Hi Shelley - I had my surgery done in Boston, the only two Bariatric clinics in this area are at Fletcher Allen in Burlington and Dartmouth Hitch**** in Lebanon. I went to Boston because the approval process with the Surgeon was much faster. My first visit was in Feb. and my surgery was June 23rd. However I had been considering this surgery for two years prior so I am very well educated on the subject and did go through Dartmouths program two years ago and then chickend out. So when I made my final decission I wanted the process to go really quickly so thats why Boston. My insurance has an out of network standard level of benefits so we have to come up with $3,000 out of pocket and then the insurance will cover the rest in a calendar year so even though I got it done much faster I did have to pay more. If I had had the surgery at Dartmouth of Fletcher Allen I would have only paid $500.00. Also, last I knew Fletcher Allen did not do laproscopic proceedures and I wouldn't have gone any other way. Hope that helps, let me know if I can be of further assistance to you. Thanks! Melissa

I wanted to thank everyone who called, emailed, and faxed Governor Doyle's office. Our efforts have paid off.

I got this update this morning from Dr. Garren.

"Success!
Governor Doyle has vetoed the bill eliminating Bariatric Surgery
Coverage from Wisconsin Medicaid!"

Please call and thank the Governor!
We did it!
608-266-1212 (Gov Doyle's Office)

We are trying to find more details about the veto and will let you know when we find out.

Thanks members :clap:

Amy

Hi Christine! My name is Allee and I live in Lyndon, VT...northeastern corner of the state. I had RNY in Lebanon, NH on 11/22/04 and have lost 111 pounds. Welcome to Vermont...Now is the time to really appreciate how beautiful the state is. Allee

Hi all,

I am working on an article on obesity in animals for ObesityHelp Magazine. Have any of you (like me) had an animal with a weight problem?
If so...
What was your pet eating when it gained weight?
How often was it fed? (did you free-feed?)
What did you do to help your pet lose weight?
Did your pet develop obesity co-morbidities?
Did those co-morbidities resolve when the weight came off?

I'd love to hear from you.

Send me high-res pictures if you would like us to consider printing a picture of your pet in the magazine or on the magazine website when the article goes to print.

Please reply to this post or send me an e-mail at [email protected].

Thanks!!!

Nikki Johnson
Managing Editor
ObesityHelp Magazine

Hey Guys :wave:

It's wonderful to be able to come to this site everyday and know it's here and available for us! Obesityhelp for many years now has been my home away from home. It's been wonderful coming here each day and knowing that I can help someone or support someone, but also knowing I'll get the same support in return. This is what makes it something I come back to each day.

It takes a lot for a site of this magnitude to stay up and running with all the members we have now! WOW!

My biggest thing since surgery has been to give back. There are many ways to give back, you can volunteer to help on the site.
There are many things you can do:
You can start your own support group in your area
Email Monica Ganz to become a Chapter Leader! ([email protected])
Help other members by pointing them in the right direction on the site
If you are not comfortable with guiding other members you can also give back by posting to your profile. Many members read profiles daily. It's not a requirement to share your story, but I do so to help others.


There are some who are able to financially help this site and what another great way to give back, not to mention you get a nice "sponsor tag" added to your profile page too!
I'm a proud sponsor myself :jump:
Here's a link for more information:
http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/whysupportus.phtml
Click here to become a sponsor :)
http://www.obesityhelpstore.com/products_Sponsorships.htm


Regardless of how you help, it's the little things that mean so much, even signing a surgery support page is another example of this. So take a moment of your time today in memory of our dear Momma Angel :angel: to welcome another member or even sign someone's surgery page. That little support to another member can mean so much, remember how it meant to you?
Look at all these upcoming surgeries!
http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/surgerydates.phtml


Thanks for being apart of this site. Everyone's so appreciated. :kiss:

Amy
615/314/Healthy (-301lbs) :jump: