Hi guys.

This is just me being nosey. I like to visit the american pages (if you don't mind) its really interesting how things seem to be a bit different as far as banding goes.

We have the NHS - where (SOME) overweight people can get their banding done free - although you need to wait a very long time (and the list is getting longer) - usually about 2 years and if anything goes wrong with your banding - its fixed free. I think you may need to pay for extra fills though.

I got mine done privately - unfortunatley had to pay, but I couldn't wait any longer. When I went to visit the doc on 23rd May, I was in for 20 minutes and accepted straight away. I didn't have a complicated history and the doc could have fitted me in the following week if I wanted!! I have seen the dietician and had my bloods checked, but that was it.

I see a lot of listing on yours with dates of certain appointments you need to go to before surgery. Can someone explain to me the process you need to go through and how long does it take. Does everyone have to pay in the US?

N xx

Happy 4th July by the way. :thumbup:

Hi Camjay,

my name is margaret, I am actually from England myself but I moved here 8 years ago.

The system here in the US is basically that you can arrange to have your surgery via your insurance company if they cover the procedure, this way you won't have any costs other than copays/deductibles which could be between $20-$40.00 each time you go to see a doctor, the insurance company would then pay the balance.

The insurance company has a list of requirements that ou must satisfy in order to meet the criteria for surgery, e.g your BMI must be in a certain range, they may need you to attend a seminar, you might have to provide a written history of your weight loss history for the past 5-10 years, they may require you to go on a 3 month diet and loose a certain amount of weight prior to surgery.

The requirements vary from company to company, it could take 2, 4, 6,9 or more months for you to be approved for surgery but even then it is not unusual for people to be approved one minute and then be turned down just before surgery.

This is where the self-pay comes in, you may be able to get the surgery quicker for anywhere between $10K and the high 20Ks . Some people find this too much, I know I do, I found a surgeon here in Atlanta for $16500K and decided to fly to Mexico on july 18th to have it done for $7000K

If you don't mind me asking how much did you have to pay privately?

I trained as a nurse in London and used to work in the NHS myself, I now work in the healthcare system over here, I have an insurance company for my health benefits and they do cover the LAPBAND but I am not willing to spend almost a year jumping through their hoops to find out if I will be approved or not.

It is very nice t chat with someone from "home", you know what I miss the most? fish and chips and EASTENDERS. how much weight have you lost so far? my email address is odamom@bellsouth.net