Mel de Lane

I take Naproxen 550mg (aleve prescription strenght) for cramps. It is the ONLY thing that helps me with cramps. I was worried when I got the band that I could still take it. I asked my surgeon and he said if I only take it a few times a month, it was ok. He said the problems occur when you take NSAID's on a regular basis. I only take it when it's bad and I have had no problems at all.

Cindy, it depends on your insurance. Some insurances want you to diet a while before approval. I had BCBS Personal Choice and was approved in less than 2 weeks. And the psych consult, I was able to do right away. There is a women I saw in Newtown who only charged me 100.00. And she knows all about what Dr Boe wanted in the consult. They will give you paper work before you leave your consult telling you what you need to do. The center will contact your insurance for you and try to get approval for you. It was up to me to get my clearances. I started right away getting my clearances. I was pretty sure my insurance would cover it because I researched what their guildlines were for surgery and I knew I had what it took for approval. I am VERY lucky to have the insurance I have (thank my hubby) and would not of had the band put on without it.

Hi Cindy, I went to the same place your going to. The first consult took about an hour. It was a group setting. I had like 6 in my group. Dr Boe was my doctor and I got to see him for a few minutes after the consult. From consult to surgery took me 8 weeks. It all depends on your insurance and what they want and what the dr wants you to have. I had to have a psych consult and clearance from my cardiac dr as well as a report from my sleep study (which I had done a year ago) He's going to ask you if you snore...Dr Boe is the only one there that does the bands. He goes over gastric bypass also, but I had already made up my mind what I wanted. I did not want to have permanent removal of some of my stomach. I know the weight loss is slower, but thats ok. It's the best thing I've done. Dr Boe is very nice and you can tell he cares about his patients. The only thing I can complain about is that with all the other stuff, I felt like I was in an assembly line. From the nutritionist to the pre-op testing to the nursing care. Good luck and If you have any questions, message me.

Katie, I hear ya! The feeling to burp does go away. I kept trying to burp and couldn't. And the pain was bad for me too... But I am now 2 1/2 weeks post op and feel almost myself. I can burp and I don't have any feelings of pressure. Drinking and eating my pureed foods with no problems. The first few days were rough, but each day I felt a little better and you will too. But I too thought oh no, do I have to live with this?

Hi all! I know from expierence as being a Med Surg Nurse, that we always tell patients after surgery no straws. When you sip, you take in air and that can give you a lot of gas pains. Dietary didn't even put them on their trays. That was for people who were opened up for surgery. Laparscopic is different. But you still get some gas pains. I have not used any straws since surgery. I have enough gas with out them.

Hi Sidd, I also was banded on the 7th and have had some of the things you describe. What i think I was doing was taking in air when I was drinking along with things not having enough time to heal. I started exhaling before I would swallow. (through my nose) And no straws of course! That has made a big difference. And in the last few days I've noticed it gets even better at night to drink. Each day is a little better. But for the first few days I had that bloated (like you got a basketball in your stomach) after I drank. And nothing helped. But learning the new way to swallow has helped and I believe once I can go to mushies it will get even better. I also have IBS which I think flared up and in now caliming down. I hope you start felling better soon.

I just got home from my surgery today. I went to a surgical center. I had to spend the night. They also required a pysch evaluation as well as a host of of pre admission testing and a cardiac clearance. They have excellent nutrional counceling. They have classes every month to follow up about co dependency and other food issues. I went to a Barix Clinic. I don't know how much it cost because I was fortunate enogh to have my insurance pay for everything. Any time I have a question, I can pick up the phone and call them.

Hi, I know what you mean. There is a place in Langhorne, about 40 minutes from Philadelphia. Its a Barix Clinics. It's all they do. I am seeing Dr Boe and scheduled for surgery April 7th. If its close to you, I highly recommend them. Hope info helps.