Well where do I start....First off I had surgery in Jan..of this year...second instead of losing I gained ...I have had my first fill free which was 1cc then second 1cc third 1 cc fourth 2cc fifth 4 cc...and then all of a sudden on fourth fill..doctor thinks i have a larger band....nurse checks chart...not in chart what size band I have..so they have to call hospital.....then all of a sudden...when I was paying my copay for fills...when I go back in they are now charging me more...I ask why they said this is what the insurance is leaving over...so I go to hubbys job and ask the insurance lady to find out why...come to find out I get a copy of the doctors office charging it now as a surgery......so in all these months I have managed to gain weight and pay more for lap band....so tell me what is wrong with this picture?

I'd be dissappointed too. So sorry to hear of your troubles. Something obviously is not right -- I'm assuming your sticking to the band "rules" of eating? As for the insurance co-pay -- if it does change, it should only be in January when the new plan year kicks in. My surgeon did raise his rates for fills -- and I promptly found an equally capable doctor who does them for less. Remember, we are the paying customers. It is not right for surgeons to raise fees without proper notification before a procedure. Where did you have your surgery done? You need to get back in touch with that Dr. (assuming it's not the same one doing your fills) and let them know what's going on.

Good luck.

Elizabeth

8-28-03

Your doctor should have known from the start what sort of band you had. The fill techniques/timing/amounts are different for the VG band than for the smaller ones, and it's not surprising you need a log more saline to feel restriction. But it's unconscionable that the person doing your fills didn't KNOW what band he was trying to adjust--I'm sure Inamed would be horrified by that.

Where you've had five fills, perhaps only two would have sufficed if they had their act together from the start. If I were you I'd get really proactive and talk to Inamed about this fill practice. From where I sit, they owe you LOTS of freebies. It absolutely shouldn't have taken this long to get to a decent level of restriction.

Get in that doctor's office's face, girl--they owe you an explanation!

where did you have your surgery b/c I am shopping for a surgeon and I don't want someone like that. You should demand answers from your dr. I hope everything gets better for you!

They have a responsiblity to you as a patient - they should have known what size band you had and should have been way more on top of this -

THEY WILL NOT "OFFER" to make this right - you need to demand it (nice requests usually work better!!!!)

Medical establishment like this will bill - bill - bill if you have insurance - their thought is that you were just paying your co-pay right?? Well, now things have changed for you and their mistake should not COST YOU!!

You need to negotiate with them a number of fills that you think is fair. This is a very reasonable request!!!

I work in the insurance industry and work with patients all of the time helping them negotiate with physicians and facilities- if your request is reasonable - there should not be any problems with them making things right - as a general rule - they do want to make sure that you are taken care of in a fair and reasonable way - but you have to ask!!

I'm so sorry this is happening to you!!! You must be both furious and disappointed. I think you have gotten some good advice here and I hope that your doctor's office gets on the stick and rights the wrongs done to you. Hang in there!!! I've got my fingers crossed for you.

Pansy