leadiaz

I'm not sure but you can call his office and ask questions. I think it covers may be 3 fills?? I had my surgery on August 12th; little uncomfortable today. Got on the scale and 10 pounds is gone from when I weighed in on Friday. What insurance do you have? Dr. Pinnar's No. is 703-709-9701. I think he charges $300.00 per fill too. I know he is not cheap. They are a good group of nurses and doctors though.

There is also Dr. Eric Pinnar in Reston, VA

Do you think if you would have exercised you would have lost wieght better and may be not had all of that sagging skin. I have friends who have been very big; but don't have a lot of sagging skin; I'm amazed they don't, but they do exercise a lot?

I agree my doctor has done about 150 lapbands; Alexandra is right, check if he has had any complications. I think it would be better to be close to home. Make sure you don't lose any of your money if you cancel the surgery.

Mine is August 12th. Yeah!

I'm not sure if this will help any one, but I got approved in one week; once I made an appt with the doctor, a week later she told me I was approved. I thought that was so fast. I have Fairchoice/BCBS HMO; they just started paying for lapband May 15, 2005 more. My surgery is set for August 12th.

I'm in the state of Virginia; near Washington, DC Metropolitan Area.

The cash cost for Dr. Pinnar is about 17,500.

Hope you feel better soon. That does seem hard the protein shakes.

The Meaning of the Color Codes The needs of overweight children vary, so we have created four distinct levels that correspond to the severity of a child's condition and the specific considerations of a child at that weight range. So, for example, children who fall into Level I (Red/Severe) will do different physical exercises in the Trim Kids Program than those in Level III (Green/Overweight). As your child loses weight, he will graduate to a new level (or color) of the program. One reason we use the colors is to accentuate positive accomplishments. That means when a severely overweight child in the Red level loses enough weight to graduate to the Yellow level, he is reminded that his initial, short-term goals have been met. The color-coded levels are broken down as follows: Level I, Red: This level includes children with severe obesity or those with medical problems due to their weight. Their BMI is higher than 97 percent of other children in this country. Level II, Yellow: This level is for children with clinical obesity who have special dietary, behavior or fitness needs. Level III, Green: Many overweight children will be at this level when they start the program. It is also designed to help stop the onset of obesity. Level IV, Blue: This regimen keeps your child healthy for life and is the goal of the overall program. If your child's weight problem is severe, and he falls into the Red level, your pediatrician may request additional medical tests and assessments. These tests typically screen for problems with endocrinology, genetics, cardiology, cholesterol, insulin, thyroid, blood pressure, the respiratory system, muscles or bones that can accompany severe weight problems. If your child already sees a specialist and is under treatment for a medical condition, you can discuss with your pediatrician the relationships between existing treatments and medications and your child's weight-loss goals.

my daughter for her age and height is in the level 4 Blue; which is considered a health weight. It's pretty interesting. Hope this helps. Good Luck.

This is how your figure it out if she is overweight. Body Mass Index (BMI): This is a simple number that corresponds well with body fat, derived from an equation based on your child's height and weight. As you will soon learn, the four Levels of the Trim Kids Program -- Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue -- are derived from the BMI. You can figure your child's BMI using the following formula: Your child's weight in pounds: _____ divided by 2.2 = _____ kilograms. Your child's height in inches: _____ X 2.54 divided by 100 = _____ meters. Weight in kilograms =____ divided by (height in meters ____ squared) = ____BMI score Example: Paul is 12 years old, weighs 120 pounds and is 48 inches tall. Step 1: Divide his weight by 2.2 (120 divided by 2.2 = 54.5 kilograms). Step 2: Multiply his height by 2.54 (48 X 2.54 divided by 100 = 1.22 meters). Step 3: Now divide his weight in kilograms by his height squared (height X height). Weight in kilograms = 54.5 divided by (height in meters 1.22 squared) = 54.5 divided by 1.49 = 36.6 BMI score. If you compare this score with the table below for 12-year-old boys, Paul's level would be Level 1 Red because his score of 36.6 was more than the score of 26 listed under the Level 1 Red column. - This is the girls chart; but you can figure out where she stands. Girls 5-17 years of age <TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width=450 bgColor=#000000><TBODY><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top width=38>Age </TD><TD vAlign=top width=89>Level I Red Severe Obesity more than 97 th % BMI </TD><TD vAlign=top width=99>Level II Yellow Clinical Obesity more than 95 th % BMI </TD><TD vAlign=top width=98>Level III Green <CF_AD>Overweight more than 85 th % BMI </TD><TD vAlign=top width=98>Level IV Blue Healthy Weight 50 to 85 th % BMI </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top><5 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>See your pediatrician </TD><TD vAlign=top>See your pediatrician </TD><TD vAlign=top>See your pediatrician </TD><TD vAlign=top>See your pediatrician </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top>5 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 19 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 18 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 17 </TD><TD vAlign=top>15-17 </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top>6 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 20 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 19 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 17 </TD><TD vAlign=top>15-17 </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top>7 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 21 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 20 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 18 </TD><TD vAlign=top>16-18 </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top>8 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 22 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 21 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 18 </TD><TD vAlign=top>16-18 </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top>9 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 23 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 22 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 19 </TD><TD vAlign=top>16-19 </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top>10 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 25 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 23 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 20 </TD><TD vAlign=top>17-20 </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top>11 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 26 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 24 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 21 </TD><TD vAlign=top>18-21 </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top>12 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 27 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 25 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 22 </TD><TD vAlign=top>18-22 </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top>13 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 28 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 26 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 23 </TD><TD vAlign=top>19-23 </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top>14 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 29 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 27 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 23 </TD><TD vAlign=top>19-23 </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top>15 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 30 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 28 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 24 </TD><TD vAlign=top>20-24 </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top>16 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 31 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 29 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 25 </TD><TD vAlign=top>21-25 </TD></TR><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD vAlign=top>17 yrs </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 32 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 30 </TD><TD vAlign=top>more than 25 </TD><TD vAlign=top>21-25 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

No, the child will suffer and really if a child is overweight; it is not their fault; because they need to be taught about exercise; portion control and what to eat. Ediets.com has a website to tell you what children should weigh; they do it by BMI and they categorize where the child is at; you do not have to join; just go on to the website and search for nutrition and kids and you can find out what a good weight is; I can go do it also for you.

I heard that BCBS as of May 1, 2005, is now paying for people to be banded. Lea

Gail, I wanted to put my two cents it. First of all, I think you are doing a lot of this on your own!!! I understand that you can gain weight with the band also. So you have to still make a big effort on exercising and watching everything you eat. And you don't get to eat much at all! Of course, it does make it harder to cheat with the band. You are still doing this on your OWN TOO! I haven't been banded yet; but I don't want to tell anyone either. Medical issues are very personal. Really if you want to lose weight on your own, you should eat very small portions also! That's where I have a hard time, because really you can't eat much at all. I ran into someone who did have their stomach stapled. It sounds like it was hard to eat with that too. But the band is still a better surgery to have. The hardest part for me, will be chewing everything a 100 times. I eat too fast any way, my kids are always telling me to slow down! Lea

You look awesome. Your story is definitely a SUCCESS!

Congratulations on your weight loss! That sounds great! Was your BMI between 35-40 or 40 and higher? I just feel like I need to get as much information as I can. Are you talking about the support group meeting that Pinnar's have? I went to an informational meeting by them. Were you scared? I'm a little apprehensive! Dr. Pinnar says the surgery only takes 45min to 1 hour? Did you go home the same day or stay the night. Even though you had insurance, did you have to pay for it first? Thanks again, Lea

Good for you. Good Luck

A doctor that refers you to a nutrionists. Thanks Mandy. Did your insurance pay for your surgery then. Sherri

Della; How is your weight loss; did your insurance pay? How many fills did you have? I think only 2 is included if you pay cash. Is this true? Lea

Hey is it better to gain to get your weight up so you have a BMI 40 or over.

Can it just be with a doctor or does it have to be with a nutritionist?

FYI - As of May 1, 2005; I heard Carefirst Blue Cross Blue Shield is covering lab band surgery. I called my insurance company and they said they do. Let me know if you heard this. I heard it from a nurse at a lab band office.

Prince - Were you happy with dr. pinnar. How have you done with the lap band?