Hello everyone. I'm feeling a little silly lurking on your forum......... so, i was wondering where do i start in my inquiries about getting banded? how overweight do i need to be to have the surgery done? where should i look for a doctor to do it? thanks, saq :smile2:

You should start by talking to your Primary Care Physician. He/she will have all the answers you need. Also, depending on where u live there are free no obligation informational seminars.

Just GOOGLE lapband or gastric banding. Different countries and different doctors have minimum and maximum BMI (body mass index). If you have any questions just post threads. I hope this has helped a bit.

Hmm...I say start with your insurance. See if they cover it, and if they do, what they require....PCP referral? 6 month supervised diet? Find out which surgeons are in your network or covered under your plan (if any). THEN....go to a seminar or two. They are generally VERY educational. They'll probably answer some questions and bring up some more....then you can internet search, buy books (amazon has several great ones) etc...but I'd start with insurance first.

My primary physician had no clue whether my insurance covered the procedure and what might be required. He did tell me if I needed a letter from him he'd write one, but I started w/my insurance company.

Good luck!

Oh and as a rule of thumb (and this is very general...noosagirl was right of course when she said different insurance requires different weights etc)....a BMI of 35 w/comorbidities (like hypertension, Diabetes I or II, sleep apnea, etc) or a BMI of 40...or being 100 pounds over, or being 200% over...you get the picture. There are no hard fast rules to any of it! :smile2:

i started lurking a few weeks ago too, and I'm so glad I did. I learned so much about the surgery, both pre-op and post-op. I've now decided to go ahead with the surgery, and thanks to some great people on this site, I was able to figure out which surgeons to focus on.

Here's what I recommend:

• there are support forums here that focus on specific states and countries, go to the forum which is where you live. a lot of you questions about surgeons, cost, and follow up will be answered. and you'll be able ot connect with some great local bandsters
  
• read through the FAQs
  
• visit www. lapband . com for some great details about the procedure itself (there's pictures and videos)
  
• google 'weight loss surgery' and 'lap band' and 'obesity surgery'
  
• don't be afraid to post and ask questions. trust me, no question is too stupid; chances are someone else has thought it or asked it at some point here.
  
• read the posts from people who say it didn't work out for them, or that they had to have the band removed. this will give you another perspective to help balance things out.
  

good luck