Hi Everyone! This Month: If you haven't been able to come to a meeting in a while, or haven't yet attended, this is the month to come! We are having a little Christmas Party...and the only present we want is to see you!!! No gifts required! Just bring yourself, someone special in your life, and your favorite potluck dish, finger-food, or appetizer! If you can't bring anything, don't worry! Come anyway! There's always plenty for everyone! The Beckley WLS Support Group meeting will be held on MONDAY, December 19th, from 7:00-9:00pm at Raleigh General Hospital on Harper Road, Beckley. Our meeting location is in the Education Center (annex building on the Kroger side of RGH). Entrance is at the top of the wheelchair ramp. Guests are welcome and everyone is encouraged to attend! CLOTHING EXCHANGE: We will now have a clothing exchange at each meeting! You are welcome to bring any clothes that no longer fit you and take home some that do. As you lose out of them, bring them back and exchange them for others! You do not have to bring clothing to take clothing, and bringing clothing is not required. Restaurant cards for Dr. Shin and Dr. Stickler's patients (as well as some other area doctors) will be available for anyone who needs one. There will be a door-prize drawing for anyone attending who has had weight-loss surgery. Don't forget to bring a recipe (or two...or three) for our online group cookbook (or you can email them to us), a "before" picture (if you have one), or even bring some "before" clothes! Things have been really quiet online, so if you haven't posted a message yet, now's the time! A Yahoo Group just for the Beckley WLS Support Group is online! Now you can talk to a fellow support group member anytime! Let's get our online group going by posting a message today! http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/beckleywlssg/ (If you don't already have a Yahoo ID, getting one is easy and FREE!) You can view our monthly calendar on the Yahoo Group at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/beckleywlssg/cal, or by visiting our support group website at http://www.geocities.com/beckleywlssg/ The 2005 meeting dates are also listed below. 2006 dates will be available soon. Looking forward to seeing you Monday! Beth ------------------------------ 2005 Beckley WLS Support Group meeting dates: Monday, December 19 ------------------------------ If you would like to be added to the Beckley WLS Support Group Meeting mailing list, please send an email to [email protected]. Please include your first and last names, email address for reminders, and your Yahoo! ID (if you have one).

I have a friend that is doing a study of pre- & post- care. His question is ... If you could, what would you do differently if you knew then what you know now? Please be frank & brutually honest. For that reason, if you don't wish to post here you can email your responses directly to me at [email protected]. This is purely for research purposes, no names, or any other personal information would be used. He's interested in knowing what you would like to see change with regard to care... Body, spirit, diet, socially ... everything. In advance, thanks for your help! Colista

Mary's surgery is on Friday morning. She is incredibly excited and so very proud of herself. Today is Day 11 of nothing but Carnation Instant Breakfast, broth, SF Jellow and SF Popsicles. She has had nothing else to eat since this started. I had my surgery on 10/21/05 and we are both so looking forward to our new life and adventures together. Curt 341/285/? and Mary

Please let your elected officials and medicare know how your procedure has changed your life for the positive and that it should be covered. I feel the type of surgery to be performed should be decided by the patient and the doctor. Once medicare makes the change- private insurance companies will follow thier lead. Comments to: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/mcd/public_comment.asp?nca_id=160&basketitem= Also send a note to your Senator, Representative and President: http://mygov.governmentguide.com/mygov/home/ here is what Medicare has to say: "The evidence is not adequate to conclude that the following bariatric surgery procedures are reasonable and necessary and they are therefore non-covered for ALL Medicare beneficiaries: open vertical banded gastroplasty, laparoscopic vertical banded gastroplasty, open sleeve gastrectomy, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, open adjustable gastric banding, open biliopancreatic diversion with or without duodenal switch, and laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion with or without duodenal switch. The two non-coverage determinations in the National Coverage Determination Manual (NCDM) remain unchanged: Gastric Balloon (NCDM Section 100.11) and Intestinal Bypass (NCDM Section 100.8). " *** While the procedures above are not the most popular the decision on which procedure would be the most medically appropriate for the patient should be between the patient and doctor. I personally want to have the duodenal switch procedure. And my doctor is in agreement. Please oppose medicare not allowing medically proven procedures like the open biliopancreatic diversion with or without duodenal switch, and laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion with or without duodenal switch. I believe the other procedures have thier specific place in the treatment of specific patients*** TEXT IS BELOW: Proposed Decision Memo for Bariatric Surgery for the Treatment of Morbid Obesity (CAG-00250R) Decision Summary The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposes that National Coverage Determination (NCD) Manual sections 40.5 and 100.1 be modified to be consistent with the following conclusions: The evidence is adequate to conclude that open and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) are reasonable and necessary for Medicare beneficiaries who are under 65 years of age, have a body-mass index (BMI) > 35, have at least one co-morbidity related to obesity, and have been previously unsuccessful with medical treatment for obesity. CMS is seeking comment on this evidence and its implications for coverage, and for the range of patients under age 65 who would be covered. We are particularly interested in comments on the potential to expand coverage for this population under the "Coverage with Evidence Development" (CED) option. In addition, the evidence is adequate to conclude that approved bariatric surgery procedures for Medicare beneficiaries are reasonable and necessary if the facility performing the procedure meets the following CMS facility standards: Each institution will have a credentialing program that ensures that surgeons performing bariatric surgery shall have; appropriate board certification, training and experience that meet approved nationally recognized guidelines, and training and clinical expertise in managing and treating morbidly obese patients prior to the decision to undertake surgery and have experience in managing post-surgery patients for at least one year after surgery. Each institution will ensure that individuals who provide services and/or supervise services in the bariatric surgery program are qualified to provide or supervise such services. Each institution will have an integrated program for the care of the morbidly obese patient that provides: ancillary services such as specialized nursing care, dietary instruction, counseling, support groups, exercise training, and psychological assistance as needed; a multidisciplinary bariatric surgery team with written descriptions of the responsibilities of each member of the team. The team must be composed of individuals with the appropriate qualifications, training and experience in the relevant areas of bariatric surgery, rehabilitation, critical care anesthesia, and nutrition counseling for the morbidly obese and post-bariatric surgery patients. Each institution will establish and implement written policies to address and document adverse events that occur during the management of a bariatric surgery patient. Each institution will have staff and readily available consultants in cardiology, pulmonology, rehabilitation and psychiatry who have prior experience with bariatric surgery patients. Each institution will have a written informed consent process that informs each patient of: 1) the evaluation process; 2) the surgical procedure; 3) alternative treatments; 4) national and center-specific rates for potential surgical risks, hospital lengths of stays, 30-day mortality and other relevant outcome measures; 5) risk factors that could affect the success of the surgery; 6) the patient's right to refuse the intervention. Each institution will have sufficient operating room tables, equipment, instruments and supplies specifically designed or appropriate for bariatric surgery; a recovery room capable of providing critical care to obese patients; an intensive care unit with similar capabilities; equipment with manufacturer's specifications, such as hospital beds, commodes, chairs, wheelchairs, etc., that accommodate the morbidly obese; and radiology and other diagnostic equipment capable of handling morbidly obese patients. The evidence is not adequate to conclude that open and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) are reasonable and necessary for Medicare beneficiaries who are 65 years of age or older; therefore, CMS will non-cover these procedures in this population. The evidence is not adequate to conclude that the following bariatric surgery procedures are reasonable and necessary and they are therefore non-covered for all Medicare beneficiaries: open vertical banded gastroplasty, laparoscopic vertical banded gastroplasty, open sleeve gastrectomy, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, open adjustable gastric banding, open biliopancreatic diversion with or without duodenal switch, and laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion with or without duodenal switch. The two non-coverage determinations in the National Coverage Determination Manual (NCDM) remain unchanged: Gastric Balloon (NCDM Section 100.11) and Intestinal Bypass (NCDM Section 100.8). CMS is requesting comment on this proposed decision. We are specifically interested in comments on the potential to cover the 65 and older population under CED. Though we have not finalized the CED Guidance Document, we believe this issue does meet the general guidelines outlined in that draft guidance document. CED would also allow the expansion of national coverage to this older population, with some limitations. Adherence to Departmental regulations including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA, Public Law 104-191) and human research protections (45 CFR Part 46) would, as with all CED, be a requirement. We are also asking for public comment on the facility criteria to include the potential to establish more definitive bariatric surgery volume criteria for facilities and surgeons. In addition, we believe these standards will best be applied by organizations experienced in this process. Therefore, as part of this proposed decision, we are requesting comment on appropriate entities to apply these standards. We are aware that the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons have developed accrediting programs and we are specifically asking for comments about their level of competence in performing this facility review

Many people don't realize or won't until they try to access their profile that you must now have a username. This is something new, unless you've just recently made a username, you don't have one yet. If you haven't made a username please take a moment to log out and create one. This can be done easily by following these steps.

***Keep in mind you must have your first and last name you currently use to log in to create your username.***



Make sure you are logged out first:

1. Go here: http://www.obesityhelp.com/login

2. Locate the box that says "Already a member?"

3. Locate the text that says "I am a member, but don't have a username. Click Here" and click on that link.

4. You will then be prompted to enter in your First Name, Last Name, and Password. These areas would be the current log in information that you have been using.

5. You will then also be prompted to enter in a User Name. This is the new part and will be unique to you. So please select the User Name that you would like to have associate with your account. Tip - Your User Name should be what you would want the public to see associated with your account

6. Then click the button that says "Create Username".


You will then need to sign in with your newly made Username and Password, instead of your First Name, Last Name, Password that you used to log in with.


Things to remember:
The user name is NOT what will show up on your profile page or on the message boards. (This will come in future updates) Once you've made your user name you can always change what's viewed from the message board or on your profile by logging into "my account" then going to "general info". Once in the general info area, the name that appears in the first and last name blank is what shows up on your profile and the message boards. You change it here and then "update". This is also where you can change your password by entering it in twice and update.

If you are unable to log in after doing the following please Email us for help.

Amy Williams
Obesityhelp Member Services