Lap_dancer

No nervousness allowed! You've fought too hard for this one. Great job.:smile2:

What a wonderful story.

Kudos again to you. Slept on this post and woke up two days later thinking about that Becky who fought the system and won!!!!!!

GREAT job in fighting insurance. Best of healing and I wish for you an easy recovery.

Lap Band Rockies babe. Love this doctor. VERY methodical and they do call you back. Lots of luck!

MLJAWAYS: I am the insurance diva at my house. Don't ask my husband anything he just goes to the doctor. Right now we have 'open enrollment' at my school district. Insurance options are like an ala carte menu, you gotta read those fine details, example; If I take the PPO, I have an out of pocket of $2000 before insurance kicks in, same with my husband but his is $3000 as he is considered family not employee. Per incident at hospital is $1000 before insurance kicks in, then it is 80/20%. I don't have Tricare, I have BCBSFL. I am sticking with the BCBSFL even though they don't cover LapBand (yet). Best of luck to you! Call your insurance and ask for a breakdown of what is covered. Sounds like you are good to go just get clarification on the what of it all. Glad to help you if need be, I'm the insurance diva!!

Update: Spoke with a plastic surgeon's office (one of many). They were open about insurance not covering many requests for the penni. The doctor has performed recontouring and reconstructive surgery. I have an appt. with my MD on Monday to go over the past six months, the physical therapy, etc., and to develop a plan. The plastic surgeon's office asked me to gather as much information as I could tracing my journey to present to assist them in further developing a now and then plan as well as presenting that plan to insurance for approval. Wish me luck all. Dr. S. thank you very much for your guidance. I wish you were in Florida.

Thank you so much doctor. I felt this was what I needed to do. I appreciate your assistance at this time and will send an update on my progress.

Hello Doctor Schulman: I wrote to you several months ago. I have found a plateau of weight los. To clarify, I began a peak weight of 389 pounds, at surgery weighed 352+/- and currently weigh 298. My weight has flexed from 300 - 307 flexed around this for about four months. You spoke to me about a partial stomach reduction. I bare most of my weight in my stomach. I had a consultation where a Plastic surgeon recommended another loss of 50 pounds but also stated he had only done 30 WLS patients and had complications with all. Followup to this: I had an MRI of my lower spine done. I have a compressed vertabrae, slight bulge in disc, scoliosis and mild arthritis all in the Lumbar and S region. The PT believes that the shift in body weight from losing so much from my stomach created a weight bearing area higher on my body where my spinal problems are. Trying to excercise more has brought out the increased experience of pain. Pain is exhaserbated by excercise and walking. I now wear a TENS unit each day and night tacked to my back. I have completed three months of PT with 5-10% improvement that returns once I begin my work routine which requires much walking. I am physically and mentally tapped. My weekends are flat on my back. My insurance company has given me names of "plastic surgeons" who "treat WLS patients". Such is the one that I went to who suggested I lose more to get into the % range he is comfortble working with. I am at a loss for a direction to go in at this stage. I have an appt. with my MD who knows I have more resources in WLS contacts. He will ask "what do you want to do", I feel it in my bones. Any suggestions for us? I live in the Tampa bay area. I have BCBSFL. Approval for doesn't even appear to be a problem as they are authorizing plastic surgeon visits for pre-surgical evals. After losing close to 100 and seeing I am off diabetes meds, off sleep apnea equipment, I am getting good response from my insurance. Again. Any assistance you could offer would be appreciate.

Wow. I must have had fog brain when I replied to this thread because I had forgotten a few things you posted about. Yes, he did call us later that day after my surgery. We were back at the hotel, I was sleeping but he spoke to my husband to make sure I was doing alright. Colorado I think what you are seeing isn't so much an attack but shock from a large group who have had a life of sad stories from being so obese and doctors who regularly criticize for being "overweight" and the following lecture of the need to lose weight (the lecture) with no viable options and here is someone who DOES offer a viable option minus the lecture, minus the guilt with an amazing bedside manner. He speaks very methodically and you don't feel RUSHED (which I hate). We're all in the same boat rowing in the same direction. Whatever it takes for us to get there, whichever doctor is chosen is really not the point. The essential thing is we get healthy, we move away from borderline disabled to living a full life once again. Less me more we. Luck to everyone and safe healing/recovery with what doctor you choose.

I am really glad other people posted. Some great thoughts Excellent thought because my doctor once said, "I'm your doctor not your priest." Those of us with addictive behhaviors concur. It would be super easy for me to switch out alcholol for good. Gaurd yourself. Unfiltered smoke. Hotter, coughing and that impact. Mouse ...Check with your doctor.

Miss Mouse this is your first post? Don't expect too many responses I would say but I'll BITE with my thoughts. I was a stoner for years....Y E A R S. I have not embibed in the herbal remedy for some time but my answer would be the same if I did. I would not tempt recovery with an altered state just yet. You're still in the healing stage and the hot smoke may not be the best thing to put into your body. I got the munchies, tempting yourself by putting yourself into a different control ability is another concern. Try this "clean" phase which is what I call it still. I miss the mellow sensation, I do not miss having a "Turbo cough" in the morning or chest burn. I don't miss the second level of thought connection with reality. Luck to you.

Hi Steve: congratulations on your upcoming surgery. You've been through so much and I admire your strength. It will serve you well.My doctor speaks of many TOOLS to get us to goal. I have a food addiction and Overeaters anonymous has helped so much. I also am in counseling. You know it all weaves together.LUCK and a great journey.

I'll keep posting here because our other thread is HUGE. Skinny congrats!!! Nice to meet you all.

Bunkey get use to the changed friend. ( smiles ) 30 pounds when you are very obese is like a drip in a rain storm. But some people do infomercials over a 30 pound weightloss so it's all in perspective. You do have a view to offer people. Your band and your journey gives you some wisdom that others may not posess when it comes to lifestyle changes and eating habits. Congrats on the 30 pounds!!

Skinnyme52 go for it. That you have family there is all the more reason to go. Dr. Kirsenbaum is worth the travel. He's methodical, and "a right jolly old elf" saying that because it is early in the morning and the words to describe someone who is happy, of good countenance to be around to put you at ease and not make you feel rushed, and leave you feeling HAPPY made me think of Clement Moore's poem and Santa. He's not rotund like Santa but he is such a likeable person all around. I can't speak for the others but going to Aurora now feels like going home. What a great group of people in that office and they have such a wonderful and warm team of support. If you haven't touched base with anyone, call out there and ask for Natalie. She's kind of like the go-to person and she is also banded. Awesome lady. The front desk staff are also warm and wonderful women. Marilyn has worked for Dr. K like 20+ years. (how often does that happen?) so there isn't this rollover in new faces every time you go there. Any questions just email me. Glad to help in any way I can. Patty

Hey. I can tell you straight up that I have heard we have one bay area Dr. who refuses to do follow-up on patients who are not his own. He too is a Lap Band patient. He has a practice in Z-hills and now Brooksville and is with the JourneyLite group. I started my search for a band doctor in 2006 and they were slim to none around here. Town and Country was doing SOME type of bariatrics, I think it was the bypass, but the BAND which is what I was looking for was not popular. I can tell you that Millenium Medical in St. Pete does Fills. It looks not so hot from the outside but once you go inside and go back into their maze of support systems their personnel are nice. My one and only fill was not to the caliber of my own surgeon in Colorado and for that reason I chose to not go back to Millenium and make the investment to the conclusion, to my goal weight, by committing to stick with Dr. Kirshenbaum. I fly to Colorado about every 5 months. I get to see the seasonal changes, snow, mountains and have that trip down to a fine science. I belong to all the flight cheapo clubs and car rental places. I plan on my trip and can usually do the run for $800. Well worth it considering it's my body. So that is how I developed a plan for myself. YOU are worth it. Start thinking that way. Whatever it takes to make it happen, commit to doing this for you. If that means doing a puddle jumper to Miami-Ft. La-Di-Da then do it. Be willing to drive for YOU. Fills only happen about once every four or five months on average, you may find it different. But hey, there are places all over the state. Ocala has a place now, Miami is the hub for bariatrics and bariatric plastic recontouring surgery. These places are so use to folks coming in from out of town they accomidate you especially if you are doing that. Best to you and let me know if you need anything. I'm local. LUCK! Patty

I live in Florida and traveled to Colorado to have Dr. Kirshenbaum perform my banding. I did so because he has done thousands of laprascopic procedures, not just banding, and had a great price. Living in the tropical climate of Florida I also found going to the mountains for followups an appealing idea. Check my progress photos out on my signature line.

Hi Kerry3: You can see by my tagline I went with Dr. K. My experience was more than I had hoped for. Very pleased. He's not aggressive with fills. You can expect a methodical doctor, no rush type. I was left with the impression he wanted you to fully understand the band, how it works and how the surgery works. My kinda guy. I'm post op one year, no problems with the surgery, recovery or my band. I was very pleased. Since I started he has added staff to his team. There is a woman named Natalie who works in his office. She's like the go to girl and I recommend you calling their office and just asking for her. She's been banded so she's "one of us". She's a great first contact person. Best of luck. Patty in Florida

UPDATE: I just got back from the plastic surgeon's office. My trepidation about facing my body isses turned out to be a positive experience and the visit was productive. Thank you Dr. Schulman, I feel because of some of the things I had the opportunity to discuss here, I was better able to articulate to this doctor what I was hoping to achieve. The focus for now will be my stomach and not my breasts. Because I still have quite a bit of weight to go there are alterations that happen to the body not just with the breasts but the back and sides. *Dr. Schulman could you go into a bit more detail about this. I would like to understand the process.* I did not realize the various concerns with the skin removal when we have large stomachs and the pennicula that hangs down. *He spoke of blood circulation and Fluid pooling in the stomach. Dr. Schulman could you expand on that and what would cause that? My surgeries will occur in stages. The first stage will be a partial tummy tuck, no navel involved. I'm going to lose 50 lbs before I have this done. This will give me time to fly back out to Dr. K for another fill in the fall and perhaps lose more than the set goal of 50. My surgeries to get me back to a normal body will come in phases. Thank you Dr. Schulman I appreciate your distance assistance in helping me with this process.

Just an update. The doctor has a surgery that will take a little longer than anticipated tomorrow, my appt. is the same time, next day. Consulation on Thursday for the breast reduction, (crossing fingers) and penni-off (my word). Goal: No back pain would be great in 2008!

Dr. Schulman what about if you can look at the area and see scaring, that is, the skin is much shinier on the surface, reddish to darker in shade to deep red along the underside of the skin at the crease. The hair follicals must have been damaged from persistant friction because you can clearly see where the growth of hair ends. It's my thought that any trained eye can look and see the results of years of infection, irritation and so forth. I am looking at it like scaring from a burn. Same difference. You would see some pattern in a first, second or third degree burn by the damage left. Does that make sense? There is no doubt looking at my skin the damage that's been done. As for my breasts, they fall to almost my navel. So very disproportioned to my chest that it's almost obtuse to look at.

Question for our doctor. What would be beneficial for me to bring to the consultation? Would he need to see my band card to show where the port is (has photo)? I'm certain this might sound a bit silly but as an educator I'm always aiming to educate as much as possible to facilitate the process. Thank you Dr. Schulman.

Second update: I have an appt. next Wednesday for a consultation with a PS. I am familiar with his breast work reconstruction (excellent) and I was told by the office manager he has done 'about 30 gastric patients'. We shall see if it's a match between myself and him. Dr. thank you again for you direction.

UPDATE: I spent the afternoon on the phone with my insurance company and eventually got a supervisor. To my surprise this person understood what I was looking for. Because we could not find a surgeon on my BCBS plan who listed bariatric/reconstruction/or something other than "plastic surgery", the supervisor informed me that my insurance company would assist me in finding a provider who provided such services if they were deemed "medically necessary". Not worried about that. Dr. Schulman thank you for the direction. I would have spent the next year or more sucking it up, popping my X-Strength Tylenol every four hours and first thing in the morning.