PattyK

Hi All: My twin sister, Sandy, had the lap band done about a year ago. She is looking great and she has inspired me to want to look into this procedure. I am going to her surgeon. I have about 100 lbs to lose. The nice thing is that Sandy has already been through the procedure so I can ask her lots of questions! Sandy lives in Anaheim Hills and most of her support group is in the Orange County area. I will meet them soon. I want to ask if there is anyone close to me (LAX area) that is about to have the lap band procedure or has had it? Anyway, looking forward to chatting with you all.:thumbup:

I work in HR - benefits specifically. Ask the doctor's office if they can give you the medical code for your lap band procedure then call the insurance company to see if it will be covered.

Hi Brandie Good luck with your surgery on Oct 3rd. I'm still gathering all my information and am hoping to start this new road in my life by Dec or Jan. It would be nice to meet. We can go through this together and be each others support.

Did this support group ever get started? I am looking for a support group. I live in Hawthorne and work in Santa Monica. I am going to see my surgeon in a couple of weeks. I am going to my sister's surgeon at UCI Med. Center. My sister and I are twins and she is really looking great! I don't mind having the surgery at UCI but need a support group closer to home. Please let me know.........I'm just staring my journey

Hi Biggysmalls: I am looking into surgery too. I am lucky that I have a PPO. Sounds like you have an HMO plan. With 100 lbs to lose (me too) you should get approved. Approvals usually take about 30 days. Then you can go see your bariatric doctor. You will have to get a pschy evaluation to make sure you are ready for this life change and then go to support groups meetings. I am preparing for my surgery. I go see my bariatric surgeon in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I had my psych evaluation last night She will recommend that I am ready for the surgery. Then I go to a support group in Oct after I meet my surgeon. His staff tells me it takes about 30 days to get approved once the paperwork gets started. I am hoping all goes smooth and go in for my life change in December. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Wow thanks for all of your great responses! I'm going to see Dr. Ninh Nguyen (714-456-8598) in Irvine on Oct. 9th. I chose him because he did my sister's surgery so I wanted to go with someone I knew. Hopefully, if I get approved and all goes well, I should have the lap-band the first week of December (quiet time at work). If any of you ever want to meet in the Torrance or Redondo Beach are - I am up for that. We will all be starting our journeys together - so we can compare experiences