After 1 year I will have to pay for fills!

[REDGIRL 0]

My Dr. will charge me after a year for my fill, I went yesterday to get my fill and the dr. told me that he would not give me the fill that i lost 4 lbs in 5 weeks and that wasn't bad. He told me that i needed to start eating Breakfast and to not eat as much Soup as i was eating. He wants me to eat more solid foods to see if I will stay full longer. That is o.k.,but then when he started talking about I'm not as big as some of his patients that i don't need to lose more than a pound a week , it made me feel like he is trying to stretch out the time so eventually after a year I will have to pay for my fills.Do you think that i could be over reacting? :mad:

[travelgirl 3]

Why don't you try his suggestions, and see how you do? You might find that eating less Soups and more hard Proteins will do very well for you, and you'll lose a bit faster. Never know 'till you try!

And remember that he gets paid for your fills either way, whether you pay or your insurance pays.

[REDGIRL 0]

Why don't you try his suggestions, and see how you do? You might find that eating less Soups and more hard Proteins will do very well for you, and you'll lose a bit faster. Never know 'till you try!

And remember that he gets paid for your fills either way, whether you pay or your insurance pays.

I will try his suggestion,but after a year, I had planned to lose the weight that i needed to lose. But if i don't I will have to pay and i fill like i should be a little closer than I am. I was banded9/5/07 and only lost 30 lbs. I just feel like he is giving me the run around so i can pay for those fills after a year. Thats just how I feel. He shouldn't compare me to his other patients that need to lose more than me. I am sure that I feel just like they do about getting this weight off, even if he feels its less weight I need to lose.:mad:

[Wheetsin 714]

Yeah this is very common. Many self-pay contracts (at least stateside, I don't know about MX) include 1 yr to-the-date of free fills, and a good number of insurance coverages will also only cover up to the first year.

In my case, I had insurance coverage and mine were "free" for a year, after that first year they're still covered, but they're coded as an office visit so I basically pay my co-pay for fills - $20.

the dr. told me that he would not give me the fill that i lost 4 lbs in 5 weeks and that wasn't bad. He told me that i needed to start eating breakfast and to not eat as much Soup as i was eating. He wants me to eat more solid foods to see if I will stay full longer. That is o.k.,but then when he started talking about I'm not as big as some of his patients that i don't need to lose more than a pound a week , it made me feel like he is trying to stretch out the time so eventually after a year I will have to pay for my fills.Do you think that i could be over reacting?

Actually his suggestions - as I understand them - sound look good suggestions and it also sounds like he's a very responsible doctor, thinking more about what is best for the patient than what the patient wants to happen. Just my 2 cents tho. :mad:

[travelgirl 3]

I agree with Wheetsin, I think he's just doing what he does best, and looking out for your best interest. I doubt very much if he's sitting there thinking about all the money coming out of your pocket if he holds off on giving you fills until after your insurance quits paying for them.

[REDGIRL 0]

I agree with Wheetsin, I think he's just doing what he does best, and looking out for your best interest. I doubt very much if he's sitting there thinking about all the money coming out of your pocket if he holds off on giving you fills until after your insurance quits paying for them.

I think you all got it wrong about my insurance. I am self pay 15,000 to be exact. The first year is "free". Then i will have to come out of my pocket again if I don't lose what i need to lose before then. I agree that i might need to make some changes. But i don't want to pay more than i need to. Did i mention I only lost 30 lbs in almost 6 mths?:mad:

[travelgirl 3]

That does change things somewhat, but you still have to understand that the cost of your fills for the first year were included in your total cost, and maybe he is just trying to make sure he gets the most out of it.

How long ago were you banded? Are you running out of time before your first year is up?

[REDGIRL 0]

That does change things somewhat, but you still have to understand that the cost of your fills for the first year were included in your total cost, and maybe he is just trying to make sure he gets the most out of it.

How long ago were you banded? Are you running out of time before your first year is up?

I was banded 9/5/07 and plan on losing all the weight i can before that time!:mad:

[travelgirl 3]

Well, my best advice is to keep a food journal, which you probably already do, follow his suggestions to the letter for a couple of weeks, and go back and present him with your results. Could be that you won't need a fill because you'll be losing more (don't expect a fill if you're losing an average of 2 lbs a week) or that you really do need that fill.

[Wheetsin 714]

Did i mention I only lost 30 lbs in almost 6 mths?:mad:

Well, but according to your ticker, to look at those numbers in a different light, you've lost nearly 40% of your excess weight in 6 months. "Only" 30 lbs might be something to blink at if you had like 300 lbs to lose, but with "only" 73 to lose, 30 is virtually halfway there. Many people would kill to be able to claim those same stats.

YOu didn't specify if you were self pay or ins, but I did say: Many self-pay contracts (at least stateside, I don't know about MX) include 1 yr to-the-date of free fills.

Then i will have to come out of my pocket again if I don't lose what i need to lose before then. I agree that i might need to make some changes. But I don't want to pay more than i need to.

Well - here are a few things to consider. Having not lost "what you need to lose" by a certain date does not mean you need a fill. Maybe you just need to give it more time. You make it sound like unless you're at goal on your 1 yr anniversary, you will have to automatically pay for a fill then. That's not the case. I haven't had a fill in 8 months, nor do I need one. Maybe you won't either.

Surgeon's don't "spring" this on people, this would have been in your contract. If it was, then you should have known this all along. If it wasn't, then talk to him about failing to enter it in the contract and what recourse you have available to you as a result.

Also, don't push a fill if you don't need one just because it's your last chanec to get it free. Free isn't worth your health. At least two and a possible third bandster that I know IRL went to their obligatory 1yr post-op to get fills, even though they had restriction. They all then had to fork up for unfills because it was too much, and it has been a fill/unfill cycle ever since then.

Do you feel you have restriction? Lost weight, eating this or that, not the point.

[REDGIRL 0]

Well, but according to your ticker, to look at those numbers in a different light, you've lost nearly 40% of your excess weight in 6 months. "Only" 30 lbs might be something to blink at if you had like 300 lbs to lose, but with "only" 73 to lose, 30 is virtually halfway there. Many people would kill to be able to claim those same stats.

YOu didn't specify if you were self pay or ins, but I did say: Many self-pay contracts (at least stateside, I don't know about MX) include 1 yr to-the-date of free fills.

Well - here are a few things to consider. Having not lost "what you need to lose" by a certain date does not mean you need a fill. Maybe you just need to give it more time. You make it sound like unless you're at goal on your 1 yr anniversary, you will have to automatically pay for a fill then. That's not the case. I haven't had a fill in 8 months, nor do I need one. Maybe you won't either.

Surgeon's don't "spring" this on people, this would have been in your contract. If it was, then you should have known this all along. If it wasn't, then talk to him about failing to enter it in the contract and what recourse you have available to you as a result.

Also, don't push a fill if you don't need one just because it's your last chanec to get it free. Free isn't worth your health. At least two and a possible third bandster that I know IRL went to their obligatory 1yr post-op to get fills, even though they had restriction. They all then had to fork up for unfills because it was too much, and it has been a fill/unfill cycle ever since then.

Do you feel you have restriction? Lost weight, eating this or that, not the point.

I agree with you, I would not have gone to the dr. if I didn't feel that i need a fill.I am still hungry, and have some restriction but still can eat alot. But my point is I want to lose weight just like anyone else who decided to have a surgery to help lose weight. And I think it is wrong for my dr. or anyone else to think that i don't deserve a fill because i don't have as much weight to lose as a much bigger person. I have looked at my 30lbs as weight lost that is good, but also feel that i could lose alot more if my dr. stop looking at me as a person that isn't as big as the rest of his patients. Me losing weight is just as important to me as it is to a person that is more over weight than I am. I feel if I need a fill, then give it to me . If i don't then say i don't, but don't refuse me a fill because i don't have as much weight to lose as a heavier person does. :mad:

[lefty 0]

I think if you are getting hungry too soon and are having to really work at sticking to the bandster portions, then regardless of your loss, you need a fill. It sounds like you are having to work at the loss and while 4 pounds is OK, it's not optimal, either. But, as the other bandster said, you have to be careful not to get too much of a fill and end up having to get some removed--it's hard to have to go back in and say, guess you were right.

I don't think he is trying to cheat you out of any fills, but certainly was wrong to compare your journey with others. Perhaps just a bad choice of words on his part?

[REDGIRL 0]

Thanks Guys For Your Input. It Really Helped Alot!

[ParaGirl 71]

I feel so fortunate; I am self pay also (17,400), but I have free fills for life! There is a limit, 6 per calendar year, but I am not complaining!

[BabyCat 0]

My doctor told me to make an appt. if I need a fill. He doesn't care if its two weeks or one month. He said, "If I don't lose the appropiate weight, then he has failed." I was banded on Nov.14, 2007, I had my first fill on Dec. 26, my second on Jan. 30 and I'm getting my third fill on Feb. 25. I have lost 22lbs since being banded and I was one of the smallest patients my doctor had. I only need to lose 55lbs to be at my ideal weight.