nallygirl

My psych eval was super easy. Just lots of questions about my weight history, family history, do I know the risks of surgery, how long have I thought about getting surgery, what else have I tried, does my family/friends know (basically do I have a support system). Although I've heard others who have had to do 300 question written evals where they ask you the same questions a million different ways to see if you change your answer kinda thing. Hopefully yours is just a simple sit down with the psychologist like mine was!!

YAY!!! I'm so excited for you!!! Congrats on your surgery date and thank you for all the great information!!

@justplaintired – I would love to tell you that I'm used to it and that I wear it without fail every night but in reality I am horrible about wearing it. I have a tiny nose (so they say) and am a mouth breather so I have to use the full face mask. Let me tell you it's a good thing I'm single because that thing is so not sexy to wear to bed LoL!! I look like a fat fighter pilot!! LoL I have been better about it since I started this process but I still don't wear it every night. @chimboree26 – Yay!! That's great you're going to Dr Halmi too!! I don't have a surgery date yet since I don't have everything submitted for approval yet but I will most likely be around the end of February as well from what I'm told. Good luck with your surgery!! @kloee - My surgeon offers both the Realize and the Lap-Band. My surgeon prefers the Lap-Band though so that is what I went with.

Thank you!! LoL that's why I originally went and did the sleep study...people complained about my snoring haha. Good luck with your Medical Clearance appt tomorrow. I have mine on the 13th with my PCP. They are making me do all my pre-op testing before they will write my clearance letter...I seem to be the only one who has had to do this though and my surgeon's office didn't get it either. I'll be interested to see what yours is like!

I hate the cpap too. Hopefully losing weight means no more cpap!!

Hi Kim...yes it makes no sense that you have to already have all these medical conditions before insurance would cover a life changing operation. I agree you would think they would want to prevent those conditions before they start!! Good luck with your approval...I'll keep my fingers crossed

Yes but since I had already done one in April before I started this whole process they were able to just use that one. I do have severe sleep apnea so that should help me...that sounds weird...in the approval process.

Hi Everyone! I was originally supposed to be a January bandster but apparently I'm not done jumping through insurance hoops yet! I've finished my 6 month nutrition classes needed for insurance, my psych eval and my sleep study. Now I just need my PCP to write my medical clearance...which they are dragging their feet on...then everything can be submitted to insurance. Fingers crossed I'll be getting banded in February!! Good Luck to everyone!!

Does that fee cover anything? I had to pay around $500 through my surgeon's office but it covered my 6 months of nutrition classes (required by my insurance) and my pre-op one-on-one with the nutritionist. Other than that I haven't had any "program" fees...that I know of.

Ugh! So annoyed right now!! My surgeon's office just called me to say they need me to come in for a one on one with their nutritionist before they can submit my paperwork for insurance approval. They don't have any appointments until Jan 17th!!! Seeing as how I've been coming in every month for 6 months to do these nutrition classes I'm just so frustrated they waited until NOW to tell me this. They also need a medical clearance from my PCP however my PCP wants me to get all my pre-op testing done first before they will write my clearance. So it looks like with all this crap I won't be a January bandster after all. There is no way I can get all this done, get the insurance approval and do a 2 week pre-op diet before the end of the month. I know this isn't a big deal, I'm just so frustrated by this whole process with insurance and I guess I just needed to vent. So good luck to all of you January bandsters!! See you in February...hopefully!!

Mine was super easy; just a one on one conversation with a psychologist. She was very familiar with WLS and just asked me questions like what was the procedure I was having done, how long had I thought about it, do my friends or family know (making sure I had a support system in place), do I have a family history of obesity, what else have I tried to lose weight, do I know the risks of the surgery and then some questions about depression. I've heard/read though other people had to fill out crazy forms with hundreds of questions. I guess it depends who you go to. My psychologist was recommended to me by someone else who uses my surgeon. I'm sure the surgeons office will give you a list of providers to go to though too. Good luck with your process!!

I have Cigna and they did not require any testing before submitting for approval other than my 6 months of nutrition classes and a psych eval. My surgeon however is requiring me to have blood work, a set of chest x-rays and an EKG prior to surgery. I was not required to do the endoscopy but it seems like everyone has a little something different though even within the surgeon's office I go through.

After 6 months I finally had my last nutrition class today so it looks like now the waiting game begins and I'm just hoping and praying for an insurance approval!! They said it could take as long as 4 weeks which kinda bums me out but I know a lot of people who have been approved much quicker. Hopefully I'll get an approval soon and can be well on my way to becoming a January bandster with you all!! Welcome to all the new people and good luck with your surgery!!

Renee!! I'm so sorry you're having to go through all this right now!! This whole process of jumping through insurance hoops is so stressful!! Is there anyway you can get on a waiting list with your pulmonoligist office so if someone cancels an earlier appt you can get in before the 17th? I have a cpap that I never wear...I hope they don't say anything to me about it!!! This is such a hard time of year to have our final appts (mine's tomorrow too) with all the food from the holidays. My surgeons office though wasn't too concerned about any weight gain so hopefully yours wont be either! I know its hard but try to stay positive...it will all work out!! Let me know if you need to chat/vent!!

Happy New Year and good luck to everyone getting banded this coming week!!! :thumbup:

Hey Renee! I'm in the exact same place as you in this process! My last nutritionist appt is also on Jan 4th then everything gets submitted for approval. I'm so freaked out that I haven't lost enough weight and I'm sure I'm going to be a wreak while I'm waiting for the approval to come through! Good luck to you!!

Woohoo how exciting!!! Good luck tomorrow Linnie!! I have my last 6 month visit on Jan 4th and can't WAIT to be where you are!!! Sending you best wishes for a great surgery and a speedy recovery!! :thumbup:

Congratulations AmyBeth!! I'm so happy for you!! I just had my psych eval today and it was a breeze thankfully!! I had heard so many stories of people filling out 300 question forms or sitting with a psychologist for hours but this was super quick and easy!! Now just one more nutrition visit in January and I will hopefully have approval and a date for the end of the month! Hopefully!

Hi Kristen! I also have Cigna and had to do the 6 months of diet and nutrition classes. At first I was so bummed about it but now that I have one month left I'm almost greatful for that time to prepare, research and fully understand what this process entails. Surprisingly the time has flown by! As for having secondary insurance I'm not too sure how that works but I'm sure your surgeons office handles questions like this all the time. You should give them a call and see what information they can provide for you. You may also want to call BCBS to find out what their requirements are before signing up. Hope this helps and good luck!!

It seems like everyone has a little something different to do on their 6 month diet. I am heading into month 5 and opted to take the diet & nutrition classes through my surgeon's office. It costs me a little more than if I had just gone to my PCP but like SDTeaGirl I was too affraid to have something messed up. I would imagine as long as the doctor is signing off on your paperwork that it wouldn't matter if you saw him or a nurse. I agree though you might want to verify that with your surgeon or your insurance. Good luck with your program! :thumbup:

Nope no insurance approval yet. I did confirmed though that Cigna does cover the surgery but won't know about approval until I've finished my last class and psych eval also. My BMI is 40 and I have a comorbidity (sleep apnea) so I don't anticipate any issues with approval. My surgeons office has been great though about keeping things moving. They've said I will be tenatively scheduled for the end of January because the experience they've had with Cigna is they approve quickly! I hope they're right!!

Hi Renee! Thanks for starting this group! I'm half way through my 6 months so I guess we are kind of at that same point! I was so disappointed when I found out insurance would require a 6 month medically supervised diet but it honestly has flown by!! I think the next 3 are going to go even quicker since I need to start making appointments and getting testing finished! If all goes as planned I should be getting banded at the end of January but if not I will definitely be in February! It will be a GREAT start to an amazing year!! 2011 can't get here fast enough!! Good luck with your journey!

Hi Everyone!! I'm in Northern VA (Fairfax). I am a Paralegal working for an IT company and also a part time student.

Hi danide! For me the only person who knows that I am starting this process is my mom...I had to tell someone for support! Since I have a 6 month medically supervised diet I have to go through for insurance I don't want to tell everyone now then find out 6 months from now that I can't get the surgery for whatever reason. My plan is to wait until I have everything in order and a confirmed surgery date before I tell anyone else. Even then I only plan on telling my closest friends. I'm sure eventually people will ask and I will have no problem telling them about it. You should be proud that you are taking a step to better your health. The people who love you will support you! Good luck!!

You all are amazing!! Thank you for the great information! The $300 is for the medically supervised diet through the surgeons office. There is a $100 fee for 2 nutrition classes. There is a $180 fee for meeting with their nutritionist. None of this would have been covered by my insurance anyway and like someone else pointed out 6 months of co-pays would be almost $300 if I went through my PCP. I guess I just need to call the sugeons office and find out if I have to pay all this up front or if they will let me do payments at least for the $300. Thank again for the info! I love these boards...so much great information! :thumbup: