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I got news at work that we would be changing our insurance from BCBS of Arizona to United Health Care on the 1st of Jan. I went to the doc today and found out that they don't accept the new insurance. I live in New Mexico and they are the only lapband office in the state. I am a little scared and concerned but I guess worst comes to worst you go back to them and pay full price assuming you have the money. They said the fills would be $350. I went into day for my first fill but did not get it due to having pain at the port but it is going away and I am feeling better. I would have not got the fill anyways due to the great progress that I have had since my surgery on Nov 4th. They scheduled another one for Dec 29th. Hopefully I will continue doing really well so that I don't need one. I would also be concerned in getting one that close to insurance change incase my body did not agree with the fill and had to have the fill removed after the 1st of the New Year.

I guess I could always go to AZ, CO, TX and find a doc and just use the one locally for emergencies. It would be nice to be able to just ask questions but I am sure they won't do that anyways with out insurance. I will have to talk to them before the new year and see what they have to say.

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I have a friend who goes to a clinic in Albuquerque. She had been going to AZ and had been told there was no WLS clinic in NM, but found one in ABQ.

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Call United Healthcare and tell them what's going on. Hopefully they can help you find a clinic.

I'm in TX and I have United Healthcare. So far out of all the bariatric surgeons close to me there's only one that won't take it.

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I am sure that I will be able to find one out of state. That is going to be a inconvinence for me with the cost of having to fly or drive to my destination. I am more concerned about not having someone locally to talk to or if I need to go in about a situation.

I don't know if it's true but I have heard several people say that most doctors don't take banded patients or want a large sum like $800 up front to establish with a new patient. I won't know till I call.

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I would think if you find someone that will take your insurance then they can't legally charge you a large upfront fee. They will only be able to charge what the insurance will allow.

What are your out of network benefits? I know on my UHC they don't cover out of network bariatric fees at all. But they aren't all like that.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
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    • KimBaxleyWilson

      Three months and four days ago... I was in Costa Rica having a life changing surgery! Yesterday we had a followup visit with Dr. Esmeral via video chat and this morning my middle number changed.  I'm down 47lbs and two pants sizes. I can wear a Large tshirt for the first time in like... 14 years! Woot!! Everything is going great. I have zero regrets. I went down to the riverwalk with a friend and walked 2 miles on Monday without even getting fatigued. And no more snoring or chugging pickle juice for crazy leg cramps! I need to go to the gym more... I'm making new shirts next week so that will motivate me. LOL But I'm also just not as TIRED all the time! I have a LONG way to go...but seeing the progress on the scales and in the mirror is a huge motivator!! Thank you all for cheering me on and supporting me!!
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    • bellaamey

      https://alluniqueguide.com/java-burn-coffee-reviews/
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