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JUNE 2009 Lap Band Surgery



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Im doing back flips over here that my Dr doesnt have much of a preop for low BMI'ers over here! Its gonna be hard enough doing the post op diet. But ya'll will have a head start on me with the weight loss. :thumbsup:

I think I will be in the same boat as you, most people I have talked to that had the surgery where I am having it did not have to do much of a pre op diet, they try to get you to loose 10% of your body weight pre op and that is the diet. I'm not sure how I would do being on Clear liquids for weeks at a time, I'm not all that nice when I am hungry! lol

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Hey--I lied earlier! It isn't chewable Vitamin C, it's chewable Calcium!

Sorry I lied!! :thumbsup:

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:thumbsup::thumbdown:

My Dr doesnt really have a preop diet for me because Im at 35 BMI. He said just Clear Liquids the day before surgery. But I think Im going to diet about three weeks before surgery to get things boosted. Im good at losing ten pounds fast lol. Perfect crash dieter. But I could never do a full on liquid diet of slim fast or anything like a lot of people are having to do the weeks before surgery. My Dr said Im going to have to do a few days of clear liquids after my surgery then full liquids for a week after that and then mushies for another week or so after that. Hopefully it will be easier because Ill have the band in place; but he said it would be hard the last week because its not filled at all so once the swelling goes down you are as hungry as normal without the band. Either way it sounds no buino! :thumbup: At least we will have eachother to vent to! :grouphug:

I dont have to do a pre-op diet either. My BMI was 36. Only clear liquids the day before surgery. But I'll probably do liquids the entire weekend since my surgery is on a Monday. Im 5'8 1/2", and weighed 236 at my first visit. Now im down to 220. Ive been going to the gym, and eliminated high calorie drinks. My Surgeon also told me that im a candidate for having a one port surgery. Which means i will only need one incision throught the navel, to place the band and then the port. But he told that if necessary during surgery, they will do the additional incisions.

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My Surgeon also told me that im a candidate for having a one port surgery. Which means i will only need one incision throught the navel, to place the band and then the port. But he told that if necessary during surgery, they will do the additional incisions.

WOW! That is awesome! I didn't even know that they did that. What makes your qualify, is it your lower BMI? I hope it all goes well for you so that they don't have to make additional incisions!

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I dont have to do a pre-op diet either. My BMI was 36. Only clear liquids the day before surgery. But I'll probably do liquids the entire weekend since my surgery is on a Monday. Im 5'8 1/2", and weighed 236 at my first visit. Now im down to 220. Ive been going to the gym, and eliminated high calorie drinks. My Surgeon also told me that im a candidate for having a one port surgery. Which means i will only need one incision throught the navel, to place the band and then the port. But he told that if necessary during surgery, they will do the additional incisions.

Who's your Dr? Thats the same preop diet and the same single insision surgery that I am having. Im going to Dr Rumbraut in MX

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WOW! That is awesome! I didn't even know that they did that. What makes your qualify, is it your lower BMI? I hope it all goes well for you so that they don't have to make additional incisions!

He said it was my BMI, and i think it has something to do with the amount of fat on your stomach. So thats another reason why ive been really hitting the gym and trying to lose, because i dont want him to have make any additional cuts. He also said it would make my healing easier....because its only one incision. He said that they have only been doing this procedure for a little over a year now, but he's done many. I will definately keep you posted on all the updates:thumbup:.

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WOW! That is awesome! I didn't even know that they did that. What makes your qualify, is it your lower BMI? I hope it all goes well for you so that they don't have to make additional incisions!

My Dr uses the 35 rule. That is that you have to be under 35 years old and you have to have a BMI of 35 or less. He will let you go if your 36 too though.

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Who's your Dr? Thats the same preop diet and the same single insision surgery that I am having. Im going to Dr Rumbraut in MX

Im Seeing Dr. Shah, in NYC....:thumbsup:

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I do not have my surgery scheduled yet but my doctor told me that it would probably be in June. I'm a little more than half way through the insurance mandated 6 month diet. My four month visit is at the end of this month. I am both excited and nervous. Maybe I will feel better when the surgery is scheduled.

hey how is it going? have you gotten a date yet? Keep us posted!!

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I think things are slightly different over here. Yes I have to do the 2 week Optifast thing but insurance doesn't require any other kind of preop diet like some of you have mentioned.

How does your insurance work? Does it pay the full cost or only part of it? In Aus the full cost of the op is approx Aus $13 000. With insurance it costs approx $3500. It is possible to go through Medicare but there is a really long waiting list and my BMI is not high enough to qualify.

I am off to see the physician this afternoon to get the results of my chest X-ray and lung function test and to find out if there is anything else i need to do prior to surgery.Keep your fingers crossed for me that that will be it.

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I think things are slightly different over here. Yes I have to do the 2 week Optifast thing but insurance doesn't require any other kind of preop diet like some of you have mentioned.

How does your insurance work? Does it pay the full cost or only part of it? In Aus the full cost of the op is approx Aus $13 000. With insurance it costs approx $3500. It is possible to go through Medicare but there is a really long waiting list and my BMI is not high enough to qualify.

I am off to see the physician this afternoon to get the results of my chest X-ray and lung function test and to find out if there is anything else i need to do prior to surgery.Keep your fingers crossed for me that that will be it.

Hey good luck tomorrow! How exciting! Well my insurance wont cover ANY of the band or any complications that arise from it, so Im going to MX to have it done there where there are skilled Dr who charge half the price. My cost for a single insision surgery is 8400 USD It took me a year to save up for the money. Now it will pay off for the rest of my life! :) I already love my band that I dont have yet. Kinda reminds me of being pregnant and loving the baby I didnt have yet lol :unsure:

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I'm new and a little lost getting around this site. I want to join the June Journey 2009 social group but not sure how...I can view the list of members but don't see how to join. My surgery date if June 15...

Thanks for the help!!

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Well, I got a letter from my insurance company today and moved my surgery up to June 9th.They only gave me until the 16th of June to get it done.I don't want to take any chances messing that up.I feel so fortunate to have my insurance pay for it.I only hope it will greatly improve my diabetes.:)

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The lap band costs 9,500 in Colorado. Dr.Kirshenbaum charges this for surgery and all fills after are only $15.He doesn't take any insurance so, that's why I didn't choose him.My Dr is Dr Brown and he charges 9900 for self pay.Fills are $50 after the first three.

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This is my first post, I've only been lurking on the site so far, so I thought I'd introduce myself to my fellow June Banders. My physician submitted my packet to Bluelincs of Oklahoma on Thursday at 11:30 and at 2:45 the same day I got my approval. My surgery date is June 4th at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City. My surgeon is Dr. Russell Gornichec. I am getting very excited but also a little anxious as this will be my first surgery ever. I am currently 282 lbs with a BMI of 48. My physician has a 10 day pre-op liquid diet which I will begin on Memorial Day so I guess that means no BBQ for me. ;) Oh and to make things even better my birthday is June 17th and I will still be on liquids only. My mom has said she will make me a birthday cake flavored Protein Shake though I'm thinking it won't be the same. :unsure:

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    • Aunty Mamo

      Iʻm roughly 6 weeks post-op this morning and have begun to feel like a normal human, with a normal human body again. I started introducing solid foods and pill forms of medications/supplements a couple of weeks ago and it's really amazing to eat meals with my family again, despite the fact that my portions are so much smaller than theirs. 
      I live on the island of Oʻahu and spend a lot of time in the water- for exercise, for play,  and for spiritual & mental health. The day I had my month out appointment with my surgeon, I packed all my gear in my truck, anticipating his permission to get back in the ocean. The minute I walked out of that hospital I drove straight to the shore and got in that water. Hallelujah! My appointment was at 10 am. I didn't get home until after 5 pm. 
      I'm down 31 pounds since the day of surgery and 47 since my pre-op diet began, with that typical week long stall occurring at three weeks. I'm really starting to see some changes lately- some of my clothing is too big, some fits again. The most drastic changes I notice however are in my face. I've also noticed my endurance and flexibility increasing. I was really starting to be held up physically, and I'm so grateful that I'm seeing that turn around in such short order. 
      My general disposition lately is hopeful and motivated. The only thing that bugs me on a daily basis still is the way those supplements make my house smell. So stink! But I just bought a smell proof bag online that other people use to put their pot in. My house doesn't stink anymore. 
       
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣
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    • ChunkCat

      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
      I haven't been able to advance my diet past purees. Everything I eat other than tofu makes me choke and feels like trying to swallow rocks. They warned me it would get worse before it gets better, so lets hope this is all normal. I have my follow up on Monday so we'll see. Living on shakes and soup again is not fun. I had enough of them the first time!! LOL 
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Still purging all of the larger clothing. This morning, a shirt that I ADORED wearing ended up on top. Hard to let it go, but it was also hard to let go of those habits that also no longer serve my highest good. Onward and upward!
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