Candle

Thanks for the reply Doesn't it seem like this is all so much more complicated than it should be? lol

I met Dr Geiss today. I was very impressed with his office, the helpful and friendly nature of his staff. I didn't really walk away with much of a vibe on 'him' but I'm sure he's had to do that little introductory ‘meeting’ a million times. I know I have confidence in his abilities and the availability of his staff. I've done A LOT of research on the band and I knew they could tell that when I was there. They answered all of my questions and I didn't end up wasting any time with repetitive information. I'm a little overwhelmed right now .... so many tests and so much information to absorb!

How did your insurance company handle the doctor bills for the pre-op tests? The sleep study, cardiac evaluation, thyroid testing, etc ... did they cover those things because they are tests that could have needed to be done anyway, since you are over weight? Or did they deny the claims because they were pre-op tests for "bariatric surgery" I know I have an exclusion and I don't want to find out down the road BC/BS won't cover these bills. (I am switching my insurance co before the surgery. A policy that covers it.)

I have my first meeting with Dr Geiss tomorrow.

That's along the lines of what I was going to say. This isn't an ear, nose, and throat doctor ... this is a doctor that sees fat bodies everyday. I'd rather be naked in front of him than any other doctor I can think of. I've watched 2 or 3 Band surgeries on or-live.com and the doctors always stand on the side - not between your legs. And the only area of your body not covered by that paper, is your tummy. My fear is having surgery at "that time of the month" I had an operation when I was 13 and had only been having my period for about a year at that point - I was mortified when they just stuck a pad between my legs and told me not to worry about it. :heh:

Even if the band has a small amount of metal it wouldn't be enough to set it off.<O:p</O:p <O:p I had a spinal fusion about 20 years ago and have metal rods (for support) running along my spine and I've never set one off. (I think the rods weight just under 3lbs, so it's a significant amount of hardware)<O:p</O:p <O:p

I realize that most people probably had this covered by insurance or did self-pay & paid one lump sum but .... I was wondering if anyone could throw out a few figures they might remember for doctor(s) visits. Since my insurance has an exclusion, I am looking at purchasing a "hospital only" plan with another company but it doesn't cover office visits. This plan would replace my current plan until next year, so I am really nervous about making this change. There's a co-pay of $20 for diagnostic lab tests and x-rays, so I think the tests themselves are covered, just not the fee for the office visits. I know the surgical consult is $350 and I've heard the physiatrist is around $250. I have to do the 6 month diet w/ my PCP which is $75 per visit ... any numbers you guys can throw out there for further testing would help! I was planning to ask this question tonight at the seminar my doctor holds once a month but there was an accident on the highway that kept me in traffic for almost 2 hours - I missed the seminar. I was in tears in the car I'm seriously considering self-pay at this point .... my SO isn't really into that idea. (We just emptied our savings buying a house last year)

I just emailed Dr K's office about this the other day. They said they work with Surgeryloans.com for financing. I haven't looked into what rates they offer. The 1.9% w/ capital One is very appealing. I was sorry to hear they don't accept it.

IMO - fitday.com is the best. I've used it in the past and plan to use it again in the future.

Thanks for the reply. I seem to have the COPY option when highlighting text [now] - maybe it was just a fluke earlier when I was trying to copy the recipes? Glad I started this thread though because the "CTRL C" trick helps me spell check my own posts in WORD …. it's just a habit since another forum I post in has no spell check.

Thanks!! That works. *blush* I noticed the problem originally because I was trying to cut > paste my own text to WORD, so I could spell/grammar check *blush* before I posted a rather long post. The forum spell check (ABC) prompts me to d/l iespell.com and I didn’t want to. Thanks again!

Try ehealthinsurance.com Put in your location then start calling the companys with plans in your price range. Give them the CPT code for Gastric Banding 43770. I am going through something similar. My company has a small business plan with BC/BS and all WLS is excluded. Not by my employer but by BC/BS - I guess for them small business gets classified as COMMERCIAL - the commercial classification is where the exclusion comes from. That may be the case for you too. I was able to find a plan here in NY that was reasonable $$ and I "think :phanvan " will work for me. It's a hospitalization plan. It doesn't cover office visits but it looks like the surgery will be covered and small co-pays for the pre-op testing. *crossing my fingers no complication with the band or otherwise requiring many office visits, come up until open enrollment on my current BC/BS plan comes back up in January 2008 * Good luck.

I am also pre-band. One point in relation to your insurance, see if you can find out from your insurance company or your doctor (if they've had experience with your insurance co) if they require any period of a doctor supervised diet. Some insurance plans require nothing, some require any where from 3-12 months. This means visiting a doctor once per month for that time frame. If that is a stip on your plan, it sounds like you may have it covered since you've done medically supervised diets in the past but most insurance plans have SPECIFIC requirements. Some even specify it has to have been done within the past year. If your seminar is not until 4/17 you may want to start the doctor supervised diet now, just to get the ball rolling. I would do a search on 'United Healthcare' and also visit the INSURANCE forum to see if others have experience with them. Good luck!

That is also what I understood the pre-op diet to be for. To help shrink the liver, so there would be less chance of complication during surgery. Have you watched a video yet of the actual surgery? It's pretty crazy when you see them lift the liver up off the stomach and that huge clamp thing (retractor?) hold it in place!!!

Sorry - I feel kind of stupid but ... Within a post, how do you copy the text? When I highlight the text > right click > there's no option for CUT or COPY. I don't see an icon in the toolbar for this either. I wanted to cut and paste a few recipes I found in the food FORUM to add to my personal cookbook I have saved on my PC. Thanks

I bet you will be able to win an appeal. Maybe you should contact one of the lawyers that specialize in this type of thing, to assist in your appeal? With a BMI of 43, I find it hard to believe you have no co-morbidites or health complications! No joint pain (knees)? Back pain? High cholesterol? PCOS? Sounds like you have a problem with the 6 month supervised diet too. Do you have records of visiting a doctor once per month for 6 months straight? I've heard people say they missed (as little as) 1 week and there was a 5 week gap in doctor visits ... that got them denied. I've got my fingers crossed for you!!

Keep the faith. Maybe your HR lady can get it added or your employer can purchase a rider to your current policy? 2-3 months isn't really that long to wait. I just started a 6 month supervised diet because my doctor's office knows it's a requirment of the insurance company I am purchasing a new policy with. My current policy with BC/BS won't cover any WLS. I'm not even 100% sure I'm going to be covered by the new company.

Woo-Hoo!!!!!!!!!! Congrats!!! :rockon: I'm so happy for you - I've been keeping up on your progress.

I'm not banded yet but ... I'm 5'5" and would be considered "big boned". I'm at about 310lbs right now and my goal is to be about 180-190lbs. (It's weird to see that as some people's STARTING weight!) What you are saying may be true ... I guess I'll find out. Right now that's my goal for a few reasons: I just want to be healthy and feel better. I don't want to have too much loose skin. I find curves on a woman very appealing and I know my boyfriend does as well. I want to be able to live like a normal person and not be thinking about that extra pound or two ALL THE TIME.

I'm also pre-band. First thing you need to do is call your insurance company and get that part of it straightened out. I decided about 6 months ago that I've had it with my weight and poor health and started looking for a solution. About a month ago I decided the band is the right choice. My SO has been very supportive of my choice BUT he doesn't understand it. He has NEVER had a weight problem - he's upset he doesn't have 6 pack abs any more He has said a few times "let's work more on your diet and exercise - I'll help you" and I appreciate that but ... someone who has never struggled with weight - especially a man - just can't understand it isn't that easy for us. I brought up the band a few times casually but didn't really fully explain everything and tell him I AM GETTING THE BAND until I fully researched it myself. He's coming with me to the seminar my doctor's office holds once a month, so he can learn with me, all the details and get our/his questions answered. We've watched the surgery on or-live.com and talked about in depth the huge commitment and life-style change this is going to take. I've printed out a bunch of info on the doctor I've chosen and we both feel confident that I've picked the best doctor in my area. I hope things work out for you but don't get upset with hubby yet - present him with a well researched "presentation" and I'm sure it will help him process it a little better. Good luck.

I would be ok with that. When I did the laser, it worked really well. They said it gets rid of about 70-80% of the dark hairs - I think it was a little less for me but still very effective. It just bugs me that I spent all that money and I have new hair growing in now. If that stopped, I'd be ok with spending the money to do the laser again. I did like 3 sessions of electrolosis before the laser - NEVER! AGAIN!

On my upper lip and chin, I had 6 treatments over the course of a year and it worked really well. Not much pain at all - just the upper lip. Then I moved about 3 hours from my doctor's office. Which sucks because sessions were $275 and then $95 after the first 5. I think all offices structure their pay scale like this and now I have to go to someone new and spend the big $$ again. errr!! It's been a year since I stopped and I'm not happy that I spent over $1000 and am finding I have hair on my chin again. Damn PCOS!! I want to ask my doctor about Vaniqa cream. Has anyone tried it? Can you get it from any doctor or does it need to be a dermatologist? Those with PCOS - after weight loss do you find less hair growth?

Did you have hyperandrogenism induced hirsutism? I've been doing some reading and I definitely have a slight (luckily!) case. In the past I did the laser hair removal on my upper lip and chin and it worked great but the past few months I've had to wax again. Did you notice a difference after weight loss? [if this is too sensative of a topic you can PM me instead.]

Have you spoken to your doctor and/or insurance company about this? I know many insurance company's require you seen a dietician/nutritionist for a period of time (6 months usually - I know that's the requirement here in NY) before the surgery anyway. Most doctors require you see one after the surgery. I think it's good you are interested in seeing someone - seems the earlier you make diet and lifestyle changes, the easier the transition will be after you are banded. BUT ... you could be wasting a lot of money.

I'm back ... I think my tantrum/break down is over - lol - *blush* Thanks for the kind words. I am looking into it a little further. The office for the doctor I am interested in using, is going to have their insurance biller call me back on Monday to give me a better idea of what my out of pocket expenses would be. I also need to check with BC/BS to see if I re-join my current plan in a year (after the surgery) and have any complications, they will still cover me.