:wave: Hi everyone.My name is Kim.I just joined up here last night.I`m from Effingham Illinois,disabled,& on medicaid.I had a Surgeon but he had to stop accepting medicaid.I`ve got all my clearance testing done and am now looking for another surgeon.Any advise and referrals would be great.Is there a page on here where you can write your story,about yourself?:girl_hug:

Hi Kim! Welcome! I am new too, I just joined yesterday. I Hope everything works out for you.

Thanks.I just hope I find another surgeon before next year when my clearance tests become outdated.:cry I`ve checked tons of places and most did accept medicaid but don`t anymore.

Hi Kim, and welcome to LBT!

The introductions thread is the best place to tell us about yourself. If you want to keep an ongoing record of your lap band journey, I would suggest starting an LBT journal. You can then decide if you want it to be for your eyes only, or if you want to share it with others.

Have you checked out this forum yet?

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=11

It has a lot of good information about surgeons, etc.

Thanks Susan.I found where I can start a journal and I posted my 1st one today.I will definately look at the other forum.By the way.I found all the smilies I can use on here but where doyou get all the other cute stuff you all have?

Where is Effingham? I am in Romeoville, west of Chicago. There is a list of surgeons available from www.lap-band.com it is free to register and they will email you a list of surgeons with-in a 50 mile radius. I use Dr. Lahmann and Dr. Joyce at Silver Cross hospital in Joliet. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. ~Mandy

Hi Mandy.I`m not too good with milage and directions.LOL.But we are closest to Mattoon,Decatur,Vandalyia.I know I`ve checked a ton of places and Doctors in the Chicago area and they all said they were`nt accepting medicaid.But I`ll check out that link you gave me.Hopefully I will find someone.Thanks

Here is what they sent me:

Dear Mandy,

Thank you for taking the first step to learn more about the BioEnterics® LAP-BAND® System.

A decision to have surgery is not to be taken lightly. Learning about the LAP-BAND System

procedure may be the most important step you take to improve your health. Speaking with a

surgeon today will empower and educate you in your decision to transform your life using

this less invasive and adjustable treatment for morbid obesity.

In response to your request, we have included several names of certified LAP-BAND System

surgeons who perform this procedure in your area:

Dr. Gerald Cahill , 2850 W 95th St, Suite 206, ,Evergreen Park, IL 60805. Tel: (708)422 5658. (Distance: 4.0)

[/url]

Dr. John Alverdy , 5841 S. Maryland, , ,CHICAGO, IL 60637. Tel: (773)834-2710. (Distance: 10.0)

Dr. Vivek N. Prachand , 5841 S Maryland Ave, MC 5036, ,Chicago, IL 60637. Tel: (773)834-8360. (Distance: 10.0)

Dr. Jonathan Myers , 2160 South 1st Ave, , ,MAYWOOD, IL 60153. Tel: (708)327-2447. (Distance: 12.0)

Dr. Sharifi Sarker , 2160 South First Ave, , ,MAYWOOD, IL 60153. Tel: (708)327-2447. (Distance: 12.0)

Dr. Vafa Shayani , 2160 South First Ave, , ,MAYWOOD, IL 60153. Tel: (708)327-2447. (Distance: 12.0)

Dr. Kathyrn Bass , 1901 Harrison St #3350, , ,CHICAGO, IL 60612. Tel: (312)864-3247. (Distance: 13.0)

Dr. Michael Baptista , 840 South Wood St MC 958, , ,CHICAGO, IL 60612. Tel: (312)355-1493. (Distance: 13.0)

Dr. Burnetta Herron , 2801 Finley Rd #220, , ,DOWNERS GROVE, IL 60515. Tel: (630)627-7800. (Distance: 14.0)

Dr. Chris Salvino , 2801 Finley Rd #220, , ,DOWNERS GROVE, IL 60515. Tel: (630)627-7800. (Distance: 14.0)

Dr. Michael Iwanicki , 2801 Finley Rd #220, , ,DOWNERS GROVE, IL 60515. Tel: (630)627-7800. (Distance: 14.0)

Dr. Alex Nagle , 251 E. Huron St., Galter 3-150, ,Chicago, IL 60611. Tel: (312)695-7070. (Distance: 15.0)

Dr. Eric S Hungness , 10-105 Galter, 201 E Huron St, ,CHICAGO, IL 60611. Tel: (312)695-0209. (Distance: 15.0)

Dr. Jay B Prystowsky , 201 E. Huron St / Galter 10-105, , ,CHICAGO, IL 60611. Tel: (312)695-7070. (Distance: 15.0)

Dr. Santiago Horgan , 840 S Wood, 4th floor, Room 435E, ,Chicago, IL 60610. Tel: (312)355-1493. (Distance: 15.0)

Dr. Woddy Denham , Department of Surgery, FeinBerg School of Medicine, 201 E. Huron,Chicago, IL 60611. Tel: (847)570-1003. (Distance: 15.0)

Dr. Brian Lahmann , 1300 Copperfield Ave, , ,JOLIET, IL 60432. Tel: (815)723-8571. (Distance: 19.0)

Dr. Christopher Joyce , 1300 Copperfield Ave, , ,Joliet, IL 60432. Tel: (815)723-8571. (Distance: 19.0)

Dr. Andrew Agos , 800 Austin Ave, Suite 363 east, ,EVANSTON, IL 60202. Tel: (847)864-8887. (Distance: 23.0)

Dr. Anthony Raspanti , 800 Austin Ave, Suite 363 east, ,EVANSTON, IL 60202. Tel: (847)864-8887. (Distance: 23.0)

Dr. David Woodard , 511 Thornhill, , ,Carol Stream, IL 60188. Tel: (630)665-2101. (Distance: 24.0)

Dr. Arsenio Favor , 1479 East 84th Place, , ,MERRILLVILLE, IN 46410. Tel: (219)738-2828. (Distance: 26.0)

Dr. Daniel Bacal , 9239 Broadway, , ,Merrillvale, IN 46410. Tel: (219)756-4900. (Distance: 26.0)

Dr. Paul Stanish , 9239 Broadway, , ,Merrillville, IN 46410. Tel: (219)756-4900. (Distance: 26.0)

Dr. James Kane , 1614 W Central Rd #105, , ,ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL 60005. Tel: (847)255-9697. (Distance: 27.0)

Dr. Jonathan Wallace , 1614 W Central Rd #105, , ,ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL 60005. Tel: (847)255-9697. (Distance: 27.0)

Dr. Paul Guske , 1614 W Central Rd #105, , ,ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL 60005. Tel: (847)255-9697. (Distance: 27.0)

Dr. Peter Rantis , 1614 W Central Rd, # 105, ,ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL 60005. Tel: (847)255-9697. (Distance: 27.0)

Dr. Stuart Verseman , 1614 W Central Rd, #105, , ,Arlington Heights, IL 60005. Tel: (847)255-9697. (Distance: 27.0)

Dr. Mark Kadowaki , 890 Garfield Ave. Suite 203, , ,Libertyville, IL 60048. Tel: (847)367-1800. (Distance: 41.0)

Dr. Scott Otto , 890 Garfield Ave #203, , ,LIBERTYVILLE, IL 60048. Tel: (847)367-1800. (Distance: 41.0)

Dr. Amir Heydari , 690 E Terra Cotta #A, , ,CRYSTAL LAKE, IL 60014. Tel: (815)455-2752. (Distance: 46.0)

Dr. Danny Sardon , 1501 Walbash St, , ,MICHIGAN CITY, IN 46360. Tel: (219)872-7555. (Distance: 47.0)

Dr. Laurence Gibson , 1425 N Hunt Club Rd #103, , ,GURNEE, IL 60031. Tel: (847)856-2525. (Distance: 47.0)

Dr. Roger H Mailefer , 217 Franklin St, , ,DEKALB, IL 60115. Tel: (815)758-8671. (Distance: 52.0)

Dr. Brian Boe , 1625 S State St, , ,BELVIDERE, IL 61008. Tel: (818)544-1360. (Distance: 68.0)

Dr. Charles Stone , 303 S Main St, , ,MISHAWAKA, IN 46544. Tel: (574)855-3888. (Distance: 84.0)

Dr. Denise Murphy , 2012, S. Main St #B, ,MISHAWAKA, IN 46544. Tel: (574)535-9100. (Distance: 84.0)

Dr. Winston C. Gerig , 303 S Main St, , ,MISHAWAKA, IN 46544. Tel: (574)255-3888. (Distance: 84.0)

Dr. Winston Greig , 303 Main St., , ,MISHAWAKA, IN 46544. Tel: (574)255-3888. (Distance: 84.0)

Dr. Carlos C Tan , 2745 W Layton Ave #806, , ,MILWAUKEE, WI 53221. Tel: (414)281-9665. (Distance: 86.0)

Dr. Eric Valladares , 2745 W Layton, , ,MILWAUKEE, WI 53221. Tel: (414)281-9665. (Distance: 86.0)

Dr. Thomas Chua , 2745 W Layton, , ,Milwaukee, WI 53221. Tel: (414)281-9665. (Distance: 86.0)

Dr. David Engstrand , 22370 Bluemound Rd #102, , ,Waukesha, WI 53186. Tel: (262)522-8300. (Distance: 93.0)

Dr. James Burhop , 22370 Bluemound Rd #102, , ,Waukesha, WI 53186. Tel: (262)522-8300. (Distance: 93.0)

Dr. Manfred Chiang , 22370 Bluemound Rd #102, , ,Waukesha, WI 53186. Tel: (262)522-8300. (Distance: 93.0)

Dr. Steven Hoekstra , 303 Nappanee, , ,Elkhart, IN 46514. Tel: (574)296-3308. (Distance: 93.0)

The LAP-BAND System offers the opportunity to live the healthier, happier life you always

wanted and deserve. To see if the LAP-BAND System is right foryou, call for an appointment

with one of the surgeons above, today.

Be well-

The INAMED Health Team

Thanks for the list Mandy.I`ve already checked on a lot of the names there.But maybe there are some I havn`t.I`ll check further.Hopefully I`ll find someone.

I am going with Dr. Bonomo @ Mercy Hosp in Chicago. I didnt see his name on the list. What I liked about them is that they work fast! Not alot of waiting for testing, or return phone calls. Good luck.

Thanks Joy.I`ve already gotten all my clearance testing done,so hopefully I will find another surgeon from all the referals I`ve gotten here and everything will move quickly.I`d love to be skinny healthy and energetic by Spring.I`ll check out that Dr.and hospital.Thanks again.

That's not the most current list, it's the one I got over a year ago, more like 18 or so months ago. I thought it might make a good starting point. I know that my group takes a bunch of different plans. Maybe give them a call? There has to be someone that takes medicaid. Is there a medicaid website that you can look up surgeons? Best of luck, Mandy

:clap2: Hi Everybody,

I got my lap band last Monday, October 2nd. The operation, done by my doctor, Dr. George Fielding, at NYU Medical Center, went very well. I am so pleased. I finally see a bright light at the end of my very dark tunnel. You see, my journey started ten years when I suffered a comminuted fracture of my left ankle in a boating accident. In other words, it was crushed and required five operations to reconstruct it. The first thing my orthopedic surgeon said was, "Lois, you're going to put on a lot of weight because you are going to be in a wheelchair for a long time while we try to save and reconstruct your leg." Always being active, I had no idea how much weight he meant. Oh, I also had a "silent" heart attack the year before and had already been gaining weight because I wasn't feeling well enough to hike as I used to. So in one year I put on at least 40-50 pounds because I wasn't doing the cooking. And it kept on coming on. Then in 8/99 I had a quad bypass. The bypass was scary but a piece of cake. Really. At cardiac rehab six months later I was working out beautifully but slowly kept gaining weight in spite of belonging to Weight Watchers and various other diets. Eventually I was working out with a trainer four times a week getting stronger but not losing weight. Then in 2003 I had an implantable cardiac defibrulator put into me and came out of the hospital with a "goody bag" of nine medications. That was my downfall. I couldn't work out as I did before the implant and it's been a losing battle ever since with the side effects of weight gain from the medications. Then, last April, my orthopedic surgeon recommended the NYU Surgical Weight Loss Program. I went to Dr. Fielding's seminar where he is not only a surgeon but he is also a patient. I was blown away. I immediately called my insurance company, Oxford Freedom Select, and found out they covered the surgery. I did the pre-equisite psychological testing and met with the nutritionist and finally, Dr. Fielding. The surgery, only a week ago, has changed me in so many ways emotionally. I don't feel as I am in a bottomless hole any more. I am not waiting to die. I have been so inactive because of my high blood pressure and do not feel helpless any more. I listened to his great support team and took it easy last week and did not lift anything heavy, just rested. I must tell you that two days after the surgery I woke up feeling like I had done 100 situps at the gym but I took Aleve and soon I was fine. I realize that I have to sip my Water, not gulp. A couple of times I forgot and felt the pressure because I drank too much at one time. I'm learning to listen to my body. I'm on the thin liquid diet and then after the esophagram this coming Friday and doctor's visit I guess I will progress to the next stage, pureed foods. I got the cookbook for recipes for people after weight loss surgery and it is so helpful. I made a great Bengali chicken Soup and pureed it and thinned it out and it is very satisfying. I highly recommend this procedure to everyone facing "surgical intervention" for their weight problems. I started out on the pre-op liquid diet at 282 and went into surgery at 272. I want to get to the weight the doctor's say is right for me, which the psychologist said, would be 190. I don't want to be skinny. Gee whiz, I'm 63 but I want to live another 20 years. God willing. I just want my blood workups to come out healthy. I want to be able to ride a bike and go swimming once again.

P.S. You won't believe what just happened in my office. Someone just brought in a plate of lunch from a faculty meeting for me. I threw it in the garbage. I'm not even saving it to take home to my husband after work. Oh well, this won't be last time that will be happening. Get used to it.

Hi Lois.I just read your thread.Congradulations and I wish you all the best on your weight loss journey.Where is NYU Medical Center? I`ve been trying to find someone to do this for me that will accept Illinois Public Aid with no luck.So In August I started the documented dieting thing most of these places want you to have.I went on Adepex from my pcp and since Then I`ve lost about 25 pounds.It`s very slow going.I just wander if anyone will work with me now that I`ve been losing weight on this.I gave up searching for a surgeon in August when I got so down and fed up.The one I had, had to stop taking Public Aid.I had all my clearance testing done and everything.I know I`m slowly losing weight on these pills but I still want the lap band done.I Have been losing about 8-10 pounds a month but there are times when I get hungry and get the munchies and it`s very hard to stay in control.Good luck,and I hope to be on the losing side one of these days.

Kimberly Brich

Sorry it took me a while to answer you Kim. I'm still trying to figure out the bells and whistles of answering threads. Dr. George Field is originally from Australia. He is not only my surgeon but he is also a lapband patient himself. He was the eldest of seven siblings from a well-to-do family in Australia. Every one of his siblings, including his parents were slim and all ate the same food and had the same family activities except that Dr. Fielding took after a relative several generations back who was always heavy. Dr. Fielding believes in the "fat gene". So ten years ago, when the lap band procedure was new, he had his procedure, lost the weight and got off the nine medications he was on and decided to specialize in lap banding. To make a long story short, he came to NYC and met with Dr. Christine Ren, director of the NYU Program for Surgical Weight (she is world reknown in her own right) and he is now also an Associate Professor, Surgery at New York University School of Medicine in Manhattan, NY. My orthopedic surgeon, also at NYU, recommended Dr. Ren and Dr. Fielding to me last April and said they are the best. I went to Dr. Fielding's seminar in June and was blown away. He is on a campaign to alleviate the morbid obesity in the United States. Now what's more, Kim, is if you go to their website: thinforlife.med.nyu.edu you will learn everthing about Drs. Ren and Fielding and their program. In addition, go to the menu for Payment Options. Dr. Fielding raises funds so that people who desperately need the lap banding but have trouble because of insurance, etc. can qualify to get funding for their operations. I highly recommend their program. Their staff are tremendous. In fact, four of the people on his staff have had the lap band procedure. They are healthy, happy and can share in what we are going through. Their surgical staff are top notch. I must tell you that I feel great and am finally on the way to the light of my deep dark abyss of just waiting to die because of the weight gain, high blood pressure, heavy doses of the "witch's brew" of medications and side effects and inactivity.

Hi Lois.I just read your thread.Congradulations and I wish you all the best on your weight loss journey.Where is NYU Medical Center? I`ve been trying to find someone to do this for me that will accept Illinois Public Aid with no luck.So In August I started the documented dieting thing most of these places want you to have.I went on Adepex from my pcp and since Then I`ve lost about 25 pounds.It`s very slow going.I just wander if anyone will work with me now that I`ve been losing weight on this.I gave up searching for a surgeon in August when I got so down and fed up.The one I had, had to stop taking Public Aid.I had all my clearance testing done and everything.I know I`m slowly losing weight on these pills but I still want the lap band done.I Have been losing about 8-10 pounds a month but there are times when I get hungry and get the munchies and it`s very hard to stay in control.Good luck,and I hope to be on the losing side one of these days.

Kimberly Brich

Good Morning Kim,

I was banded in August 2006, by Dr. Shayani at Loyola University Health Systems in Maywood IL. My operation was covered by my insurance, but Loyola may accept Illinois Public Aid. Have you contacted Loyola? I absolutely love my doctor and the other lap band physicians at Loyola. The best of luck in your search. - LadyK