If you are in the las vegas area let's start a thread going for support. I am scheduled to have VSG on July 9th. I will love to network with some locals and hear your stories and progress. My doctor is Tom Umbach. My procedure will be done at North a Vista hospital in North las Vegas.

Hi, I'm in vegas as well. Still jumping through insurance hoops so don't have a date yet. Hoping for the end of July. My surgeon will be Dr. Soong

My first stop was with Dr. Soong it didn't go well at all I was told that m uh insurance didn't cover the procedure but after being frustrated and contacting my insurance company myself I found out that it actually was but the surgery center he use didn't accept my insurance so I researched and found Blossom Bariatrics and that was the best thing ever. It is a one doctor practice who is flipping amazing from the staff to the cleanliness and modernized off to the state of the art equipment and an excellent track record. Come to find out I am covered at 100% and only had to do a 3 month weight supervision and seeing the nutritionist and psychologist which was in inclusive in his practice no running around and no extra fees minus the copay and pre op class. I am on my way to being sleeved and started my pre op diet yesterday which I found out is better than a lot of other doctors regimen because I can still eat 1 meal in the evenings of lean meat and veggies. I hope you get to the ending point soon best wishes to you!

My first stop was with Dr. Soong it didn't go well at all I was told that m uh insurance didn't cover the procedure but after being frustrated and contacting my insurance company myself I found out that it actually was but the surgery center he use didn't accept my insurance so I researched and found Blossom Bariatrics and that was the best thing ever. It is a one doctor practice who is flipping amazing from the staff to the cleanliness and modernized off to the state of the art equipment and an excellent track record. Come to find out I am covered at 100% and only had to do a 3 month weight supervision and seeing the nutritionist and psychologist which was in inclusive in his practice no running around and no extra fees minus the copay and pre op class. I am on my way to being sleeved and started my pre op diet yesterday which I found out is better than a lot of other doctors regimen because I can still eat 1 meal in the evenings of lean meat and veggies. I hope you get to the ending point soon best wishes to you!

Hi, im in Vegas also. What insurance do you have?

I have Sierra health and life. All my hoops are jumped through and should be getting a surgery date any day now.

Tamatha222 I have Aetna federal, you can call to see if your employer pays for the Bariatrics coverage. What I'm finding is you can have the same insurance but it's if your employer opted for the coverage. Best of luck.

Hello im in las Vegas myself,just starting om my 2nd nutrition class. One more to go does anyone know what I do next?? . When do I start the blood wrk and things

hi beutwithin, how did surgery go and how are you doing? I finally got my surgery date of sept 9.

Hi blessed, which surgeon are you going with?

Hello omla Dr Atkinson

I'm going to the same office but with dr. Soong. Are you self pay or insurance? I used insurance and had to go to three nutrition classes. Actually two classes and the last one was a one on one with nutritionist. If you are required to have psych eval make sure you get that scheduled. I have finished jumping through the hoops but they were not able to schedule my surgery until sept 9th due to that was the first available date. Happy to answer anything I can.

Insurance and ill do my 2nd class on 26th.. how do I schedule for psych eval.. my advocate don't tell me nuthin.. so blood test and all that

You need to find out if your insurance requires it or not. Who is your advocate? Mine gave me the name of the physiologists that took my insurance and I scheduled with him right away as his schedule fills up fast. You can't get the blood, ekg or chest X-ray until you are finished with all your nutrition classes. So as soon as I had a date set for final class I made an appointment with my primary care doctor to get those things done.

Ok yea I have smart choice insurance thats Candice ive never meet her in person just spoke over tge phone twice.. ill call up there in morning to find out and call my insurance to see what all I need.. ty so much

Hello im in las Vegas myself,just starting om my 2nd nutrition class. One more to go does anyone know what I do next?? . When do I start the blood wrk and things

If you haven't done your psych eval yet, DO NOT go through Joan Israel. She is a Master something-or-other and was on my list of providers but she is definitely NOT WLS friendly. All she did was tell me about how SHE lost her weight like 40 years ago (she is in her 70's btw), which she credited to exercise alone. She told me "I didn't have any surgery you know" and then put me on the spot about what would be MY reward for exercising. When I didn't immediately come up with a response she thought was worthy, she gave me a denial, saying she didn't think I would do well and would gain weight back. It was completely mortifying and depressing. Per my center's advise, and my insurance advocate's advice, I went for a second opinion and he passed me with flying colors. It was such a completely experience.

My insurance will reimburse my co-pay over four years, and I am damned determined to get that money back! Also, if I stay at goal for a certain length of time, they give you money toward cosmetic surgery for the loose skin. I will definitely NEED that, so I'll be reaching and staying at goal. Put money as an incentive and I will always hit the goal. That is how I stopped smoking years ago. I spent $300 for that stupid laser therapy, which was pretty silly, but because I spent the money on it, I wasn't about to start again. LOL

Good luck to you! I should be getting my surgery date date next for sometime in September and am so excited!!

Hi! Im from Vegas too. I had my surgery from Dr. Soong in April and let me tell you all, its the best decision I have ever made. I am almost 4 months out and feel amazing. The actual surgery went great, I healed fast and was back to work after a week and a half. As long as you educate yourself with the things that you need to adapt into your new life (protein shakes, Vitamins, eating healthy) you will do great. I am determined and the weight loss is a huge reward for that. I go to the gym a couple of times a week, walk a lot and focus on putting the right foods in my body.

As far as insurance, I had BCBS and they were great. Dr. Soong and everyone in his office was fantastic. I did all of my testing and then scheduling surgery happened pretty fast after that. Good luck to you all!

Hi Krista

That is awesome to hear. I am three weeks out from my surgery with dr. Soong. Have you been attending any of the support groups?