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Hey I just saw this on another board!!!! New Center of Excellence in Kansas!!! Original Post by Carolanne S at 5:19 PM CST on 02/05/2007 SOMEWHERE IN..., KS Shawnee Mission Medical Center was approved as of 1/24/07 as a center of excellence. That will allow medicare patients to have bariatric surgery in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The only question is wheather a surgeon associated with SMMC will perform surgery. I attended a seminar from Dr Hoehn and Dr Hitchcock and they were sort of reluctant to do medicare patients if SMMC were to become a COE due to the reimbursments from medicare. Its all about the money!

I have the chocolate flavor of Bariatric Advantage. So far, I have been putting a packet of splenda, a half of a banana and a little Peanut Butter. That has been great so far. Plan on picking up some syrups today.

Hi Happy2BMe1 Like you I am a bit worried about the mortality rates for the VSG. However, I have still decided to have the sleeve instead of the band. My surgeon who is one of the leading bariatric surgeons in the UK said that he hardly does bands anymore. They have too many complications and a lot of people need additional surgery. I think the VSG is a good alternative and not as dramatic as the bypass. However, there is still a risk, but hey what's the risk of you staying at 345 pounds. You are relatively young and might not get any problems with your weight, but problems do often come up when one gets later. I've just weight up the pros and cons of doing the VSG vs doing nothing and the VSG won even though I've got very young kids (and I certainly want to be around to see them grow up). In the end, only you can make this decision though.

You’re committing to a tough journey when you decide to get weight loss surgery. Your surgeon and the other health professionals who work with you have a big influence. They can make the journey go smoothly, or they can throw all sorts of obstacles in your path. They can make you feel comfortable and tell you everything you need to know, or they can make you feel like an idiot and withhold information. I’ve even heard stories as bad as bariatric nurses telling patients that it’ll never work! One of my best findings was finding how great my surgeon was. She always was there for me and I am still in touch with her. I am fortunate not to have had any negative experiences around the time I got my lap-band. I guess I could have used a little more nutritional help, but that wasn’t really anyone’s fault. So, what is the best thing you have experienced on the medical or insurance side of weight loss surgery? What is the worst thing? Share your stories here!

I have Aetna and chose to deal with a clinic that specializes in Bariatric cases.

I have Aetna, my BMI was just 40 and I had no co-morbities. I did the entire process with the bariatric surgeon's office and his insurance coordinator. They are very knowledgeable of the process. I had to complete a patient history form documented all previous weight loss attempts. I had to have 3 months of consecutive visits with my bariatric surgeon with my weight documented, a nutritionist visit and a psych evaluation. I did not have to show any proof of current weight loss attempts or exercise. I was told not to lose weight because I just squeaked by the required BMI. Each plan is different even within the same insurancs company, it depends on what your employer chooses. Get a copy of your particular plan's requirements in writing.

I've got a rant about three different types of calls. 1. The no return call from contractors - I'm having work done on my house, I've called various trades including plumbers, roofers, landscapers and masons. The masonry job is estimated to be at about $15,000. I had a guy give me an estimate last Fall and we parted saying I would call him in the Spring. Fast forward to MARCH when I email him with the photos of similar work that was done at my brothers house (per his request) and with the info on the material I picked out. Crickets. I emailed again two weeks later asking when he might be able to come out again and start the job. He emailed me that he would be out that weekend and would call with the date/time. Crickets. I called him. He said he was really busy but where he had given me estimate last year he would make time for me. (GEE THANKS!) I had a neighbor and a good friend use him last year and they both said he does awesome work but he's hard to get a hold of. He finally called and said he would be out on this past Sunday.........NADA, NOTHING...no call/no show. He better not call me any time soon. I had a tree limb fall off a very high Pine tree and it crashed into my garage in the back of the house. I didn't realize that the branch had actually put a fist sized hole in the roof and damaged it a few more places. I also developed a leak in the main roof after the guys shoveling the roof hit the pipe coming out of the roof from the bathroom with the shovel. I don't know the technical name for that pipe, but it vents the air from the bathroom. I went on Angie's list and looked up "roof repair". I called 8 roofers. 4 of them called me back and "they are only doing entire roof jobs, no repairs", 3 never called. The last guy is great - and is fixing the roof and my chimney (he's putting a cap on it) tomorrow. I will definitely be giving him a good review online once the work is done. 2. No return calls from LICSW/Therapists. I've been looking for a therapist for a while. I went online to my health provider, put in my info and found two therapists that have some experience with bariatric patients. I called one and left a voicemail with my info. CRICKETS. No return call. I emailed another - she initially emailed right away and said she would call me to schedule the following week. Never happened. I called a referral service that my NUT gave me. They called me back right away and gave me the names of two therapists - one of whom I had already emailed and she ignored me. I gave her another shot. NOPE. No return call, no return email. The other therapist who was new to me - I called. I left a voicemail. That was three days ago. Good thing I wasn't in crisis huh?! I am at the point where I am ready to give up. 3. This call JUST happened while I was typing this. I got a call from the "BLANK PARTY" on a recorded line telling me that we couldn't let SO AND SO into the White House and should they send out my party material confirming I would pledge $200 or should they put me down for $100?! H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEYSTICKS NO????!!!! No sweetheart - I don't know how you got my cell phone # but lose it fast and don't ever call me again. The nerve. I don't want to get into politics but both sides are making me ill. I'm not at the point where I'm moving to Canada or going to load up on shotgun shells or anything but the political landscape right now is just downright depressing. Luckily I have an awesome plumber who recommended a masonry guy and I called him today. He's coming out TOMORROW to price the job. He was pleasant and courteous and I'll be making sure that he gets a good review online too if he decides to do the work (and does a good job....I'm figuring he will Ok - RANT OVER. Thanks for listening!

I did not realize you were talking about full blown, knock-your-socks-off work outs. I agree that iron man/woman workouts can wait until later. Many bariatric patients would not be able to do those kind of work outs until some substantial weight comes off, anyway. But building in some reasonable cardio and strengthening exercises should start from the beginning, IMHO.

I just started taking the first steps in this journey to a new me. I have some roadblocks already. 1) The surgeon at the hospital that I work at is leaving in September. The surgeon who is replacing him has been working alongside the current surgeon doing bariatric surgeries. He has experience as a surgeon but the wls are a bit newer to him. He hasn't been performing on his own yet. If I go to the hospital I work with (and my ins approved me for wls) then I have better ins coverage. Or...I can go to the surgeon at a neighboring hospital and still be covered but not as much. More experienced there too....what should I do??! 2) my ins requires a 2 year history of documented weights/BMI. I've never been one to go to a pcp...I don't even have one. I do have a long standing history with my obgyn...(i've had 5 kids.) My last appt was in March to have my iud removed due to my concerns with the wgt gain and mood swings I had from it....prior to that was almost 2 years ago when I gave birth to baby #5. That's it. That would be all I have for medical history. How do I know of my ins will accept this? Or are they just going to say I have "baby wgt" and need to eat better and exercise? In so stressed about this. I have an appt with the hospital down the road who will cost more and ins doesn't cover as well with them...but I also am registered for the seminar at my hospital that provides my ins at the end of June... Any advice or knowledge about the 2 year recorded weights? Or about choosing the right hospital? I did make an appt to start seeing a pcp. They got me in for June 1st. I want this surgery so bad. I'm 31 and I feel like I'm 60. My feet hurt like someone is crushing them all the time. I'm tired. Its depressing. I want to be able to run around with my kids and not have to tell them "later" all the time. My mom had bypass surgery 13 years ago. Obesity is very prevalent in my family as is DM2 and heart disease. I'm not on a good track right now...I need this tool to help me get where I want to be.

I went to bariatric with my mind set that I just wanted medical management to help me lose weight with diet and exercise alone. I am now complete on my 6 month insurance requirements and though I did lose weight, I am struggling and changed my mind about surgery. So now I have my appt's with nutrition, exercise and psych on June 14th, and my final pre-op consult with Dr. V. on July 5th. I have to wait until I see him to see if he wants a full endoscopy or just a barium swallow on me. After that, it will be waiting on approval. I have CIGNA, and another girl in my office who has same insurance and had the VSG was approved quickly after she completed all of the above with BMI of 43 (I think) and zero co-morbidities. My starting BMI was 42 with 3 co-morbidities, so I don't see an issue with approval on mine.

I had my lap band surgery on October 9th, 2012! The surgery and recovery went very well, but the year with the lap band wasn’t fun for me. I threw up once or twice every day with lots of mucus. I kept my lap band on for the year, hoping and praying that it would get better and it didn’t. The typical response that I received was that I wasn't chewing long enough but I was. The doctor decided that it would be a good idea to take all the saline out of my band and see how I was feeling after. After having the saline removed and still having the same problems. The doctor decided to do another scope. During the scope, he discovered that I had ulcers in my esophagus. Thinking that this might be the problem, he prescribed a medication to see if they would clear up. A month later I went for another scope and the medication worked, but I was still throwing up. After having a long discussion with my doctor, I explained that I could no longer handle the throwing up and that I wanted to have the band taken out. He also at that time referred me to the Bariatric clinic for surgery. On June 12th, I had my lap band removed and from that day on I have not thrown up. I can finally eat normally without throwing up. I am now in the Bariatric program awaiting the surgery and I would like to talk to anyone who has been down the similar journey with the lap band and now had the gastric bypass surgery? Which surgery did you have and how are you handling food after the surgery? Thank you in advance for your time and I look forward to hearing from you. Connie

Could you let us know? I HATE the bariatric vitamins!!! 2 miles Beth's later, they still hurt, make me nauseous and I sweat and then smell like them. It is disgusting!

I would ask your surgeon. You could also compare the vitamin content in a Bariatric vitamin to the content of your prenatal. Usually you can find the label with specifics online. I know some surgeons say use good Bariatric vitamins for a year at least then after that switch to centrum or something like that.

I understand that at the moment there are only 2 surgeons in the country that utilize the spider technology to perform the sleeve. My surgeon Dr. Robert Marema and is at Flagler hospital in St Augustine, Fl. They have a hospital concierge (Angel Gulick) that will help you coordinate if you choose to travel for surgery and an awesome support network. I spent a week there in St Augustine, only 2 nights in the hospital. I know that some insurance companies even reimburse you for mileage, hotel, and meals if you are traveling more than 100 miles for your care. I was first going to have my surgery at Mayo in Jacksonville...then I discovered that they were out of network with my insurance (which they failed to notify me of) they wanted to limit me to only a band procedure, I wasn't given a choice, and they were not a Center of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery...so I started to do my homework and I actually moved once I found Dr. Marema. The staff was incredibly helpful in guiding me to obtain the right paperwork and records as well as scheduling me for visits and follow up on my schedule. I do hope that you find the right place and surgeon and wish you well on your journey. If I can answer any more questions for you I am happy to.

Go with your instinct and do some more research. If the nurse had been there when a doctor put in a band upside down and she did not say anything she is just a liable as he is. I would not trust any of that. I dont think they can be put in upside down. If the port was placed upside down it would cause pain but that by itself would not cause death. I think you may have some mixed up info from gossipers. However, you should never enter into this lightly and if you are scared most definitely cancel and do more research. Change doctors or go "interview" other doctors. I did tons of research on my Dr. He is one of the top doctors in Arizona and has been featured in tons of medical magazines. If your dr is a leader in the field you should be able to find record of that. Is he part of a Bariatric Center of Excellence? Definitely dont do it if not. Find one that is.

We always focus our anger and hatred on the insurance company, but I've come to understand that it is ultimately the employers choices that affect WLS. Insurance money is collected from the employee's wages and pooled and someone like Aetna or BCBS, etc. is contracted to MANAGE and disperse the funds according to how the employer sees fit. I was denied four times -- on the 5th (and final) try my WLSurgeon requested that someone specializing in bariatric surgery look at my file. I had approval in 3 days! Six months out I've lost a total of 65 lbs and am off of EIGHT meds I would've been on for life. The meds alone would have totalled over $5K just for MY co-pay, not sure what it would cost the insurance. They'll end up saving money on me now that I'm banded. Employers need to be made aware the healthy benefits of WLS...I'm sure most of them still look at it as cosmetic.

My surgery cost $10,600 in Mexico with Dr. Roberto Rumbaut. That money covers EVERYTHING but airfare and food while you're in Monterrey. It even includes all aftercare including fills and band removal if for some reason you can't tolerate the band. If you're self pay, (even if you're not) I highly recommend him. For more info go to www.gastricband.com Dr. Rumbaut is world renowned with excellent results and statistics so check him out. In the U.S. (I'm in Texas) the best rate I found was around $20,000. Some people have said they refinanced their house and used the equity to pay for their surgery. Some people get bank loans. There are bariatric centers that will do financing as well. Good luck on your weight loss journey. If you want to chat further you can PM me anytime.

Sounds like I'm in the same boat as you. I have Standard so I have to go off post. Sent from my SM-N920T using the BariatricPal App Yes I do. I'm in VA beach Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I am at Eustis. I am just starting the bariatric program at Portsmouth. Before I received my referral, I considered going standard and through the bariatric program at Sentara. I went to the orientation last week and see the surgeon on the 10th. There is a facebook group, I believe it is called Weight loss surgery with tricare. All of the women in that group are so helpful! They explained the entire process to me beforehand, so that I'd have a greater understanding of tricare and the bariatric programs. There are locals in there too. One just had the surgery in July and she is standard. She is very helpful and helps me with all of my questions. She went through sentara. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

i have a 6 month monitored diet but im confused on whether i should actually lose weight. my primary dr told me not to. im so confused! & the bariatric unit had told me that the insurance will look at all 6 months :/

After having some sobering health problems and a family history of diabetes and hypertention I decided that I needed to do something sooner then later to alter the course I was going down. I have done my research/homework and felt strongly the band was going to be the “tool” I needed to achieve permanent weight loss. A few months later and I’ve finished almost all of my labwork/appointments, next month I have a few more and I am half way to loosing the pre-surgery weight loss required for the surgery. <o:p> </o:p> I attended orientation and a support group and look forward to attending more support groups with my bariatric program. So I’m a little sad that I am having second thoughts. I don’t know if this is normal??? I am terrified that I will not succeed or be able to maintain loss. <o:p> </o:p> I met with the Nutritionist, she was personable and I enjoyed our meeting. But of course she got me thinking. I understood that this wouldn’t be easy but that it would be different then other weight loss attempts in that I would have something to help me build healthy eating habits. I’ve done easy fixes and none of them worked long term. I want to be around for my kids, I have a wonderful understanding husband who I plan on sharing a long life with. It is no longer about being thin and pretty (motivation for past weight loss attempts), albeit a nice side effect, I am worried about my long term health. So I called my mom, who is my number one supporter, we talked for awhile. She lost over 100 pounds after having 5 children and has kept it off for over 20 years. This has not been easy for her and I have always admired her stamina, she works at maintaining her weight loss every single day. She told me she wished she would have had the option of the Lapband. Anyway we talked about my concerns and fear that this will just be another thing I fail at. She mostly listened, I could sense she is afraid for me too. She knows how hard this is. <o:p> </o:p> I can loose weight, I’ve lost 60-70 pounds several times in my life not once have I maintained the loss for more then a few years, and recently not for more then a few months. I am terrified I will go through a surgery, loose the weight, and not be able to maintain. Or even worse not be able to loose weight. My confidence in my ability to lead a healthy lifestyle has I guess I need some reassurance that this will help me find it easier to maintain, that I won’t repeat my cycle of loss and gain. <o:p> </o:p> For those of you who have been yo-yo dieters, do you find the band significantly helps you maintain? I am ready to make permanent lifestyle changes. I don’t mind doing the work for the rest of my life…I just want to know this will allow me to have the willpower that has become more and more nonexistent.

I had my sleeve done by the most prominent bariatric surgery center in the state of Illinois. They never mentioned the word "plication". They offer three options: lap band, sleeve and Roux-en-Y bypass.

Hello! Not being sleeved until Feb 2014 but gathering my info and product slowly but surely. The multi Vitamin lingo is over my head and so is comparing vitamin labels/content. Are the veterans here for or against: Special bariatric Vitamins? Tks! W

Jessica, welcome to LBT! I was a financed patient--bariatric procedures were excluded from my insurance policy. I went to my seminar on May 19th and had my pre-op testing on May 21st. On the 21st, I made the appointment to have surgery on June 18th. I could have done it on June 11, but I was out of town that week nmmama, you might want to consider posting a specific question as its own thread; you'll probably get more responses that way! My experience is all on my blog. Maybe looking around at blogs people have would help you out (look at signatures throughout LBT for links, as a lot of us are also bloggers :biggrin:.

I suggest finding a bariatric support group near you and go make an appointment with a psychologist and NUT. You just need a little help to get back on track. We all do at times.

OK...Bariatric Centers of Excellence are an American thing.....because they are accredited by two American organizations, one of which is the American Society of Metabolic Surgeons...the other is the Surgical Review Corporation. To qualify, hospitals have to do 140 bariatric procedures per year, and staff has to have extra training in bariatric surgery complications, sensitivity training for bariatric patients, nutrition and post op care, and safely moving bariatric patients. Their accreditation signifies a level of excellence in the field of bariatric medicine. There are currently 778 Bariatric Centers of Excellence in the US.