Wasington gal en route to Oregon! "Good Samaritan" in Portland?

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Heather,
  Congrats on the surgery. I also went to Good Sam. My process went pretty fast. I started the process for Lap- band  On August 1, 2008 i had my surgery on November 7, 2008. I think that both doctors are great. However, I think that Dr.Patterson bed side manners are a littler better with Dr. Halpin she seems harsh at first but then she gets better. If you want to know more please feel free to PM and maybe we can chat.
  

   Dr. Patterson did my RNY in April and I highly recommend her.  She has kind of a no nonsense, straight forward way of talking but she is really nice and has an excellent reputation as a surgeon.  I actually waited an extra 3 weeks to have my surgery so I could have her do it.  There were 2 other surgeons who could have done it sooner.   Dr. Patterson also does surgery in Vancouver,WA and has an office here, so that might be another option for you to get a little closer to home.  
                                                                                                  Angie

I, too, had Dr. Patterson as my surgeon for lap band surgery.  I liked her. I had gone to two other seminars at different hospitals trying to find a surgeon that I "clicked" with, and I found that with Dr. Patterson.  She has an excellent reputation and is a very capable surgeon. 

To be fair, Dr. Halpin is new the the OWLS program, but she got great reviews from her previous position.    In my follow up visits I have had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. H, and have found her just as straighforward and compassionate as Dr. P.  Give her a chance to, and I don't think you will be disappointed. 

Both are very capable Doctors, you just need to find the one that matches your personality.

Best of luck with your surgery Heather.................

I know this is late but Good Sam is wonderful. I went to the info meeting on April 15, 2008 & had my surgery July 31, 2008. Dr Halpin is wonderful as are the rest of the people in the clinic. By the way I had RNY.
Congratulations on your decision & best wishes for success.
Blessings,
Linda

Thanks for more info!  I'm really looking forward to that program...  My morning here has been AWFUL, I've been on the phone with my case manager nearly in tears... but things have worked out, and he's made a contact agreement with me.  So, I'm happy now and moving forward. 

I've gone to their seminar now and am just waiting for my official referral letter from UMP - Uniform Medical Plan - to schedule my intake with them.  I'm crossing my fingers like a mad woman, just praying that this works out to my advantage.  I should know in about 20 days whether my insurance is going to allow me to move to the next phase, so happy as a clam atm. 

:)

Take care, everyone!

Heather

  So have you heard anything from your insurance yet?  Hope you've gotten some good news by now.
                                                                                       Angie

Hello, gals...

I have not heard anything positive from my insurance company as of yet, and have been staying away from the boards.  I'm just so frustrated and disgusted with this whole process.  I have no idea how anyone survives the pre-approval process!  In spite of that, I am still working on moving forward.  Still losing weight, still following my diet (with the exception of one stress and PMS induced binge!), and have amped up my workout program. 

In the interim, though, I have not heard form my CM.  I had left a message and not gotten a response - totally not his fault.  I actually really like him, but this program has only recently been approved (lap band as an option was only added in Feb) and he's the ONLY obesity CM.  IN the beginning of any program, there's TONS of applicants who have just been waiting for the pilot year.  I should know!  I'm one of them!  So, anyway - great guy with an unfortunately HUGE caseload.  So, I called him again yesterday and left a question on his machine so that then I knew he would call me back to answer it.  Did he ever! 

It was a stupid, stupid question, and one that I should have known the answer to:  I'm sending a confirmed weight from my MD's office and asked if I needed to continue sending weights to him every other week.  Now, I know that I don't have to, but the question was based upon the premise that my MD's office failed to fax my last confirmed weight - the issue two weeks ago that nearly got me dropped from the program.  What I meant to say was, "in case the office doesn't send one."  I didn't.  So, I get a return message that basically says that that is information I should know, and it's alarming that I don't.  That maybe I'm not really paying attention or reading my packet. 

I called him back and left another message - no response yet - and once again failed to say what I wanted to say.  What I wanted to stress was how much it upset me when my doctor forgot to fax the last weight and almost cost me the program, and to explain that I have this ridiculous, almost pathological level of anxiety ALL THE TIME anyway, and that is why I had asked the question.  By then, though, I was once again too upset to really even begin to put it into words, and just wanted to not cry.  So what I did say was, "Yes, but I have some confusion over what that means; my information packet says that I have to still do two years of case management.  All that's meant so far is turning in weights, so I incorrectly assumed that I would have to continue to do so."  What the heck?  I just freeze up and get upset every time I have to talk to anyone who can make a decision about this, and I don't know why!!!  I feel like telling him, "Dude, this feels like I'm sabotaging myself - and totally sounds like it too!!! - but I'm just overwhelmed by this whole process and don't want to bother you with my stupid, neurotic issues, because I know that you're job is too big right now, dealing with I don't even know how many others exactly like me." 

So, that's where I am with the insurance.  I've never even had to deal with an insurance company on this level before.  But, like I said, I am still accomplishing a lot and feeling really, really good about my own progress... just hoping that I don't get thwarted by an insurance company or my own voicelessness. 

Thanks for listening... I know I ramble. 

Heather