gingin

Hey babs! Medicare does cover lap band and MassHealth will pick up the remainder of what they do not cover. They do have many eligibility requirements though (ie hospital has to be a 'center of excellance'--they will broadcast this if they are, 6 month physician supervised diet beforehand, certain bmi and comorbidities may be required too). Can call medicare if you want to know the exact requirements, but my advise is to have her go to a seminar at the hospital she wants to have the surgery at and then to book a consult w/a surgeon. The staff at the surgeons office should be familiar with the insurances and be able to give you more concrete info too. i am going to brigham & womens in boston which is a 'center of excellence'...most of the boston hospitals are. i am not yet banded and dont have medi/masshealth but at the seminar they went over the various insurances and their requirements so i remember this info. hope this helped! gina

Hi everyone...I had my physical w/my PCP today & to talk about the lap band. I am actually down about 17 lbs from my physical last year so she was happy but when i told her i want to have the lap band done she said...Gina, I think thats a great idea! Phewwww...I need a referral w/my insurance so if i didnt get it past her, things were going to get complicated! Im so happy :huh2: Tiny...was the pysch eval covered by bsbsma or is that out of pocket...or is it covered in the $500 program fee? Just curious what to expect from that appointment too...what kind of stuff did they ask? Hi everybody else! Gina

hey sandals51:cool2: i too, am near the beginning of the whole thing...i attended my seminar on 3/25/08 and made my appointment the next day and got one for 4/28/08. She does her consults on fridays at faulkner hospital and mondays at the brigham. at the seminar i actually asked her (she was the presenter that day ) "best case scenario, how long from the initial consult to the operating table?". she said the fastest the has ever completed the whole process was about a month (that person had no co-morbidities, easy insurance, and was able to get all her other appointments i.e. dietitian & psych, very quickly). she said for most people it is an 8-10 week process. i really liked her...she wasn't like super friendly or personal or anything, but she was nice enough, and i have heard (i could be wrong) that dr. robertson, her partner, doesnt have much bedside manner, and that dr. lautz, her other partner, takes forever to get a consult with him but that they are both very good too. as a female i just always prefer a lady doctor, personally. i know that i would never be truly comfortable if i was seeing a male...thats just me though. i am seeing my pcp on monday for my physical and letter of medical necessity. when you go in for your consult you have to bring in all relevant medicals, your completed health history form (they will mail it to you), and a letter of medical necessity from your pcp stating "your diagnosis (obesity), any co-morbities you may have (diabetes, blood pressure, apnea, cholesterol, etc.), and that you've been overweight for at least 5 years". i am starting to get excited, things are really happening now. i can hardly wait to get on the way to really losing this weight. i am lucky in the fact that i dont have any co-morbidities other than insulin resistance related to PCOS, and i have BCBS of MA for insurance so i am hoping to have my surgery sometime in june (might be wishful thinking...but i am staying positive). good luck...i will keep you posted on my progress w/dr. vernon, and congrats on your decision :biggrin: gingin

hi everyone...just trying to prepare ahead of time...i was wondering if anyone takes liquid Vitamins out there and if so, how gross do they taste? i know i wont be able to take the regular tablets anymore once banded, and yet i cant tolerate chewables (gag :drool:)...i bought some Centrum Liquid from cvs.com but havent tried it yet...not sure how gross it will be. also...is anyone out there taking citracal Creamy Bites for Calcium? are they gross and do you know of a cheap place to get them? do your doctors prescribe vitamins for you or are you responsible to buy them OTC? thanks everyone for your anticipated advise :frown: gingin

Hey shamrockgirl...i too, am nervous and excited like you. My consult at the Brigham is on 4/28 and it cant come soon enough! I had my bloodwork today with my pcp and i see her next monday for my physical so she'll write my referral. it seems like there are so many hoops to jump through to make this happen! i really shouldnt complain though, i have great insurance that requires very little of me to get approved...it just takes so long to get the appointments! good luck tomorrow...i know how anxious you must be...i will pray for you tonight!!! congrats! gina

i think (if god allows us to see) that we will all be surprised on "that day" when all is called into account... some we believed to be christians will be told "away from me" and some we wrote off/miscategorized/mislabeled will be justified before god... i think (i know i do) we sometimes let our denominations/doctrine cloud our view of what god really requires from his children: Mic 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Mat 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Mat 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Mat 28:20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." He really made it a lot simpler than we think...

hi everyone...my first post on this thread...how cool to have a christian thread! right now its sunday morning at 11:15 and i have such a headache...i miss my church family :regular_smile: had to stay home with sick 3 year old. i do have a prayer request i would appreciate your support with...my 23 year old cousin, andrew, was diagnosed with hodgkins lymphoma last april...went through chemo and radiation and came out clear at the beginning of the winter. meanwhile, his now live in gf gave birth to a little girl at the beginning of january. he is now a daddy and yesterday we heard that the cancer is back with a vengeance (2 new tumors, one in neck and one in groin...and painful). im praying that god would have mercy and use this somehow for his glory. he (outwardly) has no interest in god but i cant help but believe that at a time like this he must be thinking about the bigger picture. anyway, i dont have the closest relationships with this side of my family (there is only one other christian in my whole extended family), there has been some animosity between my mother and his mother. i really do love him though. im praying for the courage to reach out to him without regard to what his parents or my parents might say...i cannot imagine having his experience without God...though he is never far from any of us. sorry for the long post...his name is andrew, his gf is kerry, and their beautiful dgt is olivia rose...please keep him in your prayers today :biggrin: gina

hey everyone :tongue: i am way down in southeastern mass but am meeting with dr. vernon at the brigham for my first consult on 4/28...i can hardly wait to get this process started! i already went to the info seminar where i met dr. vernon...i really liked her and am glad she was the presenter that day. i am hoping to have surgery some time in june...not sure if that is too ambitious or not, but my hubby has the whole month of june off so that time frame would be perfect for me. i have wanted to do this for years but have finally convinced my DH that i really need to do something about my weight in a serious way...i know the band isn't a magic cure but i need help...my diets always start out great and then my will breaks and it all comes back with a vengeance... how long have you'all been on this journey? gingin

cool...thats great to know...just one of those bizarro questions that popped into my mind thanks so much for the input!

Will insurance cover a re-banding? Or do the original weight & BMI requirements apply? Anyone have experience with or input on this? Just one of the million questions running through my mind right now...

hi tiny! i am so excited to find someone who's had the surgery w/dr. vernon. i am due to see her for my consult in about a month...would love your input and advise on what to expect! appreciate any feedback you have :tongue_smilie: gingin

Hi...I am looking for a recommendation for a surgeon in Massachusetts...I know the lap band website has a surgeon finder, but I don't really want to just pick a name off a list...any ideas? Anyone I should stay away from? Thanks so much :help: