New to site with questions and help

skittlebug · April 15, 2009

Hello all. I am not yet banded and have tons of questions!!

I called my insurance company this morning and they gave me the requirements, but I have questions about them. They said I have to have 6 months of dieting prior to surgery. They said it does not have to be doctor approved, what does this mean??

They also said I have to have a psychological exam, is that normal?

I understood everything else, just mainly these 2 things I was concerned about.

Any advice/help??

cydaisy · April 15, 2009

Hi skittlebug, I am having deja vu reading your post. I just talked with the doctors office yesterday and received the same information. It is really frustrating when you feel you have finally made your decision only to find out that it will be delayed. The person I talked to suggested a website called IBarihealth.com. They do the 6 month supervised program and get you the psychological exam so all your insurance stuff will be taken care of. The problem now is do the insurance companies cover the 6 month stuff since I am sure that is expensive. I am trying to hang in there with you. Good Luck, let me know any updates.:wub:

ParrotheadCathy · April 15, 2009

That means that you need 6 months of supervised weight loss but it can be Weight Watchers or any other program. Of course you could also pick out your lap band surgeon from the list of approved from your insurance company and most of them can do the six months' supervised weight loss from their office.

spud.mama · April 15, 2009

And, yes, most everyone has to do the psych eval. They just want to see if you can handle the changes that are to come. We all have past issues that have contributed to our weight problem but they want to know if they will continue to hinder our efforts after surgery.