Hey all.... I am in the Richmond area and I am just starting out on my lapband journey. I am scheduled for an informational seminar on Oct. 4. I have done lots of reading and feel I am already pretty well educated and I want this SOOOO bad. I was wondering if anyone has any information to share about the Richmond Surgical Group or Dr. Brengman? Would you recommend anyone else instead and why? I spoke with my Insurance Co. and I really dont think I am going to have any problems obtaining approval. I hope I am not getting my hopes up to soon because I could never afford this without the insurance. Anyways... I enjoy reading on this site. I'm hoping I can bump into someone in my area. Any weight loss I have acheived in the past I have done best with lots of support. I'm looking forward to hearing from anyone with any info!!!

Welcome!

Wishing you the best in this new journey!

Hi momato3

Congrats on your big decision. I am getting banded in 8 days by Dr Brengman at St Marys. Dr Brengman is great. Just be warned that it is not a fast process. I started my testing and classes back in May and my surgery date is Sept 27th. I got really frustrated because I wanted it done yesterday!! That was totally unrealistic. But even though the wait was long, it was all worth it and I am so excited about the banding. I am on my pre op diet right now and it's actually doable. I have been on it for 7 days and lost 7 pounds. :car: The staff is really nice and the nurses take a lot of time with you and make you feel comfortable.

Keep in touch and I will let you know how my surgery goes.

God Bless

Mary

MaryWalker20.... I wish you the very best of luck with your upcoming surgery. I am sure you are so excited! I will be anxious to hear how your surgery goes. Wow, May to September...that is quite a long wait. I hope I dont have to wait that long. I guess I have to do what I have to do though. What do you think were the obstacles causing it to be so long? Insurance issues? Scheduling appointments? Is it just this particular office, do they always take that amount of time? Is it typical to wait 4 or 5 months no matter who your surgeon is? I'm prepared to jump through whatever hoops necessary to make this happen for myself. Thanks for your info!

momto3

Going to try this again. I tried to edit the original because of a couple of typo's but ended up with a big mess. :car:

Here is a timeline for what I had to go through to get my lap band and the dates. Keep in mind that I chose the summer which is their busiest times.

Late April I attended the seminar.

May 16th appt with Dr Brengman. Called the day after the seminar but they were booking 2 weeks in advance.

May 22nd - sleep Apnea test at St Mary's. I took the first available appt.

June 1st I had my psych eval

June 13th Appt with PCP to get required weight history. Took weeks to get this appt because it was a wellness check.

June 18th Behavioral class at St Mary's

June 27 my packet was submitted to insurance.

July 5 Insurance denied me because my BMI was under 40.

July 15 Appealled

July 27 Approved!!!

Waited nearly 4 weeks for file to be give to care coordinator for scheduling.

August. 24 Viewed the Emmi video

Approx August 27 I recieved my packet in the mail with surgery date, pre op and testing instructions...CELEBRATION

Sept 12th I had my pre op blood tests, EKG, and chest Xray at St Mary's Also had my pre op appt that same day after testing with Dr Brengman's nurse.

Sept 13 started my pre op diet.

You can see that I clearly had some hiccups which required more time, and I chose the summer to go through the bulk of my procedures. But like I said, the office is great, doc is great, and the outlook is positive.

take care,

Mary

Wow...thanks for the rundown. I now know I am going to have to be patient and put in a lot of effort to get this done. I know it will be worth it. Hopefully this time of year isn't as busy as summertime, but who knows. I'm thinking scheduling appointments and classes and whatever things I need to get done over the next few months is going to be a nightmare. I have an 18 month old toddler and a 3 month old infant. My husband and I have a hectic schedule because I work on most of his days off except for every other Sunday. We haven't been in this area too long so we dont really know anyone well enough to have them babysit our babies. Anyways, I am rambling. I am sure I'll figure it out. Where there's a will, there's a way. I DEFINATELY have the will! Thanks again for all your info. I'm glad I have this place to come and get info and support!

Just a suggestion...but if you attend a church, you could ask the youth minister for a recommendation on a reliable sitter. When I first moved to Richmond I was in the same boat and I called our youth minister and he recommended a college girl who was awesome. She still comes to visit even though she has long graduated from VCU.

Have a peaceful evening. (with 2 little ones, you could use it)

Mary

Thankyou for the suggestion. We attend church as often as our schedule will allow, which isn't nearly as often as I'd like. That is a great idea. I will definately give it a try. Thanks again!

Hello Ladies, you will both due well. Marywalker20 your date is almost here, I wish you the best of luck, everything will be fine. As for you mamato3 the timeline that MaryWalker20 gave you seems average to me. I don't know of anyone who had their surgery at St. Mary's having a shorter time frame, so just keep in mind that all good things come to those that wait. You will feel like the day will never come but it goes go by fast because you have so much that you will need to do before the surgery that you want have time to count down. Best of luck to both of you...Keep us posted.

Hi~ I went through Richmond Surgical group but was banded by Dr. Schroeder on 9/20/07. So far no problems..the process may seem long but its definitely worth the wait. The staff is extremely nice and helpful. Feel free to call on me whenever u need to. I also had my surgery at St.Mary's...great staff

Luvinke you are so right. When I began this process I though it would never happen, and now it seems like I just started....whoa!! I am so excited about this. My pre-op is going well and have lost 10 pounds.

Prettybrowneyez- thanks for sharing your experience. I am sure we will be bending your ear very soon!

Take care everyone and God Bless

Mary

MaryWalker... Only a couple more days until your surgery. Just wanted to wish you well. I know things are going to go great. Cant wait to hear from you after surgery.

I'm counting down my days til the seminar. HAHAH!! Just imagine how tired you all are going to be of hearing about me counting down when I'm already doing it and it's just for the seminar!

Anyways, I read every single day about the lapband and I think I have gone through in my head about every thought and emotion. This is really going to be a challenge. But, I already know I'm in it for the long haul. I am anxious to get started with everything.

Hi Mary Walker 20!!! You do not have long now~ YEAH!!!!!:whoo:Did your Dr. tell you that you will stay overnight? I was somewhat confused because what they consider as outpatient is actually over night...I thought I would have the surgery and leave the hosp. within a few hours. Boy was I wrong. Anything less that 24hrs. is considered "outpatient". I had to be at St. Mary's at 8 a.m. (got there late) and was waking up in Recovery around 11:30 or so. They discharged me on Friday...which I'm glad they let me stay over night. (Less than 24 hours)I was alittle sick on the first day...was allergic to the pain meds. but was able to walk around without any assistance. They gave me tea, Carnation Instant Breakfast and all the sugar free popsicles I could eat!!! :peep: Oh, and apple or grape juice. I can't wait to hear from u after surgery:girl_hug:.

I am really excited! Thanks so much for sharing your experience at St.Mary's. I was hoping they would keep me overnight just to be safe but didn't know for sure. I think I am worried more about my husband managing the kids while I am out more than anything. School, lunches, homework, gymnastics and karate he will be nuts by the end of the week....but it's good for him!!

Momto3, we are not getting tired of hearing your countdown. It wasn't too long ago since I was attending the seminar and getting ready for my tests. Keep posting and letting us know how it is going. One really smart girl on these message boards gave me some really good advice. When I first got started with this process, she told me to go out and buy some baby spoons and seafood forks and start eating with them. It's amazing how slow you eat with those things. :faint:She also told me to also use my time by getting to know the Protein drinks I want to drink post op, lose a few pounds, and to make a conscious effort to eat healthier. I also used my nervous energy to paint our foyer, stairway and upstairs hall. It was amazing cause before i knew it my date is here. TOMORROW!!! Yikes! And I really have to thank everyone here for their support and those that listened to my whining about the slow process but always encouraged me to be patient. Y'all are great!

After my surgery I will get back on and let everyone know how it went.

God Bless

Mary

Hi Momto3 ~

When is the seminar scheduled? I started the process in March and had surgery in Sept. What type of insurance do you have? It may be a good idea to go ahead and get a copy of your prior weightloss efforts now. I think it took me about 2 weeks to get it from the doctor. It may seem to go really slow but beofre you know it your date will be here.

Honey, I know about "counting down days" I even put a big calender up in the kitchen with my days marked out..LOL!

Hang in there!

Signed,

"One of your Cheerleaders for weight loss":whoo:

Hi PrettyBrownEyez-

My seminar is scheduled for Oct. 4. I am so anxious to meet the docs. I have a list of questions already too! My insurance is Anthem COVA care through the state of Virginia as my husband is a state employee. It has treated me well so far. I had a baby in June and Anthem took great care of everything. According to the lady I talked to at Anthem about WLS, I shouldn't have any problems with approval. The surgeon will just need to send a letter for their health service review and beings I have a BMI of 44 it should not be a problem. You mentioned getting a copy of my previous weight loss efforts. Is that a requirement from the surgeon, or from the insurance company? Just curious because I really haven't seen a doctor that much in the past 5 years except for illnesses and to have 2 babies. Are they going to make me have 6 months of Dr. supervised dieting? Hmmm... probably my first stumbling block. :cry

So you are one week post op. How are things going? Do you feel starved? Are you having lots of pain? Tell me everything. HAHAHAH Kidding. Hope you are feeling great.