LaurenB8604

I got my date!!!!!!' February 17th so excited!!! I have to say I am a little nervous too!! But the excitement outweighs the nervousness by far!!!

Yay!!! Congrats girl!! I am hoping to hear back this week !!!!

Did anyone call the coordinator to check on status? I want to call because it's now been 8 days since they submitted to insurance!

Hey All!! Well I finally reached the insurance authorization ! After doing the endoscopy, psych eval, dietitian, consult with surgeon and lab work! The only thing that kind concerned me is that no one told me my file was sent to insurance verification or that it passed the board of review there at the hospital.. I called today just to check the status of my file of if I needed to do anything else and than that's when I was notified that it's already sent to insurance.. She did mention that it can take 10 to 14 days so I am trying not to keep thinking about it ! Anyone else have Anthem Blue Cross HMO in California ?? If so I would love to hear any feedback! Or just feedback in general!!

Thank you to everyone who gave me some guidance in to both of these appointments!! I am kinda nervous about the dietitian appointment because during the orientation seminar she mentioned that she has no problem denying people if she feels they are not at the level she feels they should be... Which of course worries me because she had a very cut and dry attitude about all of it... Which I guess you have to be when it comes to making sure everyone understands what life will be like after the surgery !! Again thanks to all you replied I really appreciate it !

Hey All!!

So I just finished my endoscopy acouple days ago and now I head into my psych evaluation and my dietitian appointment! Both are on Thursday Jan 2, and I Am a little nervous! Is there any advice anyone can give me?? I would greatly appreciate any guidance!! Thanks to all! Getting close to having a surgery date and I can't wait !!

Lauren

Thank you everyone !! I do feel like I have somewhat of an idea if what will be going on the day of my endoscopy! I guess I will be too doped up to care right ?? Lol jk! I also got my appointments scheduled for the psych and dietitian.. Things are happening quickly!!

Hey everyone! So one of my requirements for the Surgery is to have an Endoscopy performed! I am kinda nervous about this, I think it's because I really don't know what to expect! I have a consult on Dec 18 than the actual Endoscopy on Dec 27th! I would appreciate anyone's two cents about it!! Thank you so much!

I am very excited about my sleeve surgery and my new life that is ahead of me! Will be having my sleeve surgery at Cedars Sinai In LA!

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences! I feel like some of the best research is done by seeing how others went through the situation as well as information provided by the surgeons! I am still leaning towards the sleeve! It just seems like a better option for me! The surgeon at the moment is letting me decide which one I want but wants me to research which I have been doing! How is the psych evaluation ? I know all are probably different but I am sure have some similarities! It's just so exciting I can't wait to complete all my requirements!

Hey everyone !! I had my first consult and seminar at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles today! It went great I Am very pleased with the Surgeon as well! Going in to the consult I was very sure I wanted the sleeve surgery and I still am! With me having a high BMI of 50 the surgeon did say I could loose a little more with the bypass... I am kinda unsure about the bypass because of the rerouting that the surgery involves.... He did say though that since I am 27 I do have a benefit of loosing the extra with the sleeve it just might take some extra work! So I guess I just came on here to get some opinions ! I am waiting for the authorizations for the psych eval and dietician to come in! I did leave the office excited for a new beginning! I am nervous about my endoscopy, how was it for everyone? Anyways! Thanks for reading my rambling!!

I have anthem blue cross of California, does anyone have any experiences with them ?? I go a week from Thursday for my class and than my first consultation with the Surgeon! Not sure what to expect but very exciting !!

Hey everyone!! Thought I would just update every one on my very beginning of my weight loss journey!! So last week my doctor sent in a referral to see a bariatric surgeon! Well today I was notified by the surgeons office at Cedars Sinai in LA that they received my referral and that I could make my appointment for a consultation with the surgeon!! So today I got my appointment scheduled and my seminar both on the same day! Both scheduled on November 21!! So excited and nervous at the same time!! Would def appreciate any feedback you have

Went to a different Doctor today and she sent the referral in for bariatric surgery!! She didn't mention anything about waiting a year to lose 10 percent of my weight or anything Yay!! I know there's still a long way to go but so happy finally a doctor listened to me!! So I guess the next step is to wait for the insurance to fire a letter back of requirements or something .. Does any one know ? I am just so excited the first step of many is done !

Thank you to everyone who replied to this thread with their insights! I was able to talk to my insurance it looks like they have the 6 month documented weight loss time period before the surgery it was not a year like the DR had mentioned ... Also looked into my prescription of the weight loss pills that my Dr prescribed me it is called Qysmia which has phentermine as well Topiramate,which is used to treat seizures with apparently ... The side effects are kinda scary mentions suicidal thoughts , and even seizures if you come off the medication too quickly so I have not gotten the prescription filled ...

So with that being said I have another appointment on Monday but with a different doctor from my medical group just to get a second opinion on the medication and more importantly the surgery! I would love any advice anyone can give me with talking to the DR about the surgery!! With my BMI alone it shouldn't be a problem I am just nervous!!! Thank you !!

Thank you all so much for the advice!! I will definitely be making some phone calls tomorrow! Also, I forgoT to mention my Dr prescribed me some kind of weight loss medication that she will only prescribe for 3 months but couldn't tell me side effects or anything like that she told me to look on their website... So I am not sure about it !!

I have been watching this thread and researching for probably a month now and decided to speak to my dr about the gastric sleeve! I do have a BMI of over 40 and no other Problems so I thought I should be a good candidate for the surgery... Well today was the day I thought I would get some answers regarding insurance and requirements and atleast get the ball rolling .... I was totally wrong !!! My Dr. Was the least supportive she didn't have much to say other than usually insurances want to see 10 percent of your weight lost and maintained for a year before they will even consider you ... This was just so discouraging because when I asked her about my insurance and what they require I was just told to call them and find out... I feel like I am starting the process alone!! Has anyone had this happen? I just want to get a start to it , I know surgery won't happen over night I just felt like she was so unsupportive !!