Holy Smokes--

I had my initial consultation with the surgeon yesterday. Today--I have 4 different appointments/consultations scheduled.

1. Appointment with a cardiologist--I have an irregular heartbeat. I knew about it and it hasn't been an issue or concern with my PCP.

2. Appointment for a EGD--I've only had acid reflux 2 or 3 times, one time after a taco bell feeding frenzy when I was about 8 months pregnant.

3. Appointment for a abdominal ultrasound.

4. sleep Study-- According to a 9 question quiz, I may have sleep apnea--My husband has only complained about my snoring a few times. Snoring seems to happen when I'm sick. I do wake up about once a night--I have a 3 year old who likes to have company when she goes potty in the middle of the night.

I feel a little caught up in a whirlwind--My insurance company hasn't even approved the surgery yet, and I seem to be on the fast path. The cardiologist appointment I can understand, the other tests, particularly the sleep study and the gastric endoscopy seem a little premature and unnecessary. I know my insurance will cover the EGD and the cardiologist appointment--I'm not sure about the ultrasound because I need to have that for the surgery (surgery that I'm not approved for). They will not pay for any sort of sleep study.

I feel I'm close to being approved for surgery, BC/BS just requested a psych evaluation (done) and other info the surgeon is supplying to them via a letter.

Should I back off a little on the aggressive scheduling of all these tests, or should I do them and then if I'm approved for surgery all this stuff will be out of the way?

Perplexed to say the least

I had a tons of tests to go through also. But I wanted to know that everything was good before I got my band. One of the things they discovered on the ab. ultrasound was a very bad gallbladder. It was removed when I got my band.

Your heart, reflux, and sleep apnea problems really need to be addressed whether you get a band or not. These can all cause serious, silent problems that you're not aware of.

Get that clean bill of health, get your band, and know you're healthier! Best of luck to you!

Sally the results from your sleep study could be helpful in getting approval for bariatric surgery from your insurance if you do indeed have sleep apnea... the EGD seems a little over the top to me as it seems an upper GI would be most appropriate in diagnosing reflux. I did not have any of this testing done until after insurance approval but a sleep study is generally more of a lengthy wait for appointment times so that could cause a delay if you wait until after your approval. Good Luck!

Darcy

I was lucky... the testing was minimal for me... no sleep study... did have to have certain blood tests...and upper GI and an abdominal ultrasound to check the gallbladder so that it could be removed at the time of my surgery if there was a problem. I had and EKG and and chest XRAY... and voila... I was ready.