texasweb

My doctor charges $100 for the fill + the doctors visit.

Check out the new Realize Band-C. It is currently available only thru proctors .. but will be generally available in April.

My dietition said that it shrinks to about 1/3 after the pre-op diet.

Will not be available until April .. I was just wondering if there were more differences other than pointed out.

What are the differences between the Realize and Realize-C band? When is it going to be generally available.

Congratulations on your banding and your weight loss. How are the cafe houses?

I live in Montgomery and found no doctors in Montgomery that still do the lapband. I did find Dr Mora in Prattville. It took a few calls before I was able to get information from their office. Before they see you, you have to sign up and attend a seminar. The soonest I could get to a seminar was a 1.5 months away. I ended up going to Dr DeWitt in Birmingham. I need to see the nutrionist before insurance will approve me. They have been very good with everything. I had to attend the seminar 1st here also, but only had to wait 2 weeks. Alot of the tests that I need done, I was able to schedule thru my PCP in Montgomery. Some you cannot .. ie Psych exam, and nutritionist, the Pre-op consult and the initial consult.

Do you have Anthem Blue HMO or PPO? I read the docs and do not see anything for 6 months diet on the PPO. I called them before I got the docs and they didn't say anything about the 6 months supervised diet either. They sent in for approval and the only thing they said that I needed for approval was a visit with the nutrionist.

I had a heart cath done on Dec 18th at Jackson Hospital in Montgomery. The test proved that there was only minor blockage and not enough to do anything about, so that problem is not a problem. Insurance came back that they would not approve until I saw the nutritionist. I guess that will happen at the 1st of the year.

In the seminar that I went to, it was stated at 11,500. I am assuming that is for the surgery itself and no other appointments.

I have all the tests done. I had a persantine stress test done and it showed a blockage in one of the arteries. I am now scheduled with a cardiologist on the 16th. :tt1:

Just Checking on You .. It has been almost 1.5 months since your surgery .. how are you doing thicknthin?

Geez .. that is very extreme .. I hope the doctor did not get his license out of a cracker jack box. .. I would verify with my regular PCP if he thought this was good/acceptable.:tongue2:

If I wanted to take a 700 mile drive, how long after surgery so you think I will be able to do this?

Mine took 3.5 hours. There was 1 oral test for memory, and several written tests, and 1 computer test. After all the tests were completed, a report was generated. I then saw the psych. He was very knowledgable about the weight loss process. Went over amount of food I could eat and some of the things I would need to do. I only spent about half an hour with the doctor.

I am using Dr DeWitt in Birmingham. He is located off of I20 in Birmingham just 1 exit east of I65. His website is at Bariatric Surgery in Birmingham, Alabama ? Andrew Dewitt, M.D.. I have been very please with him. He does the RNY and the Realize Lap Band. BCBS of AL requires 6 months of supervised weight loss with the 1st visit not counting, so it really is 7 months to fill that requirement. I hope you the best. There are several good doctors in Birmingham.

I go for my psych eval tomorrow. In the literature from the Dr, it states that it will take 3 to 5 hours.

I can't live without mine either. That is partly why I chose Lapband over RNY.

Poll is closed ... almost a 50/50 split <TABLE class=tborder cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt1 width="75%">Realize </TD><TD class=alt2 noWrap> </TD><TD class=alt1 title=Votes noWrap align=middle width="12%">20</TD><TD class=alt2 noWrap align=right width="13%">45.45%</TD></TR><TR><TD class=alt1 width="75%">Allergan/Iname </TD><TD class=alt2 noWrap> </TD><TD class=alt1 title=Votes noWrap align=middle width="12%">22</TD><TD class=alt2 noWrap align=right width="13%">50.00%</TD></TR><TR><TD class=alt1 width="75%">Don't know </TD><TD class=alt2 noWrap> </TD><TD class=alt1 title=Votes noWrap align=middle width="12%">2</TD><TD class=alt2 noWrap align=right width="13%">4.55%</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Did you mean Nov 14th instead of Dec 14th?

I just got a bunch of them too.

Ron Lester who played Billy Bob in Varsity Blues lost his girlfriend after losing his weight. He had lost 348 pounds. His story is very interesting. He had a RNY done though. Welcome to the Ron Lester Offical Website

OAC

I saw the Renee Williams/Wilson story last night, think it was the 1/2 ton Mom. Very sad.