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Smartiegirl
Smartiegirl's Profile
Age: 31
Height: 5'65
Starting Weight: 264 lbs.
BMI: 35
Current Weight: 209 lbs.
Goal Weight: 159 lbs.
Smartiegirl's Lap-band Surgeon
Hospital:
SinaiLength of Stay: 1 Days
First Doctor Visit: Jul 2, 2008
Surgery Date: Dec 30, 2008
Lap-Band Surgery Financing
How Was the Surgery Funded: Insurance
Insurance Status / Outcome: Approved after first letter
Total Cost of Smartiegirl's Lap-Band surgery: $0
Total out of pocket expenses: $1000
Smartiegirl's Story
I have been overweight since I was a child. I have always loved to eat, and over eat too. As a little kid I remember not eating when I was hungry, but eating when ever I could fit more in! I would literally be so full that I would have to wait a while before anything else would go down. During my teens I managed to go from 180ish to 140ish, and of course I still thought I was fat. After high school I moved in with my crappy boyfriend and packed on the pounds fast. At 19 I was up to 220, then I got pregnant with my daughter. After that I was 250ish, I would work my butt off and get down to 220 then back up to 250. I met and married my very sweet husband, and after my second miscarriage I decided I needed to lose weight, permanently, and I needed help. At the beginning of the lap-band process I was 264. I had a friend that had RNY about 4 years before I had lap band. I talked to her and got advice, I knew I would be using the same surgeon because he is the only bariatric surgeon covered by our insurance. In June 2008 I called to schedule attendance for his info seminar. July 2008 I went to his seminar. I liked him right away, he explained the different WLS available and told us to pick the one we felt would work best for us, I was so relieved because I did not want RNY. In August 2008 I started to see the dietitian and had my psych eval. I was told then I wouldn't see the surgeon for 3-6 months from August. Bummer! I liked the dietitians (I did have to pay that out of pocket), but I did not care for the psychologist at all, she was really negative and wanted to keep seeing me, she actually said because I failed at weightwatcher I would also fail at WLS! In the end we agreed that I would find a therapist closer to home (rather than have to see her again). I am really glad that I have someone close to home that I can talk to, turns out I had a lot of post op anxiety. I Finally got to see the surgeon early December 2008. My insurance approval went right through with no problems, BMI of 42 and a few minor comorbidities. My surgery was December 30th 2008. I was so nervous, my friend that had WLS was really there for me and helped keep me from backing out. My husband was supportive but clueless. He stayed with me the whole time I was at the hospital, he was my little nurse, helping me the the bathroom. I was discharged form the hospital about 24 hours after my surgery. I felt extremely nauseous for the first few days post op. I walked a lot to help with the gas pains, I also slept a lot the first week. I was a little more sore than I had anticipated. I had some extreme heartburn for the first several weeks post op. I refused to let my surgeon fill me the first two times he wanted to. When I finally did get my first fill I had 4.7ccs already in my band from surgery! Everyone was surprised to find that out, no wonder I was losing so fast, I sure was glad I didn't let him fill me sooner! That also explained the heartburn and post op nausea. Life is good. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Before and After Lap-Band Surgery Photos
Smartiegirl's Lap-Band Surgeon Reviews
Comment by: Smartiegirl
Jul 27, 2009 at 3:41:03 AM
I really like Dr.Chua. He is kind, mild mannered, and very professional. I had a hard time deciding 4 or 5 stars. I would recommendhim to a friend. I live kind of far away from his office, I feel like I'm on my own sometimes, like I'm managing my own care, but that is probably the nurse in me, not Dr. Chua. He always returns my calls or squeezes me in if I have a problem.
