Dr. Juarez, Dr. Fang, Dr. Simpson?

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to all - planning to go to a Dr. Juarez seminar, then will decide - and pray about the insurance issue I've seen a few comments that insurances generally (if they will pay for WLS) are more prone to pay for Byapss versus LapBand - anyone know if that is true or not? I will go to the other forums and ask as well -- thanks! Paula

Hi Paula, I had my band placed in Feb 2005...I had alot of complications with mine....i ended up having to have 2 more surgeries...one to fix my port and one for a slipped band...mine is not the typical story though so please dont get worried.... I wish that I had met DR. Simpson before I had my original surgery....i would have chosen him for my surgery...after having all my complications I began looking for a new surgeon...that is when a friend had told me about Dr. Simpson and I went to him and felt so comfortable from the beginning. I really needed someone that was very knowlegable about the band and he is...and he has a wonderful support system in place. I go to his support group meetings usually 2 times a month (He offers them 2 times a month) and they are so full of information and I have met so many wonderful lap band patients there! I dont know the other doctors you mentioned...but I can say that I would recommend Dr. Simspon for sure! I have now lost 84 pounds and am on my way to losing the rest... Please fell free to email me if you want to chat or have other questions! [email protected] LuAnne

LuAnn great job on the weight loss! 84 pounds is wonderful!

Melissa, Thank you...it has been difficult for me with the extra surgeries...but since my band was fixed in July it was like i finally had the band surgery...i felt like i should have felt after my original surgery and the band is working now...hooray! How are you doing??? LuAnne

I am doing alright. Thank you for asking. I am down 75 pounds, but my weight loss has really slowed down. Maybe not eating enough. So I am trying hard to increase my protein by either drinking or eating more. And relax. I know stress can slow weight loss also. It's hard enough to drink one of these protein drinks a day, much less two.

Question - a couple of people mentioned a big difference between Banner Good Sam and St. Luke's hospitals - good/bad? which one did you like and why? which one did you NOT like and why? Thanks!!

Paula I went to North Shea Hospital. I had a different doctor.

I mean the North Scottsdale.Osborn Hospital on Shea.

Paula. If you click on your doctors name it will take you to their biography. Then scroll about half way down the page there is an area called: Hospital Affiliations. It will show the different hospitals that your doctor works at. If you click on each hospital it will take you to a page that gives patient reviews of the hospital. That might be helpful for you. The biography is also cool because it shows all your doctors accreditations and how many of each surgery they have done, plus their story and achievements.

p.s. I just looked through some. Not all of them filled out their profile so some of the doctors might not have that information.