.. General Qs

Im new to this board. Ive been overweight my whole life. Im 23 and newly married, my weight and my self esteem is going to ruin my marriage, on top of it, its starting to make my day to day life harder. Im 5'6 260 lbs, I have no health related issues yet but they run rampant in my family. My bmi is 41, and I know Im a candidate. Ive done all the normal diets, I eat well and walk daily, but I just dont lose anything. I have healthnet insurance, I just got put on my husbands and have no primary care physician yet. Will a primary have to refer me to a bariatric doctor? Does anyone have any expierence with Healthnet and having this surgery done? Did they go for it or did they give you the run around? How much of the surgery do they cover? Once I get affiliated with a doctor how long does it usually take to go through all the testing to the actually surgery date? Has anyone use Jonathan Aranow? What were yuor expierences with him? What did the surgery with him cost? Even the thought of all of this makes me extremely emotional, but I know its betterfor me. We want to have children and at this weight it just isnt safe. Any help or advice anyone can offer would be great. Im sick to my stomache at the thought of it. All I can imagine is them telling me Im not fat enough. Thanks Amanda

Hi Amanda. Welcome to the boards! You will find LOTS of support here!!! If you have a question, just ask and there will be someone there to answer. There are quite a few on this board that use Dr. Aranow. I am one! I am still pre-op and will be having the RNY, but I can tell you that Dr. A is fantastic! The first thing you need to do in order to see Dr. A is to call his office (860-347-9167) and sign up for his informational session. He holds one every month and the classes are usually pretty full. They are held at Middlesex Hosp from 5:30 - 7:30 pm. You get to learn about who he is and what surgeries he performs and all other questions you may have. Bring your husband with you! After going to that meeting, you can make an appointment to see him. I can tell you that from what I've heard with HealthNet (and you can call to verify), they will cover the surgery, but you need 6 consecutive months DOCUMENTED that you are seeing your PCP for exercise & nutrition counseling. It MUST be documented or they will deny you and you'll have to start all over again. I'd suggest that you get a PCP ASAP and start seeing him or her. The cost of the surgery depends on your insurance. You are qualified if you have a BMI of 40 or more, so don't worry about that. If you were 35 - 40 with co-morbidities (sleep apnea, diabetes, heart issues, etc), then you'd be qualified. You are not unlike anyone else who has first thought of having the surgery. Everyone questioned if they were really just taking the easy way out - if they could really do this on their own or if they truly needed this surgery. I know I did. You're not alone. I hope this helps! Please keep us updated on your progress!!! Michelle

Hello Amanda, Welcome to our Ct message board! We are one big family here. Too bad you just missed our Halloween party last weekend but there wiill be more events coming in the future. I am Dr A 's patient and became first deaf patient who had gastric bypass in Ct by Dr Aranow. I trust Dr Aranow's work and he is gifted for this surgery. It costs me to pay 250.00 out of my pocket and the rest of cost paid by my insurance company. I have Federal Blue Cross . Dr Aranow is a tough love doctor . You have to meet our group here who live near you. Paula H. (closer to you), Terri , Nancy K and I are from Waterford.. Please feel free ask us some questions. You know having this surgery is not going save your marriage but will make your feel more healthier and boost your self esteem IF you are using your tools to make successfully like we are. I am looking forward to meet you someday Hugs Kathy K

Hi Amanda & welcome. Yes, you do get referred from your PCP to a bariatric surgeon. There are a few around the state. If you look up on the top left hand side of your screen you can locate one near you, or otherwise if you so choose. (to find a PCP in your area that your ins covers, just call your ins co) They will then sign you up for an info session and give you a packet of information along with all the requirements that need to be completed. Once those are all completed.....the phych evaluation......the physical.....the endoscopy....the nutritionist....etc...then they will submit to your ins co. Please let me know if you have any questions. Which surgery did you want to have? I am a lap band patient. Talk to you soon. Bree

Hi Amanda I live in Westerly and I had Dr Aranow do my surgery. I love him. My husband also had his surgery with him. There are about 7 of us in Westerly that have had him for our surgeon. He's worth the trip, believe me. If you are 100 pounds overweight and have a BMI of over 40, you qualify for this surgery. You first have to call his office 860-347-9167 and get on the list for his next seminar (it will be next month on a Tues night, 5:30-7:30pm) After you attend his seminar (which is totaly awesome), you can then call the office and set up an initial meeting and greet with Dr Aranow. He will then go over everything that you fill out in the packet of info that you receive at the seminar. He will then let you know if he feels you are a good candidate for this surgery. If you'd like RNY or a lap band. You ask all of your questions at this session. He then, (at this same meeting) will give you a check list of things you will have to do to prepare you for this surgery. Tests, psych consult, dietitian consults, weight loss, stop smoking if you do, start vitamins, and to lose a set amount of weight and attend required support groups, seminars, etc. Once you complete all of these things on the list, your chart gets his "all clear" and then you will be sent for insurance approval. Then a date will be set. As for Healthmate, is it through CT or RI? A lot of CT insurances (and some others, also) make you do 6 months of diet counseling prior to surgery. You have to call them and ask what is covered. Some don't require this, some do. More are lately. Mine didn't, I have BCBS Federal. Dr Aranow will tell you about your insurance plan at your initial session. He's got all of the plans in his little palm pilot. He will also give you an ins. code to call and ask your ins to give and find out what's covered, etc. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. Don't feel so down about yourself. Do something positive to change your life! Don't be afraid of this...I know it's a huge decision to make, but I made up my mind when one night I thought I was having a stroke and knew I had to do something. It was Dr A's seminar that convinced me. You're a very young person. You should have no problems with surgery. Dr Aranow's success rate is very high and his incidence rate is very, very low. He does SO many of these (over 1000 since 2003) that it's like second nature for him to do it and he's perfected the prodcedure. Plus, you want to go to a surgeon that works from a "Center Of Excellence in Bariatric Surgery". They are highly trained and set to high standards when given this title. They are put through scrutiny to get it, having office calls by auditors, going through patient files, visits to the OR and patient rooms and see how the nurses treat the patients in the hospital. Another thing I like about Dr Aranow is that you meet him in the beginning of your journey to have this surgery. Some surgeons don't even meet you until you have all your tests done and you're ready for surgery and you meet them the week or so before. How do you know you'll even like or trust this person to cut you open if you don't know them? This is why he meets you early on. So that you can make this decision. This is his decision to meet you early, he wants it that way. Good luck in your journey and your decision making. It's tough at first and can be grueling running up and down 95 to Rte 9 (it's exactly one hour)...but, it's worth it. It helps to bring your husband along to the seminar. Let him understand what you want to do to better your life and your health. Also, go to Amazon.com to look up all the weight loss books available, including Carnie Wilson's first book...then, go to Westerly Library online and take these books out or order them to be delivered to the library and read...the better knowledge you have of this procedure, the better off you'll be. Educate yourself and gain wisdom in this. It helped me immensly. Paula

Hi Amanda, I have Healthnet and had no problems at all. Healthnet paid for everything, I didn't pay any out of pocket expenses except for my nutritionist appointment. I started at 5'6" and 263 pounds and am now at 154 lbs and a size 8. My surgeon was Dr. Bell out of Yale New Haven and I chose him because of his experience with laproscopic RNY. I can't say enough good things about Dr. Bell and will recommend and rave about him to anyone who will listen The laproscopic procedure has a much easier recovery time since you will only have 6 itty bitty incisions (you can't even see mine anymore) instead of a 4-6 inch vertical incision as with the open surgery. The best way I can recommend to start the journey is to make an appointment with your general physician for a full physical and ask him for a letter of recommendation for the surgery. While you're there, it won't hurt to complain about your knees or back and reflux if you don't have any other medical issues. If you can, get another letter from your OBGYN and or copies of any records where they may have counseled you on your weight. Dr. Bells office will send you out a packet to fill out about your health and dieting history and they will also want the letters from your doctors. Having this up front will speed up the process tremendously. You will then need to make appointments with a Nutritionist... I used Yales ($100.00 ish) and also a pych consultation. You can use Yale's or one of your choice. I used Mary Ann Salvio out of New London because she was able to bill insurance so I didn't pay anything out of pocket. Once all the paperwork is submitted back to the office, you will be called to come for a group appointment to meet Dr. Bell. He will explain the procedure in detail and give ample time for all questions you may have. All the people in this group meeting with you will be scheduled for surgery within a month or so from this meeting. Things will move pretty fast for you as long as you have all your ducks in a row with the paperwork. My whole process took about 4 months. It was the best thing I ever did for myself and I have absolutely no regrets. Oh, one other plus with Dr. Bell is there is no bizarre fasting that has to be done before surgery and you will not be told you have to lose at least 10 pounds before surgery. You will only have to eat a lite diet for the two days before surgery such as salads and soups...... no starving yourself beforehand like most of the other surgeons make you do. Good Luck!!! ~Sue C.