Rebeccalee

Hi, I am from northern CA, almost part of Oregon, really. I live in the beautiful redwood forests. I am married with 2 grown sons who live nearby and a grandson who is almost 2. We have a cat and a dog and ride motorcycles all summer, which is lots of fun. I was banded June 3 and have lost 15 pounds.

Hi! I had mine June 3rd and I'm feeling great. I'm so glad the initial stage is over, it was rough. I've been back to doing my usual routine without too much trouble. I get a little tired and my port is placed at my waist between two belly rolls (soon to be retired!) and that makes it uncomfortable when I bend forward much at all. I'm waiting to see where it moves to when I lose some weight. We're packing up to go on a 4 day camping trip on our motorcycle. This is the test if I'm back to normal! Hope everyone else is healing well and adjusting to the new ways.

Hi Jacqui, There's a great group of laparoscopic surgeons in San Francisco, and their price is not too bad. They are Lap. Associates of SF and have 3 doctors. Dr. Cirangle placed my band. He does the most bands, as the group does all the weight loss procedures. They are excellent surgeons. They work out of Pacific Medical Center, considered one of the best in SF. They have satellite offices/support groups in Petaluma, Pleasant Hill, Hawaii, Eureka (where I'm from) and a new office in San Jose. They charge $5000 up front for surgery, the hospital is $6500, and the anesthesiologist is $1000. Fills are $300 or $3500 for 3 years of follow up care. One follow up visit is included in their fee. So you can have it done for $12,500 with more expenses later. The good thing is that they would be close to you. They come up here to Eureka once a month and have a support group, do consultations and fills. I'm not sure if all the other satellites are like that, but I think so. Here's their web site: http://www.lapsf.com/ Good luck with your search. Rebecca

The code ChampVa gave me for the surgery is: 43843

I have ChampVA and just had a consultation with a surgeon. I'm glad to hear there are no special requirements. I called and was told they could not tell me anything, the doctor had to write a letter. My doctor was not familiar with the ins. and I just found out after my appointment (went back and read the benefits book) that they have to accept the amount VA will pay. I don't know yet if they will. I'm anxious to find out. Email me if you want to compare journeys through the VA payment scene. : ) Rebecca rebecca@moonfrog.com