I looked all over this site looking for our Bagnato Bandits thread, couldnt find it. Oh well. I hope we get some dialogue going here.

Hope to see some familiar posters!

I also looked for Dr. Bagnato patients on this forum and didn't find any.

I will be banded by Dr. Bagnato on July 10. I can't hardly wait!

Jo

Congrats on your surgery date. Are you from Albany?

No, I am not from Albany.

I am in Eufaula, Al. About 65 miles from Albany.

I did my tests at Palmyra Hosp., and I prefer Albany to Atlanta!!

I'm sure you already just love Dr. Bagnato and his office staff. They are great.

Your surgery will go so fast. I dont remember ever seeing Dr. B on surgery day until I woke up a couple hours afterward!

My recovery went well, I had surgery on Thursday and went back to work on Monday. I am a teacher.

Good luck on your journey.

You are so right! I do love the staff (so helpful) and Dr. Bagnato.

I have refered 3 friends to him, and all three are doing the steps to get the insurance approval. They all have the same ins. as I, so I feel sure they will get it.

So tell me, if you don't mind, how much have you lost, has it been very hard?

I am so excited!! I have to go on July 1st, for a pre-surgical appt. with Dr. Bagnato, then over to the hospital for the pre-admin test.

Hey paragirl - how are things going? I haven't been on this site for weeks and weeks. I also looked for the old link and figured no one was still around. Hope things are still going well for you. I've pretty much maintained for the past 6 months and am still pleased with my band.

Jovaughn - Good luck on your upcoming journey.

Hello,

I was searching for a site to talk to someone concerning their lap-band experience. I see that you have just had surgery. I am still working on insurance. I have been denied by UHC. I saw that you have referred friends, if you don't mind sharing the name of your insurance and tell me about the approval process you went through.

I have been diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure. I am desparate to lose this weight. Any advice on insurance approval would be great or I am going to figure out a way to self pay.

Thanks alot

Pinkgirl13

I'm sure you already just love Dr. Bagnato and his office staff. They are great.

Your surgery will go so fast. I dont remember ever seeing Dr. B on surgery day until I woke up a couple hours afterward!

My recovery went well, I had surgery on Thursday and went back to work on Monday. I am a teacher.

Good luck on your journey.

Hello,

I was searching for a site to talk to someone concerning their lap-band experience. I see that you have just had surgery. I am still working on insurance. I have been denied by UHC. I saw that you have referred friends, if you don't mind sharing the name of your insurance and tell me about the approval process you went through.

I have been diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure. I am desparate to lose this weight. Any advice on insurance approval would be great or I am going to figure out a way to self pay.

Thanks alot

Pinkgirl13

My insurance is Blue Cross- Blue Shield-Anthem.

I had no problems getting approved with them. I had to have an appt. with a dietition, and a Psyke exam. Both were really quick.

I saw Dr. Bagnato for the 1st time on April 28. The insurance company approved me pending the dietiton, and psyke exam. I saw the dietition on May 12, and the Psyke on May 18. I was approved by insurance on June 14.

My surgery was July 10-just last Friday. It was much easier than I thought it would be, in fact it wasn't bad at all.

I had my general practitioner write a letter to Dr. Bagnato, saying he thought lapband was good for me, as it should make a big difference in my blood pressure eventually. Dr. B's office staff was wonderful- they can help you with paperwork to help you get approved.

You can check with your insurance company and see if they cover Bariatric Surgery. Some do, some don't.

Good Luck!!

Jo

I am considering having the lap band surgery done and will most likely use Dr. Bagnato. I have been reading about the pre-op liquid diet in other post. What type of pre-op diet does Dr. Bagnato require before surgery?

Dr. Bagnato did not require me to be on a liquid diet pre-op.

I only had to be on the sugar buster diet. The sugar buster diet is almost the Atkins Diet. I am on clear liquids post op, my surgery was 4 days ago. I start full liquids on this Friday for a few days , and then soft foods. It has not been hard at all- and I have lost 15 pounds. I did not have to weigh after starting the sugar-buster diet.

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've posted. I haven't been doing so hot lately. I've been dealing with a lot of pain for the past month or so. I started having these terrible one sided headaches that had me crying hysterically and pacing the floor. My first thought was....brain tumor. Thank God that was not the case! But, I have been diagnosed with cluster headaches. I didn't even know these type of headaches existed. They are very rare and they are the worst kind of headache you can have. They are unpredictable! I have anywhere between 1-6 attacks a day.

I started a steroid about two weeks ago and it has given me some relief from the headaches. Lately I have been having a couple of pain free days in between attacks. I am on a high dose steroid and I just started tapering down. I have about 3 & 1/2 more weeks on the steroid. It's making me HUNGRY ALL THE TIME!!! I think I've gained close to 10 pounds since starting them.

I haven't been able to exercise, because it always brings an attack on. It's sooooo frustrating! I went from running 3 miles a day to doing nothing and the weight is piling on. I know I need a fill, but the headaches are taking all my energy and I just feel so BLAH! food has become my comfort!

Please pray for me.

I saw Dr. Bagnato this week and learned my bmi is 40. Now I am waiting to see what I will have to do to get my insurance company to improve the procedure. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia. What requirements I can expect from them?

Good Morning

I was finally approved by BCBSIL on yesterday after 14 months of jumping through hoops. Hopefully, I'll be a Bagnato Bandit in March...

Have a great day, everybody.

These posts make me nervous regarding the insurance approvals! I called to find out what was needed and the guy told me a BMI of 40+ or 35+ plus co-morbitities. However, when I went to my 1st consultation Wed. Dr. B told me a lot of times they require you to do other things as well (doc monitored diet, sleep apnea tests, phsycho eval) but I don't want to have to do all of that bc I know that I am mentally fit and I don't have a sleep apnea problem...I'm fairly healthy besides my PCOS problems that I believe are a mixture of stress and weight gain!

I hope to have a surgery date in March as I am getting married Jan. 1, 2011 and I would like to have lost atleast 85-100 lbs by then! Figures crossed and LOTS of prayers until Monday when I'm supposed to have an approval or disapproval.

He said once I am approved he can work me in within a week or two...so here's hoping I'm a "Spring Into March Bandit!"