I have come to discover that there are a lot of us Southern Marylanders here.....all of whom have to travel out of our comfort zone, and up into DC or Northern VA for LapBand stuff. I'm curious to know how many of us there are. I have already heard from two others. Neat! Please write if you're one of us! Thanks, BJ

I hail from Waldorf!!!!

:clap2: Looks like the group is getting bigger! It's amazing how popular LapBand is with us Waldorf chicks!

Hey BJ and Tanya...don't forget me...I'm 100% Waldorf...

Tina

Hello There...

My sister and I live in the Upper Marlboro MD area. It's 10 to 15 out of Waldorf. But we both work in Waldorf.

Hi, Crystal! Welcome to you and your sister. Since you work in Waldorf, I won't hold the "North of the PG County Line" thing against you! You are invited to the "Southern MD Bandster" gathering, whenever we have it!

Well, I was filled on Friday - 1.0 cc's. I am sad to report that I feel absolutely no difference. Some people say it takes a while for it to kick in. I'm crossing my fingers. My next appointment isn't until June 1st. I don't want to have to wait that long to try again.

Oh, I had gained back a friggin' pound!

HELLO TO MY FELLOW WALDORFIANS,

I AM A HOPEFUL BANDER NEW TO THE SITE. MY NEIGHBOR TOLD ME 2 SUNDAY'S AGO ABOUT HER UPCOMING GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY AT GW. SHE GAVE HER PACKAGE OF INFORMATION. NEEDLESS TO SAY AFTER A LONG WALK I WAS CALLING GW THE VERY NEXT DAY ON 5/7/07. I HAVE MY FIRST CONSULTATION TOMORROW 5/15/07 WITH DR. BRODY.

I AM SO EXCITED AND NERVOUS AT THE SAME TIME. I HAVE EVEN GONE AHEAD A SCHEDULED MY PHYSICAL AND MY PYCH EXAM AN HAVEN'T EVEN MET THE SURGEON. THIS IS HOW EAGER I AM TO PUT MYSELF UP FOR THE LAPBAND CHALLENGE.

I HAVE CAREFIRST BLUECROSS FEDERAL AND I AM PRAYING THAT THEY APPROVE THIS PROCEDURE. I HAVE HAD A FEW SURGERIES IN THE PAST (IE: BREAST REDUCTION, LASIK, AND APPENDECTOMY), SO I AM PREPARED FOR THE PAIN, BUT NOT SO SURE ABOUT THE RECOVERY PERIOD.

SO FOR THE LENGHTHY COMMENT, BUT ANY HELP OR ENCOURAGEMENT ANY OF MY FELLOW WALDORFIANS CAN PROVIDE WOULD BE GREAT.

THANKS IN ADVANCE,

CHANDA :help:

Chanda,

Welcome!!! I also have an appointment with Dr. Brody tomorrow. What time is your appointment? My appointment is at 9:45 am. I'm going in for my two week follow-up. I was banded on 4/30/07. Dr. Brody is great...you're going to really like him. His secretary Jorgina is a wealth of information. The entire GW team is wonderful. I had a great experience at the hospital. I wish you luck with the insurance. Let me know when your appointment is and how your insurance approval process goes. Talk to you soon!

Tina

Thank you so much for replying Tina.

My initial consultation is tomorrow at 1:30. I will be leaving work around noon so I will just miss you by only a few hours.

I definitely keep you all posted on my progress. BTW, I meant to tell you all that I love reading your posts and I am so sleepy today at work because I was on this website until 1 in the morning last night, knowing that my alarm was gonna go off at 4:45! I appreciate your honesty and thoroughness for us newbies. And more importantly to know that you all are close by here in Waldorf makes it even more special.

How is you second/third week going at work and at home with the kids?

Chanda

HELLO TO MY FELLOW WALDORFIANS,

I AM A HOPEFUL BANDER NEW TO THE SITE. MY NEIGHBOR TOLD ME 2 SUNDAY'S AGO ABOUT HER UPCOMING GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY AT GW. SHE GAVE HER PACKAGE OF INFORMATION. NEEDLESS TO SAY AFTER A LONG WALK I WAS CALLING GW THE VERY NEXT DAY ON 5/7/07. I HAVE MY FIRST CONSULTATION TOMORROW 5/15/07 WITH DR. BRODY.

I AM SO EXCITED AND NERVOUS AT THE SAME TIME. I HAVE EVEN GONE AHEAD A SCHEDULED MY PHYSICAL AND MY PYCH EXAM AN HAVEN'T EVEN MET THE SURGEON. THIS IS HOW EAGER I AM TO PUT MYSELF UP FOR THE LAPBAND CHALLENGE.

I HAVE CAREFIRST BLUECROSS FEDERAL AND I AM PRAYING THAT THEY APPROVE THIS PROCEDURE. I HAVE HAD A FEW SURGERIES IN THE PAST (IE: BREAST REDUCTION, LASIK, AND APPENDECTOMY), SO I AM PREPARED FOR THE PAIN, BUT NOT SO SURE ABOUT THE RECOVERY PERIOD.

SO FOR THE LENGHTHY COMMENT, BUT ANY HELP OR ENCOURAGEMENT ANY OF MY FELLOW WALDORFIANS CAN PROVIDE WOULD BE GREAT.

THANKS IN ADVANCE,

CHANDA :help:

Welcome! I live in St. Mary's County...so just a little south of ya'll. Glad you found us here. As you've already discovered, this site is wonderful. You can find out almost anything and everything!!! LOL

I have Carefirst/BCBS and I know my insurance does cover it. It's not the Federal coverage, but you probably won't have any problems, either. Just give your HR dept a call and talk to your Benefits Administrator. You can also call you insurance co. directly, but be careful b/c sometimes the reps that answer the phones don't always know what they're talking about.

We wish you the best and once again, welcome!

Thanks for the warm welcome and information Chimboree!

I had my initial consult on Tuesday and my psych eval yesterday. Now I am just waiting to meet with my Primary Care physician next Thursday. Once I receive that report I should be ready to forward my paperwork to GW for submission to BCBS.

I am a little worried about that portion of this maze because the requirements from GW are a little misleading as far as the medical history. They want 6 months history/physical from your PCP and another report of your "physician monitored" weight loss program within the past 2 years. I have been desperately trying to loose weight on my own. I have just recently started consulting with my PCP regarding getting some help. Thus I only have record with my new PCP for the past 10 months and I have not gone each month for a weight in. Of course at the time I wasn't considering the LapBand.

What type of paperwork did you submitted for this requirement and how detailed was it.

From what I understand from reading various sites, BCBS doesn't require alot of paperwork on the front end but will request additional info. on the back-end after approval.

Thanks again,

Chanda

P.S. If any of my fellow Waldorfians/Marylandnites can shed any light please do so. And to all have a great weekend.

Hi there. I too had my surgery at GW with Dr. Brody. However, before I had my initial appointment with him, I had already done my 6 months of physician supervised weight loss. I went to my PCP in September because I made up my mind that I wanted the LapBand. I did my six months and then went to Dr. Brody. Did you meet with Jorgina? Let me just say that Jorgina requires a lot of documentation, but she is very good. She wants to make sure that she gets an approval as soon as she submits. I have federal MDIPA and I was approved right away (much to my surprise). My insurance doesn't require a psych. evaluation, but Dr. Brody's office did, so I got it done. Hang in there. As far as the two year thing...I just got a copy of my medical file from my doctor because everytime I went to the doctor (for whatever reason), they weigh me. So...it at least showed what my weight was. But for the 6 month thing...I did go once a month and get weighed in. Good luck...let me know how everything goes. How did you like Dr. Brody? I think that he's great!!!

Tina

<p>Thanks Tina for the explanation.</p> <p> </p> <p>I have also read the BCBS Policy their website. I understand now.</p> <p> </p> <p>So I may have to go to my new PCP in Waldorf for say another 4 consecutive months (already went in April & scheduled to go this Thursday) and I should be ready to submit the paperwork to GW.</p> <p> </p> <p>Unfortunately Jorgina was out last Tuesday when I went for my initial consult. But I did speak with her on the phone Wednesday.</p> <p> </p> <p>How are you feeling? How are doing with your new meal requirements.</p> <p> </p> <p>Dr. Brody is really nice and I would like to have the surgery performed there.</p> <p> </p> <p>Keep in touch,</p> <p>Chanda</p>

Hi, Chanda. I am actually doing great. I have completely changed my way of eating. I did the Optifast diet for two weeks prior to my surgery. I'm not going to lie...it was awefully hard. I did substitute a shake for a salad, but I got approval from the nurse first. After the surgery, they tell you liquids for an additional two weeks. I did it for about a week and a half and then moved onto soft foods. Since 4/16, I have lost 27 pounds. I have started eating lots of salads, fish, turkey, etc. I can't explain it...it's like I had a brain transplant at the same time that I had the lapband. I really watch my calorie intake. The first few days (actually more like a week) after surgery, I was really sore. My kids understood and didn't jump up on me or anything, so it worked out alright. Well...good luck with all of your stuff for insurance. By the way...who is your PCP in Waldorf?

Tina

Tina,

I am happy to hear that you are recovering well! Keep up the good work!

After reading on this website (yet some more) and speaking directly to BCBS (yet again) this morning I decided to called Dr. Brody's office again (for a 3rd time). Jorgina was out, but I did speak with her supervisor Carlita. And it's a good thing that I did, it pays to jump thru all these hoops! She said that BCBS does not require the 6 month caveat and their office just recently stopped requiring their BCBS patients to meet it. She said that there is a difference between the BCBS HMO and PPO requirements, thus there was some confusion.

Needless to say she told me to obtain my paperwork from my PCP and after Dr. Brody gives the ok, they will submit it. So I will be going to see my PCP on Thursday (Dr. Stacie Gump - Old Line Centre Drive - Waldorf) and I should be set with the paperwork after she provides me with the physical and history documentation.

Thanks again for everything and I will keep you posted.

Chanda

Chanda,

Good for you for making that call. Get this...I go to Dr. Pace and Leatherwood's office too. I usually see Mr. Jeworski and he's the one who did my paperwork for Dr. Brody. It sounds like you will be good to go real quickly. I didn't even know that Jorgina had send in my paperwork and all of a sudden I got a call from her to schedule my surgery. So...it really doesn't take much time. Good luck and keep me informed of the progress!!!

Tina