I was wondering if anyone has been banded at OSU by Dr. Needleman, or had any experience with the OSU bariatric surgery team. I am currently in my 5th month of my physician supervised weight loss program. I have undergone all of the pre-op testing and just need to complete my weightloss program and send everything in to my insurance company for approval. My BMI when I started was 40, now it is 38. I have spoken with the program coordinator at OSU and they said that is fine because the weight submitted is your initial weight, plus I could actually have a BMI of 35 and gain approval because I have a few co-morbidities.

I am 48, married with three children. I am a registered nurse and one of my fellow nurses had her surgery at OSU. Her experience was good, but she is the only one I know who has gone there. Any input is appreciated!!

Hi,

I am sorry I don't have an answer to your question but in fact have the same question!

There are 4 employees at the hospital I work at who have had the gastric bypass (Ru-Y procedure) at OSU and have done very well. I am the first one to start paperwork for banding and will have it done at OSU too for insurance reasons.

I sure would like to know how you do! Can you believe I am an ER nurse and 49 years old---just finishing the application so I have a long way to go!

GOOD LUCK!

It's great to hear from someone else who is having their surgery at OSU!! My co-worker is doing well after her lap-band. She will be at her one year anniversary in December and has lost 80lb. so far.

I know you are just submitting your application, but time really flies....I can't believe I sent my application the end of May and only have about four weeks to go and everything will be submitted to my insurance co. I'm just hoping there are no problems with approval (but I'm ready to appeal if need be).

I'm glad to hear your co-workers have had good success with their gastric bypass surgery. I opted for the lapband due to it's less invasive nature and the malabsorption issues related to RNY. Hopefully I have made the right decision!!

It's great to hear from another nurse!!

How are things going with your app/process? I just applied to OSU and hope the process goes quickly. What insurance do you have? Mine is Anthem BC/BS.

Hi all I was banded by Dr Needleman at OSU on June 21 st of 07I have had a very good experiance with him and his staff and the surgery was as good as any surgery I have had. I am now 6 months out and doing very well.I have been losing about a lb a week and that is very good for me. The support groups at OSU and the Diatary classes are geared more towards the RNy surgery and not the lapband but they are still very informative. At least the diatary classes are and they last 4 weeks. I really like Dr Needleman although I only saw him once before surgery and then not again till my first fill. He does the first fill under flouroscopy so you get a pretty good restriction the fist time but mine didn't kick in till about 4 days later. My second fill I hit my sweet spot and have been steadly loosing since then. After the band I no longer have that terrible hunger that I had before. I am very happy with smaller meals although I still have to watch what I eat because I really tend to like the foods that are high in fat so I have to work on lowfat alternatives. I would have never have lost the weight without the band. Now even when you fall off the wagon so to speak, you have time to get back on without gaining what you have lost .I just come to a stand still and that makes it easier for me to get back on track I use to just give up on my weightloss efforts. For me this band is the best thing I have ever done for myself. Hope you all feel the same. Good luck to those of you in the process. I didn't have much of a wait but then again I wanted this so bad I just kept calling to make sure everything was progressing and what I could do to help them keep things moving forward. The best thing you can do to shorten you wait is to be proactive and keep communication open.They really didn't seem to mind my calls. I was a self pay so I didn't have to wait for any insurance approval so I am sure that made thing so a little faster.You will get there!!!!! Oh by the way I am an xray technologist Banded June 21,07Dr Needleman at OSU Medical center

Help I cannot get my ticker to post.270 pre band , current 240 , goal 140down 46.4 lbs since June 21.07

Congratulations on your progress!! I just had my final weigh-in with my doctor last week. I spoke with OSU yesterday and they are waiting for the dietician to submit her final report. I will call again in a few days to make sure they have everything. As soon as they get the report my case will reviewed again by the committee. I have made frequent calls and have also been proactive regarding my contact with OSU. Although I usually don't speak with an actual person when I call, I always leave a message and my call is usually returned the same day. My insurance is Ohio Medical Mutual, I'm crossing my fingers that everything goes well when it is finally submitted.

Watch out if you are a self-pay at OSU. Fills are not included in the 3 months of post op care because they are considered a procedure at least that is what i was just told. All fills are

$200.00 even if they are within 3 months of surgery. They don't tell you that in your self-pay contract. I thought all post op care including fills would be covered for three months after surgery and it's not. What I suprise to me!!

How was your experience other than not being apprised of the cost of the fille since you were self pay?

The care I got at OSU was great. I have had no post op problems with my band and overall I have been very pleased with OSU and Dr Needleman.

I'm glad to hear that your experience was good. I am waiting for the committee to meet and review my case, they should have reviewed it this week. Hopefully it will be approved and be submitted to my insurance in the next week or so.

Did you have to spend the night following your surgery? Just wondered about your post-op experience and how long it took before you could return to work.

Ok I was out of surgery in an hour then i was in post op for about another hour and then they took me to my room. I was ok for about another hour and then the soreness hit me and one of my first thoughts was what in the H !!! did I do to myself. That feeling lasted about the next 4 hrs. I was could hardly get comfortable and was very glad they kept me over night as I really needed the IV pain meds. I was getting up to the bathroom and having liquids at about 2 hrs post op. Getting up was the hardest. Holding a pillow to your belly helps. The next morning the pain was a lot less and I was up and walking around when pt came in to get me up . They released me to go home at about 1pm the next day and I was more than ready to get out of there. When I got home I was able to do steps but I couldn't not sleep in bed or lay flat. My stomach musles just were too sore. So the fist night home I slept in the lazy boy and the next 4 nights on the couch that way i could grab the back of the couch to help me sit up. My surgery was on Thursday and by Sunday I was off on vacation. I was on pain meds for 2 more days but I was able to do a lot of walking . By Wednesday I was only taking tylonol for pain as I didn't have very much. I took two weeks off of work as I am an xray tech and my work is quite strenous so two weeks was just enough time. I felt really good by then. If your work is more sedatary and not a lot of lifting one week should be fine. My post op appt was not until 3 weeks after surgery so I really should not have been working without a Dr's release so if you need a release for work make sure you get it before you leave the hospital. Also my pre-op appt was not untill two days before surgery so getting in the fmla papers was kinda touch and go also because they will not fill them out till your pre-op appt. But yes I would do it all over again if I had to. All went well and I got really good care!!! And I love my band!!!!!Gool luck with you insurance approval. I hope all goes well.

My co-worker who had the surgery told me she had the same feeling afterwards and wondered why she had done it. She had alot of pain due to adhesions from previous surgeries. She also had to spend the night. I just read about all of these people who just seem to jump out of bed afterwards, leave the hospital the same day and go back to work before the 1st week is up. I don't want to delude myself, I think I will aim for 2 weeks and go from there. I am a nurse, but we do so much paperwork that a large portion of my day is spent in front of the computer. I devloped a close relationship with my recliner a few years ago after having shoulder surgery, so I guess it won't hurt me to spend a little time there again. I just found out today that the committee reviewed my case and everything was approved, they will now submit it to the insurance company and I will have to schedule my 4 weeks of meeting with the dietician. If all goes well with the insurance company maybe I can have the surgery scheduled sometime in March. It's very inspiring to hear how well you are doing and thanks for giving me some insight into the "realities" of the surgery.