Hi all. I'm very new here, and very new to the whole surgery idea in general. I haven't spoken to a doctor about it but I want to get all my ducks in a row before I do. I assume I speak to my primary (nurse practitioner) first, but do I need to know what doctor I want a referral to right away or does she start the process? Or do I go straight to consulting with a weight loss clinic? Or? Either way I know I'm going to need recommendations for a surgeon in Pueblo Colorado (might be able to go as far as Colorado Springs for the surgery, but I have no way to get up there regularly for appointments). I don't trust my primary enough to just go where she says. Thanks.

I'm set to go to Mexico next month for my surgery, since I'm self pay, but when I initially started into the process my pcp simply suggested that I consult with a bariatric specialty clinic (preferably through a center of excellence program) and to follow their process. I later found out my insurance wouldn't cover the surgery, so I went an alternate route. I'm in Denver, so can't really suggest anyone in your area, but I would do some online research and talk to people you know who've been through the process. Also, feel free to contact more than one clinic and compare programs to see which one works best for you. Good luck!

Thanks. I will see if I can find a clinic in this area. I'm worried I might not. I have medicaid and I definitely meet the listed requirements so as long as I do the appointments right there shouldn't be a problem getting approved.

Unfortunately everyone I know that has had the surgery live in different states, so sadly not much help in finding providers that way.

I skipped the middle man and went straight to the surgeons office. I found out my requirements from my insurance, found a list online of docs who accepted my insurance, then googled the names and looked up reviews. Found a doctor that stood out to me based on those reviews, and called to schedule an appt. After meeting with him one time, I knew he was the one! Look for someone experienced, who makes you feel comfortable and can give you confidence in him/her. Good luck with your journey.

Thank you. When you looked for surgeons that took your insurance did you look for bariatric surgeons or is it listed as something else?

I contacted my insurance carrier to verify if they covered the procedure & what I was responsible for paying. The insurance carrier (HAP) then told me which hospital & doctors I was allowed to go to. I contacted their office to find out next steps. Good luck!

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I live in Denver and was sleeved on 6/13/16. I am also on Medicaid. I went to Colorado Bariatric, where my surgeon was Dr. Irani. Medicaid pays for everything after completing 6 months of nutrition classes. If you need any more info, let me know. Btw, I just called up the surgeons office and they helped with everything. They knew the Medicaid program very well and it was a seamless process.

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I'm glad to meet someone else who has had the surgery with medicaid in Colorado. How long did the approval process take once you were done with the nutrition classes? I've chosen Dr Long in Parker at the Bariatric and Metabolic Center.

It took about 10-14 days for the approval. They also sent me a letter in the mail in addition to my surgeons office calling. I had my gastric sleeve with the robot. Makes recovery time a lot quicker. Ask about that as an option. The robot prevents the surgeon from having to pull so much on your abdomen during surgery. I'm 3 weeks post op and have not had any issues at all aside from nausea which just about everyone suffers after surgery. But other than that, life is good.

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10-14 days isn't so bad. Hopefully I'll be lucky and it won't take longer. If I get really lucky maybe I can have my surgery this January. That would be perfect.

I'll ask about the robotic surgery. I'm pretty sure my surgeon offers it as an option. I had my gallbladder out last year and the pain after surgery was horrible. I couldn't even stand up straight for over 2 weeks. I really wasn't looking forward to going through that again.

Yea! I had my appendix removed and it was not laparoscopic. The pain was unbearable. But with the robotic gastric sleeve it was the least painful part. The most painful thing was the gas. They inflate your abdomen with gas when they do a laparoscopic sleeve and then they close you up and you have to wait for the gas to escape through your muscles and skin. It was the most painful part of the whole thing.

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My gallbladder removal was done using just 4 tiny incisions, not a full open surgery. I didn't really have any gas pains, so I was lucky there. Hopefully I'll be as lucky with WLS.

Im using Dr Snyder at Denver center for Bariatrics.

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