Dave_NW

Hi Tabbatha. Welcome to the party. There are many people here who are in a similar situation as yourself. Read the threads here, and do your research. The seminar you'll attend will answer a lot of questions, and you're sure to find more help here on the forums. Take your time, and plan ahead. You'll be fine. It's an amazing journey that changes lives. Good luck! Dave

I'm nervous, sure. But I've worked toward this for so long, now that it's only a few days away, I can't wait. I'm embracing the nerves, because I've read about so many others here who have been through this, I know I'll be fine. I have a great surgeon I like and trust, and I know I'm in good hands. My family and friends are supportive, I've arranged for at least two weeks off work to recover, and I'm absolutely resigned to make this a success. Everything else is just details. I'll be smiling all the way into the operating room. Dave

Excellent! I hoped it would be that easy. Dave

Yeah! Great news! Congrats! Dave

I'm up first thing Monday morning, the 6th. After all this time, it's hard to think it's finally here. Good luck to everyone! Dave

It was also a holiday week, so the "right people" may have been out of the office. You should hear something in the next few days, I'd think. My insurance took three working days, then called me for a phone interview before approving me. A better way to think about it is that if the answer was No, you'd likely have already heard. Give them time. Good luck! Dave

I've made no secret among my friends, family, and coworkers that I'm having surgery December 6th. To a person, every single one of them has been supportive. They've seen the long-term battle I've waged, and they know I'm not going into this lightly. The closest thing to negative I've gotten from anyone was a comment made by a semi-friend at another friend's home this past Thanksgiving. She said, "Did your doctor require you to go through extensive counseling before approving you for surgery?" I told her I had interviewed with a psyche, and he'd agreed I know what I'm doing. She half-smiled, and said, "I'm sure you do." I took it to mean she thought I needed to be totally sure of what I was doing before agreeing to have surgery, and that it wasn't the choice she'd have made for herself. (She's rake-thin and eats like a horse, so I hate her anyway. LOL! Just kidding. Well, sort of. ) Bottom line: If you're comfortable surgery is the right choice for you, then stand up for yourself. As the old saying goes, "When they're running you out of town, get in front of the crowd and make it look like a parade!" Good luck! Dave

Why not call them and ask? Can't hurt, and it may reduce your stress. You have enough on your plate (pun intended ) than to worry about something that may be a non-issue. Good luck! Dave

There are "hidden" ways to gather funds together. Do you own a house? Depending on your circumstances, refinancing can turn up equity you could use, if the numbers make sense. Same with using certain credit cards, rewriting car loans, or even borrowing against a 401K. Some people have "cafeteria" insurance plans at their work where they can pay it forward to get money for surgery. Look around you - do you have anything sitting around you could sell? Old jewelry? Antiques? Collectibles? An extra insurance policy you could cash in, or borrow against? Family members you can borrow from? Take on a second job to earn the money? If you want the surgery badly enough, there are ways to scrape together funds to make it work. One, some, or all the above may help you come up with the funds. Just a few thoughts. Good luck! Dave

I really, REALLY like that expression. I'll be using that one in the future. Thanks! Dave

Tricare is one of the easiest insurance carriers to get an approval from. I went through what you did, and they submitted my surgery request to Tricare on Friday, October 15th. On Wednesday the 20th I got a call from the Tricare office, did a brief phone interview, ("Sir, is this surgery truly what you want?" "Um, yes. That's what I've been working toward all these months." "Oh, ok. We just need to be sure."), and they approved me on the spot. Took three working days after submission to have my approval. And now my surgery is a week from Monday. Can't wait! You'll likely be approved. I haven't heard of anyone being turned down once their Provider requests an approval for surgery. i think they know the surgeon wouldn't request it unless there was a need, and that you fit the requirements. Dave

I'm being banded December 6th. Ready for the rest of the journey to start! Dave

Tricare for Active Duty is different than Tricare Prime for retirees. If you go to the Triwest.com website and check the section about deductibles, it'll show you that Tricare Prime for retirees only pays co-pays, and that they have no deductibles. Other forms of Tricare pay other fees, including deductibles, which could include the cost of fills. It's tied to how you are eligible for Tricare coverage. I'm retired Navy, on Tricare Prime, and I only pay the same co-pays Mabinty mentioned. My entire surgery cost on December 6th will be just the $12 co-pays for office visits, and the $25 surgery fee for the hospital stay. (At this point my out of pocket has been less than $50 for this process.) One of the perks for having survived the military long enough to retire from it, I guess. Dave

After months of waiting and anticipating, all the details/approvals/visits are done, and it's now less than two weeks till my surgery (Dec. 6th.) The Nutritionist has me on a high Protein, low carb preop diet to try and shrink my liver, so surgery will be easier. Did anyone else have this same process? How did it go for you? And on another note, as I start to get even more excited anticipating surgery day, I'm wondering if anyone else is as spun-up about their surgery as I am about mine? Dave

I have to say, that's one of the major things I'm looking forward to after losing the weight. When I go into clothing stores now, if I see shirts or pants I like, I usually learn they don't come in my size. (costco clothes all stop a size or two less than what I need, so I don't even bother looking anymore.) Or they're a horrible color of lime green or something I'd never wear. Or if they do happen to have an extra X-sized whatever I can fit into, it looks like hell. (Thank God for JC Penney mail order sales, polo shirts, and Dockers cords with elastic in the waistband!) I am SO ready to walk up to the sale table in a clothing store, and find something I like, that also fits. Worst of all is when I go on vacation. I hate that the only item of souvenir clothing I ever find that will fit is a ball cap. Dave

Cool! Thanks for checking into it. Dave

On some other Forums I visit, there is a link where I can see a list of links to posts I've made, or threads I've started. Is there anything like that here? If not, can we set up something like that? It'd be great to have that kind of option, so I can quickly get back to threads I'd like to revisit, without wading through all the others on the site. This site is so large, and is so busy, I often find it difficult to find posts I made a day or two earlier. Email notifications are not very useful, especially since I don't really care if my post is one of a hundred in a thread. But if a particular thread or post is important, or if I'm waiting for a reply from someone, it'd be nice to jump back to that place easily. Dave

My surgeon required me to have an Endoscopy before he would do my surgery. It was during the Endoscopy that they discovered my hiatal hernia, which they'll repair when placing my band on Dec. 6th. I had no idea I had one. My reflux was minimal, so I never thought it was worse than eating food that didn't agree with me. Who knew? Surprise surprise: Surgeon asked me to start taking Prilosec OTC, and I have not had a single episode of reflux since. No matter what I've eaten. I'm pretty amazed. I'd insist on them doing an Endoscopy for you. It's pretty easy and painless. Dave

I totally agree. And I think it's weird that they wouldn't tell you answers to your questions. I hope you eventually did get the answers you wanted. My surgeon keeps asking me if I have any MORE questions, and I feel like I'm not asking him enough or something. I've done SO much research online, I've talked to so many people, and his surgery clinic was my choice after visiting several others, so I know pretty well exactly what I'm getting into. I'm prepared for any issues that may come up, and I know I'll make it work. Despite being really overweight, I have a tremendous amount of will power. Go figure. I hope your latest go-round with the band works to your advantage, and that you're able to enjoy things. It'd suck to have a bad feeling about something that is so important in your life. Wishing you nothing but good luck and success. Dave

I think it's normal for a surgeon's office to down-play the problems, especially if they were outside of the country. It's a sales pitch thing. They want you to think they're the best surgeon in the industry, so it's only to be expected. I think you reading on this Forum about all the problems and such is misleading. True, there are a lot of people here who are reporting issues, but how many thousands more have the surgery with no complications, and who never post anything online? We who own computers tend to forget there are a lot of people who aren't online, or who don't post things on a public forum. And if someone has no problems, they wouldn't be likely to post here, right? Just a thought. As to the NWWLS picture of a bad band - those people are the ones who make it clear that EVERYONE but them is a quack. They make it seem like they are the ONLY people who can do a good band. And of course we all know that's BS. Take their sales pitch with a grain of salt. (I live about 20 miles from their clinic, and I've been to their seminars. I chose to have surgery elsewhere.) I'm not saying you don't have reason to feel lke you weren't told the whole truth, but I think you need to weight it all against how things have turned out. The ultimately responsible person should be yourself - it's your body, your life, and your health. And remember the bottom line for a lot of these independent surgical companies: They're in the BUSINESS of medicine. Dave

So in reading this thread I'm seeing a lot of people who are doing a pre-op diet of Protein shakes. Is there a reason for that? My nutritionist has me on a high protein, low carb diet for this last three weeks pre-op. I won't move on to Protein Shakes till after surgery. From all I'm seeing, this is how my surgeon wants it for all his patients. Any idea why it's different, and is one way better than the other? Dave

For everyone who is still looking for a Protein shake, I'd like to heartily recommend checking out www.unjury.com. They have several flavors, and they taste really good, in my opinion. You can order samples very inexpensively, and try them before buying a bigger quantity. I'm definitely a fan. Dave

You deserve to be congratulated for sticking it out. Eleven months is a LONG time to work toward your goal! I wish you nothing but easy weight loss and a happy road to your goal! Dave

I have Tricare Prime and was approved for surgery October 20th. They did not require any sort of supervised diet. Dave

Nothing against the ladies, but I'd like to hear from men who read or post here. What sort of things did you deal with when you were getting ready for banding? How are you doing with your weight loss? Is your experience with the band different than it is for women? Any lessons learned from the male point of view that you'd care to share? Dave (P.S. Yes, I know there is a Man Room forum here, but nobody seems to post there much.)