Any buddies out there???

Just wandering if anyone is at the same or similar stage of the process I am..... I am pre-surgery..in the middle of my 6 month supervised diet and planning to have surgery in January/February

Well, I am just slightly ahead of you.  I just found out on Friday that my surgery was approved.  It initially was declined and I had to appeal.  I had to do my 6 months supervised diet visits and just found out that they overturned their initial decision and I can go ahead with the surgery!  I am not scheduled until August and I am very anxious.  Any questions or concerns you may have regarding the 6 months of visits I'll be happy to share.  I am also in NJ and my ins is BCBS of NJ.  -Danielle

Hi Danielle, I had surgery with Dr Iannace in February. So far I am down 59lbs in 4 months. Feel free to ask questions or just get in touch to chat! Good Luck and I can't wait to see your progress online.

Congrats on your weight loss!  That's fantastic!  Well, since I posted a lot has happened to me.  I am no longer going to be seeing Dr. Iannace as their practice has now decided to stop taking insurance!!!  So I won't bore you with the horrid details of my story, but light at the end of the tunnel is I found a new doctor, Dr. Schmidt also out of Hackensack.  Only diff is this practice has a great post op program and they don't do the banded surgery, only laprascopic.  It's a small price to pay to have my surgery paid by insurance though.... Surgery is still set for August 11th....Can't wait! What were your thoughts on Iannace and the practice?  Curious.... Also, how was your overall experience????

I had a great experience overall. Originally I was having surgery with Dr. Vaimakis in Englewood, but then she called me a WEEK before surgery to tell me she couldn't do it because she was out of network. That is how I wound up with Dr. Iannace. I had the surgery at Hackensack and everything was great. I had the open surgery because of the additional band that Dr. I. uses, but other than that no complaints. Plus, Dr. Vaimakis wanted a 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery, Dr. I didn't. Everyone is different. I know he doesn't take my insurance anymore, but he is considered an out of network doctor so my follow-ups are just a 70/30 split, no big deal. Plus, you only have 4 follow ups after surgery (2 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and then 1 year) and I already had my 2 week and 3 month so I only have to pay more for the last two visits. I am in Teaneck if you ever want a work-out buddy or someone to just cheer you on......

Glad to hear things are going well with you.  Yeah, I am disappointed that my doctor doesn't do the banded bypass.  Dr Capella's group and only like 2 other dr's in the state are doing it!!!  But again, it's better than getting a bill for $8k at the end of the surgery.... How was your surgery?  Your recovery?  Do you believe there is going to be that big of a difference with the banded vs. laprascopic? 

My recovery wasn't bad, I was back at work in two weeks and pain free after the first week. The band makes a HUGE difference. You physically cannot swallow big bites and in the long run you can stretch out your pouch, but you cannot stretch the band, so unless you are gulping milkshakes or living on ice cream and mashed potatoes it would be almost impossible to eat enough quantity to gain the weight back that you lost.

Hey there, ladies.  I just wanted to jump in and say that, unless you had a prior surgery withOUT the band you're talking about, how can you know it makes a "HUGE" difference? I had lap gastric bypass with Dr. Ballantyne out of Hackesack, and I have done great - I've exceeded his expectations at this point, and I'm not done yet! While I'm not saying that the band might not help, I AM saying that if you follow the post-op rules, you can be just as successful with or without! I don't take huge swallows... I chew till everything is basically baby food consistency... and this is still at 15 months out... this is for LIFE! Also, there is ALWAYS a way to eat around ANY of the surgeries if you are so inclined.... there are NO GUARANTEES that you will lose all the weight you want and/or maintain that loss.  It's up to each of us as individuals to modify our eating and make the necessary changes. ~wendy