NewStart95987

the day of surgery when i hand her my cc. she said there's a 3% charge for using a cc!!! WTH!!! again noone said that crap yesteday!!!!!! so another $250! i was soooo pissed, but what could i do i was going into surgery in like 30 minutes!!!!!

oh they havent heard the last from me about this!!!!! so frustrating!!

Ow my gosh, I am soooo sorry. Why do they have to be so secretive? It's ridiculous! I think we should write a book about the ACTUAL procedures, our experiences and include helpful tips and questions to ask prior. lol

After paying my surgeon her $3,000 non-professional fee, the surgical center $2,800 which is the 20% my insurance won't cover, I receive a letter in the mail the other day. I'm getting banded in 8 days mind you and have been trying for over a year to get my band.

The letter is from the surgical center telling me that the anesthesia is NOT part of the $2,800 I already paid and would be billed separately. I finally worked up the courage to call the insurance to see what portion is covered, then called surgical center today who referred me to the anesthesiologists office, who had me call my surgeon for the code, to call the anesthesiologist again. My part, IF I am out for an hour, no longer will be $300 which is my 20% that I will owe since the bill comes out to $1,500.

The kicker! I have two insurances and though my secondary is better on everything else, they will not come within a 100 mine radius of anything regarding WLS. So I am stuck with yet another bill that I cannot afford.

I am already freaking out about how I'm going to pay bills in upcoming months. I have a commission job and if I don't hit within 75% of whatever my goal is set to, I make NO commission. Yet, here comes this extra little surprise. This isn't the first time I have been blind-sided. I just assumed it was part of what I paid. I don't have surgery every year and am no accustom the the standards on surgery.

It's just really frustrating when no one has mentioned things to me or I ask questions and they tell me not to worry at the time. Are they afraid if they are up front with you that you'll back out? I have 2 insurances and am already paying out of pocket over $6,000 for this. $6,000 I had to use credit and a loan for.

Anyone else feel like they have been jerked around?

Hi My date is June 9th also. On day 4 of the liquid diet now and doing well. I'm so looking forward to my big day. I don't think anyone who is not in our situation can really appreciate what this means.

Good luck to you.

Thanks so much and the best to you as well

Keep me informed on your progress and keep up the liquids. I had to lose the weight my surgeon wanted me to first but because of this will have no liquid diet. You can do it!

Sending Lots of Love your way!

Your Band Sista!

UPDATE! I tried looking at it one more time and did very well and was able to start writing. It seems my Mother's message and my husbands will be the downfall and the cause of my blubbering. I'll save these for another time.

I posted before that I was tossing around the idea of writing a letter to loved ones just in case something happened. I'm being banded next Thursday and finally started a letter today. You never know what COULD happen and if you knew me, you would know I like to prepare for everything and plan ahead. I'm no control freak but like to view my possible options before doing anything major and use that as a starting point.

I thought I could take a break from work and start this letter. I had to stop. I was an emotional wreck and couldn't stop crying. I didn't even really get into my letter and will have to finish at home where I can blubber like an idiot to myself.

I feel so stupid and hope, like I wrote in my letter, that no one besides myself will ever read the letter. I just can't help but wonder IF something happened, how my family, my husband and workplace would be effected. I still want to write the letter but had no idea how emotional I would be. Maybe I'm just being stupid. I have so much anxiety and I know it won't go away until I wake up from surgery. Anyone else think I'm crazy? I am such a strong person, always have been but I really surprised myself. I know I am only doing this to myself but again, would really like to be prepared and thought this would help ease my mind. I believe I'm just working myself up even more.

Help!

WELCOME! I'm getting banded next Thursday :-)

This forum has been a tremendous help and you will learn so much! You'll learn things your doctor and surgeon will not tell you. Ask as many questions as you need, you have a whole family here to help you!

Hey everyone .. ( this is tmi warning ) : /

I like many others have a problem with my stomach hanging down and causing a painful , hot rash . I haven't even been banded yet and I've heard once you try to get a TT after weight loss , that one ofthe reasons they get approved is for said rash . With that said , should I be complainingto my PCP about it now so it's on record ? Does that even matter ? Also , any tips or tricks you've used or know of that helps ease the rashes would be apperaticed !!!

Something I learned a couple years ago for under your breasts and what I like to call my "belly flap", Deodorant. I kid you not! This has been the best, quickest and less mess way to clear up rashes

They want to shrink the liver to have more room to move around. I had a co-worker who did NOT follow her diet for her gastric and the liver was huge. The surgeon had to have a nurse hold back the liver while the procedure was done. It's for their safety and yours, they don't want to nic your liver.

For me, my surgeon had me do a high Protein diet and lose 20 lbs. Because of that, I am continuing this until surgery and will not have a liquid diet. Other surgeons require the liquid diet to shrink the liver that way, rapidly without the high protein diet which can take longer. Different surgeons mean different requirements.

Thanks for all the insight everyone

Congrats! That's so awesome! Keep it up

Ok So I have Higher Education Consortium Benifits Trust from Arkansas and I don't know where to start. They will pay 10,000 per lifetime for lapband which I think is GREAT. I am currently 260 and need to be at 120 for idea body weight. First about how much does it cost, I am attending a seminar in June with the surgreon I picked.(which wasn't hard...there is only one!) but I want to know what I am up against with insurance. Do I need to look into diet plans, start accumlating data.....I'm so CONFUSED!!!!!! I finally have my family on board with me and my husband is GREAT and has always been supportive. I just don't want heart break and find out that I get denied.

I'm not sure about your insurance but you may want to try looking up the coverage/requirements online so you have something in writing. OR call the insurance and ask what the requirements are then have them send you, IN WRITING, what the policy is. Different insurances and different surgeons ALL have different requirements. You may even be able to get some of this information from your surgeons office who, chances are, have dealt with your insurance before. I would start there.

You may or may not have to show proof of dieting or 6 months work of some kind of program. If you have done WW or something of that sort, I would have that information ready to go just in case, start digging for that information now. Better safe than sorry! Believe me! My surgeon has a $3,000 non-professional fee which insurance will not cover. I would also ask if your surgeon has a "non-professional fee" so you may be able to look into how you may pay that. I don't know your financial situation but I had to figure out a way to pay since I didn't have it sitting in the bank.

Good luck to you and again, from my experience, I would try and get everything in writing. I have seen some people take YEARS to get everything finalized and others just a month. Be patient, don't get discouraged! Your husband will help you with support and so will the thousands of people you will read and will read your posts right here on these forums!

BEST of Luck!

Meg,

I'm so sorry to hear about it. I too had many hoops. Long story short (or even longer), I had my husbands insurance and spoke to the benefits coordinator on SEVERAL occasions who assured me all was well and told me to keep proceeding. I did the phsyc consult, nutritional visit, pre-op lab work and scans, surgeon appointments and all. I later found out that WLS was NOT covered through my husbands insurance and that everything I had done, I would have to pay out of pocket.

The coordinator called and apologized which I appreciated but that didn't help me and the bills I had not accrued. My husband pays hundreds each month for insurance that won't cover ANYTHING related to my WLS. SUCKS!

I cried for a couple minutes and decided I would wait (this was in October) and sign up for benefits through my work starting January 1st when I could enroll. I did this and had to start some of the process over.

It's so frustrating and I could never get a straight answer as to what EXACTLY to do and how the process worked, I was going in blind and couldn't take another denial.

I finally had paperwork submitted back to my new insurance and called 2 weeks later since I hadn't heard anything. I found out I was approved. My insurance- Anthem Blue Cross- will cover 80%, I'm still paying $6000 out of pocket. Luckily I recently pulled out a loan to pay of Credit Cards and such and asked for an extra $3,000 to cover part of surgery. The other $3,000 I owed, I paid with Care Credit Accounts. Money doesn't flow in my house. My husband works full time and goes to an expensive tech school full time. I work full time, have pay cuts from my company filing bankruptcy, doing 2 jobs for not even minimum wage. BUT knew I had to spend the money.

While I may be in debt the rest of my life, this is what I had to do.

Where there's a will, there's a way. You'll make it work. Look over all your options and speak to every person at your insurance if you have to. GET ANYTHING YOU CAN IN WRITING! I had a problem because of this!

Sadly, you have encountered hoops like I did but don't get discouraged! It just may take a little time. I know easier said then done, you make a life altering discision and want action fast, I had to wait over a year from the PCP referral to my surgery date. You can do it and you have tons of support right here at your finger tips on the forums.

LOTS of love and the BEST to you!

Ok, I have been tossing this idea back and forth. I have a lot of confidence in my surgeon and don't plan on leaving this earth any time soon. BUT am I jinxing myself? I wanted to write a letter to some loved ones "just in case". Yeah, I'm scared, but this is my choice, no one has pushed me into it. I want Lap-Band VERY badly but like with all surgeries, there may be complications. I wanted to write it to ensure if something happened, certain things would not go unsaid. Am I crazy? Am I jinxing myself? I was admitted into the hospital years ago and while filling out paperwork was asked if I had a will. EXCUSE ME! I was 19 at the time! I freaked out!!!!!!!!! I'm looking at possibly writing a letter, telling certain people just exactly how much I love them. Is this a bad idea? Am I totally over thinking this? Some posters make this sound so easy and I know once your through-it, it's "all gravy" but the anxiety before-hand is really getting to me. Maybe I'm just having an off day.... HELP!

Hello!

I'm 23 and being banded on June 9th. I'm nervous because anything with surgery attached to it is scary. Watch: Puppies-Surgery! Rainbows-Surgery! Did you see how puppies and rainbows just became a little scary, lol.

I did research for a long time. I have been heavy most of my life. When I hit puberty, I expanded not only in my chest but everywhere else too! I was always a little heavier then my classmates but in high school, I couldn't stop gaining and wasn't doing anything to cause me to gain weight. I was fortunate to find the love of my life and am married but I feel like I hold my husband back. When we go places, I want to take the short route so I don't have to keep walking. I can't always fit in a booth if we go out, so we get a table. I am very confident and feel like I'm successful at 23 years old but I want to be healthy. My husband would love nothing more than to start a family. I can't wait either but I'm not healthy enough to carry a child, it's not good for the baby or for me. I would like for us to focus on US, me getting healthy, him finishing school.

Lap-Band I feel is the perfect choice for me. I have had a blood clot in the past which was due to me taking birth control. I am more susceptible to clots since I have had one before and gastric REALLY scares me and the fact that the chance would be even greater, I wouldn't consider it! I would like to be able to fit in a booth or fit into a plastic lawn chair without the sides stabbing my hips and me feeling like I'm going to break it. But really, I just want to be healthy. I lost my grandmother (who I am a clone of) almost 5 years ago because of her being overweight. She didn't get to come to my wedding, she didn't get to see my little brother graduate jr. high, she won't be here to see her first grandchild

It saddens me that I'm losing years off my life just because I'm overweight. SO! I wanted to do something about it.

Please keep in touch, I think the more support the better! I have learned so much from the forums and am truly thankful to have gained such a LARGE family (no pun intended) with so much love and support. The Lap-Band / WLS/ Bariatric family. It's a great and beautiful thing!

PBing is worse. But don't worry think of it as incentive to chew , chew, chew.

PBing???? What's that? It's the craziest thing, I did research for almost a year and have learned more on this forum then what the doc's say or the general information available on the band. If you don't ask the right questions or know what to ask it's hard to get everything out of the doctor. Nothing speaks louder then personal experience.

I have asked several questions and have puzzled people in my doctors office, "Wow, great question, I have never been asked that before". I did NOT take my decision lightly and spent a lot of time trying to educate myself! Learning more so close to surgery after I thought I had it down is a little scary.

Even scarier is the fact that some people, as we have seen, did NOT research on their own and the surgeon's aren't going into details of the lifestyle after the fact. Don't get me wrong, it's not their job to hold your hand and watch what you put in your mouth BUT shouldn't they be guiding us in the right direction or at least let people know just how much this can change the rest of their life. I don't know, just some thoughts. Less than 2 weeks until bandland and I'm scared as heck! Excited! Anxious! Happy! Ugh, the emotions! lol

It's disgusting, that's what it is. When you get stuck your saliva goes into hyper drive and you start sliming. Not a good thing to do with company.

Omg! I hate to use it to reference but a dog drooling comes to mind. Like that? I would assume it's getting your body ready to possibly help it back out? Ahhhhh, I'm scared! Thanks for the info. Anything we can do to stop it?

I am going in to be banded two weeks from today. These forums have given me so much incite to what life will be like after being banded. Thank you to EVERYONE! It's crazy the amount of information the surgeon doesn't tell you, even with my months of research I did on my own, I'm learning like crazy.... So my question........ What is sliming?

Lol, little devil, indeed!

I did a little "cheating" but WILL NOT do so before surgery. My surgeon even said, mellow, easy, bland foods the day before. Broths, cottage cheese, veggies, etc. She said no salad or meat because it takes a while to digest. I wouldn't do it, not worth possibly messing something up for a couple of bites of something.

Good Luck!

Sheran,

You have some good options here! Let us know what you like. Once I found the drink I liked, I stopped looking for another. I would like to hear what you think, maybe I can switch it up a bit :-D

Once you are banded, the naysayers get quiet. It's hard to argue with you about the problems with the lap-band while they're watching you drop a size every month or two.

Hahahaha! I love this, so very true. I actually didn't tell ANYONE, including my Mom (who I am very close to) or my husband. I actually was so busy running around one day I left some information out of the table. My husband came home and asked "Are you looking into that", I was so scared and told him I was. He said "Whatever you do or don't want to have done, is just fine with me."

I was so happy to hear this and gushed out all of my research and really surprised him. I had been doing research for almost a year and didn't want to tell anyone about it. I wanted to make my own, informed decision before getting anyone elses input. I'm so glad I did so and have been fortunate with lots of support. Very few people have said anything negative and again, I think if you are a strong enough person to get help with WHATEVER it is you think you need help with, you should never be ashamed and no one has the right to judge you. I can't wait to put everyone's doubts to rest once I am banded :-)

I figure if I can help share my experience and help just one person make a yes or no choice to see if maybe this is an option for them, I feel I have done my job.

I think of my grandmother who I am a total clone of. If she had information on WLS, would it have saved her life? Would she of not had that heart attack we think she had? Would she have been at my wedding if she had Lap-Band or gastric? Would she have been able to see my brother graduate high school in three years? I can't help but think these things and think maybe I could help someone prolong their life with the power of knowledge. Don't get me wrong, I don't walk around with a sign that says "Ask me about my LapBand" but am more than willing to share what I know and to show them the steps to get started to get their own information.

Good Morning,

This is something only banded people could answer properly but thought it would be appropriate here because it's something that was left out from my surgeon and I'm finding many others as well.

Headache? Pop a Tylenol, IB, or whatever you prefer. BUT after being banded? I finally asked and was told I should crush anything I take. I'm guessing we would absorb it better but what if I don't have a handy pill crusher with me and I'm desperate. Will I regret not crushing my pill?

Thanks!

http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3839127

Hydro-Whey from GNC is by far my favorite. If you like mochas, this tastes just like one if you add a little coffee in the chocolate flavored. It's great, dissolves well in cold milk or Water and tastes like chocolate milk if just mixed alone. I tried HUNDREDS of dollars in Protein until a friend shared this with me. I was so thankful! You can also buy this at GNC, try it, and if you don't like it, take it back for a full refund! Can't beat that!

I haven't had anything done with my spleen but the diet isn't because of your spleen. Most surgeons require some sort of diet to shrink the liver to give them room to move around while operating. My doctor did not make me do any kind of a liquid diet because I did a high Protein diet before-hand and lost 23 lbs. This was all they needed to know I was serious and that my liver had shrank enough. Good Luck to you!

I have been so open with my soon to be LB! Only a few people have said "Well, why not just keep dieting if you have lost 20 lbs on your own"? These are people who obviously do not have a weight problem.

I explain that LB is not a solve all and will not "do" the work for me. It's a tool. It's a tool to help me eat better foods, not over eat and a tool to help me live longer. I then ask them something along the lines of "When was the last time you drank a soda, over ate, had chips, etc"? The band won't stop me from doing those things and eating those horrible things BUT it'll make my life a little more difficult and remind me of why I don't need that stuff!

My mother even asked "Why spend $3000 on that and not do Jenny Craig or something"? I sat her down, showed her my research, answered her questions and explained that this is a lifetime tool for me. Not something that'll help for 6 months and I'll be done and gain the weight back. By the time I was finished talking to her, she wanted to get a band, lol! Though I am VERY lucky and have a wonderful support system, I have come into contact with the naysayers. You should NEVER be ashamed to better yourself, be it WLS, rehab, counseling or whatever you feel you need. Everyone has their problems. People don't need to judge you or agree with your decision. Your a strong enough person to get help when you believe you need it, other people are not strong or are to afraid of what other might think. That's the difference between those who understand WLS and those who are a "Naysayer"!

Good Question! There really isn't a clear cut answer though. Different doctors require different things. Even if you are paying out of pocket, they will still require some kind of diet to help shrink your liver which will give the surgeon room to work when they operate on you. I would say once you finish with your seminar, the surgeon's office should be calling you in the next couple of weeks. I would start gathering questions such as if you still need to do the nutritional consult and physc. evaluation. They may require the nutritional consult because the way you eat is affected the rest of your life and they want to be sure you are taking proper care of yourself. Good luck on your journey! I'm being banded on June 9th. It has taken me over a year with all of my hoops. I have seen people have a consult and surgery 2 and a half months later. Be patient! Certainly keep us informed. Best of luck!