Happy Loser

Hi all October Bandsters, So, I am one day out and feel great. Took 2 tsp. of lortab elixer and slept all night no problem. Just tylenol today till about 2:30 this afternoon and then had 1 tsp of the lortab. Sipping on Water all day, Got a green tea from starbucks this afternoon. And I have had a little more than half of a Jello cup. I am not hungry at all.:thumbup: Feel really good and looking forward to the mush phase to get more flavor. dinner tonight will be broth made from beef Better Than Bullion. It has so much more flavor than any of the already made beef or chicken stock i bought. Congrats to all who just got their band dates. I'll start posting pics soon to show my progress.

Hi Angie, Thanks! My day was AWESOME!!! I am doing good and feel really good to. At this point I only had a little pain as I was coming to in recovery. Now I would just say a little uncomfortable. Nothing I can't handle. Good luck on yours!

Hi Linda, I was banded today too. Like you it went really well and not as hard as i thought it would be. I am on liquids 3 more days before I move to the mush phase. Hope you get a good nights sleep and we can compare more notes tomorrow. W00t!!!

October 1st for me! It's 12:16 AM PDT and I have to head to the hospital at 3:30 AM. I could probably fall asleep if I lay down but then I am afraid I might not wake up and then miss the whole thing. About preop diet ?'s My doc only required 1 day prior to surgery be a clear liquid diet. All I had was Ice tea & Jello It wasn't so bad. I look forward to checking in with you all soon. And to my fellow band mates of 10-1-09, Happy Band-day to you!!!:smile:

Congratulations!!!!

I'm October 1st too!! I am SO excited. What all have you picked up for post op? I have Protein shakes, chicken & beef broth, Gas X strips, sugar free Jello mix, sugar free Popsicles, mini 3 oz Dixie cups, 2 little children's plates & a pack of baby spoons. I need to get some instant mashed potatoes, maybe some baby food, and a baby food grinder wood be good too. How much time if any are you all taking from work. I am off 4 days including the weekend and then will try to return. I bounced back quick after a C-section so figure this should be similar. FYI there is another thread for OCT 09 Bandsters that i was looking for when I found this.

I am scheduled for 10-1 too. at 7:30 AM. My preop is only 1 day of liquids. I started this process with a different surgeon and theirs was a 10 day super lean 1000 cal diet. I want to make sure that my liver looks good when they open me up so plan to do the 10 day thing and then the liquids like my new doc. wants. I am off to create my Tickers!! Any ideas for an October Bandster name?

I received a call today from my Insurance that I have been approved. I notified my PCP & Surgeons office (Dr. Swartz, Fresno CA) I will be called back tomorrow or Wednesday to schedule my surgery & preop appt. I had started this process with a different dr. but she had a surgery of her own & was not going to be able to band me this year. Her pre op diet was 10-14 days at 1000 cal. This new dr only requires 1 day of a liquid diet. It seems strange to me for there to be such a big difference. I plan to do a combo of both dr.s becuase i don't want to risk a fatty liver and having to be put under again to complete my surgery. What was your Pre op diet like?

I am in Porterville, I had been going through the process with Dr. Mackenzie too but she had her own surgery about 2 weeks ago so referred me to Fresno. Dr. Swartz. I met with him today & they will be submitting to insurance this week. I just jumped on here tonight to see what i could find about Swartz. I had to do the seminar there even though I had been to 2 others and it was obvious that they are much more PRO Gastric Bypass than band. But, It's ok because while he talked on for 2 hours about GB it just convinced me further that LB is the way to go. Hope to talke with you all some more.

I am in Porterville, I had been going through the process with Dr. Mackenzie too but she had her own surgery about 2 weeks ago so referred me to Fresno. Dr. Swartz. I met with him today & they will be submitting to insurance this week. I just jumped on here tonight to see what i could find about Swartz. I had to do the seminar there even though I had been to 2 others and it was obvious that they are much more PRO Gastric Bypass than band. But, It's ok because while he talked on for 2 hours about GB it just convinced me further that LB is the way to go. Hope to talke with you all some more.

I have anthem, I have the Lumenous HSA 1500 PPO package. I called Anthem & was told it is a covered procedure. Hopefully there isn't any kind of exclusion on my employers part. My surgeons office just submitted all my paperwork yesterday. I too am on pins & needles waiting for the response. Dr. said it usually takes 3-5 days to hear back.:smile2: if i do get approved in the next week they have an opening at the COE required by anthem on May 7th. So that is hopefully my surgery day. Good luck to you all and good luck to me!!:sneaky:

I am meeting with my surgeon tomorrow morning at 9:45 PST. I have already completed my nutrition and psych evaluation. I am feeling really anxious tonight. Part of the process with the surgeon I chose is they have you right a patient letter & your spouse also has to right a letter which they require to be notarized. The letter is to discuss a number of things, risks of surgery, alternatives, why you want it etc. I am really struggling with it. I had hoped to turn in the letters at my first visit but, it's not going to happen. For one, i just found out about the notary part Friday night. But, it is more my mental block on this. It's not that i don't know the answer to all the questions they ask, i guess...i am afraid of not saying the right thing. Well, any feedback is welcomed. I'll post more tomorrow.

I am looking into the same group for my surgery. I was originally supposed to see Dr. Billy but due to a change of Seminars I ended up seeing Dr. Korman. He was nice but I think I am finding most surgeons are a little arrogant. Good luck with your journey.

The insurance we will be getting isn't really self insured. We own a small business and are applying for small group health ins which is different. Self insurance required underwriting and do to my weight we have been denied coverage with those policies. So, now that we have a small business and meet the requirements imposed by the insurance agencies to prove that we own a small business, we won't have to go through underwriting and therefore will not be denied due to weight or preexisting ailments. But, I am having the hardest time finding insurance that will cover LB. The closest I have seen so far is with BCBS stating it as an exclusion EXCEPT WHEN MED. NECCESARY. But I was hoping to find one that flat out covers it in their policy.

To all 3 of you who have posted before me, Can you tell me if your insurance is paying for this and if so who the carrier is and which Policy you have? I am currently shopping for ins. (self employed) and trying desperately to find one that actually covers WLS & LB specifically. TIA

SAHMOF3 Thanks for your reply. Her BMI is over 40 with co-mor. I was kind of afraid to hear that about the small business. Because with all the research I have done it seems like if it is small bus. group insurance it is excluded. This is the case with BCBS here in CA. In my case, my husband and I own a small bus. and are currently shopping for insurance. I am having my broker look at UHC specifically because I have read so many good things about it. But, I also told her that it needs to cover Lap Band. Hopefully I will hear back from her tomorrow with some good news. I don't understand why small businesses would not be allowed to have WLS coverage.

my sister lives in MO and has United HealthCare Choice Plus and found out today that LB is not covered. This is what the Surgeons office (Rogers, AR)told her. I was wondering if you could share what type of policy you have and see if there are any suggestions you could give us to help her get approved. She works for a small business and could likely get the plan switched if she just knew which one to go with. Any insight or help would be greatly appreciated.

My sister lives in MO and has UHC Choice Plus and found out today that LB is not covered. This is what the Surgeons office told her. I was wondering if you could share what type of policy you have and see if there are any suggestions you could give us to help her get approved. She works for a small business and could likely get the plan switched if she just knew which one to go with. Any insight or help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi I'm new here. I was looking for information about United Health Care. My sister who lives in Missouri is also trying to get the LB and she just heard back from the surgeons office that WLS is not covered by her Policy. She has UHC Choice Plus. Are any of you all familiar with her plan or have any information that might help her. She works for a small business and could have the insurance switched pretty easily she just needs to know what policy to go with. TIA