Totallytater

Had my surgery on Tuesday 12/11. Then had the worst 24 hours of my life. Luckily, I'm feeling a bit better now. Hopefully the pounds will start peeling off soon.

I was banded Tuesday (12/11). Right now I am only drinking Crystal light and lightly warmed beef broth. But I am totally sore. Hope it gets better soon

Got my lapband on Tuesday an boy am I sore (on Thursday). I wasn't sure I could make it onto the plane, but i did. I had no idea how much it would hurt. Hopefully I will feel better soon.

Hi. Yes, I have lost 50 lbs before surgery. I started dieting Jan 1 2007, and it took me until August to lose it. However, I hit a plateau and stopped losing at that time. I have tried to start losing again and have not been able to. That is why I decided to go with the Lap Band. I knew I needed some more help to get off the next 100+ pounds.

Duh, Actually one week from yesterday???? What am I thinking?

Yeah!! My surgery is one week from today. Wish me luck ladies!!

Hi. I don't really know that much about Dr. Bauman. I am in Monroe and I would've liked to use that practice, because it is so close. But my insurance company wouldn't cover lap band so I am having my surgery done by Dr. Kirshenbaum in Denver, Co. It's only $9950 including everything. He also includes 3 fills and after that the fills are only $15. You can fly from Charlotte to Denver RT for $300 to $400 most anytime. I asked Dr. Bauman how much for self-pay and it would have been about double the price. If your insurance says no, just remember how reasonable Dr.K is. Good luck.

Katrina, Hi. I am having my surgery on Dec 11th so I am going through the process right now. I called and scheduled my surgery appointment with Natalie. During that phone call she set up a phone consultation time with Dr. K and a phone consultation time with Paula Pierce who is a nutritionist. The phone consultations are at different times. I have already had both of those. Dr. K talked about the actual surgery and recovery. Paula Pierce talked about the pre-surgery diet, the diet right after the surgery, and the normal lap band diet. I will have my pre-op testing the day before the surgery in Aurora. Right now I am planning to have my fills for the first year or two with Dr. K. I have joined a frequent flyer program with Airtran which flies from my home airport to Denver. I also got one of their credit cards. I am going to charge the surgery on the credit card (then pay it off before the first payment is due). With the bonus for getting the credit card and charging $10,000 to the credit card, I will earn a round trip flight for my first fill. Then I am going to charge EVERYTHING I can think of to that card each month instead of paying by check/cash and then I will pay the check to the credit card company in full before the payment is due. All I have to do is charge $8,000 worth on the credit card and I earn my next free round trip for a fill. It will be pretty easy to get to $8000 if I charge everything (cable bills, power bills, mortgage payment, you name it). Another idea is for you to go to fillcentersusa. com and see if there is a provider in your area. They are very reasonable. Good luck to you. Wendy

Lap, thanks for the great words about Dr. K. It makes me feel like I've made the right choice.

I'll be having surgery on Dec 11th. I have two rooms booked right now and will cancel one closer to the time. In case there is REALLY BAD weather, I will stay at the Doubletree. I think they will pick you up at the airport and will give you local transportation too. If the weather is okay or semi-okay I will stay at the Best Western Gateway. It is right in front of a Wal Mart and within walking distance to the mall and restaurants. So it will be close to things in case my sister (who is coming with me for surgery) needs to run out for anything after the surgery. Good luck to you.

I am really scared of having complications since I am self-pay. If you are self-pay and have complications (infections, problems with surgery) you have to pay for those troubles out of pocket too. Most insurance policies won't pay for complications of surgeries that are not covered.

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I will let you know how it goes. I read somewhere that the Doubletree Southeast will pick you up at the airport and provide local transportation. They offer a good medical discount. Check with them and see if they will give you airport transportation as well as to the doctor's appointment and surgery center. I am renting a car at Alamo at the airport and it was really cheap, like $13 per day. I decided it was worth it to have someone there so I am buying my sister an airline ticket too. We are going a few days early to view the sights. I get someone there and it only cost me 1 airline ticket (since I will have to pay for parking, hotel, rental car anyway). And she gets a free vacation. Can you not get anyone to go with you if you buy them a ticket?

Hi I'm scheduled with Dr. K for December 11th. Yeah!!! I can't wait. I've lost 52 pounds on my own but have another 100 to 120 to go. Wish me luck!