Chris61

I have been a pt. of Dr. Minkin for 2 years in July. I have lost over 75lbs and have been pleased with him. My wife and sister-in-law was banded by him also. He is strick with things and make sures that you are complying with things before he will do fills etc. Chris

It is amazing to me how you can get approved for the band and then they back away. My wife and I have had the band for 2 years now, and she had an adjustment last June and we are still having issues with UHC to pay the claim. They are saying the doctors office did not send all the information as to why the adjustment was done. I sent a letter to my employer, insurance commission, doctors office and to UHC. Hope to find out something soon. Chris

I was banded in 07 and holding steady at 175 as of 12/2009

Congradulations on a job will done Linda. I was wondering how you were doing with the weight loss and all the travel you have been doing as well. Iam steady at 175 for a while now and in good shape. I did get a fill of .2cc in Nov. doctor says he does not think I need any more fills. If I did get a fill I would have problems. Chris

I was going through my list and saw this post and was wondering how everyone is doing since they doing well here. Pleased with the results. Chris

How is everyone doing that was banded a couple of years ago. Also do we have any new members that are couples as well. The wife and I are both doing fine. The weight loss for the wife has been slower but she is doing well. Iam been holding at 175 for a while and not having to use the cpap at all. Chris

I would suggest you just set a date, time and location and invite people to come. I would explain why you are doing it and then have everyone else tell as well.hris Maybe you can find a couple of people who have been banded to come as well and then just talk about any and all issues that you are having with the band. Maybe you could set a phone call with the band doctor out of town in case people have questions. The group will take on a life of its own. Chris

Congradulations on taking the first steps to becoming banded. It will be one of the best things you can do for yourself. I would not let your friends sister worry you about getting the band. How has your frined done with being banded? Keep in mind it is for you not anyone else. You are the one that has the power to make it work. No one else can do that for you. Glad to see the your husband and daughter will support you that is all you will need. I have been banded for 2 1/2 years and so has my wife and we support each other. The main thing is not to compare how fast you loose etc. Everyone is differant in how fast they loose. They say men loose faster than the gals do. If you need any help or support just ask. Chris

I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and is doing well with the band. Chris

Looks like everyone has been enjoying the weather and having a great Thanksgiving and getting ready for the Hoildays and trying to get some bike ridding in. It was a great day in St. Louis today for a bike ride. Looks like Sunday will be good also. HOpe everyone is doing well. Chris

If you have just one Apt. for the year that should be fine. Also you can pull all of your doctors stuff together and do it in one letter. Ie; OBGYN, Orthopedic, GP, Others that took your weight when you went to see them. I hope that this helps you out. If you would like to see the letter e-mail here and I will forward it to you. The more co items you come up with helps as well. Chris

Glad to help you out Sweetred1967, I hope that it works for you with all the information they are loooking for. It is amazing how much we have if we just take the time and try to find it all. Ronda 68 Take a lookat your policy after the first of the year. I happen to read my policy several years ago and found they did not cover it and then happen to do some checking on the policy and found that it had been changed and the rest is history. Chris

Make sure that you have all the paper work filled out. You should also have a letter from your own doctor talking about things. If you send me your e-mail I can forward you a letter that I did two years ago. WHen you go in he will talk about your medical history, why you wish to do this etc. and then see if you are a good fit. If he says yes then he will set you up for a one day walkthru at the hospital that will include a stress test, breathing, meeting the dietian, and the psych. He then will have you come backand go over the resluts. At that time he will then submit all the stuff to your insurance company for approval. Also what does your insurance require? Everyone is differant. For my wife and I it took less than 30 days to get approved from the time they submitted the paper work. For us that was 2 years ago. It might have changed a little but I doubt it. If you have any questions just e-mail and I can help you with it. He is very good at what he does. We have been please with him. Chris

It was the best thing that my wife and I did. Had I not done it not sure what I would be at today in regards to medical issues. All my numbers are normal now. How are you doing with the band? Chris

I am going to be moving to the SA in the next couple of weeks to work on a major construction project at the VA Hosp. Complex. I am looking for a good area to live in and also wondering if there is a support group and if not do people meet up. I am 2 years out. Thanks Chris

Iam 48 now but was 46 when I was banded. Chris

Looks like we have about 6 weeks to go before we have to put the bikes away for the winter up north. Was a nice weekend in Ct and went riding today. Sure miss everyone that was on last year. I hope that everyone is doing well. Still steady at 175. Two years as of last Wednesday.

If your regular medical insurance will not pay for the band or other wls, maybe with some luck you can get Workers Compensation to pay for it. Here is an article about it. This a long shot but might work. Court: Employer must pay WC for weight-loss surgery : OR,OH FL SD CA and now IN The link below is to a September 10,2009 AP story http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EMPLOYER_WEIGHT_LOSS?SITE=WBBMAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Chris

Welcome back, sorry to hear you did not have insurance or a way to pay. Take a breather and step back and rewrite your short term goal. Start a new list of what you have been eating everyday, maybe you can get out and start walking for a while. We are all here to help you when will you get your fill? Chris

Welcome to the group and good luck with your up coming surgery. Who is your doctor? are you self-pay or insurance? We are all here to help you out. Have you been to any support groups? Did you have a hard time in getting approved? If you have any questions just ask. Chris

I did not mention anything to my mom and dad until long after having surgery, I felt that this was for me and that I did not need to explain why I wanted this. If you have any more questions e-mail and ask. Chris

A lot will depend on how you feel about if you need a fill or not and then also how fast it goes down if you get a fill. Did he do it in the office or by X-ray. I will be two years next month and hope to get a fill. I only have 6 cc in the 10cc band. Glad to see that all is going well for you. Any questions just ask. Chris

I will be two years next month and I can say that I am very happy and pleased with the band. I can sit and enjoy the rides at the park. I do not sweat like I used to when working outside. I can move much faster and get into small areas and do a lot more things. It is the best thing I have done for myself. Chris

My wife had her gallbladder taken out about 2 months ago. It took a long time to figure that it was the gallbladder since she did not have any stones. The ultrasound did not show them and the hidi scan did not show much. While we were trying to find out the problem the doctor did tell us that at least 35-45% of the people in his office and other studies say the same thing, will have to have there gallbladder taken out because of the weight loss. Since it has been taken out she is back to loosing the wieght. I have been lucky so far to not have any gallbladder issues. Chris