Scooterbug

I have to agree with all the other posts....it actually takes some time to start losing....I only wish it started melting off from day 1. I personally did not see any weight loss more then a few pounds for almost a month and 1/2. After I finally did start losing I was plateauing every 5 or 6 pounds (sometimes would take a few week to a month to lose again)..even to this day I keep plateauing every few pounds. Last week I got a fill and lost 6 pounds right off the bat....now have stayed the same weight for the last 5 days..not even a lose of a few ounces since then. It can be frustrating at times....but don't give up.

It all also depends on the coding that your doctor uses. See if you can get it coded by the hospital under a different code such as gastrio intestinal.

Best of luck to you!

As a medical coder I can tell you for sure that it is NOT because of a code. There is only 1 code for insertion of a Lapband device...and all Lapband surgeons offices use that same code anywhere in the US. So if there is an exclusion it is because the OP's employer chooses not to include the Lapband in there plans.

Furthermore asking the hospital to change a code so you can get a procedure approved, or a hospital/doctor's office changing a code for you to get a procedure approved is considered fraud...which could carry a HUGE monetary fine and/or time in jail...just FYI.

I heard Dr Baptista is waiving transfer fees for anyone interested in going to him. He is an awesome Doctor. I was initially a patient of Dr Cywes from Jan 2012 - August 2012. After alot of frustrating dealings with his staff (not filing my claim on time, phone calls never returned,miisinformation, etc), my wife and I switched to Dr Baptista. It was the best decision we ever made!!

Well as much as I really liked Dr. Baptista it looks like I will be traveling out of town for my surgery. I talked to his office this past Monday and they were supposed to call me back after checking on some things. The lady I spoke with said she would call Tuesday. Did not hear from them and Weds afternoon I called several times and could not reach a person so I left a detailed message. Nothing Thursday or Friday so I called again Friday and again could not reach anyone and just decided not to leave another message.

I absolutely believe he is a great surgeon but it is horrible to think that his office can't return a call after 1 week. More concerning that I can't seem to reach anyone other then an answering machine when I call. I know things slip through the cracks but that means that they had to keep looking over my paper work all week, forget to call me back when they initiated it and never return a call when I left a message.

I understand that maybe I am the only to experience this but to me it is a red flag.

Sorry to hear you are having so much trouble getting a hold of someone at Dr. B's. Not sure if they are having staffing issues at the moment or not. I do know they work 1/2 days on Fridays. Do you have the direct number for Rosie? If you still can't get a hold of her I can shoot you her email address.

He said that he gives all of his patients his personal cell phone # and asks that they call anytime they feel the need to ask a question directly to him or have problems with his office. He said that if we ever feel the need to go to the ER do to an issue with the Lap Band to call him first no matter the hour etc. He said that he feels confident in doing that because his phone does not ring off the hook since he takes care of his patients and has few complications etc.

I am not even a patient yet and I have his cell # ... Maybe it would not mean much to some but for me that is a huge calming factor to me that I can talk directly to the doctor if I am fearful there is something wrong with me.

After my surgery I was having a lot of pain at my port site....It got so bad the pain meds would not even help it. I called Dr. B's personal cell phone number to talk to him for advise. It was way after office hours..and he actually met me and my wife at the office. He discovered I had a pinched nerve near the port site (which he said happened to like 1 in 300 people or something like that..real rare). Needless to say he got me taken care of....made sure there was nothing wrong with the band, wrote me a new script, and I had no problems ever since!! Wish my PCP was as nice as Dr. B.

First thing to do is not panic. Second, if you got your EOB (explanation of benefits) or are able to access them online, you should be able to see all charges listed for your surgery. Next to each charge you SHOULD see a 5 digit code. These are called CPT codes and this is how coders bill for procedures/surgeries.

You will want to try and locate your Gastric Band CPT code..which should be 43770. When an assistant surgeon is used a "modifier" is added to that code in the form of modifier 80. So IF coded properly the Gastric band code should be 43770-80 (Gastric band procedure with the help of an assistant surgeon).

Make sure there are no other codes that have the modifier 80 next to them. Coders do sometimes make mistakes and you want to make sure modifier 80 is not added to a code that insurance would not think would require an assistant surgeon to help with.

So for instance... hypothetically..lets say a coding mistake was made, and modifier 80 was added to the code for placing an IV. The insurance company would say "Why would it take a primary surgeon and his assistant to insert an IV?" That would be denied right away by insurance.

SO.... my suggestion is look over the codes, if it's not too confusing, and make sure everything looks right OR call the insurance company and ask why they denied the charges for the Assistant Surgeon. If it was a coding mistake it should be easily fixed by your surgeons office and resubmitted.

I couldn't agree more..Dr Baptista is awesome!!!

My wife and I have a UHC Options PPO. they also said they required a 5 year weight history. I was missing 2010 and my wife was missing 2009, due to the fact that we only went to the doctor when we were REALLY sick..meaning we didn't get sick enough to go to a doc those years. We were approved in less then a week even with those missing..so you might be ok missing 1 year

Just a small update (it's been awhile since I last posted)...

First i want to thank everyone who suggested Dr. Baptista..he is really awesome!! I only wish I had a PCP as nice as him

Things were a bit rough starting off. Right after surgery I was feeling extraordinary. My wife on the other hand was very nauseated after surgery. On the way home my Father (who drove us to and from the hospital) hit a pothole in the road and that was pretty much the end of my feeling good. As the days went on I kept getting a stabbing pain near my port site, that the pain meds would not even dull. About a week after the surgery it became so unbearable that I almost went to the ER. My wife called Dr. Baptista's cell phone and he actually met us at his office (this was 7:30pm, I don't know any other doctor that would do this). Apparently I had a pinched nerve near my port. Dr. B fixed me up with some muscle relaxers which helped a good bit.

After I was able to get the pain managed my wife and I became frustrated because the scale was not moving..as a matter of fact it seemed to go up . We talked to the staff at Dr. B's office and they keep saying the same thing about "eat as much Protein as you want and stay under 30 carbs". The dietitian/nutritionist at there office said the same things..yet the scale would not move. We were both at the point of almost giving up because we could not figure out why we were not losing.

In mid September my wife started taking a tax class. One of the woman in her class was actually a licensed nutritionist, so my wife explained our situation. The woman said a common thing people hear the terms "stay under 30 carbs" and they actually do no carbs or very very little. She explained that you still need some carbs to help process the Protein, plus she said to up vegetable intake. Not sure why Dr. B's nutritionist didn't say that, but we figured we would give it a try.

After making these few tweaks we actually started seeing the scale go down for the first time since our surgery date! Since we made these changes I have lost 21 pounds and my wife has lost 15, In total since we started our Lapband journey (our 6 month PSD) I am down 60 pounds and my wife is down 37 pounds.

Physically I did not see it..because i am used to seeing myself so big. This past weekend my wife decided we were going to clean out our closet. She made my try on clothes, and we were donating anything that didn't fit to Goodwill. She pulled out some dress shirts that back in February I could not even hope to get buttoned up. I was in utter shock when I put them on and not only COULD I button them, but they were so big I was "swimming" in them!! That was the first time I could actually feel that I had lost weight. The scale said i had..but now I can "feel" it!!! My wife tried on a pair of shorts she was given about 7 years ago...back then she could not get them buttoned and she said they were so tight she though they would rip. Now they fit..and they are loose on her..she said they were so comfortable now, and she ended up wearing them for the rest of the day

So needless to say..after a slow start..we are both now making headway!!

I wonder if you were eating less than 600 calories a day if your body is not just adjusting to having had surgery but also the amount of calories your body is now getting. How long were you eating less than 600 calories a day? It sounds extreme to me, hopefully it was not for a very long period.

I spent 8 months before my surgery working with the nutritionist and was on an 1100-1400 calorie diet. As a part of watching the calories I also was aware of what they were coming from, i.e., Protein, veggies, carbs, supplements. I wasn't always good about sticking to it but did loose a significant amount of weight.

I'm sorry to hear you are getting conflicting information from your doctors & nutritionist but please don't get too discouraged. It is a lifelong change for us and some of us loose faster than others. My weight loss since surgery has been slower than prior to surgery but as I mentioned I lost a significant amount pre op so I feel it is normal for it to be slower now.

Hang in there and if the nutritionist you were working with before is familiar with bariatric surgeries see if you are able to return to them. They will probably be more helpful than the surgeons office at this point. I know my clinic has nutritionist follow up appointments for a least 1 year post op.

The nutritionist I was dealing with was at a different practice then the doc who actually did my surgery. I saw that nutritionist for the 6 month supervised weight loss. At that time I was given a list of foods, and told "Keep carbs to 30 grams or less a day, and don't worry about calories". I did this for several months and lost maybe 1 or 2 pounds a month. The nutritionist said I should be dropping weight like crazy. I told her the only times in my life I actually lost weight was when I did EXTREME calorie counting, 600 calories or less a day. She told me to go with what works. So I did..and that when I started losing. Even after losing almost 30 pounds..the doctor at that practice still accused me of eating "cake and ice cream"....If I was I certainly wouldn't have lost almost 30 pounds.

Due to one physician quitting the practice, another not being able to operate at any hospital in town, and a complete breakdown by there office staff...I went to another doctor and he was the one who did my surgery. I lost another 9 pounds on the Pre-Op diet, which brought my total Pre-Op loss to 39 pounds.

I will find out if my newer doc has a nutritionist to work with.

What were your surgeon/nutritionist instructions to you...and are you following them? Are you exercising on a regular basis?

I was advised to never count calories, only make healthy food choices and measure my portions. Every meal consists of 3 oz of lean Protein and 2 oz of a Fiber carb, measured by weight after cooking.

My philosophy is a bit different than many others who participate on this forum. I'm not trying to get my band overfilled to create restriction to curb my intake of food. I've been very conservative to have my band filled, and prefer to accept more of the responsibility for my weight loss by managing my hunger myself.

So far, my approach has been working well for me, so I intend to stay with it...

I've found that there are 3 situations which will stall my weight loss: not enough calories, not enough Protein, and not enough exercise.

That said, your number of calories a day seems a bit too high for weight loss. It does matter to make healthier food choices...avoid extra fats and anything "white". I shop only on the periphery of the grocery store; I avoid the bakery and focus on the produce, meat, and dairy sections.

I hope that some of this information will help...

Instructions were basically to not worry about calories...just to 75 to 80 grams of protein a day, and less then 30 carbs. Plus we were given a sheet with what we could eat certain amount of days after..such as 1 to 7 days after, 8 to 12 days after, etc, etc.

Also... remember that you are recovering from surgery. Sometimes the body takes time to catch up. Make sure also, that you are doing some exercise ~ walking 30 - 40 minutes every day....

Exercise at the moment is a bit tough...to elaborate... After surgery I had a good bit of pain near my port area. I figured this is normal and it would go away in time. My doc had me on the standard liquid hydrocodone for pain. I soon found out that the hydrocodone would not even come close to helping the pain.

A week after surgery the pain got worse..and one day it got to an almost unbearable level. I saw my doctor again that day and he checked and made sure everything was ok with the band. He did say that the port is pinching a nerve, which is making all the muscles in that area spasm. he gave me Tramadol to relax the muscles (makes me sleepy too). Even though the Tramadol eases the pain..I can still feel it there when I walk, sit, or sleep. My doc said the next step is for him to do an injection that will deaden the nerve so the pain will stop. So basically, at the moment, walking for then 10 feet agitates the nerve and causes pain. I think I may call the doc tomorrow and tell him I need the injection.

Agreed, you are probably not taking in enough calories. Why not go back to what you were eating preop when you were loosing rapidly? Are you too tight to do that?

Not too tight to eat yet, haven't had a fill yet. Pre-op I was doing 600 calories or less...consisted of no Breakfast or lunch....a diet soda during the day..and some chicken or fish for dinner..thats it.

Hi Scoiterbug - out of curiosity how much calories do you have in a day - the reason I ask that apparently not eating enough calories can actually hinder your loss !!!!

Right now I am trying to get in between 1200 and 2000 calories a day. Pre-op when I was doing the strictly low carb diet I stalled out a few times. In the past I only lost weight doing 600 calories or less. My dietitian at the time (pre-op) told me to go back to calorie counting if it worked. When I went back to calorie counting (600 or less) I lost 30+ pounds pre-op. My surgeon told me "don't worry about calories, just eat less then 30 carbs a day".

As the title states..I am 2 weeks and 2 days Post-op..and I am feeling so discouraged.

Prior to surgery I was losing weight on a daily basis (1 to 2 pounds a day)... after surgery I have lost nothing!! I can seriously not wrap my brain around how I could be eating extremely less then i was Pre-Op and have not dropped a single pound in 2 weeks time

My diet consists of all Protein (fish, chunked chicken, chunked ham) and almost no carbs at all. My intake of food is maybe 1/8 of what I was eating Pre-Op, but I was losing weight then...now nothing. I just can't figure out what I am doing wrong. My wife keeps telling me to wait until I get a fill to see what happens..but really..If I am eating less then before and not losing, I don't see how a fill will help at all.

I waited so long to have this procedure, and jumped through every hoop in the book to get it..only to feel like it's not working at all

I started having that "stinging" problem last night. My port site is under my left rib. Been having trouble with pain in that area since I was banded. Last night it got so intense, and tender .... plus when I applied ice it felt like I was being jabbed with a needle. I called my doc and he met me at his office. Seems my pain is coming from a pinched nerve and muscles spasms because of it. He set me up with some Tramadol and that helped a bit.

I am 9 days Post OP and am having a similar issue. I will be up 2 pounds one day..then down the next..then back up....so on and so forth.

It is kind of annoying because at this point (over a week out) I thought I would have continued to lose like I was pre-op

I am 4 days Post Op and the pain is awful. I have pain under my main incision site that constantly aches and if I move the wrong way it feels like someone stabbed me with a knife. I have been taking the liquid pain meds they gave me, and even tried a double dose a few times, but it doesn't seem to help this particular pain. My docs office also told me to take some chew-able Ibuprofen to help with swelling. Then there are the gas pains...UGH... been walking, doing breathing exercises, and taking gas x .... they actually feel worse today then they did yesterday.

My wife and I are both getting banded tomorrow!! (Sept 7th)

I ate the Morningstar Farms and Boca products for years and thought they were very tasty. I can't think of any particular ones that I would say did not taste good. Ribs, chick'n patties, and crumbles were my favorites.

My wife got a call from Dr. Baptista's office a little while ago...our surgery is scheduled for September 7th!!!!!! Now I really wish I had went to him when we first started.

Very cool! I know you will like him. He's very nice! Keep us posted on how things go!

We got a call from Dr. Baptista's office this morning and they fit us in for a visit at 3:15. You were right...he is SUPER nice!!! Also Rosy is on the ball..she already talked with our insurance company twice and is getting everything in line. here is hoping everything continues to go smooth! Kinda wish I choose Dr. Baptista to begin with.

My wife and I are in the process of switching to Dr. Baptista!!! Let's pray everything goes smoothly from now on.

I am SO sorry to hear this! I was hoping that maybe you would be on the road to getting your band. I'm not sure where you are located but I am using Dr.'s Marema and Koppman with US Bariatrics in St. Augustine. They operate out of Flagler Hospital which has EXTREMELY nice facilities. They are VERY thorough and responsive. If I send an email I typically get a response with 24 hours. I have been very pleased with them so far (even though I haven't had my surgery with them yet). A co-worker of mine had her sleeve done with them and has been nothing but happy with them. Dr. Marema has been listed as one of the best bariatric surgeons in the country. I highly recommend them. Please keep us posted.

Thank you..I will look into them. I was also looking into Dr Baptista, but I can't find him listed on my insurance site as being in network

I am finally fed up with dealing with Dr Cywes's office...now they are not scheduling surgeries at all, and I was told that even when they start scheduling them again there could be a month or more wait.... sorry but that's the last straw!!!

Can anyone suggest a good surgeon that will not give me the run around??? I am already approved..It would just be a matter of getting to the surgeon and setting things up.