So I completed my initial webinar tonight to move forward with gastric sleeve. My mom had it years ago but with her multitude of health problems, it didn’t work for her.

My next step is to get my referral and insurance coverage verified. What should I expect on my first visit? What specific questions should I ask? I know the procedures, the diet and risks. I just feel like I’m missing something.

Every surgeon/office/insurance is different, so I’m not sure that anyone here can give you concrete answers. My office provided a folder with all of the information about moving forward, checklists of what is to be done and when, and lists of providers who can help me with those things - like psychological exams, etc. My folder was specific to my insurance plan (I am *** and it was the only office that my insurance works with in my area, so they see a lot of people with my insurance). If I were you, I would ask which procedure is recommended by your physician and discuss why you have your preference. I would also discuss seeing any additional doctors that are not required by insurance to make sure everything is planned out and safe. I had to see a vascular specialist. You may want to discuss COVID plans too. My office switched people to outpatient instead of overnight stay if they were young, which I would not have agreed to, because you have to go the ER then if something is wrong, and who wants to sit in a waiting room full of potential COVID patients when they just got out of surgery? Other than that, you will probably have questions as they go through the material during the appointment. If not, most offices are great at answering questions if they come up later. Your success is their success, so I have heard more often than not that doctors/teams are extremely responsive (mine definitely was/is). Bring a notepad to take notes just in case. Good luck!

Thank you! I have Medicaid so I know the preppy requirements will be different. I’m just feeling like I should have a million questions but I don’t. I guess that could be because I have two family members who underwent bariatric surgery.