M wondering if there are any sleevers living in la? Would like to have a face to face support pal to if that were possible lol

Geauxforit......How far have you gone? Could you still change at this point?

I've had my initial consultation with Allain, blood work, EKG, chest X-ray, and upper GI. I sill have to do all 3 official visits with him, the nutritionist visits and class, the physical therapist visit and the psych eval.

I would think all of the testing I've done so far would still count for Aetna even if I change surgeons, right??

Allain is in-network as a General Surgeon on my plan, but he (& the other 3 docs) do bariatric surgery under a different tax id. >

He said that he is an in network general surgeon. I hope to hear a final word from his office this week. I will surely let you know.

Mawtam, any word from Taylor's office? I went ahead and made an appointment with him since it takes a couple of weeks to get in, but I'm keeping my other appointment with Allain for now...just in case!

ANOTHER obstacle, for me anyway, is that my Aetna plan no longer covers BR General and that's "his" hospital! Geez...always seems to be some challenge...

Does your plan still cover you at BR General? I had my hysterectomy there and they are great. I hate that we lost that facility.

Mawtam' date=' any word from Taylor's office? I went ahead and made an appointment with him since it takes a couple of weeks to get in, but I'm keeping my other appointment with Allain for now...just in case!

ANOTHER obstacle, for me anyway, is that my Aetna plan no longer covers BR General and that's "his" hospital! <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> Geez...always seems to be some challenge...

Does your plan still cover you at BR General? I had my hysterectomy there and they are great. I hate that we lost that facility.[/quote']

GeauxForIt....give me a call and I will tell you what they said. I'm such a slow typer on this phone, 225-354-5299

Hi fellow Louisiana Sleevers!!!! My name is Courtney and I'm from Marrero, the Westbank of New Orleans, and I am being sleeved by Dr. James Wooldridge Ochsner main campus. I have Cigna and the doctor's office will fax to Cigna tomorrow morning so fingers crossed for a quick approval!!!! Anyone else have Cigna that can tell me about their approval???

I swear I'm going to go CRAZY during this insane 3 month wait!!!

Geauxforit.....dr. Taylor's office says that Aetna is requiring me to do 6 months of Dietary couciling. Wonder why they only required you to do 3? Had my first appt on June 18th or so. I saw Linda Braud at Woman's and she said that I could prob have the surgery around Christmas. When I went to my initial appt, dr. Taylor asked me what my preference was as far as hospitals, so I chose woman's. L

My surgeon is Dr. Chu in Lafayette. I'm glad to know that the people who used her were very satisfied!

From St Francisville here. I have Aetna as well & am not happy with them at all. I went to Mexico & was sleeved June 18th by Dr Gracia. Was cheaper for me to pay $5K than deal with Aetna plus I have the high deductible plan. Down 26 lbs so far.

Dr. Chu is awesome. 4 months post op and no problems at all.

Dr. Jonathan Taylor

Dr. Chu is awesome. 4 months post op and no problems at all.

Hey, Shannon, how much weight have you lost, if you don't mind me asking?

Hey y'all!

For those wondering about Dr. Taylor I wanted to chime in and say that he performed my sleeve a week ago today! I was nervous because Dr Taylor was basically chosen for me since he was the only surgeon in my network. I have Blue Cross Federal. But once I met him and his staff I was so happy. I really liked everyone so much. Dr. Taylor is pretty high energy and talks really fast! Lol. He has been doing these surgeries for a long time and I know it's only been a week but so far so good! One thing I can tell you is he is based out of The Baton Rouge Clinic, which is not where he operates, but you can see him there, do labs there, etc. But, that's place is BUSY. Sometimes you have to stay on them to hear something. However everyone is nice and helpful! His insurance coordinator Mrs. Martha will help you with any questions you have about insurance. You'll have your choice of using Woman's Hospital or The Baton Rouge General. I went with Woman's because I had my baby there and was very comfortable there. I love their dietician Mrs. Linda Braud, she was sweet AND realistic in our approach to my surgery. Oh and he does ise a co-surgeon so you may have to pay them each a deductible, not sure how that works exactly but i know that I did.

I hope that helps out those who were wondering about him! I'm new to the board but I've been reading a lot and it has helped with so many questions and with knowing I am not alone in any of this!!

I'm not from LA but my bestie lives in Abbeville and she of taking care of me after surgery so that's why I'm having it done in Louisiana.

I'm using Dr. Borland in New Iberia. I've talked to people that have used him and they just love him.

He has a very reasonable cash price of $9800. it is done outpatient, if you don't live there then you have to stay in a hotel in New Iberia and he comes 2 days and checks on you, his nurse calls you daily and you also have the Dr's home and cell # in case of emergencys or a question arises. (letting y'all know in case anyone on here is looking for a good Dr for self pay)

I'm very happy with my choice to use him and my surgery is the 25th in 21 days! So excited!!

Anyway I just wanted to say hi and I'll be in your state soon lol

Johnathan

I'm not from LA but my bestie lives in Abbeville and she of taking care of me after surgery so that's why I'm having it done in Louisiana.

I'm using Dr. Borland in New Iberia. I've talked to people that have used him and they just love him.

He has a very reasonable cash price of 9800. it is done outpatient' date=' if you don't live there then you have to stay in a hotel in New Iberia and he comes 2 days and checks on you, his nurse calls you daily and you also have the Dr's home and cell # in case of emergencys or a question arises. (letting y'all know in case anyone on here is looking for a good Dr for self pay)

I'm very happy with my choice to use him and my surgery is the 25th in 21 days! So excited!!

Anyway I just wanted to say hi and I'll be in your state soon lol

Johnathan[/quote']

Well I hope you have a good time while you're in our State, and your surgery is a success.

Let me know how the whole staying in a hotel goes.... I couldn't imagine having to get up and down from a bed that was not a hospital bed, you know with how the head of the bed can be elevated. Once I got home I slept in a recliner for a week.

That is a good cash price. I paid $14K for mine, but it also covered staying overnight in hospital.

Where are you from?

Hi!

My name is Jenny, and I live in Denham Springs, La. My insurance (Humana) covered my sleeve at 100% so I was limited as to where I could go. In the Baton Rouge area I would find a Surgeon, but then the hospital they used was not "hospital of exellence". So I had to go to Layfayette which was a pain (the drive to and from), because it was a 8 month process. I used Dr.Chu, and she is great and REAL. I've only seen her twice. Once for a consult, and once the day after my surgery. Of course I saw her during my surgery but I wasn't awake for that. I'm a little disappointed that no one has called from their office to see how I am doing. I had my surgery on Thursday, June 28,2012. I think the real star of the show at that clinic is Kate Roundtree the Nutritionist!! I love her and she has helped me so much. I feel like I can ask her anything. Just yesterday I emailed her a creamy blackbean Soup recipe and she looked it over and oked it for me. Love her! Because I just recently went through this surgery I'll be happy to answer any questions. I had a wonderful experience, have experienced no pain and am so ready for some mushy foods!! I would love to have a close to me support group if anyone is interested.

Jenny