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montynic

LAP-BAND Patients
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Posts posted by montynic


  1. The policy at my surgeon's office is that you must have your insurance authorization in your possession for at least 5 business days before calling and bugging the office to schedule your surgery. (I guess this is to prevent people from calling incessantly.) Anyways, I impatiently waited the 5 days before calling the office and they told me that they had not received the authorization yet... after a few days of calling, faxing, and waiting... I finally got the call back from the office to schedule my surgery. All together, I had my authorization in my hand for 3 weeks before I was able to actually schedule the surgery.


  2. As ketosis sets in during your lo-carb pre-op diet, many changes begin taking place in your body. Most people only notice the odor emanating from their mouth, but some people are attune enough to their own scent to notice the different smell all over their body... Hang in there... and don't worry too much, considering your husband can't smell it :scared2:


  3. As you can see from my signature, I attended the info session on 1/4, went to my initial consult on 1/18, and am scheduled for surgery on 4/1. My Dr. said the average time from start to finish is 3-4 months if the insurance company does not require a 6 month medically-supervised pre-op diet. My process will be just under 3 months. Obviously, any medical conditions that surface may delay the process as well... That being said, I definitely agree that everyone's journey is different!... And I am very impatient as well :-)


  4. I am a fan of Isopure Protein Powder and Isopure bottled beverages from GNC. Each scoop of powder has 25g Protein and each 20oz bottle has 40g protein. So far, my liquid diet schedule has been as follows: powder in my morning coffee (to make either a mocha or latte), powder in milk for a snack, serving of sugarfree Jello pudding (with powder added to the mix) for lunch, powder in milk for another snack, and a cup or 2 of broth for dinner (and sometimes either sugarfree jello or a popsicle if I feel like dessert)... approx. 600 calories, 120g protein, and 25g carbs...


  5. You guys can definitely loose the necessary 10lbs! I started a pre-op diet on 3/10 consisting of: 3 shakes made with Isopure Protein powder, 1 serving of sugarfree Jello pudding with Isopure powder added to it, and a couple servings of broth in the evening. I am also making sure that I drink at least 64oz of Water per day. When I got on the scale this morning I saw that I have lost 10lbs already in the past 5 days! Granted, it is just Water weight, but it is still 10lbs! (Started this process at 325, started the pre-op diet at 328, weighed 318 this morning)

    Good luck to all of us! April is just around the corner!


  6. I completely agree with everyone. I haven't been under 200 since Junior year of high school, in 1999. I know I will cry WHEN (not if) I see 199 again. I haven't been under 300 in so long that I think I will even cry when I see 299. I am currently down to 320, from a max of 360. My surgeon set a goal weight for me of 175, but I would love to see around 140'ish... afterall, I am only 5'5".

    Here's hoping we all reach our goals! :frown:


  7. That's awesome! I think about that all the time when clients come into my office... there is this one horrible chair with skinny arms in the lobby and I can't wait to fit in it without exploding over the edges.


  8. I'm also on day #2 of liquids... My Dr. does not require a pre-op diet, but I am doing one anyway because I would like to jump-start my weight loss, would like to maximize the shrinkage of my liver, and would like to get accustomed to not eating solid foods for a while. My surgery is on 4/1. Considering my BMI is so high, I figured a 3-week pre-op diet will be great. Good luck to everyone having surgery on 3/24!!!


  9. Hey NYSparklegirl~ I'm so glad to see that I'm not the only person who originally joined the Feb Bandsters thread who has been booted to March!!! :biggrin: I'm not sure how... but we should start a March 2010 Social Group and come up with a name and logo...

    About me... my name is Nicole. I am 25 and live in CA. I'm a therapist. I am 5'5" and my starting weight was 325. According to my surgeon, my goal weight needs to be 175, although I would not mind reaching around 140.

    Date of Surgery: Tentatively set for March 5th (but at least I know it will definitely be in March)

    Where Surgery will be: Mercy San Juan Hospital in Sacramento, CA

    Doctor/Center: Laura Machado/Sacramento Bariatric Medical Associates

    Seminar date: Jan 4th, 2010

    1st consult date: Jan 18th

    Surgeon-required pre-op tests (EKG, chest x-ray, labs) completed: Jan 20th

    Insurance-required Nutrition Consult date: Jan 27th

    Insurance-required Psych Eval date: Feb 5th

    How is surgery funded? Blue Shield of CA Insurance

    Concerns? I don't actually have any... possibly the result of extensive research and knowing several people who have undergone the procedure

    Reason for banding? Probably the same reasons everyone else decided to have the surgery... I have known for a long time I wanted to have it done, but it was not until Jan 2010 that my insurance covered it to an extent that I could afford it.


  10. My timeline is as follows:

    Jan 4 - informational session

    Jan 18 - initial consultation

    • this is where I was informed of the specific requirements of my insurance (such as nutrition consult and psych eval) as well as the specific pre-op tests required by my surgeon
    • My insurance is Blue Shield of CA... the only requirements I could find regarding bariatric surgery were the minimum BMI of 35... apparently any other requirements are only known by the surgeon (which makes sense, considering they deal with our insurance companies far more than we do)
    • I was informed that insurance authorization will not be requested until I have completed all my pre-op tests, as those reports are sent to the insurance company in support of the claim that the surgery is medically necessary

    Today - mandatory Pre-op tests... EKG, chest x-ray, and labs

    Jan 27 - nutrition consult

    Feb 5 - psych eval

    Tentative surgery date - 3/5

    Hope this helps. Good luck on your journey!

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