St. Louis People

[Chris61 0]

Glad to see you are all doing well. We go on Monday to see Dr. Minkin and will look at getting a fill the following week. Dr. Minkin has us doe liquids for one day and then soft foods the next and back to regular foods on the third day. He days this is a why to help you stomach adjust to the tightness of the band. Not sure about why Clear Liquids. How much of a fill did you gals get this time.

Chris

[cosmo24 0]

Chris61, I got a 2cc fill for my first fill. I have not had any food yet so I do not know if I will have any restiction. I am not reallyhungry at this point. Annie

[rch3877 0]

Went to Feb seminar and he quoted $16,000. but someone said to add $1,000. for Anesthesia. Wife and I get to see him 26 Mar, looking forward to our new bodies.

ray

[rch3877 0]

Wife and I went to Feb Seminar and will be seing DR. on Mar 26th, we have Hospital paperwork and are trying to get all needed info. My insurance does cover operation for both of us and we have been watching Big Medicine on the learning channel so we are looking forrward to our new bodies.

Can anyone give us a timeline of how things go?

after seeing DR. how long does insurance take?

How long until we can get Band?

Should we go to Mexico for the cheap :biggrin2:.

Thanks in advance.

Ray & Kat

Team Effort

[JaimeSTL 4]

I was banded by Dr. Minkin on February 28th. I went to a seminar on October 24, first appointment was on November 28th. I could've seen him a little sooner but had scheduling conflicts on my end. Had my day of testing (psych and nut consult, EKG, stress test, pulmonary function test, chest xray) on December 17. Saw dr again on 1/9 and got medical clearance. They didn't submit to insurance until about 1/29-1/30 because I needed a letter from my PCP, which they received that week. Submitted to insurance, approval on 1/30. Insurance can take up to 30 days, mine is just super fast. Surgery was on 2/28, again my choice for scheduling purposes. He said it takes 2-3 weeks to get on the schedule once they have insurance approval.

[rch3877 0]

Thanks for the fast reply, I know my insurance will approve as soon as everything goes thru, will it hurt or help that I am a nut?

we can't wait.

Edited April 3, 2008 by rch3877

[JaimeSTL 4]

I saw Dr. Minkin today for my first post-op. I've lost 27 lbs since I saw him on 2/20. He was very pleased and said everything looks perfect. I'll see him again in 3 weeks and we'll discuss a fill. My band went on very tight and I do have restriction already. I'm okay'ed for purees then soft foods next week.

[Chris61 0]

It is hard to believe that it was six months ago this week and next week that my wife and I were banded. Time sure has gone by fast. Combined we have lost over 70 lbs. We have had three fills each. I have a total of 5.2 cc in my band and I think she has 4cc. She has lost over 32 pounds and I have lost 45 since my high of 250 in June of 2007.

We went for are 6 month check-up with the surgeon and he feels that we are doing really well. He also feels that we are almost or right at the sweet spot. He could have done an adjustment next week but we both felt that it might make us to tight and would have to come back for an unfill. He did leave it open that if we felt that we needed a fill that we could call him and go in and have it done. He also said that we are on track with loosing 1-3 lbs a week and that by September which will be one year that we should be down another 30- 40 lbs. With summer coming on and able to get out and do more exercise etc. I really feel that we will make it.

We are both very please so far with the loss in weight, and wish to thank every one for all your support, advice and friendship. Without I doubt we would be here today. I will say that the last 9 months have gone real fast and we have seen a lot of changes in our lives in regards to health and other issues. It has been a real learning experience. People have asked if it has been easy? I would have to tell them no it has not. I tell them that what you have to do is to take baby steps (or one step at a time). It is something that will no happen overnight. It takes a lot of work to change lifestyles and eating habits. It is something that does not happen overnight. One of the biggest issues I have dealt with is when going out and eating with other people is trying to eat real slowly while they are eating real fast. I will say that it has caused me to slim a lot and to have a few bp’s. I have also had issues with some types of foods. I eat most foods and not have a problem. I have had some issues with shredded pork, real thin potatoes. I have also notice that when eating sandwiches I do not eat hardly any of the bread. The head hunger is still there. My body is still trying to adjust to the fact that Iam eating less. My stomach still says I am hungry even though I am full. I really wish there was a way you can control this.

We have both notices changes in are bodies, we are down in clothes sizes, are bodies are a lot thinner and we have also noticed that we get colder easier than before. We are able to do a lot more things and spend longer times on them. For myself I have seen changes in my sleep apnea. I have gone from a setting of 12 down to a setting of 7. I am going from the machine to a herbest dental retainer to wear at night while sleeping. Iam only getting about 2 hours a night with the mask on. The doctor feels that this will work a lot better for me, since some people have problems. We have both gone to a new doctor who is band friendly and understands the issues that we are dealing with. I saw him on Monday as well and he said the blood pressure and all the blood test were good expect for my uric acid (gout) which is still high. Were not sure if the gout will go away or not at this time. My wife has had her meds changed and is slowly getting off of insulin and her other meds as well.

I know this is long but it has been a while since I have posted and I also wanted the new people that are coming in and getting ready for this procedure to understand that it does take work, it is not going to happen overnight and that the rewards are great. This has been one of the best things that we have done and would do it again.

Chris

[mom2kassautumn 0]

Could someone tell me how much the self pay lap band procedure is at Des Pere Hospital and what kind of financing they have? My other question is I know that the hospital fees and doctors fees are all covered seperate so if my insurance doesn't cover weight loss surgery would they still cover some of the misc fees of the hospital?

[JaimeSTL 4]

Could someone tell me how much the self pay lap band procedure is at Des Pere Hospital and what kind of financing they have? My other question is I know that the hospital fees and doctors fees are all covered seperate so if my insurance doesn't cover weight loss surgery would they still cover some of the misc fees of the hospital?

At the seminar I went to, Dr. Minkin said it is $16,000 for self-pay. They had pamphlets about a loan program, but I didn't look at it since my insurance paid. Otherwise I don't know if they do any kind of other arrangements. I don't think insurance would cover anything that was related, but you'd have to check with your particular carrier and plan. Also, call to verify if they cover or not. Mine didn't early last year, then started mid-year.

I was banded by Dr. Minkin on 2.28 and I highly recommend him.

[Chris61 0]

I was banded 6 months ago today and my wife was 6 months last week at Des Pers by Dr. Minkin and he is great. There are a few companies that do offer financing and you can find them on this website. If you have any questions just ask. I can also forward you a letter that we used to help get us approved.

Chris

[Missourimom 0]

I am 4 1/2 months out right now and down 60+ lbs. I am so thrilled.

Chris you and your wife are doing very well. Keep up all the hard work. It pays off in the end.

[Chris61 0]

sleep Apena NSV

I found out last June that I had sleep apena and started using the CPAP machine about a month before being banded. I had a pressure setting of 12 and now down to a 7. I have lost close to 50lbs since being banded 6 months ago. I have been having problems with to much air etc. along with not wearing the mask the whole night. I talked to the doctor about it and he suggested that we try using a dental device instead. Insurance approved me for the device and I have started to use it and it is great. Here are pictures of the device. The dentist who deals only with sleep apnea feels that this device will work for me and that she wants to do a sleep study in about 4-6 months to ensure that it is working. If it is working then I will not need to use the CPAP.

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So far the dental device seems to be working.

Chris

[JaimeSTL 4]

Des Peres people--do you know when the next support group meeting will be? Is it the fourth Thursday of each month? Will anybody be going? I think I will come. My brother in law is having surgery that day (if it is the 24th like I'm thinking) so we'll probably be up there to visit him anyway.

[cosmo24 0]

How is everyone doing. I have not posted in a long time so I thought I'd post. I just got my second fill on Thursday. I can only eat a tiny tiny bit. I have been slow losing weight so I am hoping this will speed things along. The weather improving is good also. Hope everyone is doing well. Annie