downsdc

Thanks for all of the info. I'm trying to get myself mentally (and financially) prepared. My consult with Dr. Ponce is 8 days away (10/14). I'm leaving for a cruise vacation the next day (scheduled long ago) so I won't be able to do any pre-op until after 10/20. I'm almost tempted to wait until after the holidays, but at the same time I want to get started. My wife is a teacher, so she will be on Fall Break and will be able to go with me to the consult.

Since I'm doing self-pay, I'm trying to nail down all of the costs. I even shopped around for my Upper GI - I had it done at Dalton Imaging for $225 (referred by Dr. Ponce). It was at least a hundred dollars more at Chattanooga Imaging. They filed with my insurance but I don't have a lot of hope that my insurance will pay it. Other that your consult and your pre-op diet, were you required to do anything else prior to surgery (psyc eval, etc) and if so was there an additional cost?

What is the post-op diet from Dr. Ponce?

I was also told (via email) that the follow-ups are included in the price first year. After the first year the follow-ups are $45.

I am self-pay, and I was told that the fills first year are $50, and then $125 after the first year. I'll verify that when I have my conference with Dr. Ponce on 10/14.

Hi slim-n-tn, how are you doing post surgery? Did you have to do a liquid diet pre-surgery?

I just bought a 25g protein New-Wheh Liquid Protein (Fruit Punch flavor) and it was great. No aftertaste at all. They come in 25g and 42g protein versions (2.9 oz) in liquid form that looks like a large plastic test tube. You can drink it straight or add it to another drink. 100 calories per tube. I bought a single tube at the Vitamin Shoppe to try it, but you can buy boxes of them as well.

I have BCBCTX also. I had the Gatric Band Institute in Chattanooga check and they said I had a specific exclusion in my policy on Gastric Surgery. So I am having to self-pay.

Hi - I'm from Ooltewah, TN (just outside of Chattanooga) and I have my first consult with Dr. Ponce on 10/14 (just had my upper gi today). I'm self-pay so hopefully I'll get to have the surgery in November. I'm having my lap-band done in Dalton, GA but I'll have the refills done at Memorial Atrium (only about 7 miles from my house).

Hi everyone, After about a year of trying to decide on whether or not to get a lap-band, I have finally gone to a Gastric Band Institute seminar here in Chattanooga and chosen Dr. Ponce to do my surgery. My insurance (BCBSTX) will not pay anything on the lap-band, so my family is helping me pay for it. I'll be 54 next month with a BMI of 45, type II diabetic, hypertension and sleep apnea. My father died at 70 with congestive heart failure and his father died of a heart attack. My grandfather on my mother's side died of complications from diabetes. So the clock is ticking and I need to something soon to resolve my weight problem. I'm having an upper GI tomorrow and my first consult is 10/14 (I leave the next day for a cruise). I'll be scheduling my surgery at the consult (hopefully for early November). I'm having my surgery in Dalton, GA. I hope to get alot of info on choosing the correct band (Realize vs Lap-Band) and coping skills. This is going to be a major change in my life, but I'm ready to succeed (not try). As the famous philosopher Yoda says, "There is no try - there is only do or not do". :thumbup:

Thanks - Dr Ponce apparently was one of the surgeons on the Realize Band trial, and at the seminar he didn't state a preference, but I'll ask him about which one is easier to fill. Also it looks like the Realize Band has a slightly lower slippage rate.