I'm just north of Houston, in the Woodlands Area.

Although I previously posted here, I thought I'd kinda re-intro myself as it's been awhile since I did so.

I plan on being a more active member :smile:

I'm a 38 year old mother of a beautiful 8 month old baby girl.

Having battled this beast of a thing called "weight" since childhood,

the overwhelming desire to see my daughter grow up has truly renewed my spirit to draw on all resources to win!

My husband is VERY supportive and we know that this will be a drastic change - for both of us.

Now..

The GOOD news!

After a very big let-down...I just want to jump for joy!

Our new (as of Jan 08) insurance, BCBS-TX, Customer Service has assured me that Lap-Band is covered!

Our previous carrier, Cigna - excluded the surgery.

So it is with renewed hope that I'm going to my Dr. Thursday in hopes of getting the ball rolling.

Having previously talked with my Dr. about the surgery, she recommended Dr. Spiegel or Dr. Wilkenfeld for the procedure.

She also told me that Dr. Spiegel, although is great, (her mom used him) his office is rather like cattle through the shoot there (not very personal.)

I'm looking into Dr. Wilkenfeld as an option as she said he is more personable and available to his patients.

If anyone has had experience with Dr. Wilkenfeld, I would greatly appreciate hearing about it. PLEASE!

I've also seen Dr. Spivak mentioned many times in the forums. Opinions are welcome!

I also want to thank the creators, administrators, and members of this site for their hard work and member participation.

From my browsing and lurking the past few months, I've learned so much and feel quite a bit more informed about the realities and expectations of this surgery and it's resulting lifestyle changes.

Hey YoYo.. guess we're going to have to start wearing heels

:rose: I can wear heels for a short time like a Christmas party once I get to ONEderland, which for me is a little over 30 pounds. If I wanted to dance in them at the Christmas party, then another 20-30 off would help! If I don't have to do the 6-month diet thing with my insurance then I think I may be able to reach that goal by Christmas.

LoL that would entail wearing a dress...and I am such a jeans and t-shirt kinda girl. I guess losing the weight might have me reconsider my wardrobe though

I am from Conroe & will be banded by Dr. Spiegel - hopefully soon. There is a support group that meets in The Woodlands - I haven't gone yet, but plan to.

minpinmom:

Is the support group for Dr. Spiegel's patients only?

Have you met with him yet? What were your impressions?

on a side note: We have a 3 year old minpin all of about 7lbs. Rust and chocolate... like peanut butter and chocolate.. we call her Reese-Pup

LoL that would entail wearing a dress...and I am such a jeans and t-shirt kinda girl. I guess losing the weight might have me reconsider my wardrobe though :seeya:

LOL - I wear jeans and polo shirts to work every day and no make-up and only put a dress on a couple of time a year. But when I do, I would like to wear heels and look "pretty" and not feel like a cow.

The Support group is for anyone having wls, I found it in the support group forums before the updated look of the website, and the lady that I spoke to said that I was welcome to come even before surgery.

I have met with Dr. Spiegel a few times. I really like him, I understand what people mean by "cattle call", you are put through really fast - however he has always answered any of my questions without hesitation. I have had other (not wls related) surgeries and every surgeon that I have had - was supposedly the "best there was" and they all had the same type of attitude - there time was best spent slicing and dicing :-) .

and on the Min Pins - I LOVE my babies. They can't wait to have a skinny mom that can keep up with them. I have a chocolate and rust as well "Piper" :-)

Hey PJ333, I'm not far from you, just outside of Conroe. I, too am using Dr. Wilkenfeld and have heard nothing but good from any of his patients and then some. He was recommended to me by my mom who used a different surgeon for the lapband.

It feels like it's a long time for all of the things the ins. co want, but it does go fast. We have aetna and am more than halfway thru the process.

I'll be happy to help you find your way around if you need help-have been here almost 30 years. Just let me know, and congrats on your baby girl-they grow fast, enjoy her while she's little and doesn't talk back!

Jenniferann6:

Thanks for your offer.. I just might be ringing you up for pointers in this strange (but nice) new land of Texas!

Glad to hear from someone else using Dr. Wilkenfeld. I'm going to his semminar this coming week.

Is your insurance making you do the 6 month diet ..etc?

Jenniferann6:

Thanks for your offer.. I just might be ringing you up for pointers in this strange (but nice) new land of Texas!

Glad to hear from someone else using Dr. Wilkenfeld. I'm going to his semminar this coming week.

Is your insurance making you do the 6 month diet ..etc?

Yes, I am doing a 3 month diet, which is going pretty quick-I have one more appt left, basically 3 weeks to go.

Wilkenfelds office is very knowledgeable and the people are very nice there-good luck to you, maybe we'll meet there one day!

Hello Everyone. My name is Barbara and after much reseach and soul searching I have decided to have lap band surgery. My insurance does not pay for weight loss surgery so I am taking a loan out on my 401K. I have struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember and after making this decision and getting the loan approved, I can breathe a sigh of relief. It's like I see a light at the end of a long dark tunnel. No one who is not overweight or has never been overweightcould ever relate. I hope to have surgery on Feb 20th. There are many appointments still needed. But now it doesen't really matter how long it takes to complete the appointments. I look forward to sharing my experience and gaining experince and tips from people who have been banded already.

Congrats on your decision, Babs!

I'm just starting the process, myself.

I've found this community to be a wealth of information and support - Welcome to your new life!

Just an update:

I went to my seminar Monday and have chased my tail all week to find a nutritionist that would be covered under our insurance.

Alas, nutritionists are only covered for treatment of diabetes. I am not diabetic, so.... it's all self-pay.

$75 a visit x 6 visits for the 6 month diets program. Good news though, this nutritionist also does an excercise program! There's also the Dr visits, which should total 7. 7 visits x $25 for the med supervised part.

And there's the psych eval which I've not found out if it's covered or not, the Dr that was recommended is $175.

So... total up front out of pocket before surgery = $800.

I guess I wasn't expecting so much up front.

It'll be worth it... I keep reminding myself!!!

Has this been anyone else's experience? (Nutritionist not covered?)

pj333, where are you? I'm in Conroe, Dr. Wilkenfeld-

my nutrst was not covered either-but I was able to do the exercise program with her as well. If your in Conroe are you using Peggy? She's nice; I found a person to do the the psyc eval for $100 in Kingwood, she specializes in the over eating thing or whatever they call it. The only difference is that I only have to do 90 days, not 180.

And, yes, I agree, it's alot of money, things have been tighter here too, I've heard it is so worth it though.

I'm using Peggy as well. I've left a msg for her to call me to set an appt. As soon as I get rolling with her I'll be set. As for the psych eval, If you could post the info I'd appreciate saving the $75!

BCBS-TX req's the entire 6 month thing... you are so lucky to only have 3 months!

We are out on 242 a few miles for now. Our house in TN sold.. so we're house hunting :rolleyes2: Hence.. watching the pennies!

pj, her name is Mary Beth George, number is 281.812.7529, she's right off Kingwood drive, you may want to call Peggy again until you actually get her on the phone, she's not real good at returning messages, or at least she hasn't in the past, usually I call to confirm our appt and she's not called back on them.....when you first meet her, you think "Eat woman"!, that's the way she was described to me and they were right, she's very nice. anyway, let me know if I can help you around.....