faithmd

Go to the Search function in the blue toolbar, click on it, then click on advanced search, then select thread titles in the drop down menu under the box on the left where you will type humana. I got 15 results for the word humana in the title. Looks like quite a few folks are asking or have talked about them. I don't know personally as I don't have them. There is also a great Yahoo! group called BandstersInsurance you might want to check out. But the very first place you should call (if you haven't already) is Humana to see if your specific policy covers adjustable gastric banding or not. You see, you and I could both have Humana and my company may have bought the plan with a weight loss surgery rider, and your company may not have and you might have an exclusion. That's why it is so important to speak with your insurance company yourself. Good luck!

I too was impressed with Dr. Deol and found her seminar very informative, but I just didn't have the extra $$ for her "mandatory" support group fee (I believe it is $800, but someone who is her patient could say for certain) in addition to the $1,000 deductible for my insurance company, plus what it would have cost me out of pocket to use the doctors she sends you to for your pre-op stuff. The extra $$ is a big consideration for me.

Yep, what Alexandra said. NO WAY I'd get a fill in an Inamed band until at least four weeks and more likely six weeks post-op. There's no way to be able to assess how much restriction is left over from the surgery itself. Also, the band hasn't seated itself in place with scar tissue yet, a fill before it has healed could cause it to move. Of course every srugeon is different, but I'd wonder...

You have basically no restriction yet. You haven't had a fill. Even after your first fill you may still be hungray and able to eat anything. Some people say that it takes two or three or more fills to find that "sweet spot." I know that doesn't sound great, but unfortunately it sounds like that's the way it happens. Then there's the issue of head hunger versus stomach hunger. Are you truly hungry (stomach rumbling) or do you just want to eat? I know I just want to eat much of the time. It's the way we are, if it wasn't, we wouldn't be overweight in the first place.

There's an entire forum here about food and recipes, here's a link to it: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/

Wait, if the doctor put in too small of a band for you, then I would think the doctor should eat the cost of putting in the small band and reband you with the larger band. After all it was his mistake to put in the small one, see it was very tight, and then close you up. I would bring that up to him. After all it's your body. If you leave too tight of a band in, the chances are much higher of an erosion or dilating your pouch above the band because things won't go down, of developing problems with your esophagus because of PBing or sliming, etc. I'm glad to hear that you are getting treatment, though. I hope you continue to improve quickly!

Oh goodness joshjakemommy, of COURSE you'll be okay. Take some time, read around here and get to know us, we're here to support one another. Just because you slipped up once in your pre-op does not mean there will be any problems at all, many many doctors do not require a pre-op diet at all. You are FINE. Relax and try to get back on track as soon as you can

I wish you luck, but for some insurances that is not good enough. You need to get your hands on a copy of your insurance policy's requirements for approval. My company's says: Documentation of a coordinated, physician-supervised weight loss program for a minumum of 12 months, started and completed within a 24-month period prior to the reccommendation for surgery. (The documentation requirement may be satisfied by a detailed submission about your multidisciplinary weight loss program or by your PCP's medical records. PCP documentation must indicate a minimum of 10 visits during a one-year period and verification of the minumum required weight loss.) The documentation should include periodic weigh-ins (at least monthly), dietary therapy, physical exercise, behavioral therapy and/or counseling and, if applicable, pharmacotherapy. By multidisciplinary they mean a weight loss program run by a physician and involving a nutritionist, exercise physiologist, etc. Yep, I had to do 12 months and I hadn't made my required weight loss in those 12 months, so I had to keep going until I lost what I needed to. For my insurance Curves or WW or Jenny Craig would not suffice. They will not take a letter from the PCP, either. It MUST be copies of office visit notes and those notes have to include weights and discussions of what I was doing to try to lose weight (exercise, changes in diet, etc.) I hope that your insurance is easier than mine, but if I were you while I was waiting to hear, I'd make sure to visit my doctor and discuss what I've been doing to lose weight and get the diet history started. It can't hurt!

About 25 grams.

Ooooo, been there, done that, got the T-Shirt. That does hurt!!! I agree the worst pain is a lidocaine shot in an inflamed and sensitive area. Did they pack it with packing?

Try very hard not to be too nervous, your blood pressure will be through the roof. Do you have insurance of any kind? If so, they usually pay for emergent complications following surgery, even if they don't pay for the surgery itself. These may very well just be some road bumps on your journey. You won't know for sure until you see him. I know it's somewhat silly for me to sit here and say "calm down" but that's what I'm doing. Do your best to calm down and relax, you have to drive safely and make it to the appointment. We'll be here when you get home and we'll be looking forward to hearing what he had to say.

You can go to tlc.discovery.com and click on the show, there is a message board for it. But I would say that I am fairly certain all the episodes have already been produced. If you go to the MD's website, it talks about them being featured in a 13 episode series on TLC. That tells me that the 13 episodes are already "in the can" so to speak. If it is popular enough, I'm sure it will get picked up again and perhaps if they don't present bandsters this time around, they will the next time?

I'm sorry you are having such difficulty. Have you called your doctor? That would be the very first place I would turn. Run, do not walk to the telephone and call the office. If you are only getting in about 24 ounces of Fluid a day for many days in a row, that's not good for your body. The swelling is different for everyone, some people have said their belly looked like they were pregnant again. Are you walking? How is your pain? Call your doctor and then keep us updated, please.

Here's a link to a thread specifically for lower BMI bandsters: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/lower-bmi-bandsters-26697/ Hope this helps!

They don't actually stitch it to the stomach, they put a stitch in the stomach and pull it up over the band creating a little tunnel for the band to sit in. Google "pars flaccida" surgical technique, that is what band surgeons should be doing now, when you have your consult you can ask what technique he uses. To truly understand how the band is placed and what is meant by pars flaccida and stitching, you can watch a video of the band being placed at: Tampa General Hospital? Good luck!

What outside hook up? The port (which in the current band is used to inflate (increase restriction) and deflate (decrease restriction) the band is under the skin on your abdomen. Have you considered a sleeve gastrectomy? You can find out about it over on obesityhelp.com There are plenty of folks in your boat, in fact one of the biggest advocates for insurance to pay for weight loss surgeries (obesitylaw.com) Walter Lindstrom had bypass and has now had a band placed over bypass. Welcome to lapbandtalk, we're here to support one another!

I can't believe I missed the show! Darn! So I just went to TLC.com and checked it out to see if they are rerunning the show anytime this week (like they so often do), but sadly they're not going to. Though in my search about the show, I discovered what one of my dear old friends that I have lost touch with is doing... I remember Garth Davis when he was a first year resident. He is in my list of top twenty all-time favorite residents ever. I remember being so sad when he told me he was moving to Texas to go into practice with his father. Then when I looked at the "About" page for Big Medicine and it mentioned a father-son team in Houston, I thought: "No way, could it be Garth?" And yep, it is! What a fantastic person I recall him being. How excting for him! He never mentioned Bariatric Surgery to me, but that was a few years ago (probably nine years) and surgery for the obese wasn't as accepted as it is today. Besides, I've been heavy since I hit puberty, perhaps he didn't wish to offend me. He's a wonderful, caring person. Anyone here go there? When the time comes for plastic surgery, I might consider a trip to Houston... We'll have to see as the show progresses how skilled the plastics guy is.

Hello Melanie, welcome to LBT, take a while and look around, there is tons of good information here. For example there is an entire forum dedicated to food and recipes (how cool is that?). In that forum there is an entire thread dedicated to liquid stage foods. Here's a link to the forum: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/ I hope this helps.

No carbs and no sugar until you reach goal? An Atkins diet? If we could do a strict phase 1 Atkins diet (for a looooong time, since you mentioned it is until you are at goal) then why would we need to be banded in the first place? That one makes no sense to me. It sounds more like a bypass surgeon's reccommendations. Lots of bypass patients can't tolerate sugars and dump, so they are told to stay away from them. The point of the band is to be able to eat all the normal foods we would (but choose healthier, of course), though in smaller portions.

I know, I would also prefer for the edit feature to freaking work again. Sheesh, seemd like such a simple thing to fix, but maybe not? Would be nice to have some word one way or the other about it, though. Some people say that they only have problems intermittently, I have problems everytime. Sorry I couldn't offer a better solution, but I do know this one works, it's what I've started doing.

Edie, try this idea: Before clicking on edit, drag your mouse across your entire post and copy it, then click on edit. Drag the mouse again over all the smilies and everything that shows up, hit delete. then click in the box, then right click and "paste" the text you copied that you want to edit. Then you can edit without smilies.

This is exactly why I say tell NO ONE but your spouse what you are doing. People are frequently uneducated about this procedure and the benefits it can have on our lives. As so many others have said so well, the reasons you listed are good reasons to HAVE the surgery. And I also agree, listen only to your SURGEON about whether this is a good plan for you. Not even your primary care physician is the authority on weight loss surgery, only a bariatric surgeon can look at all of your issues and tell you if this is a good choice. Call your insurance company, as if they cover adjustable gastric banding, then find out who they will cover you to see (and then have them send this to you in writing). Call and make an appointment to go to an information seminar (most practices have them at least monthly and they are free). Take your husband and go learn more about it. Frequently at these seminars you can then make an appointment for a consultation (so take your schedule/planner with you). Good Luck from a fellow Michigander

I will cross every finger, every toe and anything else I can think of for you to get approval!

Lexy, I don't know if you've found it or not, but there's a link to a thread specifically for, by, and about lower BMI bandsters: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/lower-bmi-bandsters-26697/

Your best bet would be Spivak in Houston, there are very few US doc's that will band at less than 35 without some significant comorbidities. But they are out there, you just have to find them. You really would have a much easier time of it heading to Mexico. The docs there are (just like here-for the most part) wonderful, and many of them trained the US surgeons on how to place the band. I think at the last poll I saw something like 50 or 60 percent of LBTers had gone to Mexico to be banded. And just a word of caution, you cannot go on price alone (even though it is a large chuck of change), this is your body you are dealing with. Would you look aroud for the cheapest heart surgeon you could find if you needed heart surgery? Do your homework, theres loads of threads on here about people's Mexico experiences, and Dr. Spivak has a couple of threads dedicated to him, too. GOOD LUCK! And congrats on making your decision to become a bandster!