XxMariposaxX

& good luck with your journey! 2010 will be a great year for you!

Thank you for understanding Sticks! :)

Michelle-How was your consult? :tongue: Chellz & AJ-- Thank you so much for being our inspiration! You go girls!

Wear ankle weights, heavy jeans and boots to your consult. It helped me "gain" 14Lbs. :tongue:

Thank you Abby! Good luck with your journey! Your surgery date is right around the corner! :biggrin:

So since my cardiologist NEVER sent the paperwork my surgeon needed to get the ball rolling for 12/28 my surgery is now on hold. :sad: I was doing this surgery as a self-pay patient bc my insurance doesn't cover this procedure. My fiance is looking for work and I am hoping that when he finds a job it will have insurance that covers this procedure. So, now I am in date limbo :biggrin: I would love to do it ASAP because I am so ready! Most realistically it'll be March or April.

Sorry I didn't answer you earlier. I just realized that you asked a question.. LoL! Sorry but I won't be attending the seminar on 12/8. Be prepared to take in alot of information and ask questions. You'll meet lots of people, new patients and some after patients.

I have contacted a number of surgeons in the area (Long Island, NY) and have a few figures to share: NYU-Dr. Kurian & Mr. Feilding - $15,200 with 1 year of free follow-up and you are sent home the same day as the procedure. Dr. Garber-$20,000 with hospital fees. adjustments are $250 and visits are $75 Dr. Arif Ahmad-$25,000 with hospital fees. Winthrop Bariatrics-$22,000 and first "few" fills are covered. Dr. Geiss-$16,000 with overnight hospital stay. First 3 months of post-op care are free and all visits including fills are $75.

I was thinking the same... TMI! LoL! I love it!:thumbup:

I'm not looking forward to the liquid diet either! Eh! :thumbup: I did convince my boyfriend to do it with me though! He's been such a rock for me through this whole process. If you need to keep yourself busy, read a book, put on your ipod and dance, go for a walk, immerse yourself in work, imagine how sexy you'll look in a bathing suit, think about all the fancy clothes you'll be able to fit into... just keep your mind busy and drink lots of Water :biggrin:

Congrats on taking the bull by the horns! :biggrin: I do have insurance, United Health Care but this surgery (and any surgery for Weight loss) is not covered. I meet Dr. Geiss formally on October 20th and will (hopefully) book my surgery for December 28th. Between 10/20 and now I had to do all kinds of tests in order for Dr. Geiss to even consider doing the surgery... that is honestly the longest part. Your previous weight loss attempts WILL count towards the requirements of the medically supervised weight loss prereq as long as you were weighed by an MD every month for 6 months. Dr. Geiss's office will give you the paperwork you need to get signed by your doctors. While Dr. Geiss is a great guy, his staff can be a challange to work with. :thumbup:

Me!!! Tentatively scheduled for 12/28 :thumbup:

Hey There Michelle! I too am bandless! I have just finished the last of my pre-operative testing and am hoping for a December 2009 surgery date. I will be doing the surgery with Dr. Geiss as well! :thumbup:

Thanks for posting this poll! :thumbup:

THANK YOU ROBIN! Your information is very helpful! :thumbup:

I too will be a self-pay but am still fighting to get my insurance to cover SOME of the $16,000 cost. There is an exclusion in my company's insurance policy for weight loss surgeries. According to what the docs state, a hospital stay is covered for ELECTIVE surgery so, I feel that if I am electing to have the lap-band surgery, shouldn't the hospital portion be covered?! I am still going through the pre-surgical testing portion of the surgery because my surgeon requires that and honestly.. that's fine with me. My PCP has been writing all of the necessary referrals for me so the insurance will cover those tests. What I don't understand at all is.. why would my insurance co pay for the consult with the surgeon but have an exclusion for weight loss surgery, (my surgeon is the head of the bariatric surgery center and this is all he does)??? Over, I want to thank you for making me laugh and introducing me to a new word "crapulate". Also, you gave me some VERY good information. Another point to make and question.. does anyone know about the tax breaks for surgery and how exactly that works? I keep on hearing something about 7.5% of your income but I don't know anything about taxes.