I was curious to all those that had to go to a seminar, did you guys go to your general practitioner and get your referral letter first or did you go to the seminar first?

You can do it either way. I went to my PCP first and she got me my referral - then the surgeon's office called me and told me that prior to my first appointment I had to attend one of their seminars. So that's what I did last week, and now I'm waiting to schedule my first appointment

I think one of the benefits of going through your PCP first is that you can find a surgeon that is recommended by your doctor and takes your insurance - then you don't have to worry about the annoying process of transferring medical records etc. The 2 doctors already "know" each other and all you have to do is show up for an appointment!

Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it. I have my seminar in about a week so I should be able to see my doctor before that. I already have a surgeon picked out but I doubt my doctor will know him, I'm from a very small town and have to drive an hour and a half to Chicago to get many surgery. :-)

I live on an Army Post and don't like any of the Drs here - so I go an hour away "into town" for all my Dr stuff. I'm so use to driving that far, it doesn't even phase me. I grew up in Houston, TX - so I'm use to driving a lot to get where I need to be. Sure some things were close and easy to get to, but it wasn't unusual to drive an hour or so to get to something on the other side of town (through traffic).

I went to the seminar first... I checked out the surgery center online to make sure they excepted my insurance before I attended the seminar. Then after the seminar I went to see my pcp and started the 6 month supervised diet...Best Wishes!

Thanks you guys have been really helpful. I've been lurking on this page for a while now and everyone seems very helpful and supportive.

After making sure our insurance qualified for me having weight loss surgery, I did a lot of research on Bariatric Surgeons in my area. After narrowing a few down I looked into credentials/back ground checks. Did a lot of reading on their facility/practices. Made sure they had a zero mortality rate, and lastly how many surgeries did the surgeon perform and how long in practice. These were important to me. After I found who I liked, I scheduled a seminar. Was very impressed, made an appt to see the surgeon to get personal one on one. Liked him and waaala, here I am......

I also went to the seminar first. My PCP knew I was considering this and I knew he'd support whatever I chose so I wasn't worried about getting his letter of recommendation.

I went to the seminar first, it was free.

I did nit attend any seminars... I just called 3 drs and made appointments for consults... I am self pay so didn't need to get a referral from my primary.

Personally I did not like the seminar setting. I like one on one settings better.

I don't know if I'm doing this backwards, but I'm going to a seminar on the 16th, then my Dr appointment on the 26th, and the Dr I'm going to see does a one on one talk.

I went to seminar first and they made appt with their office, where they had all my requirements listed in the order I could do them. Then to PCP for first month of 6mth diet. My PCP worked directly with my surgeon through the whole process.

They made it all very easy. I was approved in one week after forms sent to Ins.Co.