New and 12 days to surgery

Thread Starter  

Hi everyone, I am new to this site and will have LAP-BAND^® surgery on August 27th with Dr. Barry Greene in Rockville Maryland. I am so excited but also nervous of the actual surgery. I am on a total liquid diet (2 wks prior to surgery) to shrink the liver. I have been reading a few posts and this sounds like a wonderful place and you all sound so nice. I am sure I will be back.

Welcome! And take it from me...follow that preop diet perfectly! I didn't (I lost but tinkered with it) and my liver was too fatty; I got opened up and closed back up w/no LAP-BAND^®! That was pretty vile!
Now I am perfectly on my preop diet and we'll try again 8/29.

Personally, the surgery was easy. Doc told me pain with the band won't be any more than what I'm feeling now, and I've just needed an occasional tylenol. You'll do great!

Congrats! I am new too. I am in the holding pattern of insurance approval! Good luck with your new journey!

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Banded 09/25/08

Hey, I am in the Montgomery County area and met with Dr. Green, at the time my insurance would not cover so I put it on hold. I am getting new insurance now, so fingers crossed. How much did you have to lose pre op?

Jennifer, he didn't give me an amount. I've lost, so far (since 7/25) from 405 to 378. I have 10 more days to go before my 8/29 surgery and expect I'll probably lose another 5-6. This diet is SO low calorie (500-700 a day) that you lose pretty fast. I'd lost 15 before my original 8/11 surgery and that wasn't enough....

I'm lucky my insurance doesn't require a lot of hoops...this has been fast for me. 7/3 my internist told me "Get the LAP-BAND^®" (Yay I've wanted it since it came out!) 7/10 the seminar, 7/25 the first meet with surgeon,
and then psych eval, diet consult, pre-op tests, and BOOM surgery 8/11.
It's been a whirlwind courtship except for the fatty liver thing!
But that sucker is BOUND to be shrinking now.

Wow- thats incredible. What insurance do you have?

TriCare "standard" For years Tricare didn't cover LAP-BAND^®. I'd called them again this year in Jan and again in April and was told "NO". Then my doc told me to have the surgery and my husband and I decided we'd just pay for it when I found out that now, Tricare DOES cover it! YAY
Since he's retired Army, I guess they are more aggressive about paying for this type of thing because the odds of us "changing" insurance is slim. They are going to have us for a long time, so the healthier we are, the cheaper it is on them long run.