hello, im new here and this is my first post, I have been thinkin about this surgery for some time, I talked with my insurance company, and they told me all the criteria for them, and its covered if its medicaly ness, they told me first i need my doctor to send in a pre auth to them to get referred to a surgeon, i have an appointment with my doctor on monday, and heres my story, i have a bmi of 35, high blood pressure, family history of heart disease,(mom had her first heart attack at 40) i so do not want that to happen to me, is this enough to get this done, i have tried tons of diets my doc has put me on diet pills, nothing seems to work, of course its so easy not to stick with theese, i just need a little help and i think lap band would help out alot, i think once you start losing and feel better its easier to get out and walk an stuff . is there anything else that my doctor or i should know to get the approval i need, some tricks of the trade so to speak, ive heard about people getting this surgery who dont really even need it because of this or that, and then ive heard of people getting turned down who do need it because they didnt say the right things so any help would be greatly appeciated

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Hi Danie! Welcome to LBT! I was a self payer so I don't know anything about dealing with insurance but there are plenty of people here who do and I'm sure you'll get lots of great advice and information. I just wanted to welcome you and to wish you good luck!

Hi danie,

I can relate to how you feel. Your doctor will be able to answer a lot of those questions for you because he has probably seen it all. I felt so much better after my initial consultation.

If your doctor isn't up on your insurance requirements, ask to talk to the person in his office who handles the insurance stuff. They are the ones dealing with the insurance companies and preauthorizations and they are usually willing to help you jump through the hoops you need to jump through with your insurance company.

Where are you from and what insurance do you have? If you post that info., you might find someone who has already been through the process that can offer helpful advice.

Good luck!

thanks photo net, i am glad to be here . and i dont want any one thinkin that im trying to fraud the insurance or anyting i just know that there are certain ways to get things done.

i am from michigan, blue care network insurance, when i talked to my doc before, they just gave me some pamplets to look at, and said i needed to call my insurance.

I Have Another Question, About How Long Does It Take From The First Visit To My Doctor To The Surgery? Im Sure Its Diff, Due To Insurance And How Fast The Doc Sends In You Pre Auth But On Average How Long.

Hi Danie,

I am also self-pay, but wanted to welcome you as well.

I am sure it may be different if you are going through insurance, but I had my psych. and nutritional evals done, then saw the surgeon for my consult three days later. He requires a 2-3 pre-op liquid diet, which I started just a few days after seeing him and now my surgery is tomorrow. So, for me it was about 3 1/2 weeks.