What is the first consultation like?

[Tropicana 0]

I am considering lap band surgery. Here are my stats:

22

5'10 and a 1/2"

this morning I weighed in at 250 pounds

I wear a size 20.

I am under my parent's insurance (I'm in grad school and can still be carried by them) and it's united healthcare. i don't know if it is a PPO or not.

I have no existing comorbidities except joint pain, back pain, and I get out of breath really easily. I have low to normal blood pressure (but a family history of high blood pressure) and I'm not sure about my cholesterol or glucose levels but I do not have a history of diabetes or heart disease in my family. I don't want to be the first.

i would like to know what goes on during the first consultation. I live in Dallas, btw.

[daisydoodle 0]

Tropicana....

You are borderline on qualifying. But before you get disappointed, let me tell you that I was also, and I was approved. During my first consultation, I was told that I qualified by my doctor. I remember feeling so nervous (and even a little bit guilty) as I looked around the waiting room and saw people that weighed at least 100 lbs more than I did.

As long as you are committed to doing this for MEDICAL reasons (being healthy!) and not solely for cosmetic reasons, then I think it's definitely worth your while to have that consultation. Be prepared to document very specifically all of your weight loss attempts in the past. Since you live in DFW, you should be able to attend an informational meeting that will answer most of your questions. (I'm not that far away from you in Shreveport.) Good Luck with everything.

[Tropicana 0]

When you say documenting my past attempts what do you mean?? I have tried diet and exercise in the past but nothing works...maybe 5 or ten pounds will come off but it will come right back plus some. I have never had a medically supervised diet. I don't think I want to try drugs.

Tropicana....

You are borderline on qualifying. But before you get disappointed, let me tell you that I was also, and I was approved. During my first consultation, I was told that I qualified by my doctor. I remember feeling so nervous (and even a little bit guilty) as I looked around the waiting room and saw people that weighed at least 100 lbs more than I did.

As long as you are committed to doing this for MEDICAL reasons (being healthy!) and not solely for cosmetic reasons, then I think it's definitely worth your while to have that consultation. Be prepared to document very specifically all of your weight loss attempts in the past. Since you live in DFW, you should be able to attend an informational meeting that will answer most of your questions. (I'm not that far away from you in Shreveport.) Good Luck with everything.

[Tropicana 0]

aLSO...I do want to do this for health reasons....as i said earlier...I am a student and have to do hours of studying and my lower back is killing me. I can only really focus when i am laying on my back...and that's the perfect position to fall asleep with a book on my face. I'd like the lower back pain to go away. I am relatively healthy for a fat person and don't want to the increasing comorbidities that ome with age.

[Alexandra 55]

Tropicana, any insurance carrier wants to determine that surgery is a step taken only after other things have been tried. At your weight you don't have the BMI to qualify without showing that you also have medical problems (co-morbidities) that will be improved by weight loss. Back pain might be one, but I don't know. You also must be very young and it will be even more important in that case to show your carrier a history of struggling with obesity and the various efforts that have been made to deal with it.

Many carriers do want to see proof of at least one medically supervised attempt at weight loss. If you've never done that, NOW is the time to start. Go to your primary care doctor right now and say you want to finally get a handle on your weight. Get a diet and exercise plan, and set up a schedule to visit at least once a month for weigh-in. Six months later you'll have your record of an medically supervised attempt at weight loss.

Of course, if you lose much weight doing this you'll be even less qualified for surgery. That may seem absurd and unfair but from the carrier's point of view they don't want to pay for surgery for people who are able to succeed without it. If you want a band, you may just have to pay for it yourself.

[blossom 2]

Tropicana, I believe backpain was one of the comorbidities my dr submitted to my insurance. As for documenting, even if you weren't medically supervised, write down every diet you ever tried and include the results of loss and gain. Its worth a try anyway.

[New Hope 37]

Have you been checked for asthma or sleep apnea? One of the biggest things for this band to work is a life-long commitment from you...to make healthier, smaller size food choices (cut out the junk foods, carbs, starches), and exercise regularly.

[Jammin & Losin 1]

Tropicana The best advice I can give you is this. If you don't go to the first consult then you wont know.. so you should at least do that. Also check into a local lapband seminar. this will tell you alot about the requirements you must have for surgery.

Back pain was considered one of my co morbities along with knee pain,blood pressure,Hypertension, cholesterol,shortness of breath. you might even consider getting a physical from a Primary care Physican. This could help you know if you do have Cholesterol and other prolems related to your weight that you might not even realize. please check into this process further. Call and ask your ins co.if they even cover the band some do some don't.Good luck !Let us know what you find out.

[Tropicana 0]

What goes on during the first consult. Does the doctor weigh you and examine you or what?

[Jammin & Losin 1]

Tropicana~ At my first consult they weighed me / talked about weight loss attempts/family medicaL history/reasons I wanted to have the band/ comorbities/if my Ins will cover lapband/how the lap band works/ changes I would have to make for it to work/ other Dr.visits I would have to go to(PSYCHOLOGIST/NUTRITIONIST)/ about the importance of seminar and support group meetings/Gave me a list of things that I had to provide to show medical problems and weight loss attempts /Talked about cost of lapband.

Thats all I can think of right now. Hope this helps.

[Tropicana 0]

Tropicana~ At my first consult they weighed me / talked about weight loss attempts/family medicaL history/reasons I wanted to have the band/ comorbities/if my Ins will cover lapband/how the lap band works/ changes I would have to make for it to work/ other Dr.visits I would have to go to(PSYCHOLOGIST/NUTRITIONIST)/ about the importance of seminar and support group meetings/Gave me a list of things that I had to provide to show medical problems and weight loss attempts /Talked about cost of lapband.

Thats all I can think of right now. Hope this helps.

Thank you!

So let's say I don't qualify for the insurance coverage bc my BMi is not high enough. Can i still get the surgery if I self pay?

[Jammin & Losin 1]

Thank you!

So let's say I don't qualify for the insurance coverage bc my BMi is not high enough. Can i still get the surgery if I self pay?

TROPICANA~ I'm not sure on that self pay. I have ins that covers my band 80% and I was deffinatly in the morbid obese section.So me being qualified wasn't an issue for me. I'm sorry I can't help with this question.

DID ANYONE SELF PAY FOR THEIR BAND THAT CAN HELP OUT TROPICANA????????LOOKING FOR SELF PAY BANDSTERS????

[princess_n_thep 2]

I am a self pay. (5'8", 31 years old, 225#, don't qualify because I am healthy with no comorbids, weight gain obesity is only for last 6 years) I am going to Mexico. Tropicana, PM me if you want to know details about what I am doing. Another good person to talk to that self payed is La_Madam. We both have the same doctor. Although, she is already banded and I won't be banded until end of March. She answered a lot of my questions.

[makena2 0]

Hey there, I'm in Dallas too. I just had my first consult with Dr. Benavides' office. They do the exam at the clinic next door. I went to their seminar last Saturday...very informative.

After doing all the things mentioned in other responses (medical history, vital signs, etc.), they weighed me (ack! - hadn't been on a scale in awhile!) and talked about my potential co-morbidities (sp?). I have a 35 BMI with high cholestrol, depression, potential sleep apnea (going to a test for that). I don't know yet if I qualify on insurance (BCBS). They're helping me through the process by doing some tests like blood work, stress test, sleep apnea test, psych evaluation, etc.

My hope is that I can qualify but even if I don't, I'm doing the surgery anyway. Dr. Benavides (Richardson, TX) charges $15K and it covers one year of follow-ups too.

I hope that helps. I'm anxiously awaiting my outcome on the tests and approval. If you decide to self-pay, all these BMI scores, co-morbilities (sp?) etc. don't mean a thing. You pay, you're there.

[princess_n_thep 2]

P.S. Getting the band done outside of the US has proven for many bandsters to be very financially saving to them. Most popular I think would be Mexico but I have also heard a lot about Europe, Belgium, South America, Spain.

For example: lap band surgery in the US costs approx 15k-22k whereas Mexico costs are 7k-12k.