MacMadame

That's what his patient coordinator told me. Now this was 2 months ago so maybe he's done a few more since then. If he does other kinds of surgeries, that would explain the low count. I had assumed he was new to it when I heard the 50 number. I was happy with my choice of Dr. Foster, but now with my insurance issues, I think I won't be able to use her. I've been trying to get through this month at work and then I'm going to start working the insurance again and then I'll know for sure. The program at Valley Care (my current second choice) looks good to me, but all their classes start in the afternoon. The latest is 5:00 pm and one is at 3:300pm! If I were working near them, that would be okay, but I work on the Peninsula so that means leaving work hours early. With 3 pre-op classes, the intro seminar and 2 post-op classes, that's 6 times I have to leave work early, not counting any pre-op testing or other post-op appointments. That's not practical. Then the monthly support group meets at 5:30pm so I'd probably never make that either. I'm really annoyed that my medical group only does RnY and that the hospital I live a mere 6 blocks from doesn't do WLS at all. Not just annoyed though. I worry about having a medical emergency and going to the ER and them not being able or willing to treat me.

If a magazine pays people for their stories, I don't see why WLS stories should be exempt from payment.

I'm not a big fan of diet pills either. Everything I've read about them says they don't work very well and they are dangerous. The average weight loss on Meridia, for example, is a mere 20 lb. OTOH, it can raise blood pressure. Given what phenfen did to people's hearts, that makes me nervous. I'm willing to risk my heart in order to lose a mere 20 lb. I can lose 20 lb. just by drinking more Water, eating more Protein and taking up an active hobby like ballroom dancing. It's 100 lb. that I can't lose without help. If Meridia was giving patients 50 lb. weight losses, I could see it, but not 20 lb.

Thanks! I had to email an attachment and I hate that... you lose the context of the discussion in PM.

I didn't know we had a mobile skin. I'm going to go try it out on my iPhone!

I'm curious. If Dr. Upadhyay started doing bands in 2004, why has he only done 50 of them by now. That's about 10-15 a year. Is the program very small or do they focus almost exclusively on RnY? ETA I forgot to say that I had heard that Dr. Wetter's bedside manner left a bit to be desired. Dr. Foster is supposed to be "no nonsense" which is fine by me but I've never heard that she jerked anyone around or was mean. I can take no nonsense but I can't take being a jerk.

Usually they charge your insurance more because they know that they won't get all the money they charge. However, if they have a contract with your insurance company, that means they have agreed to except what your insurance company says is a usual and customary charge. So they shouldn't charge more than that. If they try to get you to pay the difference, find some place else!

Did your doctor say you will be able to use protein powder the first few days after surgery? Most of them want you on clear fluids for the first couple of days.

I think you're screwed. If it was your company's exclusion, you could appeal to the company to get them to pay for it, but if it's private insurance, there is no one to appeal to.

I would just submit the 3 month multi-disciplinary records and a copy of their policy that shows they accept that in place of the 6 month doctor supervised plan. Sometimes the reps on the phone don't always give out accurate info and you have to push them to follow their own policies and procedures.

This is the sort of detail that varies by insurance company and by contract. My insurance company, for example, only counts high blood pressure as a co-morbidity if it is not well controlled by medicine. But other insurance companies consider it a co-morbidity just if you have it and take medicine. IOW, you need to talk to your insurance company to find out what your policy says.

I would define a miracle as something that defies the laws of the universe. Say turning Water into wine by passing your hand over it. Or resuscitating the dead. I would call most medical "miracles" cool and happy occurrences, not miracles. Ironically, the season-ending episode of How I met Your Mother was called "Miracles" and dealt with this topic... Marshal as calling everything remotely wonderful as a miracle and Robin was pooh-poohing them all.

There have been people who reported passing out after getting a fill and their doctor explained it as a vagus nerve issue. So it does happen.

Cars aren't going away though. And I don't see them as any more evil than washing machines and vacuums and other labor saving devices that we all use now instead of alternatives that would have burned more calories.

There have been other complaints about LA of SF... do a search on this site and you'll find them.

Most docs in the US push bypass. In other countries the lapband is the #1 procedure. Most of the reasons I've seen for the docs to recommend bypass over lapband have seemed pretty lame to me and often times contain misinformation (like saying you'll have to have your lapband replaced every 15 years -- not true). IMO you should always go with the least risky option unless there is a reason that you know lapband won't work for you.

Ah, it's a territory thing. :cursing:

Why would your PS tell you not to go to your BS about a problem with your BS?

It's not ranting and raving to say "Don't rant and rave".

Any article which tries to pin the problems of the world food supply and global warming on one single cause, and a pretty small one at that, is just lazy journalism and lazy science. They are making the obese scapegoats just like SUVs are scapegoats.

It really depends on your insurance. Maybe you should talk to Obesity Law. (ObesityLaw.com) about it. They'd know what kind of questions you need to ask your insurance company and how to interpret the language of the appeal.

Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us about this. I'm sorry for your loss.

No, I don't think it works. At least for me, I can lose weight that way but I can't keep it off. I can't keep it off because of extreme hunger and never feeling full no matter how much I eat. The band is supposed to help with hunger as well as portion control and that's why I want one. I've dieted for over 30 years and was never able to keep the lost weight off even one time. I'm not doing it again.

Nope. They are just hairy. Oops. I wasn't going to post about that. :thumbdown:

I have. I think the point is that no one stops brushing their teeth *forever* if they forget one time. Yet how many times has someone you know said "I went on a binge last night so my diet is ruined so I might as well eat this cake today too" ? Diets aren't like mirrors... if you break them they aren't broken forever.