I've been reading this site for a while and today decided to sign up and post.

I, like most here have decided to seriously consider the lap band for my weight loss. I just don't know where to start on finding a good doctor,any advise is welcome.

Thanks,

Beebi

Unless you are going to pay for the surgery 100%, start with your insurance and find out if they cover it, and if so which surgeons they approve. You don't want to go through a lot to find out you picked a surgeon who isn't in your care network!

Thank you, restlessmonkey the thing is that I have been looking in to this for a couple of months already and know that is next to impossible to have your insurance pay for this kind of procedures, and I have been saving for quite some time so I don’t have to go trough the whole thing.

Ok not true. My insurance approved me in 2 days. If you have insurance that covers lap band, try that first. Use your savings for clothes and travel! LOL

Welcome to LBT! I hope you find everything you were looking for here. Ask lots of questions and do lots of reading. Good luck to you!

There are a great deal of insurance companies that approve and pay for this surgery. Some require a 6 month supervised diet before hand but that is a small price to pay to say $20,000.

Call your insurance company, call some bariatric surgeons in your area and see if they have a seminar you can attend.

From there they should aid you in the correct steps towards your goal of surgery.

good luck.

Yeah, I was surprised at how many insurance companies cover this - mine sent me right on over to a local doctor right away, and made the process surprisingly easy.

It makes sense though, because it saves them money for us to NOT be obese. They'd rather shell out cash now, then for the on going care some of us need, or will need.

If only they picked up on the idea of preventative care for other things too!

Hi Brockbabe82,

I see you had surgery with Dr. Haag. Hope everything went well for you. I just had my first appt with him last week and scheduled a f/u in 2 mos. Yes, insurances are getting much better about realizing the benefits of preventative treatments rather than paying lots and lots of $$ after the complications of obesity set in. Please let me know your experiences with Dr. Haag. Just curious!! P.S. I live in Agawam.

~Cathy

Hello Greeneyedlady!!!!

I'm glad to see another one of us from western ma. Dr. Haag is a very nice doctor. The 1st time I met him I thought he was great, very intelligent and obviously very educated on this surgery. I had a circumstance of kidney issues along with my obesity. He told me he wanted me to lose a couple of pounds before surgery , which I definitely expected. When I went for my preop appt (already had a date) he told me I did not lose enough. ( I had lost 5lbs) He then cancelled my surgery. I of course was very upset, mad at him, mad at myself, and obviously disappointed. I hated him at that point, because he gave me another hoop to jump through.He gave me another weight check for three weeks later and I lost 15 lbs, he then scheduled my surgery for Nov 14, and proceeded to give me another weight check for Nov 10. I went and lost 5 more lbs and he was content. Once I lost this weight he was much nicer to me, and I thought he was great. I know he wanted to make sure this surgery was safe for me but he came off as kind of arrogant.

My surgery was extremely successful, he did a great job, and comforted me before the surgery the day of. If I could do it all over I would definitely have him be my doctor. He looks out for his patient's best interest and he has good bedside manner. I hope your experience with him turns out good. Keep and touch so we can compare notes, I would love to hear how your surgery goes.

Best of luck.

Jenny

Hi Jenny,

So glad to hear things turned out so well for you after all. Maybe if Dr. Haag had given you a more specific amt of wt to lose before surgery instead of 'a couple of lbs.' you wouldn't have been so rightly upset. I don't blame you for getting upset. Especially with a date set and all. Looks like you are progressing very well and what a great start! He actually did you a favor, huh? He told me not to gain any wt. and I'm thinking that is going to be hard enough with Thanksgiving, Christmas and a week's vacation in Las Vegas right before I go back again, yikes! I better get into action right away cuz boy can I put on the lbs. without even trying, lol. Will talk to you again soon. Have a great evening!

~Cathy