seems like forever with this damm thing lol cant wait to start

I have to take a class with the nutritionist on Wednesday then a one on one

Oh ok got u yea kaiser patients gota takr a 6 month course classes and.seminars

What insurance do you have? Why aren't you 100% about it?

blue cross blue shield direct access. it's the cadillac of all insurance plans.. amazing coverage and my employer bought pretty much all the coverage. it will be very easy to move through the process and do it quickly. im pretty sure i don't even need a pcp letter.

tomorrow i see the doc and the nut. i will have to do psych and an EGD as well. not sure what else is required appointment-wise. the doc does require that i visit a post surgery support group before it's a go.

i'm not 100% sure because i still have some specific questions for the doc. i want to be well informed before i do it. hopefully i will have what i need to make my decision after the appointments tomorrow.

I have some questions for those of you that went straight to seeing the surgeon. Do you have a PPO? I actually have BCBS H M O and I started with my PCP and I have my 2nd appt. for the psy. evaluation tomorrow. She submits to insurance so I can get a referral to see the surgeon. Does anyone else have any experience with an H M O and if so what was the process you went thru? I'm just nervous because I keep reading all of these people went straight to see the surgeon and I just want to make sure I'm doing this right! I want to get approved SO badly!

I have PPO and I went to the seminar and straight to the surgeon.

That kibd of scare.me that people just want to get it now with out preparing whats they are going to go throu ..thats why kaiser takes 6 month process to get u ready whats to come

I personally would not want to wait 6 months! The faster the better. I do not want to feel anxious to go to surgery and wait for 6 months. In 6 months I expect to be at least 50lbs less

yea but i think alot of people that has gopne throu the 6month are happ that they did it because prior to surgery u gota go on a liquid diet ...its for not most people to wait 6 month but i rather be ready then sorry

Well you have a point. Hopefully I get adjusted! I just want the surgery done already! I want to see myself losing weight already.

Hey all. I am being sleeved in two weeks. My first visit to the surgeon was 10/10/12, we did the nutritionist, psych eval, barium swallow (upper GI) had to go to a support meeting, a "steps" class, an resting metabolic rate test, the H-pylori test and we got the letters of support/recommendation from our PCPs. We submitted to insurance (a PPO) {insurance requested a five year weigh-in list} and we were approved by insurance on 12/4. Today we picked our surgery date of 12/27. We have United Healthcare through AT&T and they did not require a 12, 6, or 3 month supervised diet, as many of the insurance companies do. So our whole trip from visit to surgery is about 3 months.

Now, just a warning. You can have awesome insurance, top of the line, and they will still request certain things from you before they give away money.

Good luck on your journeys.

Congrats on your approval! How is the upper gi? What is exactly done? I have never had one of those.

I am in the process of trying to get everything set up. I do my psych next month but my primary doc wouldn't sign off for the surgery. So now I'm having to find a completely new doctor to go to. Has anyone else had this problem at all?

That kibd of scare.me that people just want to get it now with out preparing whats they are going to go throu ..thats why kaiser takes 6 month process to get u ready whats to come

I agree with this. This is a major surgery and a huge life transition. I always worry about those who seem to get the surgery rather quickly. The 6 months are a blessing when they're finally over. It gives you time to process mentally and emotionally how you are feeling about the surgery and it lets you prepare yourself. The 6 months seem like hell at first, but it's what everyone should have to go through.

Yea its a life chance i rather go throu the 6 month journey to prepare for it

i don't think it's particularly fair for us to judge whether or not someone else is ready. that's between me, my wife, my surgeon, and the head shrinker. i appreciate the concern, but i'm planning to strike while the Iron is hot and get it done asap.

after my appointment today i'm fairly sure that i am going to go this route. once i get some miscellaneous items taken care of (labs, psych, etc) it will be 5-10 days before insurance approval and then i will get a date.

still need to talk to the wife about it tonight and go over everything the doctor said, but it's looking good.