Bozzj

you know what's weird...i'm scheduled for surgery on thursday (17th) and no one told me this. i just took advil because i hurt my back and some immunity complex from alka seltzer (to fight colds) because i have a sore throat (i just wanted to fight it off before it really comes). great.

Hi, My doctor is Dr. Ewing and he's from Advanced Laparoscopic Associates in Hackensack, NJ. Maybe the two offices have similar names? Here's there website: Advanced Laparoscopic Associates :: Home

Hi All, I'm getting my band on 4/17. I've read every single thread (i believe) on Protein powder/shakes and i'm all confused. I wanted to buy some powders (flavored) so i can try them and have them stocked up prior to my date. I know this topic is probably dead by now:smile2: but can you list you top and/or worst protein powder/shakes. There are so many choices and some have a lot of fat in them...so obviously i want to have a healthy choice. Thanks so much!!!

Hi, I've been reading the food threads and trying to figure out which Protein shake (either pre mixed or the powder stuff) I should buy. My doc recommends Protidiet- so I ordered those (just 3) to taste. Any recommendations? What I'm a little confused about is how much fat/carb/cals should a shake have so that i won't be drinking the wrong thing after surgery (after the clears of course:thumbdown:) Someone mentioned "Essential Natural 100% protein w/ micellar casein- in vanilla cake" in the other thread (i think it has like 120 cals and 2 grams of fat). Is that bad? So again...any favs so i don't buy the gross ones:lol:

Congrats! I don't think it's selfish at all...i mean your kiddies want a mom who is confident and secure in her body..you'll teach them to be by just being that way yourself. So look at it that way. Don't forget to take lots of pictures!!

I've mentioned before, but i'm getting banded on 4/17. I was on the phone with my mom last night and she asked if i ever heard of this...someone she knows- sister- got weight loss surgery (she's not sure which) and this guy's sister told my mom that she got parkinson's 3 years later. She was told at the time of surgery that this was a risk. :sneaky: I never heard of that. I did a quick search and nothing came up. Maybe these people are wrong, but I wanted to put it out there and see if anyone ever heard of this??

Yay!!! That's awesome. Any advice for us newbies? I'm getting nervous as my surgery approaches.

I don't have one. My surgery is 4/17. I'd ask your doc..it seems like all are different.

Anyone ever try Protidiet Shakes? That's the brand my doc promotes...just wondering if anyone ever had it..

i would NOT take a loan on the 401k. personally. I'm getting surgery on April 17th and i took a capital one medical loan. I put down 5k and taking 10k in the loan for 3 years at an interest rate of 5.99%. I'll try to pay it off before the 3 years though, if possible.

can i just say boo boo kitty...you look freaking incredible!!! i'm getting banded 4/17..such an inspiration. now how did you fit time to do 1.5 hours of exercise? did you do it right from the beginning (i think i'm too out of shape for that right away). please share. :thumbup:

I had the flu:thumbdown::biggrin: My surgery is April 17th...holly it's coming so fast! I'm starting to get nervous. I had to schedule my pre op tests today..i'm a self pay so i'm hoping my doctor will be cool and submit the requests for the ekg, blood & xrays himself so that the insurance will cover it as part of my physical. Anyone have any experience with this? I tried to explain it to my doc's nurse today over the phone and she said to just bring in the forms from the lapband doc (requesting the tests) and "we'll see"

my doc offers capital one medical loans. I thought it was shady until i looked into it. My surgery is 15k...i'm putting 5k down and taking 10k in a loan. Based on my credit i'll pay $304 monthly for 36 months with 5.99% interest built in.

See i don't mind doing it at all...for me it's the start of a great tool i'll get soon. Ok another question..how soon does this stuff start? Like just this week my surgery was scheduled..now what? They said i'll have to go for tests, etc, but when? Should I just wait until it gets closer (again it's 4/17)...i don't want to bug them, but i'm curious about the preop diet thing and what's coming next. Arrrgh!! Why did i forget to ask this in the consult!! :thumbup:

is it weird if my doc doesn't require a pre op diet? i forgot to ask them (getting banded 4/17), but someone on this board who goes to my doc said she asked and they said no.

Hey, i have an idea. Typically they like numbers. So, why not list your monthly expenses that they cover (doctor visits, meds, etc) and then show them how it would be reduced in the long run $$ wise.

I know, it sucks. Make sure you're talking to the right person though...someone in benefits...and if they do not call you back within 48hours email the HR Director. You want to ask them if they have an appeal process for WLS. They might not answer you directly so ask them to refer you to the page in the insurance coverage booklet where it describes the process for WLS. HR should never take more than 2 days to get you an answer. Good luck!

crazy idea..ohio isn't TOO far from NJ. Why not come here and have the surgery and just get filled by you? Maybe you can work out a price for just the surgery in NJ (i'm going to Dr. Ewing) without the year of fills and pay the 300 bucks by you to get filled??? In an outpatient facility with a year of fills it's costing me 15k. So, it would probably be much less without that... just food for thought.

Hi, I understand your frustration. I work for a private company that is self-pay- meaning the company pays the claims, not my insurance. I'm in HR so i knew this and decided to go the self-pay route (scheduled for 4/17) to avoid the hassle. Maybe your company is self-pay also? They would never advertise that to the employee population, but being in HR I sat in on the meetings. It's frustrating, but many companies don't cover wls because it's $$$. Appeal it..it'll go to Sr. Mgmt and they will decide. They will not know who you are- just that X employee in X dept requests X for X reason. If they reject again, Appeal it again. Sometimes though, companies do not have an appeal process in place for things like that. Find out from your corp. HR team. At my company it would be covered, but they'd know who I was because..i'm the only fat one in hr!! I don't want them knowing my business... good luck!

I'm scheduled for April 17th. I'm self-pay in NJ and it'll cost me 15k. That's in an outpatient facility NOT the hospital. If i got it in the hospital it would cost me upwards of 32k.

Great thread...i'm young as well...28...newly married (a little over a year). On paper I look like i have a fantastic life: great job, hubby, family, a few great friends, but i'm very overweight (5'5, 292) and i'm "feeling" it. I'm looking forward to not thinking about where I can go out...right now i know the booth sizes of all the local restaurants, etc. I'd like to fly without pain in my thighs. SO I decided to get the band and put in the hard work afterwards. I'm not scheduled yet, but i'll report back when i am.

Hi, I went to my consult today and i'm in the process of setting a surgery date (my husband and i decided to self-pay). I was thinking of getting it April 1st, but just realized i'm traveling for work on 4/13 for a few days. Do you think i'll feel ok to do this or should i wait? I'll be taking a week off from work after the surgery, but i'm not sure if it's ok to travel. While away i'll be attending a conference and can go to my room whenver i want if i'm not feeling well, but again...is this a good idea?

thanks for sharing your experiences. I'll probably end up going the self-pay route. My hubby and I spoke yesterday and he is not in favor of my company knowing my business. Meaning, the company I work for pays the claims, not the insurance provider. This means if I go to the doctor- i pay whatever my share is and the company, not bcbs, pays the rest (this is new as of this year). SO, with this kind of surgery sr. mgmt would most likely be alerted that an employee (no name mentioned) from X department requests X. Then they approve it or not. I'm the only bigger person in my department. This is my understanding of how it works and i don't want people knowing my business. That being said, i still have to go to my consult on Monday and discuss payment options. They did say they have financing options (or we might go the ccard route and then just pay it off later this year). This, of course, is for the outpatient facility and not hackensack hospital (the hospital is about 30k). I want to make sure that the price the doc gave in the seminar, 15k (with first year of fills) covers everything and there's no hidden fees or whatever.

Hi All, I have BCBS, but I may end up self-paying (not sure yet) for a bunch of reasons. My question is what is the difference in regards to the process/timeline if you're self-pay vs insurance? Long story short...i really don't want to wait a long time to get this and today I found out that my company-not insurance-makes the decision to pay or not. I don't want them to know my business...so i may opt to self-pay. Not decided. Would that speed up the process? Do self-payers have to go through the same steps? Thanks

never thought i'd be on a board where i'd shout my weight :cheers2: but i'm 5'5 and 290. I don't have the band yet, but i do have my consult in a week. My goal weight...well i have a goal, but it's not in lbs. I want to fit comfy on an airplane again. When i hit that i'll feel so successful. After that...i just want to be healthy. I hear bypass is faster, but the band is safer so that's the route i'm going.