MMDLynn

Hey Red, Yeah Dr. Shayani is the best! I think that may be why he left Day One after such a short time. I don't think he was there more than 12 months. He's not with a hospital that has a bariatric center and most of the insurance companies will only approve hospital bariatric centers that have been certified in some way. I'm so excited I can't wait until Sept 2nd!!!!

Thanks Spicegrrrl - Isn't he the BEST!!!! I feel so comfortable with him. He really has a great bedside manner and makes you feel totally at ease. His direct follow up with phone calls & emails are shocking to me as I didn't believe doctors did that these days. What a wonderful surprise it was! Does your insurance cover your fills or do you have to pay out of pocket for those?

Hi Kins, I've heard good things about Day One but better things about Dr. Shayani so I went on the hunt to find him. He moved from Loyola Hospital to Day One but was only there for a short while. He's now at St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields and after meeting with him I'm so pleased I found him. My surgery is scheduled for Sept 2nd and I am so excited. Again I've heard fabulous feedback from others on the boards that had him as their surgeon at the other two locations and they still see him for their fills. He really puts you at ease and makes you feel as if you are his one and only patient. He even follows up with emails and phone calls - can you imagine??? I haven't had the surgery yet but my experience thus far has been stellar! Lynn

I cannot forgot my dear friend Tammy S (Tomosa) for giving me the direct link to Dr. Shayani - without your help I couldn't have gotten this far. I have gift with your name on it too! Thanks again -you guys ROCK!!! Lynn

Oh I almost forgot my dear friend Tammy S (Tomosa) -if it were not for you providing the direct contact this would have never happened! Thanks Tammy - I have a gift with your name on it too!!!!

I'm so excited everyone - I found Dr. Shayani who is now the head of St. James Hospital Bariatric Center in Olympia Fields, IL. I located him through the help of another bandster - Jeni (thanks again Jeni). I have all of my preliminary appointments done last month and paperwork submitted on Monday (7/14/08) and I was approved today -7/17/08!!! I'm so excited - I also received my surgery date - 9/02/08!

I'm finally approved!!! This has been a 3 year battle for me with insurance, job changes, etc. Finally I was approved an it only took 4 days. I'm with Empire BCBS and I met with the surgeon, had the preliminary Psych consult, Nutritionist consult and my primary care Dr. wrote a letter with my current medical stats and his recommendation for the lap band surgery. All paperwork was submitted to the insurance company on Monday (7/14/08) and I was approved today (7/17/08)!!!! Thanks to Jeni (I must send you gift or something Jeni) - who helped me to locate Dr. Shayani - now with St. James Hospital, IL. He is absolutely fabulous!!! I am in the process of scheduling my band date (some time in Aug I think/hope). I want to send a big {{{{hugsss}}}} to everyone on this forum. You guys have really helped me through the days, months and years to get me to this point. Many times I just gave up and wanted to walk away from the process but I kept coming back to the boards to read your words of encouragement and now I'll finally be banded. Healthy, happier days are ahead of me and I owe it all to you guys!!! Thanks again, my heart is doing the happy dance!!!! Lynn:thumbup:

Hi Jen, I have PCOS and I was put on Metformin as well as BC pills to help regulate my cycle and reduce the symptoms of PCOS (acne, weight gain, etc.). I've been on this combination 1 full year and it has helped to regulate my cycle better and reduce the acne. It has done absolutely nothing to reduce my weight gain, but I do know of others it has helped in that regard.

That's great congratulations you are doing so well. You really need to see an endo the regular Internal Medicine doctor isn't trained to handle and help you regulate your system once you've been diagnosed with PCOS. Good luck to you, but I wouldn't put it off any longer, you'll only make matters worse and the longer you go without putting your insulin resistance in check due to the PCOS you are going to move to type II diabetes. You have to correct it before it gets too far out of control. The continued weight loss will help, but you need to get it in check now.

Yes my Dr stated that should my BP move out of the normal range and starts to increase she will take me off the BC pills due to danger of stroke, it's really dangerous. I think she will on my next visit as my ankles and feet are swelling and my PCP says my BP is slightly elevated and he wants to prescribe a low dosage water pill/BP pill for me and once I start taking it I must come off the BC pills my OB/GYN has me taking.

Hi Jeni, I have PCOS as well and was diagnosed 13 years ago. It took a very long time to find a solution for me. I've been taking Metformin for the past 6 years with slowly increasing dosages first 500 mg once daily now 2000mg daily. I've also increased in weight so it never helped me with the weight loss piece. It didn't do much regarding my monthly cycle either. I've been seeing a new endocrynologist at Northwestern Memorial hospital and she along wit my OB/GYN decided to take a 1-2 punch to address the menstral cycle. I still take the Met 1000 mg am and 1000mg pm as well as birth control pill - Yasmin 28 and I have a regular cycle every month. However, my cycle had been so slow due to excess weight that my OB/GYN had to give me a DC to remove the build up in the lining of my uterus. That's what is causing all of your heavy bleeding/cloting. I was also told NOT to use tampons because they only clog up from the shedding of the lining and you are simply wasting sanitary products. I use the heavy duty pads only and once my system adjusted to the Yasmin 28 pills (90 days) my periods were lighter and no cramping. If you cannot take BC's you could always do the 10 day cycle of Provera to bring on your cycle monthly. I was on that plan until the Yasmin 28 came on the market and it worked pretty well. Once you get below 200 you should start seeing a balance in your insulin levels as well as you menstral cycle - they are all tied to the weight. You should see an endocrynologist for all of your PCOS issues and the doctor at NWMH is Andrea Dunaif or Demetria Rupp they are specialist with PCOS. The OB/GYN doesn't really specialize in PCOS it is a glandular disorder and for some reason they have no clue about how to treat it.

Hi Tonya, I'm in Chicago and have not been banded yet. I'm trying to find a doctor and get approval from my insurance. I've got all of the qualifications - BMI 52, type II diabetes, joint pain (knees). I'm trying to locate a doctor in Chicago, but I'm not sure when band is better - Lap Band AP or the Realize band.

Hey Tonya - who's your dr. in Illinois?

This is great information, especially the post regarding insulin resistance and the gentic link (that's me too). Thanks everyone, I always learn so much from this forum.

Wow -that's amazing you are the only other person I've come across with my birthdate!!! Yea, to the Pisces ladies!!!!

Thanks Lori, I have Empire BCBS PPO and DayOne Health is not on their in network facilities. I'm having no luck at all finding Dr. Shayani, it's like he has completely vanished! One of his patients from another thread sent me an email address for him but it is a closed account so my email bounced back. I really need to start the process right away and finding a good surgeon as well as a facility that is covered by my insurance are the first steps. Lori did you get the 1 yr of free fills offer that is given to self-pay patients by Day One Health even though you went through your insurance? I'm just curious. I wonder if they are accepted by my insurance? If anyone else has a phone # or address for Dr. Shayani's most recent office or the hospital he's currently attending please, please share with me, I beg you. If you know how or where I should search to try and locate him, please advise. Thanks so much:confused2:

Hi Jeni, Do you know where I could reach Dr. Shayani now? He's not at Loyola or Day One Health - but he is on my insurance in network doctor's list. Let me know as soon as you can. Thanks.

:wink2: Can anyone help me find Dr. Shayani???? He's no longer with Day One Health or Loyola Hospital. He's one of the approved in network surgeons with my insurance (BCBS-PPO) and I need to start the process to get the lap band. I've heard some really good things in this thread about Dr. Shayani and I want the most experienced lap band surgeon I can find (that's also covered by my insurance) because I cannot afford to do this without my insurance. I desparately need this surgery for my health and to reverse my type 2 diabetes. Can anyone out there help me find him please? If you have a contact number or know where his office is located or the hospital he is currently affiliated with please let me know ASAP. You can send me a private message if you'd like but please help me. Thanks, Lynn:confused2:

Hey there - thanks for the recap of facilities in Chicago. I'm in desperate need of the lap band surgery and I'm trying to find a surgeon that is covered by my insurance - BCBS PPO. It looks like Dr. Shayani is on my provider list for specialist. I hope that I can get this done - do you know what the coverage is for fills post surgery - is this covered by the insurance or out of pocket? Do you know what the cost is per visit and how often the fills are required? I'm really starting from ground zero and I need all the help and information I can get. My BMI is 50.6 so I know I qualify as I have over 125lbs to lose and I've just moved into the type 2 diabetes stage due to the weight gain. If you want to discuss off the board or if anyone does let me know and I'll send my email address. I'm trying to get insurance approval and surgery scheduled as soon as possible. Thanks for listening everyone this board is awesome!

Thanks so much for this information I'm going to attend the seminar next week. I only hope my Cigna HMO will approve it. My BMI is 50 and I've now developed type 2 diabetes from the excess weight - it started out as Insulin Resistence from PCOS. This led to endometrial cancer which is just now in remission, but the cancer medication Megace helped to increase the weight by 60lbs. and now I'm really in a bad state weight wise. I'm really at my ropes end now and I need this surgery to get my life back on track. Thanks again for sharing your stories, you all are a God-send!

Why not give Loyola a call to see if Dr. Shyani will work with you and your fills due to the problems you've had with MIBC - Gemini62 - posted this in the Illinois chat room - Loyola in Maywood has one of the best in the country, Dr Shyani trained all the doctors in this area, they brought him here to teach and train the new doctors. I had my band done 3 years ago and have lost 220+ He is really a great doctor, I have called him any whre in the world, day or night. He emails me, calls and folloes up on me still to this date! He also trained with Bio Genectics, which was the compnay from Sweden that vreated the band for all of US! <!-- / message -->

This is an excellent article - Thanks!!!

Hey Lisa- I know that you've had problems with Dr. Horgan's office in the past. I must say that my experience with MIBC was not great either and I'm looking for another surgeon/office in Chicago too. I found this directory through Google - why not interview them over the phone first - then narrow it down to the top 3 and make office visits. I cannot afford to pay out of pocket and my health insurance will not cover surgery because I don't have enough co-morbidities - isn't that a shame. I'm type 2 diabetic because of the excess weight, but because my blood pressure, cholestoral, heart are in good shape I don't qualify for insurance coverage. I don't know what to do at this point, I'm at a loss. But you should check out this site : http://www.locateadoc.com/directory.cfm/46/IL/Chicago

Katie - you look fantastic I can definitely tell a difference in your face, chest, waist - girl you are doing an awesome job!

You guys & gals are the best around! Thanks so much for all of the positive feedback and for just being "you". This is most supportive group of people I've ever encountered. I am going to fight and I will follow your advice and gather the information from all of the doctors I've been to in the past 5 years and ask each of them to write me a letter recommending weight loss to reduce/eliminate my ongoing health conditions. I will also ask each of them to include Lap band surgery as a recommendation, it won't hurt to ask right? I mean I've seen 7 doctors in the past 5 years, so some of them will have to agree don't you think? I'm giving up without a fight though- I've come to far and I have the determination to go all the way! I just ask a favor from you all - please continue to provide the wonderful support you always have. I don't think I can do this without you. Thanks again and God bless you all.