Absolutely, you are right it is not the company at all.  The employers structure the policy and determine what they want to offer to their employees, which is why I say the insurance & the surgeon preference.  There was a Dr. Khalili in my area and he had a program like that and was a par prvdr. I work with health insurance daily & have to explain how the employer chooses what they want to offer ... so I think we are in agreement ... never thought I would say that I am proud to be a loser but I must join you on that too!

I think everyone is right about the fact that insurance dictates what will be covered and what is required.  For instance, my bariatric surgery practice required a couple of meetings with the nutritionist before surgery, but my insurance did not cover all of them.

I started the process offically in April of 08 with a required informational meeting.  My practice offers monthly meetings for pre and post op patients.  Unfortunately, my practice is over 1 1/2 hours away from my house.

I went to the Adirondack Medical Center to meet with the Bariatric practice every month prior to my surgery on 1/20.  I went through the normal psych eval, nutritionist, labs, weight monitoring, etc.  They kept close tabs on me.

Luckily, my insurance didn't put me under the pressure of requiring a certain amount of weight loss prior to the surgery.  I didn't have trouble losing weight at the end, however, because my surgery group did require a 9 day pre-op liquid diet.  I was more than happy to comply.  I figured, if I can't do it now then what will happen when I have to do it after the surgery?  It really helped me prepare mentally and physically for the surgery.  The main reason for the liquid diet was to make the surgery safer. 

What also put me at ease was the expected hospital stay.  I had surgery on Tuesday 1/20 and my expected (and realized) discharge date was 1/23.  I know some people who have had lap RNY had shorter stays.  I'm so glad the practice gave me that time to recover in the hospital. 

Post op follow up will be similar.    I have my first appt on 2/3 and the next on 2/23.  I plan on having the Adirondack Medical Center/Bariatric Surgery Center in my life for quite some time.

I wouldn't have had this surgery without that kind of pre and post op care.

Well hello everyone! Quick question? Had my surgery on the 27th everything went well except I have a dang drain on the side of my 2 in*****ision (BIG SHOCK)!! Thought I was having lap but to my surprise in the pre op room. Paperwork said "OPEN"!!!! YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!! Well anyways the actually incision doesn't bother me a bit. The drain ah could be worse. A little irritated from getting up from my recliner. Its the side I use the most thats irritated. Anyways....I was feeling good on Thursday when they released me. Even Friday was a good day. But yesterday and today have been kind of down hill. Not too bad but just a little different. I feel a little dizzy or more like light headed. I don't know if maybe its because mother nature came to visit me again for like the 3rd time this month or what else. I have been drinking a lot of water, broth, soups. I 've been peeing good. No problem there. I have even started doing number 2. I know too much but hey I need some input. I've been taking my recommended protein amount a day. My b12, iron, calcium and I don't know what else it could be. I know my present coming again this month was weird but on the 6th of Jan I had a leep procedure done due to abnormal cells in my woman re gin. Nothing serious. I had the procedure done just to be on the safe side. It was my first abnormal pap ever. My mother had cervical cancer a few years ago and because of prompt attention she had a total hysterectomy and needed no chemo. So I just decided it was the best thing to do instead of the whole wait a few months and do another pap and see what comes up. I don't think so. So I think that whole procedure screwed up my cycle. And my gyno says I probably won't know tell about a month or so what my normal cycle is gonna be. Well please let me know if any of you have felt my pain. I would appreciate your input in any. Thanks again.

Hey Laura,

I had my surgery on the 28th.  Still some soreness and sleeping in the recliner.  I did take a nap in the bed today.  I'm lucky not to have staples, my surgeon used the glue stuff.  I've been eating protein shakes 1/4 cup every 2 hours and in between with sf jello, sf popsicles, etc.  and water, water, water.  My surgeon said I could have strained soups, so I've strained water downed chicken noodle soup and that was a nice change.  It's amazing how good sf popsicles are.  I've had no nausea just some pain in my left side.  Been up walking and relieving the gas.  TMI  LOL!!!!!  Good luck.  Hope things continue to go well for you.

Deborah

Sounds like you have a case of buyer's remorse.

It is way, way too soon for you (or your dad) to be calling you a failure.

Unless your surgeon put some fill in your band during surgery, your band isn't even working yet.  As another OH member, Kris, has been known to say: trying to lose weight with an unfilled band is like trying to drive a car with 4 flat tires.

Now here's the kick in the a** part:

Even after you've gotten some fill, your band will not do 100% of the weight loss job for you.  Eating because of hunger is fine (and your band will eventually help in that area, because smaller amounts of food should keep you satisfied longer), but eating out of boredom, or because you "think" you need to eat, is not OK.  Your band is on your stomach, not in your brain.  It will not make good food choices for you, it will not exercise for you, it will not cure head hunger or boredom eating or emotional eating.  As you said yourself, YOU have to take control.

At 16 mos post-op, I would have to say that my weight loss success is 40% due to my band and 60% due to my own effort to make better food choices, exercise more, control portions, deal with head hunger, and other lifestyle changes.  (Don't get me wrong: that 40% contribution by my band is HUGE!)

I suggest that you quit calling yourself a failure (it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy) and start thinking of yourself as a success story in the making.

As for your dad, I'd say it's time to start practicing self-assertion skills.  If you live with him and can't avoid him altogether, try the old "broken record" technique.  Choose a neutral response to his typical comments and just keep repeating it over and over again, no matter what he says.  For example, if he says, "Should you be eating that?", say, "Thanks for your concern."  In my experience, even the worst nag has a hard time coming up with an answer to that.

Jean