I have been using this site for a lot of my research throughout my decision process, and now that I am moving towards my surgery date. This has been my journey so far:
Around Thanksgiving of 2016, i had made my final decision to pursue bariatric surgery. I had the support of my family and friends, and I was ready to go. I had a recommendation for a surgeon, and so I made my consult appointment.
I had my first consult on December 6, 2016, and I brought every piece of medical information with me to that appointment that could possibly prove that I had met the insurance qualifications for approval. I left that appointment fairly certain that I would have my surgery some time in January 2017.
On December 14, 2016, I had an appointment with my PCP for medical clearance, and I also had my psych evaluation that same day. They were both kind enough to provide me copies of my records right after the appointment so that I could give them immediately to my surgeon's nurse.
Once they received all of those documents, along with the proof of following a 6 month medically supervised weight loss program, they scheduled my surgery date for January 17, 2017. YAY!!
I had my Endoscopy done on December 20, 2016, and was cleared or surgery.
At this point, I am scheduled on January 4, 2017 for a pre-op class that will explain pre and post op eating plans, and any other surgery prep items. I then have my last appointment with my surgeon on January 5, 2017 before my surgery.
This whole process has moved so fast, which I am so excited about. At each step of the process I have been worrying that one piece or another would disqualify me from the insurance approving the coverage. My surgeon's office has assured me that I meet all of the qualifications, and there is no reason the insurance should deny me. At this point, I am just counting down the days to January 17, 2017. I am so excited that I have already started cleaning out my closet!
Thanks to everyone on this site for sharing your journeys, and allowing all of us newbies to learn from you! I look forward to becoming an active member of this group.