princesst

My surgery date is August 24th!!!! Thanks for all of your support!!! Princesst

Please Read Before Considering Dr. Spiegel I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOO PISSED!!!!. I went to Dr. Spiegel's office (TEXAS LAP CENTER) on July 7th for my consultation and to submitt my paperwork with United Healthcare. I chose to go to him because he has performed over 6000 surgeries, despite some of the rumors that I have heard about him and his office. After going to the seminar, I was impressed with him and felt good about my decision to go there. I called a week later to see if they were needing any additional information from me such as previous doctors records and to see if they had heard anything, and I was told by my RUDE case worker Lulu that and I quote "I don't know the status of your case for I just submitted the information on July 12th and do not have time to stay on the phone and call the insurance companies for every patient that we have. But feel free to call UHC everyday if you would like!!!" I wanted in my heart to believe that she was just having a bad day............boy was I wrong! I decided to call my insurance co a week later on July 18th to check the status and was happy to find out that I HAD BEEN APPROVED!!! So I called Lulu to tell her so we could set up a surgery date and was told that they had to have a copy of the approval letter BEFORE they would schedule the appt.I was fine with that. So I waited and checked the mail every day and finally it came in on July 25th. I emailed the approval letter to her on July 26th and she forwarded it to Pam at their Houston office to schedule the surgery. Pam finally called me back at 1:00pm that day to schedule the appt. Great right??? WRONG!! It was then that I had learned that my information that had been sent to UHC to be approved had requested that the surgery be done at University General Hospital (a new hospital in Houston which Spiegel had raved about during his seminar) which was OUT OF NETWORK for me!!! They never asked me where I wanted the surgery to be done!!! I assumed that they would set it up with 12 Oaks which is the only In Network Hospital that he goes to!!! I was told to redo it so I could go to 12 Oaks that all of my paperwork would have to be resubmitted to UHC and could not tell me how long it would take!!! I AM SOOOO MAD!!! I call UHC to verify this and Pam was correct!!! I have left multiple voice mails for Pam to call me because I have questions and I have yet to hear from her. So I have decided that I am going to make me an appt with another doctor closer to home being that I live in Lake Charles. I just wanted to let anyone considering Spiegel to know what they would be getting themselves into before they wasted their time!!!If this is the way they are treating me know, how would they react if something were really wrong with me after I had the surgery. That is the question I asked myself and I figure that if I am going to have to wait for another approval that I will go to someone else. Sorry so long just needed to vent!!!

I personally have used this website to help me make my decision to get banded. I have read many many threads about the pros and cons concerning this procedure. I know that my life will have to change once I am banded next month and I am perfectly happy with that. Maybe you should consider going to a monthly support group instead of making unnecessary comments like the one mentioned above. Gadgetlady was kind enough to respond to your blog there was no need for that comment. I will use this website in the future as a support group as well as a place to find out information as I adjust my lifestyle. What disturbs me most about the comment that you made is the fact that you as an overweight person should know how it feels when the public pokes fun of your weight so why would you do it to someone else-someone who has clearly taken steps in the right direction to change their life for the better. Think before you type because you one day might need the support of those of us on this very website.

Try some Vitamen water they make several different flavors and are quite good. They provide from 25%-50% of your daily allowances of vitamens.

Val, Thanks for the support!! Fortunately there are no test to redo! I look at it this way-I have waited this long.........I can wait a little longer to know that I am going to be cared for AFTER my surgery. Getting the lapband is only the first step in the right direction. The aftercare of the lapband is what continues the weightloss-that is why for me it is important that I know that I will have nurses and office staff that will work with me-NOT AGAINST!!!

I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOO PISSED!!!!:angry:angry:angry:angry. I went to Dr. Spiegel's office on July 7th for my consultation and to submitt my paperwork with United Healthcare. I chose to go to him because he has performed over 6000 surgeries, despite some of the rumors that I have heard about him and his office. After going to the seminar, I was impressed with him and felt good about my decision to go there. I called a week later to see if they were needing any additional information from me such as previous doctors records and to see if they had heard anything, and I was told by my RUDE case worker Lulu that and I quote "I don't know the status of your case for I just submitted the information on July 12th and do not have time to stay on the phone and call the insurance companies for every patient that we have. But feel free to call UHC everyday if you would like!!!" I wanted in my heart to believe that she was just having a bad day............boy was I wrong! I decided to call my insurance co a week later on July 18th to check the status and was happy to find out that I HAD BEEN APPROVED!!!:eek: So I called Lulu to tell her so we could set up a surgery date and was told that they had to have a copy of the approval letter BEFORE they would schedule the appt.:faint:I was fine with that. So I waited and checked the mail every day and finally it came in on July 25th. I emailed the approval letter to her on July 26th and she forwarded it to Pam at their Houston office to schedule the surgery. Pam finally called me back at 1:00pm that day to schedule the appt. Great right??? WRONG!! It was then that I had learned that my information that had been sent to UHC to be approved had requested that the surgery be done at University General Hospital (a new hospital in Houston which Spiegel had raved about during his seminar) which was OUT OF NETWORK for me!!! They never asked me where I wanted the surgery to be done!!! I assumed that they would set it up with 12 Oaks which is the only In Network Hospital that he goes to!!! I was told to redo it so I could go to 12 Oaks that all of my paperwork would have to be resubmitted to UHC and could not tell me how long it would take!!! I AM SOOOO MAD!!! I call UHC to verify this and Pam was correct!!! I have left multiple voice mails for Pam to call me because I have questions and I have yet to hear from her. So I have decided that I am going to make me an appt with another doctor closer to home being that I live in Lake Charles. I just wanted to let anyone considering Spiegel to know what they would be getting themselves into before they wasted their time!!!If this is the way they are treating me know, how would they react if something were really wrong with me after I had the surgery. That is the question I asked myself and I figure that if I am going to have to wait for another approval that I will go to someone else. Sorry so long just needed to vent!!!

Candle, Congrats!!!! I am still waiting to receive my letter of approval in the mail to be able to schedule my surgery. It should be in any day now! I hope.... Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. I think our surgery date will be close together so we can compare notes!!! Princesst

Coco, Sorry to hear that you had so many problems. Who is your surgeon my i ask?

Val, Thanks so much for the support. I am from Lake Charles, LA and you? I will continue to pray for both of you to have your prayers answered quickly. I would call the insurance co. every other day if not every day until I heard something if I were you. I can't tell you what kind of relieve I feel........the lump in my throat that I have had has gone away in just knowing. Keep your chin up!!!

I GOT APPROVED!!!!!! I called my insurance co this morning and they confirmed that I had been approved and that I would be receiving a letter of approval in the mail. I called Dr. Spiegel's office and they told me that they have to have the approval letter from UHC before they will set the date. I won't have my surgery until sometime after Aug 15th when my doc returns from vacation. I feel like the biggest weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

So sorry to hear about your ports flipping! I myself am waiting to get approval from United Healthcare. One of my greatest fears is for the port to flip or my band to slip. How did you know the port had flipped and detached itself? Did it hurt? Who were ya'll's surgeons? Tarayn

Our company policy with United Healthcare has been approved many other people within our company to have this procedure. My surgeon told me that United Healthcare is actually one of the easier ones to obtain approval from granted your company's policy does not have an exclusion for such a procedure. I am waiting until after they approve me to set a surgery date. How long have each of you been waiting for approval. My paperwork didnt get sent to them until July 12th? Who is your surgeon?

Hello! I too am waiting to get approval from my insurance company United Health Care. What insurance co. do you have? I am so anxious to have this done!