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!

I was wheeled into surgery at 10 am and was walking out of the hospital 2.5 hours later at 12:30pm. I had considerable gas pains, but no real pain from the incisions. My husband had to work the next day so I was at home along with my two boys 1 & 4. I sat a lot that day and didn't do too much lifting of the baby, but other than that I was just sore (again gas pains). I think that I would have liked to stay in the hospital overnight.....just to get away from the kids! I was just fine going home. You may want someone at your place after the surgery just to be there. You may not need all that much help, but it would be nice to have someone around so you are not alone....just in case. I have 5 incisions and there was no issue with them.....dermabond was applied during and eventually fell off.....so seepage. Good luck to you!

Congrats! Keep it up!

Hi there Kissalvoe - I am so very sorry that this happened to you! I was actually at the support group meeting at Lovelace on Monday night when Paula got word from the hospital administration that the surgeries were going to have to be postponed. She said that it was a nation wide shortage of a specific anesthesia drug that is required for some surgeries. The hospital was running low so they are asking all departments to postpone elective surgeries so their minimal supply could be saved for emergency surgeries. All of us in the support group meeting just groaned when we heard this.......We all can sympathize with how disappointing it would be to be told days before your surgery that it would have to be postponed! Especially if you are already 1.5 weeks into the pre-op diet! Whoo....I know, that diet is absolutely no picnic! Please don't be too discouraged.....being banded is one of the best things that I have done for myself. You take care and I hope that you can get your work training situated and the banding goes as planned on October 5th. Good luck to you and best wishes!

My doctor told me that I could drive once I was off of the prescribed pain medication and was able to comfortably operate the car without any pain. I took the prescribed pain meds for 2 days and drove at 3 days after surgery.....no problems. Good luck to you!

You can get it at any beauty salon. I bought the small bottles there just to try them.....very expensive. I have since started ordering the liters online from Amazon...MUCH CHEAPER! On their website there is a guide to tell you which Nioxin system you should need based upon your hair strand thickness, color treatment, and amount of thinning. Again, good luck to us all that are dealing with hair loss!

I have been using Nioxin shampoo and conditioner for the last 6 weeks. I have noticed that the falling out has really slowed down. I am not sure if it is due to the shampoo, or the natural end to my hair thinning. Either way I am pleased! Good luck to you!

I know exactly what you mean.....I just finished 10 days of antibiotics for a strep throat infection. I also cut up the pills into 4 pieces, but swallowed them using warmed Water. I micro'd the water until it was warm but I could still drink it down without sipping it. I did notice when the pills got stuck they must have dissolved where they lodged and the terrible taste of the medicine stayed with me for hours. Good luck to you and I hope you feel better soon!

I love the thinkThin Protein bars....especially the creamy Peanut Butter. I get mine at Trader Joe's for about $1.69/bar. They have 20g of protein, 0g sugar and 230 calories. This is just my opinion: I would recommend on purchasing bars that have around 1g of protein per 10 calories....and really watch the carb content! Some of the 'protein' bars on the market have very little protein in them! I know that the SpecialK Protein Meal Bars have only 10g of protein and 15g of sugars. Try to get the biggest bang of protein for your caloric intake. I really think that it is a personal choice which protein bars you like. I have tried A TON of them and the thinkThin is what I found I could eat day after day. My recommendation is to buy 10-15 different kinds and just try them! Good luck!

I have noticeable loss in my butt, legs, arms and face. My stomach is just now starting to shrink a bit. Sadly, I can still wear the pants that I wore pre-surgery. My legs and butt are swimming in them, but my gut still fits. Kind of a bummer!

I think that my situation is sort of like Whillow's.... I had my 4th fill on Wednesday of 0.25cc bringing me to 6.75cc in my band. Now 4 days later I feel less restricted than I did before my fill. I am not sure if they pull out the liquid to measure and then fill. It almost feels like they took out 0.25cc...not added 0.25cc. Since I am self-pay for my fills ($350 a pop) I am not sure if I am going to try to get in next week for them to check. I will probably have to wait until next month to see what is going on.

I also have a low profile port. By the time my surgery rolled around I was down to a BMI of 33 and my surgeon opted to put in the low profile port. I didn't actually know which port I had until the PA giving me my second fill commented on the port....you can see it on flouro. You can't see my port, but I can feel it if I press on my belly. Good luck with your surgery!