JudyDF

Wow what insurance company do you have? That is really cheap. I have Qualcare plus I work for a hospital system and my bills came to over $20,000. Ofcourse I didn't have to pay that amount but I never heard of anyone paying the amount you did unless they went to Mexico.

Dr. Seth Kipnis now works out of Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune NJ which is part of the Meridian Health System which I work for. Ofcourse I just found out a few days ago about Dr. Kipnis and had already had my surgery done by Dr. Michael Nussbaum up in Livingston. I don't regret it though because Dr. Nussbaum is wonderful and I have had no problems to date. knock wood

Sorry didn't realize I was in the Aussie Forum, only trying to help.

Well my insurance pays for the fills so you would need insurance for that. The fills are quite expensive especially if you do them under fluroscopy which is the only way I would do it.

Calcium carbonate will also be absorbed by the body, best taken when there is some food in the stomach.

Cosco has these great chocolate calcium squares, taste just like chocolate fudge and you get to eat 3 a day! Its like gettting a little treat! lol

I am a nurse and have seen quite a few patients that have had many serious problems from the gastric bypass. Also the lap band is reversible. But really your surgeon is the one who should be telling you what the best procedure would be for you. I had the lap band done on March 30th and I only wish I had done it sooner! So far no probems and I have lost about 35 lbs. Good luck to you in whatever you decide to do!

My daughter just came back from Mexico this Wednesday with Dr. Ortiz and she had no problems at all. The total cost was about $6800 not including airfare. Compared to my surgery in NJ which cost over $20,000 when all was said and done. My insurance paid her insurance denied her employer has a no weight surgery clause so that is why she went to Mexico. We both did quite a bit of research and came up with that Dr. Ortiz was the best. We also contacted the fill center by her home and they told her nothing but good things about him. Good luck to you.

My sympathies are with you. I am insurance auth nurse at my job.(getting auths for our patients) and believe me the insurance companies will do all they can do give a denial. Even after we get the auth after they review the clinical they can change their minds and say we are not paying. In the last year I have seen so many more denials it is scary. Our insurance even denies auths for our own employees and I never saw that before. My daughter went through 6 months of testing and counseling only to be denied because her company had a no weight loss surgery clause and she did not know. And when she started the pre auth process with Horizon they told her sure you can have the surgery just do all these tests and then wham they denied her. She just came back yesterday from Mexico where it cost about $6800 for everything. I was not happy with her going there but the insurance company gave us no choice. Good luck it can be a long process.

:tongue:Well my daughter came back from Mexico last night after surgery with Dr. Ortiz, thank God she is home safe. Even though I am the one who told her about him I still had my reservations. But after her insurance denied her for a no weight loss surgery clause that her employer had put in, she really didn't have a choice. She said all went well they picked her up in San Diego drove her to the hotel. Next day took her to Dr. Oritz had surgery stayed overnight, back to hotel for one day and they drove her back to airport. I only hope all goes well with no post-op complications since he is so far away. My surgeon Dr. Michael Nusbaum (Livingston NJ) will do fills for her and he is fantastic. She probably saved over $11,000 by going to Mexico. Well I mean I saved over $11,000. Now her fun begins!

I know I was surprised 3 weeks of liquid. I had the same surgery March 30 but in New Jersey one week of clear liquids, then pureed foods one week then mushies. I know I will not want to be around her after the first week. I know I wanted to rip my husbands head off when he asked me what was wrong! lol

Well my daughter had her surgery yesterday with Dr Ortiz in Mexico and everything went wonderfully! I am so relieved. Even though we both did a lot of research I had my misgivings about her going to Mexico.. but after her insurance denied her (no weight loss surgery clause in her policy) she really did not have a choice. Can't wait until she is home safe and sound!

I was banded on March 30th. Started out with decaf no problems then went to regular coffee and I have never had a problem.. I usually only have one cup a day but even if I have 2 I have not had any problems at all. The way my nutritionist explained it to me was that if I really was a coffee addict and had 4 or more cups a day that would probably present difficulties. Like the say everything in moderation.

I had the same problem. When my surgeon puts in the band he does not fill it at all. So when I went for my first fill 4 weeks later I was able to eat almost anything. After the first fill by the 3rd week I was able to eat almost anything again (he had put 3cc in) At the second fill he told me that because of the lost of fat around the stomach the band was wide open again(thats why I could eat anything) He now put in 5cc so he said I should feel restrictions now. I had my surgery on March 30th and have lost 34 lbs so far. I keep hearing people say its takes 3 or 4 fills before you really feel a restriction. Hang in there.

My daughter is having her surgery this Monday and she is self Pay ( wait let me clarify that I am her self pay) She is having the surgery done in Mexico as it is more than 1/2 of what it would have cost her to go to my surgeon. She does have insurance but after 6 months of counseling, testing etc. she found out her employer (cheap ___) had put in a no weight lose surgery clause in her policy. She was so disappointed and upset that I started doing some research and found an excellent surgeon in Mexico. I can't wait until it is over, I will be a nervous wreck until she is home. I would love to give her employer the facts about preventative medicine but I know I would be wasting my time. I told her she has to elope now if she gets married, I was saving the money for her wedding! lol

62 here, sad to admit. I wish they had this surgery when I was much younger. I convinced my 29 year old daughter to have the surgery ( her date is June 6th) hopefully it will save her the years of depression and unhappiness that I went through due to my being over weight.

Lost my sweet tooth totally amazing. I always had to have something sweet after dinner. I didn't know having the lap band surgery could make you loose your sweet tooth. I'm really kind of sad since it "ice cream" season. lol

I went for my second fill last Friday. The doctor said that the band was completely open no fluid was in it. He put 5cc's in this time and said I would definitely fell a restriction. Why I didn't ask him where the fluid went I don't know. Guess I was nervous when I realized he was having a problem. He will be the first one I call tomorrow. After readling several posting where people say their band had a leak I am really upset.

I am addicted to chocolate protein shakes and I add chololate yogurt. Delicious plus healthy.

The first week was hell for me once I got off the clear liquids it was much better. I too did not realize the cravings do not go away. You do have to watch what you eat or you will gain weight. But it will get better, trust me. I was banded on March 30 and have lost 23 lbs so far. One thing I noticed that amazed me was that I had the biggest sweet tooth and now I do not have any cravings for sweets. That I thought was really weird. But hang in there it will get better once people start saying "wow you look great, I can tell already you have lost weight" it will give you the strength to go on!

My surgeon told me the same thing no Advil ever again.

My MD gives 2 to 3 weeks off. I am a nurse but work in the office I took 2 weeks off. You definitely need one whole week. I work in a homcare agency the few nurses here who work in the field took the whole 3 weeks off. I never call out sick so I took advantage of the time off since I had over 600 hours in sick time that I won't get back when I leave here.

Just pray that your new insurance does not have a no weight loss surgery clause. That is what happened to my daughter who went through 6 months of testing and counseling only to find out she was denied due to the clause her company put on her policy. I would check with both companies asap I don't believe your old insurance has to "honor" their approval I work with insurance companies all day at work and believe me they will do anything they can not to pay a claim. Authorization is not a guarantee of payment they tell me everyday. Good Luck.

Thanks for your post my daughter was thinking of going to Mexico after having a no WLS clause in her insurance policy at her job. I told her I thought she would have a hard time finding a MD to do the fills, and without the fills there is no sense in having the surgery. I wonder where the people who do go to Mexico get there fills? We live in NJ so going back and forth to Mexico would be out of the question.

My daughter went through all the testing for 6 months and then was denied because of the no WLS clause on her policy (which she did not know about ) when she had first called Horizon they told her all she needed to do was to go through 6 months of counseling. She is devestated needless to say and there is no way around it. Her surgeon is going to give her a cash discount(ofcourse Mom is helping her pay) so she can have the surgery. I had the lap band on March 30th with the same docter and he is worth every penny. I was hoping with the new healthcare bill that businesses would not be able to put that clause on policys since the bill is big on preventative medicine. I told her get a new job with better health benefits but that is another story.