:angry Im trying to be postive about this but I cant even get my doctor to refer for surgery!already Im a full time student with Medicare insurance so its gonna be hard to deal with them(medicaid) what is it? she wont even

put in a request to medicaid (Caresource)for payment.

Im 5'2 ,200lbs,bad Asthma,heart palpatations, ~family history~

of heart diease and diabetes on both sides.Im just TRYING TO BEAT this illnesses that are waiting to devour me.:cry

Anybody advice?relate?or just wanna comment? Im In Cincinnati,Ohio

Have you thought of finding a new family Dr.? One that is sympathetic with you health issues and would want the best for you. Did you ask her why she doesnt want you to do this? There are alot of Drs. out there that have no clue what a lapband is. Maybe you should educate her in the procedure and why it is so important to you. Then if she still doesnt give a hoot I would look into possibly finding a new family dr that will support and help you with this entire procedure. There is a Dr. C. That posts on here all the time. Maybe you could send him an email or call his office. He is in cincinnati and his staff might be able to assist you on what to do. I am sure that you are not the first one to have this problem. He is a very nice man and will address any email you send him very promptly. I know he did me. This is the man I am going to have band me when I can get my finances together. He has done the most surgeries in the area. Have heard nothing but good about him. Being a nurse has helped me find some things out about him from my nurse friends in cincinnati. Just a thought. If you ever want to talk feel free to send me a message. Good luck with it all!

I, too, am in Cincinnati. I didn't even ask my doctor his opinion. I looked up Dr. Trace Curry, found that he was in my network, and made an appointment to see him. He mentioned that he'd send a letter to my doctor that I'm going to do this, but I really see that it's none of his business.

It may be that some folks HAVE to have a letter from their doctor in order to be approved with insurance, I dunno.

I don't know but Dr. Curry is the best of the best as far as I"m concerned. I drive 10 hours round trip to him to get my fills. Although they're are many doctors lots closer I only trust him with my port and band.

Shay,

I appreciate the kind words from other patients. Couple of things about CareSource:

1. If your BMI is below 50 they rarely approve any type of weight loss surgery

2. Even if your BMI is over 50 you're going to need some major comorbidities (such as diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, arthritis)

3. Even if you do have all of the above they don't approve the band very often only RNY (although we have had one approval)

I wish it weren't so, but that's what we have to deal with. On the plus side, if you meet the above criteria you really don't have to have a referral from your PCP. On the down side CareSource will make you do at least a 6 month supervised diet prior to approval. It's a real pain in the butt!

Good luck,

Dr. C

Cincinnati, Ohio

www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND

DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

:angry Im trying to be postive about this but I cant even get my doctor to refer for surgery!already Im a full time student with Medicare insurance so its gonna be hard to deal with them(medicaid) what is it? she wont even

put in a request to medicaid (Caresource)for payment.

Im 5'2 ,200lbs,bad Asthma,heart palpatations, ~family history~

of heart diease and diabetes on both sides.Im just TRYING TO BEAT this illnesses that are waiting to devour me.:cry

Anybody advice?relate?or just wanna comment? Im In Cincinnati,Ohio

Hello,everyone thankyou for your time,really supportive no doubt

someone(s) has been through what im gonna through now.

I have six words... Im Gonna Get To Dr. Curry! lol.. lol..I have to humor myself.

Hope everyone the best!

Here is here addy:

www.thebanddoctor.com

You won't be sorry. He's the best of the best, sweet, and very easy on the eyes too.

:angry Im trying to be postive about this but I cant even get my doctor to refer for surgery!already Im a full time student with Medicare insurance so its gonna be hard to deal with them(medicaid) what is it? she wont even

put in a request to medicaid (Caresource)for payment.

Shay:

Are you talking about having Medicare AND Medicaid? Because, if Medicare is primary, the news is MUCH better. I'm Medicare and you don't need "approved" at all but you do have to be a BMI of 40+ OR 35-40 with a major health condition.

As for a new PCP doctor, I heard Dr. Curry recommend Dr. Freemont down there.

Finally, there are the Mexico options - I've seen people pay as low as $5000. Hope this helps.

Paige