I'm a Newbie

I am totally new to this site and am awaiting my first consult with the surgeon on Monday!! Thankfully I have medicare approval but I'm a little aprehensive that I won't have the choices that someone who pays might have. If anyone has any advice... it would certainly be appreciated... nervous as heck...

Hi Angela Welcome to this site. You will not be disappointed. The people that use it are very wise and they give good advise, because they have all gone through it one way or another. I am almost 4 weeks post op. I had the lap band. It was a breeze. recovery was so simple. There are times I think it did not happen and then I look for the port. I only have one regreat is that I wish I knew about this years ago. I also looked at the different options that are out there, and most of those scared me. It is mainly the agressivness of the procedure. I did not wanted my intestines resected. All of the restrictions with your diet and all of the supplement that you have to take. Then to see when you compare the end results, there were none when it came to the amount you lost in 2 years. Of all the advice one can get is do your home work. Knowledge is power. Being well informed you can tell your Dr. what you want because you know why you want it that way. There are some Dr's out there that try to persuade their pt's to have the procedure that they want to do and it may not be for the best procedure for that patient. You can e-mail me with any question. Good luck with your appoitment. Laurie

Hi Laurie!! I want the LapBand done as well.. I have done a lot of research BUT... medicare doesn't cover the cost of the band.. I will know more on Monday when I meet with the Dr. How come you went to Ontario to have it done? Is there something I should know about the Dr. here in Moncton?? *L*.. thanks so much for your response and congrats on how well your procedure went!!! I too want to be a loser just like you!! *L* Angela

Hi, I had my consult with the Dr In moncton already, and you are right...the cost of the band is not covered....but you can choose to pay the cost of the band which is 4500( go****hink that is what the Dr said...it has been over a month ago now that I had my appointment...pretty sure that is the price he said) and have the band if you would like. Medicare will cover the rest of the cost. But not many people can come up with the 4500 to pay for the band itself. I am still waiting to get my consult with the internist so that I can get a letter off to medicare to get approval. Good luck on monday! Lori

Thanks!!! I was lucky.. I went the other route.. saw all the specialists first and got medicare approval.. THEN i go see the surgeon... I wonder what kind of wait time there is for Dr. Beausoliel in Moncton for the actual surgery? did they tell you.. and wow.. 4500 bucks.. i will never be able to come up with that.. damn.. I will have to figure something out.. Thanks again!! Ang

Hi, Dr B said that I had done the waiting already...so as soon as I hear from the other Dr and then get a letter from medicare to get a hold of him and he will schedule it. He said that he only sees 3 new patients at a time, then puts them through the process and when those are done he picks some new ones off the list. So he said likely everything would be said and done no longer then 6-9 months. Could be sooner depending on when I got the appointment with the internist and the letter. I had waited 16 months to see Dr B. How long did it take you to get into the internist and get your letter from medicare?? Talk to you soon Lori

Oh yes, I wanted to tell you too. You go see the Dr on Monday..... It is a long wait! Or it was for me. My appointment was for 2:30. So I went right in then and saw the nurse for about half an hour. Then back to the waiting room to wait to see the Dr. I didn't get into see him until a little after 5. I guess he is a busy man! But he is really good, he will stay there and answer as man questions as you want. He takes his time with you. Which specialist did you go to see? And how long did it take to get your letter from Medicare? Talk to you soon Lori

Hi again Lori!! I went to see Dr. Usman Chaudrhy as my internist in Moncton. It took me 9 months to get an appointment with him as he is an Oncology specialist too.. very busy fella...I first saw him in November 2005, had a load of tests he wanted me to get done, then his office called me to come in to see him again in March, I did, he said he recommended I get this surgery done, he woudl send the paperwork to Medicare for me and send my referral to Dr. Beausoliel.... (Lucky me I guess)... I got my medicare approval letter 3 weeks ago... I called Dr. Beausoliel's office, to find out where I was on the list.. she said she couldn't tell because I had to get medicare approval.. i told her i already have the letter from them.... so she asked me to fax it to her and gave me my appointment for Monday the 5th!!... so I really only waited 3 weeks to see Dr. Beausoliel... His secretary told me to bring a good book cuzz I will probably be there for a while LOL.. I'm very concerned though.. I have done a lot of research and was hellbent on having the LapBand ... but come to find out that Medicare doesn't cover the band itself.. they will cover the surgery but I would have to pay for the band.. that hardly seems right.. oh well I will see what Dr. Beausoliel has to say... I am so glad that I found a few people close by our area that are getting this done or thinking about getting this done.. *S* Talk to you soon.. Angela

Hi Angela, I'm in the process of waiting for my consult. Although I have been waiting since August 2005 to get into see him. I do have the approval from PEI health care. I think he takes ppl in New Brunswick faster then he does out of province referals (although i dont think thats fair) I was told that you have to pay 1000$ before the surgery for lap band and $4500 when you go to the hospital. Although you get lapband alot quicker then the RNY. Hope that helps Charity