Greetings all,
Here I am on the LAP-BAND® road. I've attempted many times to lose weight, each try less successful than the last. Things have gotten especially bad since I changed to a desk job. I've also been completely unsuccessful at keeping the weight off and have gained even more weight with each yoyo cycle. In the last year, I've started noticing the symptoms of insulin resistance and aching knees and decided it was time to address the problem once and for all.
I had my first visit with Dr. Orris at the Weight Loss Institute of Arizona two weeks ago. Since then, I have had most of my preop tests done. The only things outstanding are the EGD, my primary doc's preop clearance and the surgeon's preop clearance. Surgery is tentative for early March.
Insurance is mostly a bust for me. Most of my preop tests are covered but my insurance (United Healthcare) requires the typical six month supervised waiting period plus at least a yearly visit to some type of doctor for an official weight record before they will pay for the procedure. Up until now, I haven't really had the need to visit the doc on a regular basis, so I have a gap of two years or more. Of course, if I had all the comorbidities, I could get the reimbursements on the fast-track.
We've decided to go out-of-pocket with as little financing as possible. That's kind of love-hate for me because now that I've decided to do this I want to get it over with, so I'm happy to not have the waiting period, yet I'd like for insurance to pick up more of the cost. I'm a bit bemused by the illogic of the insurance company. I would think the long-term cost of the surgery to prevent the comorbidities would be much less than the cost of surgery plus treatment of the comorbidities. :biggrin:
So, currently I'm reading all I can on things like Protein shakes, chewable and liquid supplements, post-op diet and experiences and such. Lots to absorb and lots of new behaviors to learn.
Slowly counting down the days.
Willy
