I've been doing reseach on the lapband for awhile now and I have decided that I want to go ahead and get it. However, I have no idea what is the 1st step in finding a dr. and meeting them and the whole begining process. Where do I start, and what is the 1st apt like (what to they go over/ask)

I think I will probably be self pay ( well I'm hoping to find a Dr. that will repair a hiatal hernia at the same time, so that my insurance cover most of it and self pay the rest) So I don't really want to know the how to start the insurance battle part of things, just the other 1st steps lol

oh also, how long did it take to get a surgery date? I know each place if different but wanted to see what most people say. I'm hoping to get this process going at a fast pace, for insurance reasons.

my process took 6 1/2 months. 1st my husband and I attended a seminar at a hospital that I know does this surgery. The Doctor who gave the seminar is who I chose to go with. Set up an appointment, and had to decide if I was going to do weight loss with my PCP or do their lifestyle program. That was to appease my insurance. During the 6 month lifestyle class(that's what I chose to do), I completed all of my pre-op work up. chest x-ray, ekg, upper GI, sleep study, stress test, phyc eval and nutritional eval. Once I completed my 6th month lifestyle class. Off to the insurance for approval. With in a week, I received my surgery date which was the following 1 1/2 weeks later. I'm now 9 days post op, and feeling great that I made this decision.. God luck on your journey..

Hi Amber! You might get more answers if you post in the self-pay forum (http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forum/2451-self-pay-lap-band-surgery-new-forum/)... I was insurance, so I had a long wait before surgery, but my understanding is if you're self-pay and meet the criteria, you usually get your surgery done pretty quickly, since there are fewer hoops to jump through. What area do you live in? I'm sure there are members here who can suggest surgeons for you.

Amber-

I am also having a second surgery with my lapband. BUT- I could not fool the insurance company- you still have to pay everything you would have had to pay if you weren't already having a medically neccessary procedure at the same time. In other words-- I am having some neccessary female surgery- so I "thought" that my insurance would pay for a lot of my lapband stuff- but no. Also- just a warning (something you should look into) - I can tell you that my surgeon would not do LapBand with hernia repair-- because the hernia repair is a major surgery. But check with yours and see. Hope this helps.

I had hiatal hernia repair along with placing the band and this is very common practice. I only paid $5500 (price of the band) and my insurance covered the rest due to me getting the hernia repair. Your 1st step would be to contact insurance to see if it even covers lapband (mine had a WLS exclusion). Then start calling around to bariatric surgeon' s offices and see if they will submit the hiatal hernia repair to your insurance and how much will you actually be respinsible for. You may even have to go in for a consult as I'm sure some offices won't give out any info over the phone or tell you no. People have a harder time telling you no to your face. When you find somewhere you like then you need to get an EGD done. This is where they find the hernia. I paid $98 for this and insurance paid the rest. Then you will find out if you have it or not and whether you have to pay the full amount. I used True Results. The have offices in Texas, Arizona, and I think Georgia. Included is a year of free fills with self-pays. Great deal, don't you think? LOL! Be persistent and don't give up!

Hi there Amber,

First you need a primary care provider, a doctor, MD. There are certain criterias needed to be meet in order to get a band. $? No insurance? Once you have qualified, check with your state, see if you can get government insurance. I know the state of Hawaii offers free, no cost to you, medical insurance for those who qualify. Okay, lets not all flock to Hawaii, lol! I had medical insurance coverage through my employer, thank GOD, it is expensive, but oh so worth it! The desire is the first step, do you qualify, next (medically and insurance), lab work up, stress, heart test, up to the specialist doing the procedure. Some people are too high of a risk. What ever you decide, GOD BLESS!

I've been doing reseach on the lapband for awhile now and I have decided that I want to go ahead and get it. However, I have no idea what is the 1st step in finding a dr. and meeting them and the whole begining process. Where do I start, and what is the 1st apt like (what to they go over/ask)

I think I will probably be self pay ( well I'm hoping to find a Dr. that will repair a hiatal hernia at the same time, so that my insurance cover most of it and self pay the rest) So I don't really want to know the how to start the insurance battle part of things, just the other 1st steps lol