Dr Fullum-Havre de Grace

Hello!
I am new.  I am just beginning my WLJ.  My first appointment with Dr Fullums office in Havre de Grace is 6/3/10.  I'm looking for anyone in the area that has experience with him.  

Also looking for experience with approval process with Blue Cross/Blue Choice insurance.  They were very quick to reply that WLS is a covered benefit and then gave me the phone number for my selected doctor to call to begin the approval process.  Since I have an  HMO, I had to visit PCP first and then he referred me to Dr Fullum.  

I am 38 years old.  Married, one beautiful red-headed 2 1/2 year old daughter who is my drive to live a longer, healthier life.  I live in Havre de Grace.  

This site is new to me!  I'm hoping to find support & friendship here.  

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Carla

I am also having trouble getting my avatar pic up!  I am not a computer illiterate at all. I know what I'm doing and I belong to several message boards.  Grrrrrr   My pic is under 20K and less than 100x100 and it still won't load.  Any suggestions? 

::waves::

Hi - I live in Aberdeen.  I did not have Dr. Fullum - but I did have his partner Dr. McKenna and I adored him.  I've met Dr. Fullum and he's a great surgeon as well - in fact Dr. McKenna and Dr. Fullum work as a team in the operating room and I believe Dr. Fullum actually assisted with my surgery - I'm not 100% sure because well, I was kind of out of it. 

I love him as a surgeon and his practice is wonderful.  You'll deal mostly with their staff, but they are tops in my book - absolutely fantastic.

I had Carefirst BCBS - I had to do a six month Dr. Supervised Weight loss, and I had to get a letter of medical necessity from my primary care.  The UC Bariatric team also has a host of appointments they require.  Once I had finished all that, I submitted for approval on Tuesday, got approval on Thursday, and had surgery in two weeks.

I recommend calling the practice immediately and getting in on their next information seminar - they won't make an appointment until you've attended.

Good luck!

Hi Bernice!  Nice to meet you!

That makes me so optimistic about my insurance.  I didn't want to have the surgery until January and it looks like all of the timing is going to work out for me!

I already attended the seminar with Dr Fullum.  He is just an amazing speaker.  My first appointment with the staff is June 3rd.  I am so excited.

What kinds of things go on at that first appointment? 

I found out today that I have high cholesterol and very high triglycerides.  Although that is bad news, it might actually help me get approved.  I am dieting now and I have lost 16 pounds since April 20th.  I'm very excited about that. 

My primary care has also told me that he knows he has to write a letter of necessity and he said he will do it as soon as it is time in the approval process.  He said he'll do anything he can to help get me approved.  I see Dr Lopresti in Edgewood.  I used to see Dr Kroker in that practice, but she moved over to Upper Chesapeake Hospital in a teaching capacity.  I actually like Dr Lopresti better!

Well, I hope to get to know you better. 

Thanks so much for replying. 
:) 
Carla

Be prepared - your first appointment will take a few hours.  You'll meet with the entire team except the surgeon - you won't meet with him for a while.  They'll go over your insurance, pre-op requirements, and the surgery.  I had to take a test!  You'll meet with Chris the nurse, Liz the exercize specialist, the nutritionist, and Cindy Dillon - the behavioral therapist.  Once I had that first appointment, I didn't have to go back to them until I was done my six month's supervised weightloss and had all my testing done.

On top of the 16 you've lost, you'll have to lose another 10-15 pounds prior to your surgery.  It's the practice's requirement.

I love this practice.  The doctors have wonderful bedside manner and are very skilled.  Dr. McKenna was my advocate in the hospital and spoke up for what I needed.

Good luck on your journey.  Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or want some support - we live relatively close by each other.

Hi Bernice -

I hope you are well.  

Dr. Fullum is doing my revision surgery at Howard Univ Hospital next month.  (Fyi:  My Realize band malfunctioned, and Dr. Fullum and I decided it was best to do a revision to a sleeve gastrectomy.)  I haven't had my meeting with the nutritionist yet even though my surgery is June 10. 

Would you mind telling me about your pre-op and post-op diet, specifically how long was each phase (liquid, full liquid, puree, soft, etc.)?  For example, when I had band surgery (at Temple Univ. in Philly), I had to do a two week liquid pre-op diet.  Any information would be appreciated!

Also, did you have your surgery at Howard University Hospital?  If so, would you mind giving me some info about the hospital?  I haven't seen the Howard Univ. Hospital rooms or the bariatric wing, so any info you can give me would be appreciated.  Did you stay in the hospital overnight?  Did you share a room with another patient?   

Thanks so very much!

I actually had my surgery with Dr. McKenna - he and Dr. Fullum tag team operate once a week in Havre de Grace at Harford Memorial hospital, which is where I had my surgery.  I do know that both Dr. Fullum and Dr. McKenna have other practices - Dr. Fullum in the DC area and Dr. McKenna in Frederick. 

Upper Chesapeake only requires a pre-op liquid diet if you haven't lost the required amount of weight prior to your surgery, so I didn't have one.  I elected to do fluids only the day before my surgery because I didn't want to have to go to the potty while I was in the hospital.

Post Op I did liquids for 1 week, mushies for 3 weeks, and then solids - however I had RNY, not the sleeve, so I don't really know if there would be any differences.