MissMellyMell

I'm looking to find out more information about Deaconess hospital and their process. Do you have any info you could pass along? Feel free to message me. Thank you!

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I started with my reg PA & he referred me to rock-wood clinic & Dr. Spitz. excellent & very knowledge able & Very Experienced. Was real nice on account he my reg, pa was able to do all the blood work up and was covered on my insurance. Their team at Rock wood totally rock!! . they have meetings on every Thursday of the month at the Rock wood clinic at 6 pm every Thursday.. room @ 268. would love to see you there. I have begun my two week shake pre op diet.. omg.. i am a spice of life kind of gal.. and am being very creative in my lines of approval adding to my shakes. Cant wait for the big day.

Thank you, I am going to have my case transfered and I will probably attend the seminar in Tri-Cities, as it is closer to me. I live in Vancouver Washington and I'm willing to make the 5 and a half hour drive. I just want to gather as much information as possible to learn more about their program requirements.

Thank you

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Is there anyone who had surgery at Deaconess in Spokane who would be willing to provide some basic information about their process? I'm transferring my case over to that hospital because I didn't feel like UW in Seattle treated me very well. I'll be driving 5 and a half hours to Spokane from Vancouver Washington and want to make sure this is the best option for me! Thanks in advance and feel free to message me

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• That is too cool. I am excited to do the same. so, how long did it take you? I am about your height I want to loose at least 85-90 lbs. to have energy& lack of pain & to move again.. what a blessing..

so happy for you..

I'm getting my sleeve on he 4th of January from Dr. Spitz in Spokane Wa

toni ha

I'm looking to find out more information about Deaconess hospital and their process. Do you have any info you could pass along? Feel free to message me. Thank you!

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@@MissMellyMell have you gotten your endoscopy scheduled yet? Or a call about a date?

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Hi @@boogie_badd8nt_she I was able to have my Upper endoscopy here in Vancouver at Peacehealth off of Millplain Blvd. I had it with Dr.Eklier. All I had to do was have UW fax the referral and then I called in the next day to schedule. Way more convenient and cost efficient than waiting until the new year and driving up to UW again. Also I'm still working on that dang 5%, they won't schedule me to even meet the surgon until that 5% is lost. Other than that everything else is done! I was hoping things would happen a little quicker, but looks like surgery won't be happening until March or April at this point, but I'm okay with that too, as long as it happens in the new year! How are you doing? Oh feel free to message me too! Did you say you're also in Vancouver?

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I am on Medicaid, my medical insurance offers a great preoperative program, it's 6 months and requires 12 appointments with a dietitian, 12 with a behavioral health therapist, and 12 with a physical therapist. I also have to see my PCP 6 times and lose 5% of my body weight. UW might have their own set of requirements, but my Medicaid insurance has prepared me pretty well. There is absolutely no fast tracking to have surgery, however participants may complete their appointments as they wish.

I must say, I've been well educated over the past few months, so no, you're wrong. It's not sad at all, I believe if you choose to have an elective surgery, you must also be willing to make changes and it is a patients responsibility to educate themselves if they choose to have bariatric surgery.

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I completely agree with you. I'm in the same program you are. I got told flat out there is no fast tracking. You have to wait the 6 months and keep the weight off and do all your appointments with UW and your Molina/Medicaid required appointments.

I can & I will

thanks for the post. It's good to know that Medicade is making changes or maybe it's just I AM that is offering the same services to all Bariatric patients. Is the pre surgery at loss an insurance requirement? I thought my program uses the same protocol as WUM but the program doesn't h ave a pre surgery weight loss requirement. The NIH study showed that there was no long term benefit so now the surgeons just do the 2 week surgery prep diet.

You don't even make any sense. If you want to know about Molinas 6 month requirements you can call them directly. They might be able to help you, seems how I can't understand what you wrote.

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@@Aggiemae my panties are pleasantly un-bunched, just in case mine are the panties to which you refer. Just offering a different perspective than yours.

well...good to know your panties are comfortable but I wasn't referring to you at all. I was referring to my stalker, I have my own products blend and have no use for people who spend their time spewing ignorance anger and misery so I blocked her but I can see she still feels compelled to put in her less than fully informed OPINIONS.

Wow, the ignorance is real here. You don't have a stalker, although I'm sure that you wish you did, unfortunately you're just not that important.

You can certainly take your frivolous ideas and judgments and shove them.

I'm not on bariatric pal to take your bullshit, I'm here for support and to talk others that are going through a similar experience.

Yeah, I am a newbie, so what? My insurance, my business. You threatened to block me, so please go right on ahead! Stalker lol, not on a public thread, in a public forum, on a public website.

I'm here for me, not you lady. Hahaha keep wishing weirdo! Tired of your negativity. People aren't here to listen to you bitch.

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I'm not trying to defend anyone in this thread but I do want to talk about my own experience with medicaid patients. I work in the health care field. I will say that based on my experience, that many, not all medicaid patients have a very entitled attitude. They are generally the ones that complain and get pissed off when they don't get their way. It can easily sour someone's perception of all medicaid patients when you work with this issue day after day. Mentally it can be quite taxing. I have to admit that when I deal with one of the entitled patients I think to myself "well, I guess my taxes are paying for this one". Somehow that makes it easier in my screwed up brain.

I agree. I have pretty good I insurance but I never go to the emergency dept for a cold (or head lice! ) I sure don't ream out the ED doc because "last week the other doctor gave me oxytocin for my hurt food and now you want me to take Motrin?" The majority of my noncompliance case managed patient are on Medicare. They know everything about everything and they sure don't need my advice, unless it means they will get more pain medication...

I want to add that this kind of entitlement is a cultural phenomena. It's about maintaining control. So it's strongest in uneducated families who have lived in poverty of generations.

Wow! Judge much?

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Right?!

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BTW miss nelly nel if the thread that is apparently your personal property on a PUBLIC FURM is the one where you b***h that your family member on public assistance is getting fast tracked for surgery then you're the second nut from that thread to stalk me to another thread about this.

Consider getting a life.

Oh and go back and do some reading, I don't even have a family member that is going through the process, if I did, I know that with Molina, nobody is fast tracked. You need to just stop while you're ahead of yourself. How rude. I'm not here for drama, sorry you were offended by me explaining how much Molina prepares patients!

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BTW miss nelly nel if the thread that is apparently your personal property on a PUBLIC FURM is the one where you b***h that your family member on public assistance is getting fast tracked for surgery then you're the second nut from that thread to stalk me to another thread about this.

Consider getting a life.

This thread is also public and is visible to all members. It was rude that you twisted people's words into your own and tried making people on Medicaid sound bad. Every single one of us is here for support and the way that you talked about people on Medicaid not being successful was not only rude, but not true. Everyone on this forum deserves dignity and respect. Please do block me, I don't need the negative comments or judgement. Have a nice day. FYI, OHP has their own set of requirements and expectations than my insurance. Might be that Molina is just better.

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I made a similar mistake by stating the (apparently controversial) opinion that being on Medicare and getting "fast tracked" might not be as good as it seems and that pre operative education improves outcomes.

There seem to be lots of people here who believe that everything they do BEFORE MAJOR SURGERY is a waste of there valuable time. Despite very likely being obesee for years they want the surgery that's going to magically change their lives forever and they want it NOW. Those evil insurance companies are just making them "jump through hoops".

I can't imagine doing this without a psychologist, nutritionist and physical therapist. I feel like the six months of pre op appointments and classes prepared me in a way that that the pre surgery class given to OHP (Medicare) recipients never could have.

Nobody EVER said it was a waste of time. Go back and actually read what people said. Wow, please stay off of my thread if all you intend to do is be negative and make assumptions towards people you do not know. Thank you!

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I do have a question for you guys though, I have not received monthly calls from a case manager at Molina. I've only talked to someone there 3 times about my stage two letter who works in the bariatric department and she told me I would hear from someone soon, but I never got a call. I know it's a requirement, but I thought it would be nice to still talk to someone to make sure that I'm doing everything right.

I can & I will

That is typical, I had to call into Molina and ask who my case worker was and ask them to have her call me. She never did call, so I called back and they gave me a new case worker and that person has only called me once.

She scheduled to call me again this month, but missed the date. I will call and leave her another message to call me. It seems as if the case workers workload is so big, that they're overwhelmed and they are extremely hard to reach.

I would suggest calling Molina and getting that sorted out.

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I am on Medicaid, my medical insurance offers a great preoperative program, it's 6 months and requires 12 appointments with a dietitian, 12 with a behavioral health therapist, and 12 with a physical therapist. I also have to see my PCP 6 times and lose 5% of my body weight. UW might have their own set of requirements, but my Medicaid insurance has prepared me pretty well. There is absolutely no fast tracking to have surgery, however participants may complete their appointments as they wish.

I must say, I've been well educated over the past few months, so no, you're wrong. It's not sad at all, I believe if you choose to have an elective surgery, you must also be willing to make changes and it is a patients responsibility to educate themselves if they choose to have bariatric surgery.

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Tomorrow I will venture back to UW Medicine to have the PT Evaluation and also meet with the nutritionist, does anyone know what the PT Evaluation consists of? I've already done my 12 PT appointments that are required by my insurance, so I'm curious what is done during this appointment! Thanks in advance ????

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I had my PT evaluation with John at the exercise training center in the UW Roosevelt building. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot, but I had never been to PT before. They have you do various activities to test your strength, flexibility and balance. They pinpoint areas that may need more strength training than others (mine are my weak hips) and send you home with a list of exercises to work on. They can also help you plan out how you want to incorporate or continue to incorporate exercise in your daily routine and tips for not injuring yourself.

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Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to it tomorrow! It sounds like what I did during my required visits. The more I can imorove, the better. Easy enough, thank you for sharing your experience @@MarcyDarcy!

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Hey everyone I'm excited to back on this journey again. I had started the process last year in California but ended up moving to Washington state. Now I have a 6 month pre op diet to follow and I'm about half way done. I will be having my surgery at the UW in Seattle and I have UHC. Anyone else in WA having surgery around that time?

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Hey everyone I'm excited to back on this journey again. I had started the process last year in California but ended up moving to Washington state. Now I have a 6 month pre op diet to follow and I'm about half way done. I will be having my surgery at the UW in Seattle and I have UHC. Anyone else in WA having surgery around that time?

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HI!! I'm also boogie_badd8nt_she on here. lol

I started my journey in August!! I'm fast tracking.. doing 3 appts a week.. so exhausting!!!! I will be done with almost all requirements the end of this month.( Accept the UW requirements) I was asked by my bariatric case manager ( w/ Molina) to save a few NUT appt.until I'm closer surgery to serve as a little "insurance" in case I stall while fulfilling UWs list of things to do..This Thursday I will be meeting Kim Herzog.. lol

What happens during the meeting with her? Any testing?

I'm hoping to be nice and ready for surgery soon.. its crazy to know they are booked out so far!!! Good Luck ladies! Looks like we will all be getting worked on around the same time!!! <3

Hey girl! Congrats on your journey, we're all on our way to a healthier life! So exciting! The appointments do get tiring! If you went back a bit further in this thread you'll be able to read about some experiences with Kim Herzog. She isn't nice lol. I had to stay calm cool and collected with her, knowing that she decides whether or not I will move on to the next step.

She will basically ask you a ton of questions. Health history, current diet and exercise routines, why you want the surgery, which procedure you'd like to go with and why. She will ask you why your at the weight you're at. Just be prepared to be judged lol. It wasn't fun. I do hope that your visit goes better than mine did.

I also have Molina, I will be finished with all of my insurance requirements at the end of this month. So I'm hoping for a date in the beginning of the year. They did tell me that they're booked out quite far. ???? I've learned more than I thought I would these last few months. Im kind of glad that they don't just let you jump into things. Being prepared and educated is going to set us up for success!!

Good luck with everything.

-Melissa in Vancouver

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Tomorrow I will venture back to UW Medicine to have the PT Evaluation and also meet with the nutritionist, does anyone know what the PT Evaluation consists of? I've already done my 12 PT appointments that are required by my insurance, so I'm curious what is done during this appointment! Thanks in advance ????

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I was wondering why she was trying to do that!? I'm glad that my nutritionist let me know that she can't just change it to any number she wants!

I've only seen the social worker so far, but my appointment with the nutrionist and PT evaluation on the 15th of this month, so I'll be in Seattle again soon! The social worker Ruth was nice in comparison to Kim!

If you would like to text I'll gladly send you my number in a private message ☺

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Haha yeah, she's NOT nice! She kept saying "I'm not the one having surgery" and I'm just like yeah obviously lol. She argued with me back and forth about me being an emotional eater, lol im not. She had me feeling so upset, I almost walked out, but I knew that she would be the one deciding to move me forward or not, so I just sat there and went along with her rudeness.

I've only lost 4lbs so far and in total need to lose 18.8lbs, so I'm down to 15, it's happening too slowly. Can I ask where to find that preoperative diet plan? I'm totally down to try it!

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Yes she rude as hell. Yes I'll def give you all the details about the meal plan. I have to lose 16 lbs and I'm down 8 and she was like that's good lets make it another 15 and switched it on my paper work ugh. I mean I was already aiming to lose more but why would she just switch it and not acknowledge how much I've already lost ya know. I'm hoping to get down atleast 40 by March. Another pre op meal plan I found was

8am-protein shake

12 pm- Protein shake

3pm- Protein Shake

5-6pm- 5 oz Protein and veggies

30 minute exercise and no snacking or food after 7.

I'm going to start this on Monday. You are welcome to join if you'd like.

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She did the same thing to me, but she said let's make it 25 to 30 pounds before surgery. I am not sure if that's a tactic used by UW or if it's just her playing head games with patients!? I spoke to my nutritionist the next day at my appointment about that and she said the hospital is well aware of a 5% goal and that it is a agreed upon number between the hospital and insurance companies. My nutritionist told me to go with the 5%. Also yesterday while at UW the social worker mentioned my 5% number and nothing beyond that. My goal was to lose more too, I hope I do!

That meal plan sounds good to me! I will start it up Monday as well! I just started using almond breeze the vanilla unsweetened flavor in my shakes and wow! So good and only 30 calories, plus it has 50% more Calcium than milk! No more milk for me, it's too fatty and probably hurting more than helping me reach my goals! Thanks for the info!

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I would highly suggest that anyone who has had a bad encounter with this woman to let it be known to UW, whether it be in writing or over the phone, you can even remain anonymous! It is unfair for any patient (bariatric or not) be treated without dignity and respect.

Glad to know that it wasn't me just taking things too personal, she really shouldn't be in this area of work.

I was told that I can take my upper endoscopy referral back to Vancouver and get the procedure done around town. Places are booked for months! The UW Gastrointestinal clinic finally called yesterday and told me that they're booked until the new year!

Best thing we can do is be proactive and continue pushing through! ????

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Haha yeah, she's NOT nice! She kept saying "I'm not the one having surgery" and I'm just like yeah obviously lol. She argued with me back and forth about me being an emotional eater, lol im not. She had me feeling so upset, I almost walked out, but I knew that she would be the one deciding to move me forward or not, so I just sat there and went along with her rudeness.

I've only lost 4lbs so far and in total need to lose 18.8lbs, so I'm down to 15, it's happening too slowly. Can I ask where to find that preoperative diet plan? I'm totally down to try it!

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It can definitely seem overwhelming at times! I have a bunch of appointments to knock out prior to surgery also. I can say I've learned quite a bit, so it has been a positive experience. Wishing you well on your journey.????

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Yes! Kim Herzog.. right? I couldn't believe how unprofessional she acted and the way that I was treated! I did call the office the next day and told them about my experience. Definitely not a good way to treat people who are seeking help! If you're comfortable calling in to tell someone, I would recommend it.

We pretty much have the same requirements then! I should be done with everything by the end of this month. I actually learned a lot in PT and at the NUT. It's have all had a positive impact on me and I've been able to make some good changes, although my weight isn't coming off very quickly. Today the social worker told me that they don't even schedule patients with the surgon until the 5% is lost! Very motivating to stick with my new healthy habits!

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The physician's assistant that I met with on October 19th was very rude, so I hope that you had a better experience because after meeting with her, I felt discouraged. It was a bad experience. She had scheduled me for December appointments also, but I just kept calling and checking for cancellations and they were able to find me some closer dates! I wish my drive was only 45 minutes! I thought I was meeting the surgon too, but apparently that comes way later. I was kind of bummed. Does your insurance require you to lose a percentage of your weight before surgery? I was told 5% by my insurance company.

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That's cool, do you live in or around Seattle? It's a 3 hour drive for me! I was just there today for the visit with the Social worker. She says I should be able to have surgery around March, possibly sooner! Sounds like we will be having our surgeries around the same time! ???? Hope you're appointment went well! They said I won't be meeting with the surgon until I'm almost finished with all of the appointments/requirements! I'm super excited also. ???? Feel free to message me if you'd like.

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chicken Lady" data-cite="Chicken Lady" data-ipsquote-timestamp="1478065756">

Good for you being proactive!

HW - 283

SW- 238

CW- ?

Thank you chicken Lady ☺????

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** Update!!!

Tomorrow I will be meeting with the Social worker at UW Medicine. I have been so proactive trying to get all of my appointments scheduled and out of the way! This appointment was originally scheduled for December 1st, but I have been calling them like crazy checking for any cancellations, which is always good to do if you want things to move along as quickly as possible!! If all goes as planned, all of my requirements will be completed by the end of November!

☺☺☺ I'm a happy gal!

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