Brandy~

Hi there! Eugene, Oregon here. I looked all over trying to find a way to cover the surgery..... My old insurance wouldn't cover it either. However, my company switched to BCBS of Minnesota and they do cover it.... You have to do 6 months worth of dietitian meeting but it's not too bad. I have 2 more of those and then request preauthorization from the insurance. What part of Oregon are you in? I am using Bariatric center here in Eugene... They are much more expensive for the surgery 23k than say the bariatric center in CoosBay he is only 10k. They both have financing options you may look into those if your insurance doesnt plan on switching anytime soon. Good luck :cursing:

I just recently tossed my scale out. I found I was stressing myself out pre op trying to lose what my surgeon said. Now that I don't have it and I have to just pay attention to the food I have lost 6 pounds.

My doctor has preached to me over and over take more than you need and go back early.... I am not banded yet but thats my plan.

Productive burp.... when something comes back up :tt1:

I was wondering the exact same thing! I feel like doctors always want to find something wrong. Oh well. Actually it's kind of funny now that my test markings were one line off... I wonder what they were thinking. I bet I had some weird answers on things. My test also asked me 5 different ways if I loved my dad and then in the next sentence asked if I wanted to hurt animals... Lord knows what I marked.

Congrats! Hope your insurance comes through quickly

Everyone is different and so is their banding experience. I haven't been banded I just know I have read for years about the band and experiences. My doctor doesnt fill when he puts the band on so I am not gonna notice a major difference at first and could probably eat much more than someone who gets a fill right away. However, if I tried to sit down and eat 3 eggs right I would probably get full and feel ill from being too full. I would think that if you did this on a regular basis their could be some reprecussions for it.

Everyones evaluations are different and it obviously depends on the doctor you use. My surgery is going to be with Dr. Umbach who runs a bariatric center through our major hospital so their requirements are pretty strict since they have some type of accrediation blah blah blah thing lol. Anyway, I went in on 1/8 for the evaluation... it was really long. We sat in her office for about 30 minutes asking things like do you make yourself puke? Do you love your mother? Did you father sexually abuse you? Then they put me in a room with a test that had 422 questions on it ranked on a scale of 1-5 that took about an hour to do. I went home and got a call that I failed the 422 questions which unless you're absolutely crazy isnt possible. Turns out that somehow partway through the test it looked like I skipped a question and everything was off 1 line. So I went back in on the 10th and took the test... but this time they gave me a test they called MMR or MMI something like that it was 529 questions! this one took about 1.5 hours. So all in all with waiting room time and everything I ended up spending about 4-5 hours invested in this. I received the letter yesterday that the doctor and Phsycologists were happy to approve my surgery and felt that I was emotionally stable. WOW what a suprise I knew I was just fine but they wouldn't listen to me. LOL Now I just have to finish 2 more dietitian meetings that my insurance requires! Hooray :wink2: Once I go to both of those 1 per month the doctor will send preauthorization request to my insurance!!! My insurance covers the surgery as long as I complete the 6 months of dietitian classes :Dancing_biggrin: Thank you everyone that posted here and the support you gave me while I waited for this issue to be worked out.

I am gonna go retake it today... But that makes you really nervous to retake something that determines your eligibility for the surgery... Not to mention I am 4 months into my 6 month requirement program to find this out.

I wish mine was like that.... it's a 344 questionnare.... with a scale of 1-5

Ok I really don't think I am crazy but..... I went to my evaluation appt on Tuesday. The questions were seriously silly. Are you homicidal, suicidal, do you want to eat clay etc etc after 2 hours of this stuff I go home and have a message that says the test is inconclusive and now I have to go back and take it again. The sheer thought of sitting through that again is ridiculous. Anyone else dealing with this?

See a surgeon not the dermatologist :scared:

I know it's not alot of progress but I did the seminar in Sept and just did my consult and measurements today! They scheduled my phsyc eval for 1/8.... After that I just have to wait till april when my dietitian appts will be complete... Such a long road but there will be an end I am sure. Every appt just makes it a little closer :scared:

You're sooooooo close it's already Nov 8th!! I am jealous and excited for u all at once

Oh you should be fine. I would be honest with your surgeon about the insurance change and he will probably have it submitted for insurance approval right when you complete the 6 months.

When are they switching?

Hi Everyone! I am glad I found this thread as I have been trying to avoid the 6 month tour of food... it's really hard. I would assume tho if I cant make it during these 6 months I probably shouldnt be banded. I went to my first dietitian appt the end of OCT (meet and greet) then had first official nutrition appt on 11/1 so I am looking to be banded in April as well. I have attended the informational seminar with the doctors and will be going in on the 19th for my formal appt. However, I submitted all my paperwork and insurance already so they were ready for all that I needed to do. I did all the leg work myself before contacting a doctor so I was really ahead of the game. I think the 6 months is just to torture me since I had already been on a dietitians recommended diet for quite a few months in 2004 but it wasn't within the last 2 years so they wont use those :confused:

The more motivated people will definetly lose more than the 50% excess weight that they quote you.. The more motivated ones are probably on this board ........ since they took the time to seek out online support!

Just be sure that you do not deprive your body of much needed nutrients. Like Julie said... make sure you drink a protein shake.

Congrats! I am on the road as well. I am about 3-4 months out from surgery... will know for sure what day when I go in on 11/19! I see you lost quite a bit before you were banded so that is a plus!

haha Thank you so very much for the laugh Mrs. I will be sure to remember that one if someone makes a comment to me after I am banded. I don't plan on laying out my life story to anyone I work with since it's none of their business.

Well I know exactly where you are though. I originally thought I had to pay for my own surgery since i had a different insurance....... but then my work just switched insurance so I stopped saving when I found out that they pay for it and signed up immediately for the 6 month dietitian thingy.... SOoooooooo The money saved is for when I slim down and hit the beaches in hawaii for a bit of snorkeling. I will probably spare them the thong and put on a pair of shorts Good luck and let me know what your insurance says... btw my doctor was nice enough to take a copy of my insurance and call them to confirm that everything would be a go as long as I did the 6 months. You might ask your doc to do the same.

I have BCBS and you're fine. They actually have a disclaimer that they review it on a case by case basis. They know some people do the yo yo thing and were not all gonna weigh the exact same.... especially if we have a history of trying to lose and regaining weight. I am currently doing the 6 month thing with a dietitian atm as well. Those are pretty simple I do what I always have..... let her talk, give me a meal plan, smile and nod, walk out and then eat what I wanted to anyway..... I shouldn't but I do because I know I can lose 50 pounds on my own only to gain back 55. I don't wanna follow their whole diet and lose my chance of them paying for it either. If that makes sense. I am sure you're absolutely fine tho.

I am about 5 months out from surgery :boink: Seems like forever....... But I am wondering what the phsyc eval is like too as I have yet to do it.

I came across a doctor in my travels in Oregon. He is located in Coosbay and does the surgery for 10k self pay: DETAILS: Surgeon $2000 Assistant $500 Anesthesia $1000 Day Surgery facility (including band cost) $6500 These fees do not include consultation, pre-op tests, Education Class, or other miscellaneous charges. His website is here This might be an alternative for those that want to stay in the US on the West Coast. I have met with the Doctors in Eugene, Oregon and now I have an appt for 11/14 to go to Coos Bay and meet this doctor. I will let you know how it goes. I just want to make sure I find the best doctor I can in my area before I settle on one.