jhood2005

Thank you all for the support, it really helps

I also have UHC Choice Plus, I had to call their bariatric nurse case manager, In my covered benefits under other services it had a column for bariatric and it had a number to call, I left a voice mail and a case manager called me back and has been working with me all the way, she told me where the centers of excellence were around my area and all the criteria I had to meet, the insurance waived the nutritional visits but I have to do 8 coaching visits with their person from the insurance referral, I had to do the initial doctor visit first, then the pre op class, then psych eval, and now the 8 coaching visits, the insurance case manager helped me with all of this and has been wonderful, she works with the case manager assigned to me from the center of excellence and they work together.

I attended my pre-op class on Wednesday and received my psych. eval today. Dr. Sabapathy at Shawnee Mission Health is wonderful. He approved my surgery after completing my psych eval today with him. I did have several questions to answer on paper then visited with him. Now all I am supposed to have left is my 8 coaching visits with my United Healthcare coach. Anyone else ever done these coaching calls?

Can anyone tell me what to expect with the pre-op class with Dr. Hoehn's office? I have my pre-op class tomorrow and my psych eval on Saturday, any input from anyone I would greatly appreciate it.

United healthcare waived all my nutritional visits said I didn't have to have them I just have to complete 8 coaching calls with United healthcare's health coach, anyone else have to do the coaching calls If so what do they consist of? So this will/should move up my surgery date according to my case manager at doctor's office and case manager with united healthcare.

So what do the coaching calls consist of? Have you had to do them? thanks

no surgery date yet, trying to get my coaching visits set up and I have my psych eval and preop class, I don't have to do the nutrition classes, can anyone tell me what to expect with the coaching calls with insurance life coach, United Healthcare, good luck sweet baby on your surgery keep me posted, thank you all for all your input, it really helps

That's the same insurance I have and I had been working with my primary with weight loss for past 6 years, was taking phentermine for the last few years, would lose a lot then regain and back and forth too. How did your psych eval go?

Did you do your psych eval with Dr. Sabapathy? If so what can I expect, I don't have to do the nutritional visits my insurance waived them I just have to do the psych eval and preop class. What was the pre op class about? Thanks for your response and any input you might have. What was the last few weeks since surgery like were you in a lot of pain? Sorry for all the questions, lol, just would like as much info as I can get. Thanks again

I am exactly in the same spot you are in, I am also getting info from primary physician for insurance, anticipated surgery October or November.

I am just starting my 6 months supervised diet, had my first surgeon apt. today, so good luck, reading your post tells me I can get thru it too, just wanting to get going on this. lol, thanks for sharing

I have my first visit today with the surgeon. I'm very nervous.

I can relate to your doctor apt. accept with my situation I remember in elementary school, everyone was lined up in the gym, they would call your name, you would go to the nurse, standing there in front of the scale, you would get weighed in front of your entire grade, then have it spoken very loudly to the assistant writing the total down for each student, why she couldn't have just sat by the nurse, but the whole class would know what you weighed, now mind you even though I was taller than most in my class, it didn't matter, my classmates just heard the amount, so then the teasing would start and the staring and the talking about you quietly to someone else as you walked by, I lived this every year til junior high, and the physical fitness tests, well I won't even go there, everyone knows what happens there in gym class when the heavy kid can't do anything. Thanks for sharing.

I know how you feel, I was all set on the lap band, then I went to my "required" seminar, the doctor who presented it was the doctor my insurance was suppose to cover, so I thought great I will get to meet "my doctor" and be at the seminar all at the same time. Then he spoke how the sleeve was his favorite between all the surgeries, he feels the results are better, all I keep thinking is they will be taking a big part of my stomach away and that really scared me, so I thought ok I will stick with lapband, then he started talking about the downfalls of the lapband how it is a foreign object and how some peoples bodies reject it, or there could be erosion where it is banded, or it could slip, or have to be replaced way down the road, then the case manager chimed in and says if you have to have it removed the insurance companies will not pay for another procedure, won't pay to put another one in, and or won't pay to do a sleeve or bypass if the band was not successful, I defineatly don't want the bypass, so now I don't know what to do, then on top of it all, they made me an appointment for next week for my first visit with the doctor, so that scared me I wasn't expecting to make an appointment at the seminar but I did, thinking ok, I have a doctor a hospital so I just need to decide in a week what I want to do, my husband went with me to the seminar and after hearing what I heard, he says well it's your body but if it were me I would go with the sleeve, so I lose sleep all night trying to figure what's best for me, the next day, the case manager called me from the seminar and said my insurance only covers a center of excellence and they are not, even though my insurance case manager said due to the distance I live away from a center of excellence that this hospital and doctor would be covered, well that wasn't good enough for the hospital case manager so she told me from past experiences she would refer me to another hospital which is even further away for me to drive, and wished me luck, she didn't want me to get started with them then have to start all over again when the insurance company said no down the road, I see her point, but now I am starting all over, trying to decide on what procedure to do, and trying to find a doctor and hospital, not to mention the cold feet I am getting, so I don't know what to do, I just know I am bigger than I have ever been, and I have got to do something, but nothing else has worked.

Can someone tell me what all the psych. evaluation is about? Thanks, I'm in early process stages, getting ready to go to the seminar, would like more info from people who have been thru it. thanks.

Not sure if I am posting in correct spot, new to the website here, what can I expect on my first initial appointment to my surgeon