Okay, where do I start this Journey? Seeking Advice In Baltimore

Okay , so I have made the choice to have the surgery, but I am on info overload.

I'm in Baltimore, and I would like some help finding out information for my part of town.

Any advise would help.

To be honest, I'm scared, and need a hand, getting this together!  

Jacki

Hi Jacki!

It can be an overwhelming process.  But congrats on making the important decision to do this for yourself.  I promise you, you won't regret it.

I believe the first thing I did was call my insurance company to determine what they covered.  There are a lot of different types of surgeries, and not all are covered by all insurances. 

Have you researched the different types of surgeries?  If not, you should do that also.  There are many surgical forums here on OH, and on the Maryland Board, there are representatives from just about every type of surgery - and no one on here is shy about giving you their opinion about their doctor and/or surgery type.

You'll also want to attend some information sessions with doctors in the area.  Those will be enormously beneficial to you and may help you decide on a surgeon.

I hope this helps for now.  It also helps to take good notes and keep track of who told you what and when.

Good luck,

Tia

Hello Jacki, I am no expert by all means but I must say that there are alot of good people here who will support and encourage you 100%. The choice is your in the end. I hear that there are many Doctors in Balt. I would start with looking for a Doc then going for a consult. I think that is how many started here. Calm down and do lots of research and attend meeting. At meetings you will learn so much. I welcome you to the MD board and I am sure many will chime in later. I wish you much luck on your journey and success in finding the right surgery and Doc for you.




                                                                                                          Julie

Good morning Jacki,

Welcome to the Maryland forum.   There are a lot of good doctors out there in the Baltimore/Washington area and I am sure you will get good feedback on most of them.   I personally had my surgery 5 1/2 years ago in Salisbury because I was not too keen on the selection of surgeons in this area at that time.   If I had to make the choice now, I would probably chose DVR (David Von Ruden).

Is your primary care physician on board with this?   Does he/she have a recommendation or r eferral for you?   That might be a place to start as well.   Most of the bariatric surgeons have a required seminar/information session that you can attend free of charge to get information on the procedure as well as their requirements.

Now that you have made up your mind, best wishes on your journey!  It is a ride of a lifetime.

Hugs, Mo

I would echo the above--especially seeing which doc your insurance works with and then attend their information session.  I took my time--way too much time--but it was worth it and the best decision I've ever made.  I attended 4 info sessions and chose my surgeon basd on that and research I had done on-line and from a friend who had the surgery.  What is most importatnt is to mak ethe decision to do it.  When you see the doc for the 1st time and he goes over the pre-certification process and all the testing, you may think that you can't or won't do it or that the 3-6 month time frame is too much.  It goes by very quickly.  Good Luck!!

H Jacki,

I can't offer anything more than what the others have already told you...great advice.  I did, however, wanted to welcome you to the Maryland board and wish you good luck!

Heather

I just knew this was the place to ask, and get my questions answered.

I realize that its not going to be a cakewalk.  I thought about it before, spoke with my PC doctor, and got approved for surgery.  I have since changed to a better doctor, but still have the same 
Insurance company.  

I am afraid, of what this will entail, but I'm more afraid of facing  the rest of a very short life, if I don't do something drastic, very soon.

What I really want to know is how long does it take from the first doctor's appointment, to finally doing the surgery.  Just a general  idea, of course. I know that there are tests to do, and things like that, but just a general idea, would really help me alot

And thanks again for all answers, and help. Feel free to private message (PM) me.


 

Jacki -

That's a really hard question to answer, because as you stated, there are a lot of variables.

I went in for my consult with DVR on March 23, 2005, knowing I wanted to wait until the summer, and came out that same night with approval and a date of August 2, 2005.  That gave me plenty of time to have all my tests done (and there were a ton), and focus on eating better, as I weighed in monthly with his office.

You're right, it's not a cakewalk, although my approval, surgery and immediate recovery WERE pieces of cake.  It's different for everyone, though.  And you're so right - the alternative is MUCH scarier.

HTH,

Tia

My insurance required either six months of weight-loss or two sets of three months all within the last two years. I have Blue Cross Blue Choice through the school system where I work. I had three months documented when I went to Dr. Von Rueden for the first time June 7. By August 5  I had all of the other months and my tests done (the first visit counted as the first month, July the second, and August 5 the third). They submitted me for insurance around the 17th of August and I found out I was approved September 15. They called me yesterday morning (Sept 21) to set a date. If you want to read any of what I went through feel free to read my blog on my page here. Good luck! :)

Jacki, I can't really add anything to what has already been said. Welcome to the MD Board!