finallygettingthere

I'm back at work, and now realize that this was not the best idea. While I'm not in any real pain, I'm still having internal issues from the anesthesia, some gas pains, and just a general malaise. I stopped taking any oxycodone and am not taking any Tylenol, but I feel that I should take something to get me through the next few hours before I head home. I’m definitely going to take tomorrow off and just relax. It’s more about being exhausted and overwhelmed about everything, then actually not feeling ready to work. Tomorrow is my first follow-up appointment, and I’m looking forward to hearing what the doctor has to say about how the surgery went. I don’t know if this is common to a lot of people, but I thought it was rather odd that I didn’t see my doctor/surgeon after the surgery, just for a quick check from him, or some reassuring words that everything went well. The day after surgery, and yesterday were okay. Just discomfort. I really should have read other’s blogs about their recovery, because even though we’re encouraged to walk, I think that I moved around way too much in the past couple of days. I can really feel some discomfort from all my movements.

I'm sure a lot of this is not new to people who've read a lot of this board, and who are already banded, but I know that it's been reallyhelpful to me to read other's experiences in getting the. I hope my experiencecan be helpful to at least one person who's still curious and anxious what thisexperience is like. I was banded and had a hiatal hernia repair on June 6, 2011and here's how my surgery went: Three hours before my surgery time, I took my anti-nauseaand anti-fungal medications. I arrived at the hospital two hours early. Checkedin and was brought back to prep. I changed into my hospital wardrobe and sataround for about forty-five minutes before I got my IV of fluids. Every fewminutes, someone came by to ask if the doctor had shown up yet. Was gettingpretty funny, I think they were getting a bit nervous. The anesthesiologiststopped by and went over my stats, asked a few questions, and explained to methat I would have a tube down my throat etc. My dietician showed up and wentover everything with both me and my wife. Up until about this point, my wifewasn't really involved directly in my lap-band adventure. I told her about allmy appointments, gave her the brochures, and explained everything to her, but Inever took her to meetings etc. I just prefer to do that on my own. I got up to urinate twice before the doctor showed up. Aboutfifteen minutes after the surgery was to start (and boy I wish they would havegiven me something for anxiety at that point), my doctor finally showed up. Mydoctor actually asked me what band I was getting! I thought that was veryinteresting. Actually, I was asked twice about which band I was getting, fromhim and from a nurse recording all my information. I was wheeled into the operating room, asked to movemyself over to the operating table, then was told that I would be givenmedication to relax. The next thing I remember was being awakened from a dreamwith the nurse calling my name. My belly was tender, my throat was killing me. I use aCPAP, and was asked to put that on. I did, but it was removed early since I wasso alert and didn't really feel like sleeping/napping. I just wanted to get outof there and relax at home. I waited there for about forty-five minutes. Whilethere, I could slowly start to become aware of the incisions in my belly. I hadfive. I tried to remember if that was normal, higher than normal, or lower thannormal – from what I've read in this forum. I know my wife was waiting for mewhen I got out, and I was quite anxious to see her. While waiting in recovery,I did not see my doctor at all. I was kind of hoping to hear from him thateverything went well, and that my liver looked good (I was worried about thatsince I was told I had a fatty liver. I did the pre-op liquid diet, lost 30pounds, but nevertheless, I was a little nervous since I snuck in a few piecesof cheese into the liquid diet.) I inhaled into Airlife measuring thingy, tomake sure that I was taking deep breaths, and had no problems with that. Thebiggest thing on my mind now, other than getting the heck out of the hospital,was making sure I urinated before I left (I have a death's fear of catheters)and that I could swallow liquids. I was finally taken into a semi-private room, where mywife was brought to meet me. My pain wasn't too bad. I was offered some meds,and I pre-emptively took them. I also was given a few little 'shots' of water.I had no problems swallowing those. I thought that I would be able to feel thenew 'pouch' given to me in the band. Nada. I kept slowly drinking the water. Itactually wasn't very easy to swallow the whole ounce of water, but I wasn'treally concerned, because I read that I might have difficulty in that early on.I was just glad to get it down, and to keep it down. Then the milkshake testcame. I nursed that ounce without any problems. Now all I had to do was walkdown the hallway, and urinate. I accomplished that, and was promptlydischarged. My dietician stopped by again giving me full dischargeinstructions, and explained to my wife what I was able to do, should do, andwhat I shouldn't do. I was able to get up and walk around on my own. No issueswhatsoever. I felt awful that my wife was carrying my bag, and her stuff, whileI walked empty handed, but she assured me that I need to just take it easy, andlift nothing. The ride home was okay. I felt a couple of the pot holes,and had some burping which was slightly painful. Got home, and immediately tooka Percocet. For the rest of the day I wasn't really in pain, just discomfort.What really hurt the most was my throat. I also discovered that my nostrilswere lined with dried blood, and that I would cough up a little blood, but Iattribute that to the tube in my throat. Oh yes, coughing, hiccupping and gaspains were the most painful. I was aware of the incisions, and upon examination,they seemed to look good, were tender, and covered with the superglue. On my first day, I managed to get down 2/3 of a normal proteinshake I would drink for dinner. I also managed about 16 oz of water. I tried toget more down, but that's all I could really do. I filled up really fast withwater and shake. I used minimal amounts of Percocet, but used a lot of sorethroat spray.

Hi everyone. I am going to be banded on June 6th. I go today for my anesthesia meeting. I guess the anxiety and fears are starting to percolate their way through my system. A few days ago, I had some really serious doubts about getting this done. I’ve been doing the liquid Protein shake diet now for a couple weeks and have already lost 20 pounds. I figured I could just keep going on my own, but I know that I spent a long time deliberating about this decision, and I know this is the best for me in the long run. Also, I’ve worked very hard, and gone through many flaming hoops to get to this point (even switched surgeons and changed practices during the pre-op-approval time). I wish you all good luck in your procedures, and I just can’t wait to get mine over with. Sunday night is going to be a looooong night!

Wow, I wasn't aware of the employer/insurance agreement. I thought it all was the same. That is of course, until I did some research here, but I didn't realize that the employer has to have an agreement. Thanks! I'm sorry you have to wait until October, but good luck with your journey!

I'm glad some of my information provided some relief to you. Good luck with your journey!

Thanks for sharing your story. I thought I was the only one caught in an office where I feel like I'm sitting on the bench, not playing in the game. I actively have to contact my Dr's office just to get updates, and find out what I am supposed to do next. Granted, they are in a state of change over, but I always thought the customer came first. I always feel like they forget about me, until I either show up at the office, or phone incessantly. I wonder how many other people have had the same issues? Has yours gotten any better? After you've been approved, how long did you have to wait for them to just give you a surgical date? Thanks!

Good luck to you too! Thanks for sharing. After your Dr's office found out you were approved, how long did it take them to get back to you with a surgical date? I called my Dr's office and let them know I got my approval letter, but they haven't called me back to schedule anything. But it's also only been about three business days.

I've spent the past few months researching and reviewing various forums regarding insurance for the lap-band. The main question I sought to answer was, "Do I need to have the six months supervised diet or whatever". I couldn't find an answer anywhere. What I did find was conflicting, and often ambigious. I even resorted to calling the insurance company to see what they had to say. Nothing. Oh, the insurance company had pleanty to say, but they didn't say anything. No one could find anything stating that I needed the supervised diet prior to authorization. My medical group even called the insurance, and they couldn't get an answer. I requested that when all of my paperwork was ready, that my medical group submit it in any case, and we'll see what would happen. With the Anthem BCBS, I received a letter in the mail in about a week approving my lapband. Now, which Anthem BCBS do I have? I don't know. There is nothing on my card stating where they're from, and I work in a different state then where I'm actually insured. I also live in a different state then either of those two, and am having the surgery in another state altogether! Some questions I couldn't find answers to regarding insurance, and my answers: Does Anthem BCBS cover lapbands? - Yes. Depends on your coverage as to how much they cover, and also it depends on where you have your lapband, in-network/out etc. I have the full blown PPO and it covers 90%. Do they require the three/six-month supervised diet? - It was not required for my approval. How do you find out if you got approved? - I read about people getting approved, but I didn't see how they knew. I received a letter in the mail from my insurance company. How long does it take to hear from insurance? - It took about a week from when my medical group said they submitted the paperwork. It took about two months for the medical group to get their act together and get my paperwork together. I being former military, had all my paperwork back to my medical group within a week, ready for them to submit my paperwork. Took them two months for some reason. That was a killer since I was told that they were going to submit my claim the day I handed in all my paperwork. I was pretty bummed out when I called the medical office after a month of not hearing anything, just to find out they had delays in getting tax ID's and the shrink to sign off on their release. But I digress, took a week to hear from insurance. I hope this info helps at least one person who's trying to find out info on Anthem BCBS.

Greetings all! I've been reading the forum topics for some time now, and just got approved from my insurance company, so I figured, now that it's really real, that I better introduce myself. The path to get to this point has been frustrating, as the medical group I have been working with is going through a change, and just hasn't gotten their act together just quite yet. Here I thought the most frustrating and stressful part was going to be waiting for insurance approval. Nonetheless, I look forward to sharing my experiences and look forward to reading everyone elses to help ease me through this whole process. Thanks for reading!