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I'm glad to hear that your experience was good. I am waiting for the committee to meet and review my case, they should have reviewed it this week. Hopefully it will be approved and be submitted to my insurance in the next week or so. Did you have to spend the night following your surgery? Just wondered about your post-op experience and how long it took before you could return to work.

I also had UHC (I work for the State of Ohio), I was told they had an "exclusion clause" for bariatric surgery. In June I changed to Ohio Med, which will cover. I have recently completed my 6mos physician supervised weight loss program and everything should be submitted to my insurance company in the next week or so. Have you thought about changing to an insurance that will cover?

How was your experience other than not being apprised of the cost of the fille since you were self pay?

Congratulations on your progress!! I just had my final weigh-in with my doctor last week. I spoke with OSU yesterday and they are waiting for the dietician to submit her final report. I will call again in a few days to make sure they have everything. As soon as they get the report my case will reviewed again by the committee. I have made frequent calls and have also been proactive regarding my contact with OSU. Although I usually don't speak with an actual person when I call, I always leave a message and my call is usually returned the same day. My insurance is Ohio Medical Mutual, I'm crossing my fingers that everything goes well when it is finally submitted.

It's great to hear from someone else who is having their surgery at OSU!! My co-worker is doing well after her lap-band. She will be at her one year anniversary in December and has lost 80lb. so far. I know you are just submitting your application, but time really flies....I can't believe I sent my application the end of May and only have about four weeks to go and everything will be submitted to my insurance co. I'm just hoping there are no problems with approval (but I'm ready to appeal if need be). I'm glad to hear your co-workers have had good success with their gastric bypass surgery. I opted for the lapband due to it's less invasive nature and the malabsorption issues related to RNY. Hopefully I have made the right decision!! It's great to hear from another nurse!!

I was wondering if anyone has been banded at OSU by Dr. Needleman, or had any experience with the OSU bariatric surgery team. I am currently in my 5th month of my physician supervised weight loss program. I have undergone all of the pre-op testing and just need to complete my weightloss program and send everything in to my insurance company for approval. My BMI when I started was 40, now it is 38. I have spoken with the program coordinator at OSU and they said that is fine because the weight submitted is your initial weight, plus I could actually have a BMI of 35 and gain approval because I have a few co-morbidities. I am 48, married with three children. I am a registered nurse and one of my fellow nurses had her surgery at OSU. Her experience was good, but she is the only one I know who has gone there. Any input is appreciated!!

I am also from Ohio and am currently in the 5th month of my 6 month pre-op diet (required by my insurance,Medical Mutual of Ohio) I chose the program at Ohio State University due to the success of one of my co-workers, but I have heard good things about Riversides program. My BMI is currently 40, so I am afraid of losing too much weight before insurance approval. I chose not to attend the initial meeting (I had done alot of research and felt I had all of the information I needed). I immediately scheduled my dietary and psych evals, scheduled the physical exam and lab with my primary physician and got started on the weight loss program. I started all of this in the middle of June and realize I probably won't be having surgery until January or Feburary, but the wait is worth it. This forum is great!! You hear the good, the bad and the ugly. I guess you have to weigh what it is worth to you against what you may experience. Best wishes to you!!

My situation is similar. I am currently going through my 6 mos of supervised dieting/exercising and just finished 3 mos. I started with a BMI of 40 and have lost 4lbs and 5% body fat so far. I thought that the insurance company went by your initial weight and BMI, so if you lost weight during the 6mo period it wouldn't count against you.