tlthoma3

I had my first fill 4 weeks after surgery. My insurance paid 100% of it (I have Empire BCBS)

I have had PCOS for about 8 years. Last year, I had a personal trainer for 3 months and was on 2000 mg of Metformin and only lost 2 lbs. But then again, I used to eat a lot of starches. I was worried that I still would not be able to lose weight after the surgery. But since my surgery on April 19th:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> - I've lost 45 lbs<o:p></o:p> - my total cholesterol went from 302 down to 160 in one month!<o:p></o:p> - my blood pressure went to 102/65<o:p></o:p> -not on any medications<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> So I came to the conclusion that it is all about the food you eat (I already knew that, but I had to experience it firsthand to really realize it) <o:p></o:p>

I was on the pre-op for 2 weeks and lost 12 lbs but it was not an all liquid diet. I had my surgery on April 19th and I've lost a total of 42 lbs so far. I didn't lose all of the weight from changing my diet only, I also exercised for at least 30 mins/day.

I meant 5% of your body weight

When I went there (March 2006) they told me that you had to lose 5% of your body fat before you can even meet with a surgeon. Recently I heard ( I am not sure if it is true) that you had to lose 40lbs before you could have the surgery which doesn't make sense. If it was that easy to lose that much weight on your own, why would someone consider surgery?

I am really praying that it won't happen.:nervous What else can you do besides Vitamins and protien????

I eat enough protien and I started taking Biotin 3000mg. So far, I have not had any hair loss.

I am just curious, how much did everyone's surgery cost (total billed to insurance)? I looked at my insurance account online, at the total cost of my surgery was approx $61,000! Granted, they did find a hernia and repaired it, but $61k! Isn't that what they charge for the Gastric? I was only in the hospital overnight! I am concerned with the price because I have an 80/20 plan, meaning, I pay for 20% of the negotiated rate. I was going over my Explaination of benefits, and I noticed that they charged me $6000 for the recovery room (I was in it for 6 hours). BUT, I was only in there that long because they were overbooked that day and did not have my room ready. I called the billing department to dispute the claim, and they agreed to credit my account today. Are those charges below normal (this is is only a small percentage of charges)? OPERATING ROOM $ 6,502<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> RECOVERY ROOM $5,830<o:p></o:p> ANESTHESIOLOGY $2,553<o:p></o:p> RADIOLOGY $2473<o:p></o:p> PATHOLOGY $325.42<o:p></o:p> SUPPLIES $19,260<o:p></o:p> DRUGS (PRESCRIPTION $2,152<o:p></o:p>

I am taking a chewable mulivitamin and biotin.

Hello, I am also in Asheville. However, I am originally from Richmond VA and I commute there several times a month. I am scheduled to have my surgery on April 19th in Richmond. I chose not to have it a Mission Hospital because of their silly requirements.

Areellady's diet does make sense than mine. I called the Nutritionist to see if I could change it up and she said “No.” I guess what is frustrating to me is the fact that I have only lost 1.5lbs since being it since 4/7 :phanvan

Oddly enough, when I was searching for a pshyc to do my evaluation, I had a hard time finding one in my area. I ended up finding two. One refused to do the eval. because he said that he did not believe in bariatric surgery and the other was going to charge $700? And I have insurance...

You can also try unjury (www.unjury.com)