kathystrick

Hi and good luck with your surgery!

Most doctors are too busy to see patients? That is what you are and it's not like she would have to be standing over you monitoring every bite of food you put into your mouth to supervise your diet. You are a paying patient, no different than if you were coming in for any ailment. Most insurance companies just want a record that you visited your PCP once a month to log your weight, BP, etc. and to show that you were actually given some sort of food plan. If she seems less than cooperative about the whole thing, contact the surgeon's office you are planning to use and ask if they can give you the name of a PCP in your area who is "band friendly". Good luck and let us know how it goes!

I can't offer any help, other than to suggest possibly contacting Fill Centers USA and see if they might handle it. I just wanted to wish you luck and welcome you to LBT!

It is a hard concept to wrap your mind around, but it is what works if portion control is an issue for you. Good luck to you and please keep us posted on your progress.

How are things going for you?

If that's where he wants to be, you should let him go. Mine would definitely be very hurt if I asked him not to go.

Only you can know what's right for you and your body. Is your wife or has she ever been overweight? If not, she has no way of understanding how for some people, diet and exercise really aren't enough. Doctors say it should be, so why isn't it for you? That is a very hard concept to grasp for people who have never fought it. If she is and is not ready to make the change herself, she may just be afraid that if you have the surgery and start changing you will expect the same from her. Fear of the unknown is very natural for both of you. That's what is so great about this site. It is full of information! Good luck to you and keep us posted on your progress.

My doctor's office didn't call to schedule the appointment, we had to call them. They were ready for us the next day though. Good luck to you!

I had PCOS until I had a full hysterectomy 7/2006 and have struggled with weightloss too. Good lcuk to you and keep us posted on your progress!

Congratulations on your band and welcome to LBT!

Congratulations on your weightloss! Good luck on reaching your goal and welcome to LBT!

Welcome to LBT! This is a great place for information and support. Good luck to you, feel free to ask any questions, and keep us posted on your progress!

Hi and welcome to LBT! I am pre-op, so can't answer your question, but wanted to welcome you anyway. :thumbup:

My insurance has a specific exclusion against bariatric procedures as well, but DH's covers it. The policy is expensive, but not as expensive as being self pay. Now I just live in fear of him deciding to change jobs once I've had surgery and then all of my follow-up costs will fall on us. I will just have to cross that bridge should I come to it. I am not going to not have surgery because that might happen. I hope you are able to find a solution that fits your situation. I agree that the position of insurance companies (as well as our employers since they decide whether or not to have the exclusion) about bariatric procedures makes no sense when you look at the big picture, but also realize that we are their captives when it comes to what they choose to cover and not. You almost HAVE to have insurance in this country to even get an appointment with almost any doctor, but any procedure ordered may or may not be covered once ordered. Catch-22. Good luck!

Ok. I couldn't help myself - I Googled him. LOL He is like 55 now! Why did he not seem like he was that much older than me when I was a teenager??? Anyway, his website is basically dead. It said on there he is trying to get a Myspace page up. I haven't looked for it yet though. He was also i rehearsals for "Broadway Bound musical" called Mask that was supposed to open in Pasadena in March.

Of course! He had those sexy cool characters down so well he had to really be that way. I wonder where he is today?

SO glad you were able to get an earlier appointment! Thank goodness for persistent husbands. Please keep us posted and good luck.

I bet it's a sock!! :smile: :wink2:

Oh, ok. Then I bet he really gets it bad this time of year with all of the pollen here. Do you get down this way to visit much?

Glad everything went well for you and hope you are feeling better soon!

Once we get moved and I start unpacking everything, I am going to get rid of some of my winter stuff. I am having surgery this summer, and here in the south, it won't actually be winter until at least October, so hoping I will be down enough by then to need new ones!

Ok, most of you are younger than me and are totally losing me on some of this stuff! :smile2: And (dare I admit) I remember a few things because of my son (TV shows, games, etc.). He was born in 90.

Hey! I'm doing well - glad it's Wednesday! I am using Dr. Ben Tribble from the Weight Management Center through Baptist. I actually live in Sumter, so Baptist is a bit closer, but the main reason I chose Baptist was because I was already familiar with Dr. Tribble. His brother did heart surgery on my mother a couple of years ago and was just awesome. Through him, we met my doctor and when I started checking into LB and found out he did it, that kinda made my mind up. I have never been a patient at either hospital, so that wasn't a factor for me. I did feel like I received awesome attention when I went in for my testing though. They are set up to handle extremely obese patients, so there were oversized chairs in all the waiting rooms, heavy duty wheel chairs available, and they already had a larger sized gown out for me when I undressed for my tests, so I didn't have to ask for one or come out only partially covered. I never once felt like anyone there looked down on me because of my size and that is unusual. Most of those things are required before they can be named a Bariatric Center of Excellence, but people can still treat you however they want to and there was not a single bad attitude that I encountered. Anyway, if you have any other questions, I would be happy to answer them for you. Good luck!

The appetite issue is why I chose the band. I need the restriction the band provides to make me physically unable to eat mass quantities of food. I think my biggest problem is going to be eating more slowly. I try to do it now, but get frustrated rather quickly and just eat normally.:smile2: I've GOT to do better with that! As for your insurance question, check the financing and insurance thread. Also, call your company and request a copy of their policy on WLS. When you go in for your first appointment with your surgeon they will also probably give you information, but I wantesd to know ahead of time so I didn't get any surprises about my insurance's requirements. Good luck!

I live in Sumter, about 1.5 hours from Charleston. We love that area and go there as often as we can. So are you from SC or are they transplanted?