to lose weight. I have tried to include them into my new activities....walking, hiking, etc. since the surgery but to no avail. The ones that I don't see or speak with much anymore also need to lose a bit of weight. I am not sure if they are mad because they see me losing weight and they miss my old ways. We used to get together at each others house and have dinner, or go out to dinner, or just eat in general. Maybe it is me? Have I changed so much that they don't really want to hang out anymore? Maybe my 'new' outlook on life just doesn't jive with them anymore. I really wish that I could connect with them again. I can still eat out with them, or go over to each others house.....I just don't eat as much as I used to!

I have filled my time with long walks and reading. My worst time is at night after the kiddos go to bed. I have begun clipping on the ipod and taking long walks. Usually after exercise my desire for food is gone. I have also bought a Kindle and am reading so much more than I used to. It is a hard thing to do.....find a replacement for food. I still find myself mentally planning and looking forward to my next meal. I have also caught myself going to the cupboard and fridge to graze like I used to. I don't think that for any of us this urge to eat will go away anytime soon. It was such a large part of our lives for so long that the emotional need isn't just going to disappear because we are now banded. I really wish us all luck!