Anyone from Jacksonville???

[Jagator88 1]

I just came from the seminar at St. Vincent's (Dr. Chappano & Dr. Herrera). My only remaining question is how much cheaper it is if you have the surgery done at a day surgery center vs the hospital. The total cost here is $17,500 with $10,000 going to the hospital, $5,300 to the doctors and $1,200 for anesthesia. They also chargeg a $500 processing fee. Do other doctors charge this? My insurance covers the surgery but I may have a slight qualification issue. I'd like to have the surgery done this year as I have already met my deductible. I wonder if the processes prior to surgery are different between doctors?

[sunsmiles 0]

Thanks for the advice. Reading the blogs about the in and out surgery, a few hours after surgery back home; I just didn't think the lap band surgery was brutal or that I needed home care other than a ride home or perhaps someone for the first day or two.

Would appreciate hearing about after surgery experiences. Thaanks for sharing.

[imwiththebandfl 0]

Hi JagGator (go gators!)

I had my surgery with Jax Weight loss Center (Dr. Baptista)

I opted for the Journey Lite surgical center, and saved about $1,500 I believe.

I paid $10,000 to Journey Lite, 4,500 to the Doc, and $500 to the office....and $120 for nutritionist and fitness expert.

I did not want to have the surgery at Memorial, and I don't have any serious medical issues that would make it necessary.

I had my surgery 11/18 and I'm very happy with everything and can't wait to be a skinny gator!

[Jagator88 1]

Was the $500 a non-refundable deposit like Dr. Chappano charges? This is not covered by insurance from what I understand. How long after insurance approval did it take to get the surgery done? I would consider Dr. Baptista, although the location is a bit further than I wanted to travel (for fills, checkups, etc) if they could schedule the surgery by December 31st. If I have to wait until after the first of the year I will likely go with Dr. Chappano for the convenience of the location. I wonder if there is a difference of opinion between doctors on frequency and amount of fills. Dr. Chappano's seminar did not seem to indicate the higher and more rapid weight loss that I have seen posted by other doctor's patients.

[mvande123 0]

Hi, I had my banding on 11/19/08 at mayo and I have to say, it has been much easier than I expected! My husband stayed home with me the next couple of days, but he really didn't need to, I was able to get up and do what I needed to do alone. I had prepared all the liquids I would need to drink for a few days so all I had to do was get them out of the fridge and warm them or drink them cold. I didn't have a lot of pain and even the gas pain was tolerable, but walking helps that. Learning how much to eat and drink is a challenge, but it's doable. I'm very glad I did this. I'm back to work and rarin' to go!

[lisa1976 0]

Hi I live in jax and I just joined the site today. I've been peeking at this site for over a month, just reading on what jax folks have to say. But now that i've joined I can't find the jax folks anymore to join their forum. Any ideas ?

[mvande123 0]

When I was looking for Jax folks, I just typed in Jacksonville in the search box and it brought up all kinds of different groups, a lot of them just for Jax folks.

[*susan* 1,709]

Lisa, what forum are you talking about? Is it something separate from LBT? If so, I have never heard of it.

[pixieinyourpocket 0]

I am from the Jax area also, I will be doing my surgery with Dr.Stankard or Dr.Brinkman. I am just waiting for approval from my insurance. Good luck to everyone.

[cmdtl 0]

I am from Jax!

[*susan* 1,709]

Welcome, Pixie and cmdtl, we are so happy to have you join us here on LBT. I love to see more locals signing up!

[ctay904 0]

Hey guys! I am from Jacksonville....Orange Park actually. I was banded February of 08 by Dr. Chappano at St. Vincents. He is awesome and I would recommend him to anybody. If anybody has any questions or would like to be friends hit me up. I don't really know anybody else that has been banded from around here.

[fire_bellydancer 2]

I live in Jacksonville currently and was banded on the 30th of December. Dr. Deperi was my surgeon and he is great. I am on day post-op day four which means I just started my full liquid diet. Let me know if you could use the support, I know I could...

[jensec123 0]

Hello! I was banded on the 20th of November. I love having the band! My surgeon was Dr. Baptista at Jacksonville Weight Loss Center. I had my first fill last week and have had no problems as of yet. I had read a lot of horror stories about the pain and stuff but I really have been lucky. Even the fill was not bad:). I did my post op diet over Thanksgiving! That was the only painfull part so far, not eating what everyone else was. I strained some turkey soup! Oh well, Hope you are doing well and happy New Year!

[scalico 4]

Hi I live in Jacksonville and was just banded on April 18th 2012. I am a week and a half out from surgery. Would love to know how everyone is doing locally and and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.