New Here

Welcome Tisha! As everyone has said, you will find a wealth of info here.  If you have a ?, post it.  You will get responses.  This family has helped me a bunch.  How far do you live from Indianapolis?  If it is not too far, you might consider coming to Indy.  I live about 1 1/2 hrs and I chose a surgeon in Indy.   Good luck with your journey. Jenny

thank you everybody for responding. i really do appreciate it.

Welcome and good luck in your search for a doc. Don't rush into your decision. :) Its kind of idd they have not contacted your ins for approval even if you have to lose weight first. I guess everyone is different.  You will find a lot of kind, caring people with some great advice on here! Julie

Tisha, Welcome to OH and to the Indiana board. I, for one, thinks it's absolutely rediculous when a surgeon/doctor requires a pre-op to lose weight! Shoot, don't they realize that if you could lose the weight, you wouldn't need the darn WLS? I would definately check around. Now, some surgeons will require that you go on a liquid or soft diet pre-op. Alot of that is to get your organs in better condition. The first thing I would suggest you do is have a nice long conversation with your insurance company. Ask them if they cover WLS, what types of surgeries they cover (band, RNY, DS), what surgeons/hospitals are covered, and what their requirements are (6 month physician supervised dieting, a certain BMI for #years, comorbidities, etc). After you get done with that phone call, you should have a better idea of what/who you are looking for in a surgeon. Good luck and let us know how things are going. Sherri

Tisha, Hey Neighbor!  I'm right next door in Rockport!  I'd love to meet you sometime and chat.  I know your pain.  I don't know if you're talking about Debbie as the "nazi" or not but I remember going through all of that too.  I was in the deaconess program for over 3 years and nothing ever happened.  Our insurance changed in January of this year and I contacted them myself.  Our new insurance said they would cover the surgery but only at a Center of Excellence.  I met with Dr. Diaz at St. Vincent's in April and had my surgery on October 26.   My suggestion:  call your insurance yourself and see what they require.   I'd be happy to discuss any of this with you. Good luck! Jacqui

first off, all of you guys rock!! hey neighbor over in rockport!!  i made an appointment to go to st. marys tonight for the new meeting thingy. i tired of all this waiting. its killing me. im about to kick debbie in the a&& she wont even return my calls grr.

Welcome! Had to jump in when I see a patient is getting the shaft (being a nurse, you know!). You did well to join the forum, and you're doing the right thing by researching your options.  I work at the University of Chicago Hospital. We have had Bariatric surgical patients from all over, even Canada, come here for surgery. Many of our patients are from all over IL and IN, too. Do not let travel necessarily restrict your options. Drs. Prachand and Alverdy are both excellent. I had my DS 3 yrs. ago, and still lovin' it!  (Feel free to read my info.) Our surgeons perform all of the WLS procedures.  Follow-up is excellent. Our hospital is now a Bariatric Center of Excellence, too. Let me know if you have other questions, glad to answer for you.  Are you also posting to the main board, the DS board, the RNY board, the lap-band board? Try cross-posting, too, and you might get more answers and opinions.   God bless you in your decision and your journey to health. Keep us informed! Best, Pat