officegirlblues

Hey, Torim19! As I am not yet a member of bandland, I'm in the same boat you are. I'm getting prices from lots of places.... and believe me, they are all over the spectrum! Mexico seems to be one of the most economical place to have the surgery, so far. I'm not sure where you are located, but I got a good price from a dr. in Mississippi. I'm in Alabama and the price I was given by a local surgeon was around $19,000. Which to me is pretty high. The dr.s in Dalton, GA have quoted me around $13,000 for outpatient surgery. Of course, the band is not all of that cost, there are the hospital costs, the anesthesia, etc. worked into that price. And don't forget when pricing, you have to consider the cost of fills afterwards. It's alot of hard work to get to the point of having the surgery, but I hold steadfast in my belief that it will be SOOOOO worth it! I'm pretty sure that most of the other people here will have a more accurate number since they've already been through the surgery, but I saw your post and wanted to reply since I have been doing the same investigation. Good Luck! Hope

David, Oh my gosh! I can't believe I've finally found someone around here that has the band! Thank you so much for responding. There are so many questions that I couldn't even begin to ask them all. LOL. But first off, how are you doing?! I hope everything with your band is going well! I"m really excited about this surgery and hope that I can work things out with them. I want to do this so badly. I'm waiting for the paperwork they sent out, I guess that is step 1. I certainly feel better hearing good things about Dr. Avara. I'd love to talk to you more about it if you ever get the chance. Thanks! Hope

You know,the Dr.'s offices might like these calendars. Talk about advertisement! LOL The surgeon that I've seen keeps saying that there is not enough advertisement for the Band, that's one of the reasons BCBS of AL won't cover it, It's not well known enough... A calendar would go a long way to put it on the map and get the advertisement out there! It would certainly prove that the band works!

Hey, Lisa... you could get a really cute tattoo and put over that scar.. incorproate it in if you have to! And if you don't want a permanent tattoo, get some of the really cute temporary ones and put over it. Don't you have a hubby? Surprise him with it.

Oh, a collage! That might work.... Or maybe still the group shot with a bio section at the end of the calendar.... Everybody getting their own little section.

You know Zoe... that wouldn't be such a bad benefit! Especially if we could get a celebrity to help us out with our cause... Think Brad Pitt or Jesse Metcalf would be willing?! I'd look at them naked any day, every day and ALL day! Can you just imagine the motivation you'd feel before that photo shoot! :-D

Hmmmmm.... I don't have a hubby anymore.... maybe this calendar could kill two birds with one stone! Get rich AND get a hubby! Woo-Hoo!!!!

I can't even get my head to fit in that little square.... I certainly don't want to try my entire body! I don't think even the Band could accomplish that miracle! LOL

That's true.... but what if my mom sees... or my boss.... that'd be kinda weird! LOL. Of course, I've already told my mom that when I get the band and loose I'm gonna walk around nekkid! :-D

You guys are killing me! Now I for sure want to go get the band just so I can be a part of your calendar! You don't know how nice it is to even be able to read conversations about the band, much less talk about it with other people that understand! I'm getting misty! But, hey... since this calendar idea seems to be so hot and everyone wants to get involved, how about a group shot for each month?! Get so many members with a birthday that month to be in the pic. I'm seeing black and white photos.... a big huge salad bowl with 5 gourgeous, shrinking people (guys are welcome, too!) sitting in some salad, big cucumber slices or tomatoes, croutons, (whatever!) placed strategically.... you know.. like the Anne Geddes pictures of the babies dressed up like flowers and stuff... only instead of babies you have Bandsters! Oh, the possibilities! For the summer a pic of a boat.. everyone dressed like pirates! For Christmas a big Christmas tree... with Bandsters as ornaments! LOL. Me thinks we'd have a best seller on our hands! Thanks for brightening up my day! Hope

Hey everyone! I called Dr. Caylor's office today, just to check in. His girls are so sweet! But, nothing has really changed there. They do not seem to be very active about helping to fight an insurance company denial... they are kind of just accepting about it, you know, just well, this is how it is so we go with it. When I asked her about helping me fight the denial, she really gave me no hope. According to his nurse, Dr. Caylor has now done about 50 surgeries. But, his prices seem to be really high! She quoted me $18,900, where as Dr. Ponce's is around $13,000. There is just absolutely no way I can do that. I'm recently divorced and my children and I are living with my mother so I don't have a house. I have looked at Capital One's rates and also the Suntrust Company, as that is the name Dr. Ponce's office gave me. Thanks for the link to the site in Mississippi. I will certainly have to check that out! I know for certain that I am NOT giving up on this. Oh! And Dr. Caylor's nurse told me today that as of March 1st, BCBS of AL is no longer even covering the bypass. I don't know how accurate that is... my new insurance book says it is covered, so I don't know. Even though I don't know that I could ever decide to have the bypass, it was nice knowing that option was there at least if I couldn't make this work out.

Hi, all. I'm new here and I'm just reading your threads to get acquainted. First off, I guess really don't have a right to reply to this as I don't know what you are going through. I haven't been banded yet.... BUT! I'm sitting here reading everything you've written and realizing that when I finally do have the surgery, I will probably go through the same thing. I know it sounds crazy, but you can not imagine how envious I am of you right now! I want this surgery so badly... because as hard as it is for you right now, I feel like it's just as hard for me to be where I am. I'm so sick of being embarassed of going in public and I'm so sick of eating and feeling guilty for putting food in my mouth. I'm sick of sitting down after I eat and seeing my stomach poke out and thinking how what I ate is just going to make it poke out even further! So, all I can say to you is Good Luck and I hope the depression passes quickly for you. You have such a wonderful opportunity ahead of you and when you doubt that, just remember all the reasons you had for doing it. Also, I want to thank all of you for posting things like this. I don't personally know anyone with the band and "meeting" all of you and hearing the ups and downs you experience after surgery is such a help. I know the surgery isn't going to be a magic cure for me, but knowing what I'm up against, being so well informed because people like you share your experiences, will help to better prepare me. So thank you and know that we are all rooting for you! Hope

Hey all. I'm new to this site. Just discovered it last night and was reading through, just kind of getting acquainted with the info on here. I saw the question about Dr. Caylor in Foley, I know it's old, but I just wanted to say that I saw him when I first started investigating the band and he was a super nice guy and seemed geniunely excited about the band and what it can do for us. I haven't been banded (YET!). When I saw him, he had only done 5 of the surgeries, so he was pretty new. My insurance, BCBS, denied the surgery, of course. I'm at the point now that I am looking to self pay. I haven't checked in with Dr. Caylor's office in about a year so I was wondering how many people out there have seen him and if anyone knows any more about him than I do. I've been checking into Dr. Ponce's office in Dalton, GA. but if I could get it done locally, that would be great! I'm having a hard time with financing... anyone have any ideas? Any help would be sooo appreciated. I'm desperate to get this procedure done and start living my life again. Thanks so much! Hope