Please Help!

July 23, 2005

Ok I am new at this. But have alot of questions. How much does this lap band surgery costs? I weigh 215 but have been turned away from other surgeries. Is there a minium weight limit to this surgery? How long does it take to get approved or have the surgery after you decide to do it? Any one have any other information I can use? I live in Longview Texas. xoxo, Trish

coyotegirl · July 23, 2005

You really have to shop around because I have heard of many many different prices of lap band surgerys. Mine cost $24,000 but I have Medicare so I only paid about $1,500 out of pocket.

It took me 5 months from the time I started looking into this surgery to having the surgery.

I think with most surgeons in the US you have to have a BMI of 40 or more with other health issues. But not sure!!

You can get this surgery done in Mexico for a lot less $.

Good luck with your research!!

FRECKLES3 · July 23, 2005

with my insurance you have to have a bmi of 35-40 with 2 co-morbities or a bmi of 40 or higher and no comorbodites. i have to take an educational class which is $500 out of my pocket and i have to get a psych evaluation. i started at the end of may and i am taking the class august 1st followed by psych evaluation and then meeting with the surgeon to get a date. price wise i dont know because my insurance pays 100% ...i only have to pay for the class and a $150 surgery copay..good luck to you...look around on here because there is tons and tons of info

July 24, 2005

This is my first post, so hi to everyone. I am just in the "looking into this" phase! I am trying to get all the info. I can.

I wanted to ask etexaschic some questions. Do you have a lap band doctor around here? Where will you be going for the procedure? I live in Palestine, and I think my insurance will cover this, but I don't know if I have to be refered to a lap band doc. or if I can just get an appointment, and my insurance will still pay for it. I don't know if my regular doc would refer me for this or not. I weigh about the same as you. My BMI was 38 when I tested on the computer. I do have some other issues that I think may help me to get the surgery even though I am not quite 100 pounds overweight.

To everyone, I would be sooooo scared of complications. All of them seem like complications that can be fixable, but the erosion thing sounds serious? That freaks me out a bit! Also, what does it feel like when it is too tight? Can you not swallow at all, or is it just stuff comes back up? Also, I have been reading these posts a lot today, and i need to know what a pb is. It has been said a lot, and it seems like it may be something like vomiting? Thanks for any and all answers!

Take care everyone!