Dr. John Bagnato - Bagnato Bandits

[georgia girl 35]

I worry about what your talking about. I've yet to get banded but food is my addiction. I am unsure what I'll do with myself. I'd like to become an gym junkie.... just work out all the time for fun. What's the chances?

I'm writing to ask about Dr. Bagnato. If I can work out this insurance stuff (Tricare) then I intend to use him. Does he have a good bedside manner. I'm easily intimidated and have trouble being open and talking to doctors if they come off real aggressive or unapproachable. I want a doctor I can feel real comfortable talking to, incase I have problems.

If Bagnato can't then I am trying for Bernett... does anyone know anything about him. He seemed a bit more approachable at the seminar... I just liked the number of bands Bagnato has done and Bagnato seemed to have a real open policy.

My weight is barely over my insurance requirements. I'm close to 250 and it should be 147.... so I'm right at 100 over. My insurance only requires 100 pounds over and a health related issue. I have asthma and arthritis in my shoulder... but don't think those count. I have high BP... normally 130something over 98ish. The top number is fine, but the bottom is high I think. It goes over 100 on the bottom and did often when I was pregnant. I had to be hospitalized for it during pregnancy and they induced my son a month early. Now 2 years later it's still high. I worry about that cause I don't want to have a stroke if I get really stressed out. I'm only 29 and strokes and getting breathed with ANY physical activity (even walking) shouldn't be worries I have. I'm hoping that Dr. Bagnato (if he will take my insurance) will work with me to help me get approved. I really feel I need this or I won't live to see 50.

Please help, I just need advice from a pro.

I agree with everything Mia said. Dr. B and his entire staff is just wonderful. Dr. B has very good bedside manners and he is very easy to talk to. I assure you, they will do everything in their power to help you and make sure you get this surgery. Please let us know how it goes and good luck to you!

[georgia girl 35]

Nip

I just noticed that you've lost 80lbs! That's AMAZING! You are doing so great, you're going to be at goal in no time. Do you lose in spurts? I ALWAYS lose in spurts. I was losing almost a pound a day all throughout last week, then this week........nothing. But I always lose this way, I just hope I don't plateau for very long.

[allykat 1]

ParaGirl - we all have days like that when it seems everything that can go wrong, will. I'm awful in the mornings. I'm 99% of the time running late and on the days DH isn't there (he is a firefighter/paramedic), then I have to take kids to 2 different schools clear across town from each other. I'm always stressed and snapping at the girls! Hopefully, you'll get to have a nice unwind today and will feel better!

Mynmann - I started out close to where you are now. I can tell you that even before I had made my decision on Dr. Bagnato, his office manager (I was emailing her tons of questions!), offered to check on my insurance for me to see if it would be covered (it wasn't). They went above and beyond with my financing, too (since I was self pay). Long story short there - Care Credit couldn't seem to understand that I needed a specific amount on 1 account and kept giving me 2 different accounts with a combined higher credit limit than I needed. Just give them a call...you'll really like them!

[Brinabrina77 24]

Hello Ya'll:

Mynmann: When I had my surgery the only weight related conditions thas I had were asthma and the "possibility" of arthritis in my knees. I still got approved, but I am more than 100lbs overweight. I think that for conisderation for the surgery, some pople are not quite 11lbs overweight, but they have one or several weight related issues and still get approved. Dr. B is great. Iam not sure if I have told everyone, but I am a veterinarian, so I i have intimate knowledge of the medical field (hence why i was so worried about my surgery in the first place). Surgeons in general have the personalility of driftwood. However, Dr. B does not. I absolutley adore him. He is so non intimidating and so helpful. He practically took care of all the stuff involving my insurance. He sends of the letters and everything. if you do have a problem with the insurance he is very encouraging for you to be persistent about it. His staff are wonderful also. I think you will be pleased with him. When i initially decided to get banded I knew nothing about any of the surgeons. Intially i was going to have Dr. Smith do it. Dr. Smith and Dr. Burnette work in teh same practice. Dr. Bagnato used to work with them, but I think he left them becaseu he did not like dealing with Phoebe medical (i think he said this in a seminar). He has done more surguries than either Dr. Smith or Dr. Burnette. I think Dr. Burnette is jsut now starting to do these surgeries.

Why did I not have Dr. Smith do it? Well I know nothting about him personally so that i was not it. I called their office and the make you speak to this lady who is the one who is supposed to deal with the insurance issues. My doctor called her for a week to get her and could not reach her for what seemed to be like a differnt reaseon each day. They got so frustrated that they aaked me to call. I called and called and finally got her. Then they want you to attend a seminsr. At the time i was workign nights. I caught her and she was like "oh, if you want to attend a seminar there is one tonight at Palymra medical". So I drug myself ouot of bed and rushed over there, because I had less than two hours before the seminar started. I walked all over that place lookign for this seminar. I fanlly gave up. So on my way out of the parking lot, i called palmyra to make sure that i at least got the correct hospital for the seminar. The woman who answered was like ,"Yes, Ma'am we do have a seminar, but the next one is not until TOMORROW night. "

I was highly upset. First of all it took me more than a week to contact this woman to get my insurance issues straight. When i aske if there was anyone else I could speak to, they told me no. THEN i rush around trying to find this seminar and find out that she told me the wrong date!! The next day, I called my promary physician and asked them t refer me to someoen else for this surgery. I figured if that was the type of care i would get from that office BEFORE surgery, I did not want to know what kind of care I would get from them during or after surgery. The peopel in the pffice were not rude or anything, but at that point i had kind of lost faith in them. I knew nothing about dr. Smith or dr. bagnato at that time so i was neutral about who did the surgery. However, after that fiasco i ended up going to Dr. B. I am happy as all hell that I chose him. I will say that my experieicne with Dr. Smiths office is MY EXPERIEINCE. that may not be the norm there.

ParaGirl: I feel you absolutely. Just one those days that you want to leave a series of chalk ooutlines in your wake. i am officially diagnosing you with the "snowball from Hell Syndrome". The day jsut starts out sucking and continues to suck until it reaches the epitome of suckyness. Symptoms include being pissed off beyond all pissivity. (I know that my medical terminology just wows you). I have had my share of days liek that. That is when i normally start askign my coworkers if the vending machines dispenses vodka. (Still no such luck on that one. My coworkers will bring up the fact that i don't drink and I normally respond that it is never too late to start. ) But you did the right thing. You came here and vented. We did nto see you on the news with a donut in one hand and a rifle in the other. For that I am truly proud. ( i just had this image of me in that situation..and then getting shot by swat and my shooter shouting "She has been taken down. I repeat, Big Girl, Down. Shots fired, Big. Girl. Down." into his walkie talkie).

Anyway, girl vent. Vent. Vent. VENT!! Just wait to I have a snowball from Hell Syndrome. The first place that I will come will be here.

As for your church person...

Pffft. Please. He who is without sin may cast the first stone. Til this day, i have not so much as had a pebble tossed my way.

Find some you time. Find somethign non food related that will give you soem pleasure. Indulge. Watch TV. Do something that you like to do. Go window shopping. garden. Get a pedicure . Whatever it takes (short of homocide, child abuse, or domestic violence) that makes YOU feel good. Then tomorrow... the sun will shine again and you have been blessed with another day with the potential to be much better than today.

[Jonathan_Cone 0]

Greetings, First of all, I would like to thank my PHV for telling me about this site. (She knows who she is.) I live in Baconton, Ga. I have been large for most of my life. I have made some poor choices in diet and fitness. I had a physical in October of last year and weighed 459.5 lbs. I was diagnosed as a hypertensive and prediabetic. It was then that I had an epiphany. I have to get my life back in order. I chose to use the lapband as a tool as I didn't think I had the willpower to do this by myself. So with insurance in hand I went to Dr. Bagnato at the recommendation of my PCP. I had surgery on Dec 14th of last year and I am on my way to a healthier self.

[jbrad71629 2]

Oh yes, I had to stop and get coffee at the Woodalls, ended up spilling hot coffee all over my hand, said a not so good word, then looked up and say one of my fellow church members!

I need a drink, and I dont even drink! I need a cigarrette, and dont smoke.

I NEED A VICE - Because I refuse to overeat because of this.

I plan to work out like a fiend today.

Please forgive this post, but I needed to get this out.

Paragirl

I read your post and could not help but answer, I stoppped at Woodall's this morning for coffee also and it ended up all down the front of my shirt.. I think they have defective cups!! LOL!!

hang in there tomorrow has to be a better day.

[mia31771 0]

Greetings, First of all, I would like to thank my PHV for telling me about this site. (She knows who she is.) I live in Baconton, Ga. I have been large for most of my life. I have made some poor choices in diet and fitness. I had a physical in October of last year and weighed 459.5 lbs. I was diagnosed as a hypertensive and prediabetic. It was then that I had an epiphany. I have to get my life back in order. I chose to use the lapband as a tool as I didn't think I had the willpower to do this by myself. So with insurance in hand I went to Dr. Bagnato at the recommendation of my PCP. I had surgery on Dec 14th of last year and I am on my way to a healthier self.

Hey Johnathan! Welcome aboard! Good to have some testosterone join the group!!

[georgia girl 35]

Greetings, First of all, I would like to thank my PHV for telling me about this site. (She knows who she is.) I live in Baconton, Ga. I have been large for most of my life. I have made some poor choices in diet and fitness. I had a physical in October of last year and weighed 459.5 lbs. I was diagnosed as a hypertensive and prediabetic. It was then that I had an epiphany. I have to get my life back in order. I chose to use the lapband as a tool as I didn't think I had the willpower to do this by myself. So with insurance in hand I went to Dr. Bagnato at the recommendation of my PCP. I had surgery on Dec 14th of last year and I am on my way to a healthier self.

Welcome Jonathan! Wow, looks like you are doing great with the weight loss, 100 lbs since December is awesome! Congrats, you're the first guy to join! Anyway, glad to have you in the group!

[tiger50 0]

Hi, I am from Dothan, AL and I went to see Dr. Bagnato in January. I have BC/BS of AL. They didn't approve me for the surgery. They said that my BMI wasn't high enough in 05. My husband and I are considering going the self pay route. What I wanted to know is, has anyone had any problems with insurance covering any problems that aren't related to the lap band after self paying for it?

[mynmann 0]

Thank you all for your words of advice. I will stay on here asking questions as they arise, because your all so helpful and knowledgable. I am really set on Dr. Bagnato... if he can find a way to take my insurance than I'm his. Their is no way I could do self pay. I have two young kids and me and my hubby are both full time students. Our only income is my husbands National Gaurd pay and his part time sales job.... not enough to save up $20K. Without full time jobs I'm sure financing isn't an option either. Oh well, just pray for me. My appointment with my general doctor is on the 14th... even if I don't need it I figure I'll go ahead and get a referal, can't hurt. Thank you for everything.

[mynmann 0]

Stupid question:

How do I make my weight loss ticker work? I'm trying but I think it's not showing up right. Also, is my picture working... I can't see it.

[georgia girl 35]

Hi, I am from Dothan, AL and I went to see Dr. Bagnato in January. I have BC/BS of AL. They didn't approve me for the surgery. They said that my BMI wasn't high enough in 05. My husband and I are considering going the self pay route. What I wanted to know is, has anyone had any problems with insurance covering any problems that aren't related to the lap band after self paying for it?

Hi there! Nice to meet you. I don't really have an answer to your question, mine was covered by insurance. Sorry I can't help you there, but I just wanted to say hi and I hope things work out for you. Good luck and keep us posted about your journey.

[georgia girl 35]

Thank you all for your words of advice. I will stay on here asking questions as they arise, because your all so helpful and knowledgable. I am really set on Dr. Bagnato... if he can find a way to take my insurance than I'm his. Their is no way I could do self pay. I have two young kids and me and my hubby are both full time students. Our only income is my husbands National Gaurd pay and his part time sales job.... not enough to save up $20K. Without full time jobs I'm sure financing isn't an option either. Oh well, just pray for me. My appointment with my general doctor is on the 14th... even if I don't need it I figure I'll go ahead and get a referal, can't hurt. Thank you for everything.

I hear ya, there's no way I could have done this without insurance. I'm a SAHM and we live on my husbands income only. I'm so grateful that I was able to have this surgery. I will definitely keep you in my prayers. Please keep us posted on your progress!

Stupid question:

How do I make my weight loss ticker work? I'm trying but I think it's not showing up right. Also, is my picture working... I can't see it.

Here is a step by step link: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f5/ticker-tutorial-pictures-41782/

This explains it way better than I could.

[nip50 2]

Tiger50 - I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but I was self-pay and Dr. B also repaired 3 hernias during the lapband. He didn't charge me additional for the surgery, but there were some additional office visits after the surgery due to the hernias and my insurance did pay for these. My insurance did pay for an extra bill I received from a pulmonary group also. I hope this is helpful.

[mia31771 0]

It seems I do really well staying on plan Monday- wednesday's - but you let thursday afternoon get here and I am ready to eat out- I had 'planned' to have a healthy meal for supper last night, instead when I got off from work I told my DF I didn't feel like cooking- let's go get some pizza. I had 3 slices (wow can't you tell the restriction is fading, lol) Granted- that is MUCH less than what I would've eaten pre-band, so yay- BUT I KNOW it isn't healthy for me. It seems when it comes time for the weekend I get into lazy mode and want to eat out all the time. I'm really stressed with planning this wedding. I almost felt ashamed to see the scale show a loss this morning. I half heartedly expected it to show a gain from eating that pizza last night. Maybe I am putting too much pressure on myself and need to slack off- I just really do not want this to fail like everything else always has and to be honest- I STILL have that little nagging voice in the back of my head who fills me with doubt. I used to choke that voice with food- I have had a rough time of it finding a wedding dress and I hope now that I've finally gotten one and have it ordered I will chill a bit- It's still VERY depressing to be told "I'm sorry, we just don't carry that large of a dress in stock' over and over again. Even at having almost lost 40 lbs I am STILL facing the ever constant reminder of how big I am. You would think the frustration of all of this would spurn me on to lose lose lose- but nope, it makes me want to emotional eat every dang thing in sight- and give in and say that I'll be fat forever. I didn't have to have any counseling before banding because I was self pay- perhaps I need to look into if my insurance would cover that. I think it might help just to get all the crap in my head out- Sorry for the vent folks- Stay dry out there today, supposed to be a nasty one!