The Waiting Game

[Serra Cherub 12]

I thought that the 6 month nutritional visit portion was going to be the worse part for me since that meant even more time to wait for "the day". My 6 month visit was 8/26 and my NUT said she submitted her recommendation letter and it was all being fwd to the insurance coordinator. Basically I received a "no news is good news" type of send off. It has been almost 2 weeks and I am in freak out mode because all I can think about is whether or not they actually sent it to the insurance for approval... I am in an internal debate on whether to call the office and check or to just let it ride. The authorization would be from an outside company so my insurance company wouldn't even have word on it until the approval or *gulp* denial.

I was planning for the surgery to be this year but the longer and longer it takes, the less likely it is. I am going out of my mind with the anticipation!!

[OhSoNique 84]

Awww i know how u feel! I submitted my paper 8/15 to the hospital n then didn't submitted till 8/27 so I was counting down the 14 day since the 15th lol. I was all excited till I found that out and had to start again. But good thing I called my insurance on Thursday so see if they had a update cuz I found out my papers got submitted for the Lapband and not the sleeve. I changed my mind to the after after a few months with meeting with the hospital. I was thinking I would final tell my decision to the Surgeon after I get approved and get a date n meet with her. But nope they used the notes from the nurse I 1st met. So I called the insurance and ask to change to the sleeve but when they tried my insurance asked for a new letter and all the notes the hospital say lapband. I'm going out the country next week so the earliest appt is oct7th so now I'm pushed all the way back. I was hoping for a OCT day but I don't think so now

But u will get ur answer soon!!! Might be a late sept or early October date, so by news years u will be tons of pounds lighter!! Good luck!!!

[Serra Cherub 12]

Thank you so much! It is the anticipation mixed with the excitement.... aaaahhhh!!! lol

I am so glad to hear that you were able to catch that little mix up before it got too far into the process! Best of luck to you as well on this wonderful journey!!!

[Jordan861 124]

I had a three month supervised diet requirement before my paperwork could even be submitted. January 30 was my start date - diet, pschy, nutritionist and md apts. I was approved and surgery done on July 19. I understand the stress of waiting. The best advise I can give you is start changing what your doc wants you to change. I started not drinking when eating, less than 10 grms of fat per meal (20 per day) and exercising. I am glad I had the time to make some changes. I hope your approval is soon. the surgery was the best thing that has every happened in my life.

[MRhynard11 41]

Call your insurance company. I actually found out that I was approved from them several days before the doctor's office called to schedule my surgery. The recording at my dr's office specifically says not to call them regarding approval questions- they'll call me. They probably did that so that they wouldn't get daily phone calls from people waiting to hear. You're insurance company shouldn't have a problem checking for you though.

[msspiceybaby 58]

My advice to you is call. I was finished with my 6 mons. in March but didn't get my surgery date until Aug (which hopefully will be Oct. 8th) I also found out I was approved from my insurance company. That way you know what information is needed,and when paperwork was submitted Good luck

[Serra Cherub 12]

So apparently the insurance coordinator didn't gather all my NUT visits so I received a call yeaterday morning saying I had to have another one for September. So fruatrating! I went over the dates of the visit with her and all I got was "oh - okay". So although I was told two weeks ago that it'd be submitted... it was only sent in yesterday. Boo. Thank you all so much for the support though!! *fingers crossed*

[ready2B 263]

I feel your frustration! This whole process has been crazy-making. There have been so many stupid little miscommunications, pieces of my file that got misplaced, faxes that didn't go through, etc.. My surgery date is now set for a couple of months later than it should have been because of human errors (though I did everything on my part right and as quickly as I possibly could.) It's so hard having such a major event in our lives hinge on someone else to do their job right.

Keep calling and checking on things all along the way. Believe me, they are used to it! If I hadn't done that, I'd still be sitting here waiting for things to even be sent to insurance or to the scheduler. I called my insurance company too - and they didn't mind at all. They were happy to tell me the status. Can you call that outside company or your insurance company to make sure they got everything they need? I'd call and confirm that if I were you. Mess ups happen and the sooner you catch things the less of this crazy waiting game you have to play. In my case, ending up just one day later in the process than others with my same doctor made a month's difference in the next available surgery date that I got!