Miss Michelle

Hi there. I only just read your message - indeed, it's only just now that I read about Visitor Messages!

I think Dr. Fielding is a great choice for getting a lap band - you want someone experienced, and there are few, if any, surgeons in the US as experienced as him. However, the downside of the NYU experience is that everyone knows that it's The Place to Go, and so the waiting rooms are always crowded, the visits tend to be rushed, and the waits tend to be long. Even so, I'd highly recommend going there.

I've chronicled my experiences in excruciating detail in the March Bandsters Master Thread, so if you want to know EXACTLY what it was like, you should read that. My band date was 3/6/08...

Insurance was a rigmarole. I was rejected by Empire BC/BS the first time because my BMI was too high. Subsequently, they dropped the upper limit for BMI, and I was approved a couple of weeks after I reapplied (having done all the various pro forma psych visits and doctor visits etc.).

Hope that helps!