ELLYMAY

Wheetsin, Thank you for your post. This helps clear up a lot of questions I needed answers to. I didn't understand the whole appeal thing, figured it was as you stated, but wanted to make sure. I have been so upset with all of this denial that I knew that I had to check out all avenues before taking out a loan as a self pay. Congratulations on all of your progress, can't wait to see where it goes from here! To all of the other people who posted thank you for taking the time to post. It really means alot to see that you are not the only one in this this situation or that people just care enought to encourage you. Thanks to you all!

Hello all you out there in band land future and present bandsters. I need some advice I feel lost and hopeless , I guess hurt more than anything because I had my heart set on getting banded. I just called my insurance company after attending a seminar and found out that my policy excludes all obesity related surgeries and treatments. Talk about feeling like I had been slapped in the face, I felt the sting before I hung up the phone. I was crushed, I was suprised because most BCBS of Texas policies cover the lap band procedure. They informed me thay my husbands employer choose not to cover anything obesity related. I feel that this is really dumb considering what they will spend covering all the other health problems due to obesity high blood pressure, diabetes, knee replacements etc..... Sorry had to vent thank Goodnes for this site. What my question is should I try to appeal something like this since it clearly states that it is excluded from the policy? Should I hire an attorney $ limited? Could this be considered a form of discrimination? Should I forget all of this and just try to find a way to finance the surgery as a self pay? As you can see I am very confused and frustrated any help or input would be great.

KarenA, Sometimes my deodorants stop working for me so I have to switch out to a diffrent brand then can go back to previous brand. I also use Secret when I notice that is not working I switch either to Dove (you wouldn't think it would be strong enough but it works for me) or Lady Mitchum. I have noticed that dry cleaning dosen't always get the odor out of my clothing either, I have been told to use dress shields to place in the underarm area of the garmet to absorb the sweat instead of the clothing absorbing it. Hope I was of some help to you good luck!

Way to go Picardy! We are all cheering for you. You are now an official bandster to be!

DonnaB, Thank you for sharing your story with me glad to know I'm not the only newbie who is nervous about this procedure and needles. Your story also helped me feel at ease about the whole fill process. I hope you still have a cuticle left before the time for your surgery, I know I won't get a bit of sleep the night before my surgery if I get approved for it. I will say a prayer for you for your surgery next tuesday, have a safe trip and when you feel like it let me know how you are doing. Best wishes.

Thanks for all of your input that has eased my mind about the needle issue. I guess it's just one of those things that being a person who does not like needles must consider before going through with the procedure. Your feedback has helped me take another step towards the process thanks to you all!!!!!

Hello I am still learning about the banding process and was wondering if the band is removed after you reach your goal weight or if it is a life long thing. If it is a lifelong thing do you have to eventually have them replaced? Another thing that concerned me is the process of getting fills. I am not real fond of needles on some of the threads, I have read some people say they have had to be stuck as many as 20 times before their port was hit is this common? I don't think I can handle that even if I am numb (ouch). Just looking for input from those who have experienced the process any help would be great!

I am also new in finding a doctor in the Fort Worth area that BCBS will accept. I found Dr. Adam Smith if you do a yahoo search type in lap band in Fort Worth Texas and he will come up. I am going to attend his free meeting in march that is in Weatherford and check him out. I found a few other doctors but they are not in the Fort Worth area that BCBS accepts. If you need that info let me know. Best of luck to you. Oh yea another thing I found amusing about Dr. Smith is that he himself is banded just thought you might want to know.

Thank you for responding to my thread. Did you have or are you experiencing any problems from the surgery? What did you think of the facility and doctors bedside manner?

I have already posted one thread asking about doctors in the DFW area and got a few responses, thank you to all who did. I found a few other doctors on the internet and was curious if anyone has had any dealings with them. Dr. Adam Smith Laprascopy Bariatrics & Surgery Specialty Center of Fort Worth, Dr. Joseph Cribbins Texas Center for Obesity Plano, Dr. Dirk Rodriguez Texas Bariatric Center Dallas/Fort Worth and Dr. Stephen Hamm. If anyone has used any of the doctors please let me know I am trying to get any info on as many doctors as possible. If you know of any that you recommend in the DFW Texas that you would recommend please let me know. Thank you

Hello everyone I am new to the whole banding process. Everyone I talk to says they know someone that has a horror story related to it. But I sometimes think they confuse it with other types of stomach surgeries. I guess I feel that at this point it is still not enough to convince me to stop looking, if they had struggled with being overweight most of their life as I have they may feel the risk would be worth it too. I am needing some feed back on finding doctors in the DFW Texas area that are experienced with the whole banding process and good at what they do. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am still nervous but determined. Thanks to all of you who reply.:couch2: