to make a long story short i have been over wieght all my life but im bigbone and carry my weight well, 2 years ago i was diagnosed with type 2 diabettes im 5"10" 280 i was wondering if lap band is covered by medical? i work for the provincial goverment so my medical(blue cross) isnt to bad. and my other question is how long is the wait list?

my cousin is getting the other surgery i believe where the staple your stomach and she has been waiting 2 years already and this is the one in victoria doctor... am planning on talking to my doctor in three months when i get my regular blood work done....

any help would be appreciated to tell me what to expect and maybe the steps to follow.... i have high blood pressure along with diabettes and alittle depression so i dont know how they score u for the surgery

thanks for your time

Van_canucks

Howdy...hopefully some folks in BC will fill you in on some of the info you are asking about. I'm in ON so I can't really help you out on those specifics (unless you want to go to Toronto for the surgery)!

As for the insurance question...from my understanding, none of the provincial plans cover it and Blue Cross doesn't yet cover it (and IF they ever do it will likely be quite some time before it comes into effect). Although I know there are some people who are in a battle with blue cross but with little luck so far.

Good luck and I hope some BC folks respond for ya!

Nope - not covered by BC Medical but you might be able to claim some of it back on your income tax.

I'm pre-op with Dr Leung (Surrey) and it took me approx. 6 months from first phone call to surgery date (coming up in 3 weeks). The cost is approx. $13,000 CDN. Because it's self pay, you don't have to really "qualify" - you just get the referral to a surgeon (a couple here in the Lower Mainland, and I think one on Vancouver Island) and away you go. You can save some money by going to Mexico (or overseas) - I think it costs around $8,000 US.

Good luck!

Marie

thnaks gilbert for responding....i thought i heard on the news about the rise of obesity that msp was going to start to cover this?

I haven't heard that. That would be awesome though :-)

Marie

thnaks gilbert for responding....i thought i heard on the news about the rise of obesity that msp was going to start to cover this?

is there any type of weight loss surgery that is covered through medical?

Yes, RNY is covered but it's years of waiting :-(

Marie

is there any type of weight loss surgery that is covered through medical?

gilbert if u have msn u can add me love to chat instead of messages on a forum

Muck_muk@hotmail.com

and anybody else who wants to chat please feel free to add me

thanx

is it me our do everyone feels that our goverment is just plain stupid? in wich i mean thatthey do not support the lap band so they rather have obese/overweight people get to type2 diabetes and high blood pressure so we just flood the doc with visit instead of dealing with our problems and paying for these medical procedures?

US as CANADIANS need to all get on the smae page and start writing our msp and our goverment to ask WHY?

my 2 cents i am sure there is a million topics about this

Gilbert, I read a bit of your blog, seems as though we are being worked on by Dr. Leung on the same day......apparently, he does 2 surgeries every Friday.

Paula

It is getting closer and I have butterflies.............:confused:

I'm very excited. I faxed in my pre-op physical info to the hospital on Friday so now I'm waiting for them to call with the date for my pre-admission appointment. I have a lot going on at work the week leading up to my surgery so I hope to hear from them sooner than later. In fact, I wish I could call them and tell them what day I wanted to have the apointment on :-) but I don't think they'd appreciate that. Do you have your date yet? Do you know what time of day your surgery is? I don't.

Marie

Gilbert, I read a bit of your blog, seems as though we are being worked on by Dr. Leung on the same day......apparently, he does 2 surgeries every Friday.

I'm very excited. I faxed in my pre-op physical info to the hospital on Friday so now I'm waiting for them to call with the date for my pre-admission appointment. I have a lot going on at work the week leading up to my surgery so I hope to hear from them sooner than later. In fact, I wish I could call them and tell them what day I wanted to have the apointment on :-) but I don't think they'd appreciate that. Do you have your date yet? Do you know what time of day your surgery is? I don't.

Marie

I am waiting for a call and time for a pre op appointment too. I think I have to go into the hospital on Thursday. I am from out of town, so at least I know that. Will phone Wednesday if I don't hear earlier.

We will have to have some kind of hand signal to recognize each other in the hospital. lol

How about an L to the head, L for Leung.....:confused:

We are talking about July 28 right? Your signature says July 21 but you got bumped to the 28th right?

Marie

I am waiting for a call and time for a pre op appointment too. I think I have to go into the hospital on Thursday. I am from out of town, so at least I know that. Will phone Wednesday if I don't hear earlier.

We will have to have some kind of hand signal to recognize each other in the hospital. lol

How about an L to the head, L for Leung.....:confused:

We are talking about July 28 right? Your signature says July 21 but you got bumped to the 28th right?

Marie

No OK I am dumb, I though you were the 21st ..........:nervous

The surgery with Dr. Alvarez, in Piedras Negras, Mexico is 7500.00 usd its not bad huh total. Are you too far away, because im almost positive this price includes round trip airfare and hotel, surgeons fees, everything. Get in touch with his patient coordinator her name is rosie rosantinaflores@yahoo.com shell give you the correct info.