information about dr. kim at Celebration in central Florida.

[rocknrollmama1980 20]

Hi guys I hope you don't mind me jumping on this thread. I have my information session next Wed. Can anyone walk me through it? Did you sign up for a consultation on that day? I am at a 39.9 bmi and I have these visions that I will be turned away because I am not at 40:( How long did it take you to get all of your clearances? I too would be self pay. so does that mean I would have to pay for all the extra screenings out of pocket? I am also looking at Florida Surgical Weight Loss. I have had similar experiences with both places where calls back have been hard to receive and people don't sound exactly warm over the phone. Is that normal?? It kind of threw me off. Thanks!

[StarryNightSky 17]

Hi rocknrollmama! I went to my first information session the third week in June. At the information session they take a copy of your id and insurance card to check to see if by chance you insurance will cover it. I knew mine did not but I let them give it a try anyhow. The session is about an hour and a half. They give you a packet that includes the cost of surgery and then if you want to proceed with the process you call the office and schedule your consultation day. Mine was a week from when I called. At the consultation day you will meet with a nurse and she will let you know of any clearances that you will need to complete. For example, I had to have a cardio clearance, a pulmonary clearance and I had to do a sleep study. But you may not have to do all of these it differs from person to person. They also require a four week pre op diet. Two weeks of low carb, low fat and two weeks of a liquid diet.

I am also self pay so in addition to the fees stated in the packet I had to pay all of the co pays for my clearances and they will also tell you that you will have to pay the cost of the interpretation of the stomach biopsy that they do on the portion they remove. So I would say add another 1,000 to the price in the packet.

In total from my first appointment to surgery day it was a total of a month and a half. Hope this helps

[rocknrollmama1980 20]

Thanks so much! I honk my insurance might cover it but they have like ten thousand hoops to jump through and I don't think I fit all the qualifications (diabetes etc).

Did a lot of people attend the session?

What did the psych visit entail?

[mamachef 37]

Starry when was your surgery?

[StarryNightSky 17]

Mamachef- My surgery is not until August 16th

Rocknrollmama- Their were a lot of people at the session I went to. The room was almost full. For the psych evaluation you have to answer a questionnaire on the computer and then you meet with the psychologist and discuss the surgery and then based on your answers and conversation with her she will clear you for surgery. She was very nice

[rocknrollmama1980 20]

Do you know how they base the required testing? Did you have sleep apnea or a pre-existing condition? I wonder if I can schedule my appointments now prior to the meeting so I am ahead of the game:)

[mamachef 37]

Do you know how they base the required testing? Did you have sleep apnea or a pre-existing condition? I wonder if I can schedule my appointments now prior to the meeting so I am ahead of the game:)

Depends on conditions you have. If you have high blood pressure or any other heart issues you will meet with a cardiologist... sleep apnea=pulmonary clearance... stuff like that

[StarryNightSky 17]

I think it also depends on weight and family history. I did not have sleep apnea but had never had a sleep study done and in my family history one of my parents had had a heart attack so I think that is why I had to go through those two clearances.

A great tip that Mamachef gave me was if you do have to have a pulmonary clearance you can use someone other than they one in the hospital. They are usually scheduling a month out from when you call to request an appointment.

[rocknrollmama1980 20]

Excellent advice! I am starting to feel large and in charge:) of course now I'm tweaking about two things. 1) what insurance will cover post surgery if I do self pay. Will they blame everything on the surgery and deny me coverage? 2) gallstones... Does dr Kim remove your gallbladder? I don't think I need it... He can have it. He can take my appendix took.

[StarryNightSky 17]

With self pay I believe it covers one year of post up check ups. As for the gallbladder I had mine out in 2007 so I;m not sure if Dr. Kim does it or not.

[rocknrollmama1980 20]

One final question... I know it will be covered soon enough, but with my anxiety issues

I like to wrap my brain around as much as possible:) what was the post op diet? Did you hop write o liquid? Clear Liquids for a while? When were soft foods? Thanks!

[mamachef 37]

One final question... I know it will be covered soon enough' date=' but with my anxiety issues

I like to wrap my brain around as much as possible:) what was the post op diet? Did you hop write o liquid? Clear liquids for a while? When were soft foods? Thanks![/quote']

Post op is one week liquid, one week puree diet, one week soft foods and then solids

[rocknrollmama1980 20]

Thanks guys I appreciate all the help. I went to the info session and a support group meeting on wed. I am now more confused. Dr. Kim said that even if you have no medical problems he would recommend the roux en y over the sleeve.

Did he tell you the same thing? I meet for the doc evaluation on the 26th. I guess

I could be open to roux en y but I'm terrified of massive complications. I don't want to end up with seizures or in the hospital for 3 months. Arghhh!

[mamachef 37]

Thanks guys I appreciate all the help. I went to the info session and a support group meeting on wed. I am now more confused. Dr. Kim said that even if you have no medical problems he would recommend the roux en y over the sleeve.

Did he tell you the same thing? I meet for the doc evaluation on the 26th. I guess

I could be open to roux en y but I'm terrified of massive complications. I don't want to end up with seizures or in the hospital for 3 months. Arghhh!

He prefers the bypass because it has long term success and they know that. If you want a sleeve and you know your reasons and are fine with the fact that there isnt long term info for the sleeve he will do what you want. He will tell you what he thibks is best but ultimately it is your choice.

[rocknrollmama1980 20]

I am officially waiting to be sleeved! Thank you for all the feedback. Mamachef... How was your surgery?