Okay.

I am about to lose it totally! :mad:

I have been working my tail off (exercising, eating good, millions of appointments and group meetings) and now I am at a long stand still.

I was never given a "list" of things I needed to do until I had gone through almost every one of my dietician appointments (6 months worth). When I did and I'd seen all the different pre-op appointments I had, which included a consultation with the BC (Bariatric Coord.) and a whole other appt with the hospitals' program dietician, and another mess of things (xrays, ultrasounds, pap tests, u name it) I'd done it - quickly. Then I get a hold up because I also had to have a Psych Eval. Okay. Fine.

So I call the Psychiatrist who is THE ONLY approved PSYCH to do this according to my HEALTH PLAN. Great. No Problem! Yeah, that's what I thought. Don't even think about an answer from this guy. He has to call you because he simply does not answer his phone! :cry Okay, well I guess he is a busy guy. Free pass. He just so happens to call while I am at my monthly group support meeting, and my phone is on silent so I don't get his call. He mentions to me that he is going out of town until a weeks worth of time and says there is no way to book an appointment until he gets back!! By now I'm starting to get a little perturbed because I want to get in ASAP! I have been putting up with enough already for many months.

Finally a week goes by and I even leave him a message to remind him I need an appointment the day before he is schedule to return to the office. He calls back when I am away from my phone and we do some phone tag until the end of the day. Like I said, he never answers his phone, so if I miss his - well, tough luck - even though I called him back only seconds off missing his call!! When he does finally get ahold of me, he makes my appointment for THREE WEEKS because he just so happens to be going on vacation at the same time... :tired

Okay, I'm already going stir crazy at this point - but guess what. He called my cell last night (and when you call my cell at night you will never reach me) and tells me he has to re-schedule me from Monday to Friday 10/19 because he forgot he will be out of town on that Monday 10/15!!! AUUUGGHHHHH!!! :mad::mad::mad::mad: I even took the day off from work because the appointment is supposed to last about 3 hours! I wonder if he is doing this on purpose to see how well I handle difficult situations??? Okay, maybe not - but still...

He did mention however that I could talk with his secretary, so I left her a message. It's still early here in Cali, so I knew I'd get a voicemail. I did also ask her to put me on a waiting list too... in case of a cancellation. I asked her to call me back to be sure she got the message.

Anyway, I am stuck right now because my surgeon won't do anything more until I get this done. Believe me, I tried...

Okay, I just needed to vent and now that I did, I feel somewhat better. It can be so frustrating sometimes though. I have had a looooong journey so far, and I just want to get this darn thing put in me already.

Did anyone else suffer so much pre-surgery? Anyone? Help?

I really dont have anything to help you out except hang in there these weeks or months before surgery is only going to make you stronger and it is still a productive thing your doing for yourself.

I think at this point, I would just say to heck with insurance, and find someone else 'out of network' and pay it out of pocket. Most insurances don't cover the psych eval. It shouldn't run more than a couple hundred dollars.

I had to pay for the evaluation out of pocket. I ended up w/a qook that I really didn't like. But, he "passed" me...Mine was recommended by my doctor, and at an appt. the doc asked how I'd felt about the psych eval. I told him I didn't like the doctor that did it, that it was impersonal, etc... He said he'd consider stopping recommending him because I wasn't the first person to say something.

Maybe you can talk to your insurance company and complain. They may or may not care of it, but if they do it would benefit you.

Good luck!

I have to say I was lucky with the psych eval because mine was like 15 minutes all he asked was if I had any mental problems or thoughts of suicide. then at the end he said he is recomending me for surgery. totaly cool for me but I am lucky I have a surgical team that does these all the time and they have a nutritionist and psych all on campus. it was super quick and painless and my surgion even called and told me they are sending all the paperwork to insurance and it should be approved in a few weeks. It almost makes me nervous because it is going so quick.

1. Tell your insurance company your story so they know that having one approved psych doesn't give you the access they are required to give you. They need more providers.

2. Ask your insurance co. to approve someone who is out of network since THEIR guy is a mess. (Recommend someone that your lap band surgeon likes.)

3. If all else fails, go to someone your lap band Dr. knows, who will work with you on a sliding scale or give you a bit of a discount.

Wow! Thanks for the advice everyone.

I have been so beside myself with frustration, that I did not even think about any of those other options. I think I will start to work on it after work today.

THANKS AGAIN!!

Just dont give up. I know from my experience It is too easy for me to give up then to actualy work hard.

But I am training myself to work hard

OMG!! U guys are so awesome!

I decided to get started with the alternatives ASAP rather than wait until later this afternoon and found a doctor that my Surgeon accepts and was able to get an appointment for Monday!! Yahooo!!

It will cost me $150.00, because my insurance wont cover the questionnaire, only the session. That's okay, I can live with that... He did say it would take him about 4 days to get the results to the surgeon, but that is still 2 weeks sooner.

Thanks again everyone!!

^^Not to mention a big savings on my sanity... lol

Congrats! I know waiting, for me, is always frustrating. (I'm not all that patient.)

Okay, more good news!! I just spoke with my insurance provider directly and come to find out this doctor IS in the Preferred Provider network...:tired I don't think it will affect the price, because I'm choosing the doctor on my own, but it would have been nice to find out I could do it this way too if I wanted.

I don't know wether to laugh or cry about that, but really, it is all good now. I am so happy!! :D:D:D Sometimes you just have to do things for yourself...

WOO HOO

With that kind of persistence, you'll do well with the lap band. Congratulations on being fierce.

Now lets all hold hands and sing a chorus of I Get By With A Little Help FRom My Friends!!!!!!

Okay, more good news!! I just spoke with my insurance provider directly and come to find out this doctor IS in the Preferred Provider network...:tired I don't think it will affect the price, because I'm choosing the doctor on my own, but it would have been nice to find out I could do it this way too if I wanted.

I don't know wether to laugh or cry about that, but really, it is all good now. I am so happy!! :D:D:D Sometimes you just have to do things for yourself...

I'M SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!

See, this is the BEST place for advice, I swear! :clap2:

Hi!

I just wanted to give an update. I did have my psych eval on Monday, as planned. I just received my letter in the mail from the Doctor advising that I would be a good candidate for surgery!! :clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:

He did his report much faster than I expected. I really didn't think I would get anything until tomorrow or the weekend. Maybe that was because in our little interview I went over the small problem I had with the other Psychiatrist and mentioned I am trying to move things along as swiftly as possible. He is GOOD! :whoo: Well worth the extra 150.00 I had to put up.

Okay, so now that I am over that one last long hurdle, I expect things will move along swiftly now. Gee, I even think I feel a little bit of anxiety -- it's almost as if I was wondering if I would ever really get this far.

Now for the next step. I emailed my dietician yesterday asking how long it should take to hear from my insurance companies case worker since she faxed all my appointment info to them about 3 weeks ago now. She said I should have already so she gave me their phone #, and who to ask for. She even re-faxed the papers directly to them. SHE TOO IS GOOD! I told her I am sticking with her post-op.

Okay, well that's my journey so far -- so next thing is AN ACTUAL DATE. YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I'll keep you all posted!

Once again, thanks for being the BEST Lap-band support out there! You guys (and gals) ROCK!!!!! :biggrin1::biggrin1::biggrin1::biggrin1::biggrin1::biggrin1:

If you can pay for the psych eval and don't stress yourself out. Remember its all about the hoop jumping. Just get through these last hoops and your done.

Seriously, any Psychiatrist worth his license could not meet with any of us ONCE and really tell anything about us! My "Psych Evalulation" took about 45 minutes and the guy ended up writing the wrong name on the evaluation that's how involved/interested he was in me or maybe I was just not that impressive! :heh: