Daisky23

I have an appt for the seminar on Jan 8th and with Dr. Texeira on Jan 23...I was questioning the same thing because when you go on the website it talks very little about lap band surgery which i wasnt too confortable about but since my new PCP is at St. Lukes I was going to give it shot. But I also have an appt at CUMC as well for Dr. Schrope which I heard was excellent. So depending on your insurance you have other options in the NYC area. Hope this helps! Let me know what you deceide. Good Luck, Dawn

I have United Healthcare...and they are asking for a letter from the PCP stating i have had a BMI of 40 or greater for 5 years...thats all! They dont require the 6mth thing

Glad to hear that they was able to correct that problem. How long were you out of work? How many lbs have you lost so far? How was it the first few weeks after? I have to get the letter of referral from my PCP thats where the problem lies...the PCP i had for 14 years basically refused to give me a letter and also he would always ask me what my weight was instead of weighing me so i dont even know if requesting my med records would work so I can stuck looking for a new PCP...i have an appt on Tuesday with a new PCP so hopefully I can get the referral and then get the bloodwork, psych eval and xray and then go to see the nutrutionist and nurse in dec...once I get the letter i will push up the meeting with the nutritionist I just want to make sure I can get it. Dawn

I have my appt with Dr. Schrope...if you dont mind please share your expeience...what went wrong?? I am actually studying for my LSAT which I take on Dec 6 so I am concentrating on that right now but still trying to fit in the visit with the new PCP and doing my research...I would like to have my surgery in either Jan or Feb so I can have a good hang of this before I start law school in the fall...

How long does the pre surgery process take? I am meeting with a new PCP on Monday Oct 6(my old one basically told me he wouldnt write me a letter of referral and said I should diet...and since I have been dieting for 14 yrs and obese for almost 16 I wasn't too happy to deal with him especially since he has been by PCP for over 10 yrs) and for my insurance United Heathcare Choice all i need is a letter from my PCP showing 5 years of a BMI 40+ which i know I have...my only real concern is that my former PCP was such a slouch that I was rearly but on the scale and would ask me what I weighed and since I was in denial so much I always gave a weight that was significantly lower than I was....I brought a small notebook and plan on including a brief summary of my issues with my weight and also pictures to show the new PCP what I have been stuggling with...I guess if worse comes to worse i will have to do a piece meal effort to gather my weights for the past 5 years from my orthopedic doctor and gyn but i hope not! Do you have any suggestions...Sorry for the long winded reply but I am a lil scared I wont be able to get approved:sad:.

Thanks...I work at Columbia so I know the staff and didnt want to be so biased that I ended up not looking at other options. So if you dont mind me asking how long did the pre surgery process take? I am meeting with a new PCP on Monday Oct 6(my old one basically told me he wouldnt write me a letter of referral and said I should diet...and since I have been dieting for 14 yrs and obese for almost 16 I wasn't too happy to deal with him especially since he has been by PCP for over 10 yrs) and for my insurance United Heathcare Choice all i need is a letter from my PCP showing 5 years of a BMI 40+ which i know I have...my only real concern is that my former PCP was such a slouch that I was rearly but on the scale and would ask me what I weighed and since I was in denial so much I always gave a weight that was significantly lower than I was....I brought a small notebook and plan on including a brief summary of my issues with my weight and also pictures to show the new PCP what I have been stuggling with...I guess if worse comes to worse i will have to do a piece meal effort to gather my weights for the past 5 years from my orthopedic doctor and gyn but i hope not! Do you have any suggestions...Sorry for the long winded reply but I am a lil scared I wont be able to get approved.

I have my first pre-opt appointment scheduled in Dec (my choice) with Dr. Schrope and the staff over at NYPH/Columbia, but reading all the different threads here on this site I see a large percentage of ppl have been banded by the Dr's over at NYU. Has anyone on here been banded at NYPH/Columbia? And did anyone have the choice over the two and deceided to go with NYU and if so for what reason? Thanks:confused:

Thanks and thats what I plan to do!! Good luck with your surgery!!

Thanks...I plan on calling around tomorrow morning when i get to work! Before all of this I was by no means happy with my PCP so I guess this was the last straw.

I have deceided to have the lap band surgery and the only problem I see on the horizon is my PCP referral!! I have had the same PCP for almost 14 years and when I discussed it with him he shut me down instantly...he wants me to go on a diet for the 25th time or better yet he also stated that he himself trained for a marathon and he knows how to get some one to loose weight (now keep in mind i have been on every diet know to man including starvation and also have a degenerative problem with my knee which i already had surgery on last year and my surgeon basically said loose weight or dont walk) at that point I hung up with him and cried! I know he wont give me the referral I need and I am at my wits end. I spoke to the surgeon (lap band) office and they suggested I get another doctor to write me a letter. Which means I will have to find another PCP...I have a few questions that hopefully someone will be able to assist me with: 1. Should I tell the new PCP up front about the lap band surgery and the need for the letter of referral? 2. Does anyone have any suggestions of PCP's in NYC? Thanks:smile2:

I have deceided to have the lap band surgery and the only problem I see on the horizon is my PCP referral!! I have had the same PCP for almost 14 years and when I discussed it with him he shut me down instantly...he wants me to go on a diet for the 25th time or better yet he also stated that he himself trained for a marathon and he knows how to get some one to loose weight (now keep in mind i have been on every diet know to man including starvation and also have a degenerative problem with my knee which i already had surgery on last year and my surgeon basically said loose weight or dont walk) at that point I hung up with him and cried! I know he wont give me the referral I need and I am at my wits end. I spoke to the surgeon (lap band) office and they suggested I get another doctor to write me a letter. Which means I will have to find another PCP...I have a few questions that hopefully someone will be able to assist me with: 1. Should I tell the new PCP up front about the lap band surgery and the need for the letter of referral? 2. Does anyone have any suggestions of PCP's in NYC? Thanks:smile2: