Hi! my name is patty and i am 31 years old i am the mother of 4 daughters and have been married for 10 years. i have severe asthma which has made me prendisone dependent and in and out of the hospital all the time. i am right now at 290 lbs and the only way they (my pulminolgist) say that i will see any improvement is to lose weight. but they agree until i am off the prendisone that i am in a catch-22. my asthma is so bad that i have been on disibility with it for 3+ years. so this leads me to a couple of questions: does medicare cover the surgery at all? and if so how long and what all do you have to get approved. i have a seminar this coming tuesday but i am really anxious and would like to know if this (financially) is even an option. i have tried weight watchers 10+ times and as soon as i go back on the meds the weight all comes back on. done atkins and got pregnant with my last daughter after losing 90lbs. i am really scared that if i do not do this that i will not be around-i keep having really severe asthma attacks that i am turning blue and passing out with. it is even hard for me to walk up the steps-i have to take a breathing treatment almost every time. so i hope someone can give me some advice or something- i go to the st. alexius seminar on tuesday in st. louis and if any one has gone throught the program i would really like to know your thoughts.

thanks,

pattymckean6

Hi Patty ,I don't know much about medicare but I do know about asthma. I used to be on 8 different meds before surgery and now the only one I use is albuterol and that is just every now and then. My asthma got remarkably better and I just want to say good luck and it really did help me make asthma management possible and I havent been on prednisone in a year.

Patti, I, too have severe asthma which lands me in the hospital for about a week 3-4 times a year. I have a nebulizer at home which I use daily, as well as a travel nebulizer to take to work. My main issue is bronchiospasm. Once I start coughing, everything inflames and my respiratory system shuts down. I have been told by my Dr to loose weight, and have lost a total of 150 lbs, not all at once, but gained a total of 160 back!! I hate Prednisone. My dr puts me on a 100mg taper for 2 weeks everytime!

I am in the process of getting the band. From what I hear, Medicare won't pay at the center I go to, but with some research, they said there are centers that take Medicare, or payment plans with reasonable payments.

I look at it this way, How much do you spend on meds and hospital visits? this may be minimal as you are on medicare, but it adds up. I urge you to research and find a center that accepts medicare!! They are out there, you just have to ask and look. SO, go to that seminar, and ask all the questions you can. Ususally there is an Insurance specialist for that center there at the meeting, so ask them as well! They are all there to help you!

Good luck

Patti, go to this link. It states that medicare will accept lap band!

http://www.hhs.gov/mcd/viewdecisionmcmd.asp?id:160, if this wont work, just google or Yahoo search "medicare lap band" that's how I found it! Hope this helps!

Medicare will pay but only at a place the had recieved the certification of being a "Center Of Excellence". If a hosp. says they don't accept medicare it is just because they don't have the certification yet.