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M wondering if there are any sleevers living in la? Would like to have a face to face support pal to if that were possible lol

I'm from the Hammond area. I have found some fantastic sleevers on this site that live close to me. We lunch around every month and its wonderful. We are all in different stages and its great support. I know if i have a problem all I have to do is call. And I did. And it helped me gt back on track. Keep looking for people in your area and check with your doctor. They might have something.

Sleeved Dr. Laving covington 3/7/12. Down 65 lbs and down d

From a size 22 to 12-14. I'm rocking my sleeve. Good luck

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Geauxforit......How far have you gone? Could you still change at this point?

I've had my initial consultation with Allain, blood work, EKG, chest X-ray, and upper GI. I sill have to do all 3 official visits with him, the nutritionist visits and class, the physical therapist visit and the psych eval.

I would think all of the testing I've done so far would still count for Aetna even if I change surgeons, right??

Allain is in-network as a General Surgeon on my plan, but he (& the other 3 docs) do bariatric surgery under a different tax id. >:(

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He said that he is an in network general surgeon. I hope to hear a final word from his office this week. I will surely let you know.

Mawtam, any word from Taylor's office? I went ahead and made an appointment with him since it takes a couple of weeks to get in, but I'm keeping my other appointment with Allain for now...just in case!

ANOTHER obstacle, for me anyway, is that my Aetna plan no longer covers BR General and that's "his" hospital! :unsure: Geez...always seems to be some challenge...

Does your plan still cover you at BR General? I had my hysterectomy there and they are great. I hate that we lost that facility.

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Mawtam' date=' any word from Taylor's office? I went ahead and made an appointment with him since it takes a couple of weeks to get in, but I'm keeping my other appointment with Allain for now...just in case!

ANOTHER obstacle, for me anyway, is that my Aetna plan no longer covers BR General and that's "his" hospital! <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':unsure:' /> Geez...always seems to be some challenge...

Does your plan still cover you at BR General? I had my hysterectomy there and they are great. I hate that we lost that facility.[/quote']

GeauxForIt....give me a call and I will tell you what they said. I'm such a slow typer on this phone, 225-354-5299

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Hi fellow Louisiana Sleevers!!!! My name is Courtney and I'm from Marrero, the Westbank of New Orleans, and I am being sleeved by Dr. James Wooldridge Ochsner main campus. I have Cigna and the doctor's office will fax to Cigna tomorrow morning so fingers crossed for a quick approval!!!! Anyone else have Cigna that can tell me about their approval???

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I swear I'm going to go CRAZY during this insane 3 month wait!!!

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Geauxforit.....dr. Taylor's office says that Aetna is requiring me to do 6 months of Dietary couciling. Wonder why they only required you to do 3? Had my first appt on June 18th or so. I saw Linda Braud at Woman's and she said that I could prob have the surgery around Christmas. When I went to my initial appt, dr. Taylor asked me what my preference was as far as hospitals, so I chose woman's. L

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From St Francisville here. I have Aetna as well & am not happy with them at all. I went to Mexico & was sleeved June 18th by Dr Gracia. Was cheaper for me to pay $5K than deal with Aetna plus I have the high deductible plan. Down 26 lbs so far.

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Dr. Chu is awesome. 4 months post op and no problems at all.

Hey, Shannon, how much weight have you lost, if you don't mind me asking?

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Hey y'all!

For those wondering about Dr. Taylor I wanted to chime in and say that he performed my sleeve a week ago today! I was nervous because Dr Taylor was basically chosen for me since he was the only surgeon in my network. I have Blue Cross Federal. But once I met him and his staff I was so happy. I really liked everyone so much. Dr. Taylor is pretty high energy and talks really fast! Lol. He has been doing these surgeries for a long time and I know it's only been a week but so far so good! One thing I can tell you is he is based out of The Baton Rouge Clinic, which is not where he operates, but you can see him there, do labs there, etc. But, that's place is BUSY. Sometimes you have to stay on them to hear something. However everyone is nice and helpful! His insurance coordinator Mrs. Martha will help you with any questions you have about insurance. You'll have your choice of using Woman's Hospital or The Baton Rouge General. I went with Woman's because I had my baby there and was very comfortable there. I love their dietician Mrs. Linda Braud, she was sweet AND realistic in our approach to my surgery. Oh and he does ise a co-surgeon so you may have to pay them each a deductible, not sure how that works exactly but i know that I did.

I hope that helps out those who were wondering about him! I'm new to the board but I've been reading a lot and it has helped with so many questions and with knowing I am not alone in any of this!!

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I'm not from LA but my bestie lives in Abbeville and she of taking care of me after surgery so that's why I'm having it done in Louisiana.

I'm using Dr. Borland in New Iberia. I've talked to people that have used him and they just love him.

He has a very reasonable cash price of $9800. it is done outpatient, if you don't live there then you have to stay in a hotel in New Iberia and he comes 2 days and checks on you, his nurse calls you daily and you also have the Dr's home and cell # in case of emergencys or a question arises. (letting y'all know in case anyone on here is looking for a good Dr for self pay)

I'm very happy with my choice to use him and my surgery is the 25th in 21 days! So excited!!

Anyway I just wanted to say hi and I'll be in your state soon lol

Johnathan

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I'm not from LA but my bestie lives in Abbeville and she of taking care of me after surgery so that's why I'm having it done in Louisiana.

I'm using Dr. Borland in New Iberia. I've talked to people that have used him and they just love him.

He has a very reasonable cash price of 9800. it is done outpatient' date=' if you don't live there then you have to stay in a hotel in New Iberia and he comes 2 days and checks on you, his nurse calls you daily and you also have the Dr's home and cell # in case of emergencys or a question arises. (letting y'all know in case anyone on here is looking for a good Dr for self pay)

I'm very happy with my choice to use him and my surgery is the 25th in 21 days! So excited!!

Anyway I just wanted to say hi and I'll be in your state soon lol

Johnathan[/quote']

Well I hope you have a good time while you're in our State, and your surgery is a success.

Let me know how the whole staying in a hotel goes.... I couldn't imagine having to get up and down from a bed that was not a hospital bed, you know with how the head of the bed can be elevated. Once I got home I slept in a recliner for a week.

That is a good cash price. I paid $14K for mine, but it also covered staying overnight in hospital.

Where are you from?

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    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

      2. Doughgurl

        Thank you so much for your well wishes. I am hoping that everything goes easy for me as well. We don't eat out much as it is, so it wont be too bad in that department. Thankfully. Also, I hear you regarding your back and feet!! I'd like to add knees to the list. Killing me as we speak! I'm only 5' so the weight has to go. Too short to carry all this weight. Menopause really did a doosey on me. (😶lol) My daughter also lives in Houston. with her Husband and my 5 grand-littles. I grew up in Beaumont, so I know Houston well, I will be sure to keep in touch and update you on my journey. I may need some advice in the future, or just motivation. Thank You so much for reaching out, I was hoping to connect with someone in the community. I really appreciate it. 💜

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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