(This is my first first post here- I'm a newbie- be easy! :thumbup:)

I received my approval letter in the mail today and am curious as to what to expect now.. what's next? I know I'll have to go for an endoscopy, but my surgeon's office hasn't really "primed" me for what I have to do prior to surgery. I've read that I'll need to go on a liquid diet, but what does that entail? Sorry if I sound a bit dim when it comes to this, but I'm literally in the dark as to what flaming hoops I have to jump through prior to surgery (now that I've been approved by insurance).. Thanks a ton!

It seems that every surgeon has different requirements. When you go back to the surgeon for preop, he will tell you what their specific requirements are.

My requirements were chest xray, ekg, full blood work up, 1 week preop diet.

Good luck in your journey!

It is really unbelievable how different things work in different places.

You've been approved already without any testing or anything.

I had to do a 6 month supervised diet. All of the tests including an ab/ultrasound, pulmonary test, endoscopy, cardiac ultrasound, nutrition and psych counseling before they would even submit to insurance. Now, I'm anxiously waiting to see if my insurance will approve.

I think you're in a better place because at least your working towards a sure goal. After all I've been through what if they deny me?

Call your Dr's office to ask your questions because all Dr's seemingly have different protocols.

If not I suggest you read a book or 2 . I learned a lot from Weight loss surgery for dummies and Dr Robert Sewells' book about weight loss surgery .

Wow I had to do testing before even being submitted to Insurance for approval. Chest xray, ekg, psychological evaluation, nutritionist, sleep apnea test (luckily skipped this because I have sleep apnea) 5 years of weight recorded doctor notes, letter from self, letter from 2 support people and only after doing all of this and submitting and waiting did I know if I was approved

Thanks everyone!

I realize that each office/surgeon has their own way of doing things, I just was curious as to what the "usual" MO was. When I wrote yesterday my surgeon's office was closed for lunch so I was slightly anxious. :cool: Though, I did have a series of blood tests done PRIOR to the submission to insurance, but nothing else. I do have to go for an endoscopy but that's it- I really don't have any other co-morbidities that would give cause for other tests.. I'm just fat. :eek: I totally expected to be rejected by insurance- I had my self psyched up for a rejection letter in all honesty.. so when I received the approval yesterday I nearly crapped myself (for lack of a better term!)..

Mine worked a bit differently. Saw PC, then called Bariatric Specialist. Saw psych, saw nut, had bloodwork, saw surgeon, waited for and got approval, had ekg, chest xray and more bloodwork, got clearance from PC and had a nutrition/exercise class, did liquid pre op for 2 weeks, had surgery. Today I go in for fill #2, and while I doubt that will give me resrtiction I hope it does bring me closer to it!

Thanks everyone!

I realize that each office/surgeon has their own way of doing things, I just was curious as to what the "usual" MO was. When I wrote yesterday my surgeon's office was closed for lunch so I was slightly anxious. :cool: Though, I did have a series of blood tests done PRIOR to the submission to insurance, but nothing else. I do have to go for an endoscopy but that's it- I really don't have any other co-morbidities that would give cause for other tests.. I'm just fat. :eek: I totally expected to be rejected by insurance- I had my self psyched up for a rejection letter in all honesty.. so when I received the approval yesterday I nearly crapped myself (for lack of a better term!)..

Different practices have different pre-op requirements and different insurance plans have different requirements for who they will cover. What I am wondering is what were you approved for? Did your insurance company say they would pay for the surgery? Did your doctor say you are medically cleared? Those can be different things. You may want to check with your surgeon's office and ask them to walk you through all the steps that you need to go through before actually having surgery, including insurance approval (assuming you are NOT cash pay), medical clearance including all pre-op testing they require, psych clearance, nutrtional counseling, any pre-op classes required. As an additional resource, my mentor and I are successful long-term lap band patients with 10 years of combined experience working this amazing. We have blog sites that have a lot of useful information (see the link in my signature below).

Let me know what you find out.

Thanks!

Yeah, I had a psych eval (I felt like I was taking the SATs all over again...), met with the surgeon, was cleared, have had ONE pre-op class and met with the nutritionist. My pcp sent me for bloodwork at the end of january along with my referral. The letter I received from the insurance co. stated that they would pay for "restrictive banding", etc., so I'm pretty sure I'm good to go. I've been given a May 18th surgery date- and am awaiting my "pre-op testing" info from the surgeon's team (I'm assuming this will be any further blood labs, endoscopy, etc.) later in the week. Thanks for all the answers, you guys are great!! It's not always easy to talk about this with others (i.e., other family members/friends) because they really don't "get it".. y'know? :cool: