Ladiec2

Congrats @soon2besleeved!! I was approved approximately a week as well. Our dates are almost the same. I have my final pre-op appt with my doctor on Feb. 19. I start my pre-op diet on Feb. 18 and my surgery date is March 4. Good luck to you and all the best for a speedy recovery and great weight loss in the months to come! Let's keep in touch!

Kim: that is very normal. It's basically nerves and now that you have your date, it's reality. You'll be fine. My date is set for March 4 and I have started getting excited. I'm sure as it gets closer, nerves will start kicking in. Just think positive and to the future.

I'm scheduled for March 4. Going to see my doctor and the coordinator tomorrow. I am assuming that I'll get orders to get my pre-admission testing done and also to get my Protein products. It hasn't really hit me yet that as of today, my surgery is exactly 4 weeks away. Maybe after the doctor's visit tomorrow I'll start gearing up. I'm actually thinking of questions to ask the doctor and coordinator. Good luck to all the March Sleevers!

Curious to know what your doctor said.

Congrats...let us know how you're doing.

Congrats and good luck!

I am so overjoyed. I received a phone call from the doctors office. They left me a message and basically just said they were calling about my approval. I immediately thought oh no…they need more information. By the time I got the message to call back, the doctor's office was closed. I immediately called the insurance company and the agent was very nice…told me about how successful her gastric bypass was from 2 years ago. I told her I was worried that I wasn't gonna get approved and she don't worry…YOU'RE APPROVED. The date she gave me for my surgery was March 24. How do they come up with the surgery date? Do they contact the hospital to find out the first available date? Will the doctor give me a different date? I was hoping to be sleeved in February. M head is spinning right now….getting my list together so I can be prepared…. I'm really getting sleeved!!! Yaaaahhhhh!!

I am so overjoyed. I received a phone call from the doctors office. They left me a message and basically just said they were calling about my approval. I immediately thought oh no…they need more information. By the time I got the message to call back, the doctor's office was closed. I immediately called the insurance company (AETNA) and the agent was very nice…told me about how successful her gastric bypass was from 2 years ago. I told her I was worried that I wasn't gonna get approved and she don't worry…YOU'RE APPROVED. The date she gave me for my surgery was March 24. How do they come up with the surgery date? Do they contact the hospital to find out the first available date? Will the doctor give me a different date? I was hoping to be sleeved in February. M head is spinning right now….getting my list together so I can be prepared…. I'm really getting sleeved!!! Yaaaahhhhh!!

Glad to hear things are turning in a positive direction for you. Good luck!

Congrats. I will get my surgery date today. I received a message yesterday but by the time I called they were closed. Can't wait for the doctors office to open this morning. Good luck.

Wow…the exact same thing with me. My paperwork was submitted to the insurance company on 1/21/15 as well and got my approval date today! I am solo excited. Congrats to you.

You may be approved before all your testing is complete because those tests that are left may be your doctor's requirementsI and not your insurance company. I have requirements for my doctor and a set of requirements for my insurance. I had a lot more tests to complete for my doctor than my insurance. If that's the case I think it's great that your doctor operates like that.

I found out yesterday that my paperwork was submitted on 1/21/15 to the insurance company. This has been the longest 3 months. The real game has begun...now I just sit back and wait. I called the insurance company this morning and of course, it's pending. They will be hearing from me every single day. sooooooo excited! Lord now I just pray I'm approved! I may need someone to pick me up if this doesn't go the way I hope.

Wow...that's great news and awesome weight loss. My sister just got sleeved on Dec. 20 and has lost 28 lbs. and if all goes well with my insurance company, I hope to be sleeved next month or the beginning of March. She paid out of pocket and went to Mexico to have hers done. Her and I are on this journey together as well. Good luck to the both of you!

I waiting on my paperwork to be submitted to my insurance company. I was told that it should be submitted by the end of this week so I'm hoping for a FEBRUARY date.

My out of pocket will be approximately $1400.

I had mine several weeks ago. Found out that I have hiatal hernia that will be prepared during surgery and inflammation. I'm hoping that I won't have to do another EGD before surgery.

I hope to be sleeved in February. I've completed everything, but I have to wait until Jan. 20 to have my paperwork submitted to the insurance company. Hopefully that will only take 5-10 days and then get my surgery date if all goes well with the insurance approval process.

For those of you who have AETNA, be careful about your weight gain. I have AETNA open access and I called the insurance company to verify because I was told previously that it was ok as long as there is no net gain at the end of my 3 months. WRONG! There cannot be any weight gain during your 3 month or 6 month weigh-ins with your PCP or surgeons office. You will be denied. Make sure you have lost weight each time you go in to weigh-in. With that being said make sure you know what your policy entails.

Trying to stay on top of things that my insurance required and trying to get information on the approval process, I decided to contact AETNA. I asked them several questions and I told her that my surgeon gave me a list of AETNA's requirements. She asked me what they were and when I got to the psych eval, she told me that was not required. I start smiling ear to ear...yah!!!! don't have to go through that process. She also sent me the clinical note for the psych eval which states: For members who have a history of severe psychiatric disturbance (schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, suicidal ideation, severe depression) or who are currently under the care of a psychologist/psychiatrist or who are on psychotropic medications, pre-operative psychological clearance is necessary in order to exclude members who are unable to provide informed consent or who are unable to comply with the pre- and post-operative regimen. Note: The presence of depression due to obesity is not normally considered a contraindication to obesity surgery. I don't have a history of mental illness. So I contacted my benefits coordinator at the surgeons office and her response was that I was right, it is not required, BUT she has never submitted anyone's paperwork without a psych eval. She mentioned that I may need a letter from my doctor stating that I am not being treated for mental conditions. Should I go through with the psych eval (I really don't want to!) or just get the letter from my PCP? Does anyone have AETNA and didn't have to do the psych eval?

This is good news as I have hypothyroidism and am currently taking 275 mcg. I was concerned that my weight loss would be very slow. Your posts are very encouraging. I will post after my surgery hopefully next month. My paperwork will be submitted Jan 20. Then the process of waiting for approval.

Congrats! Praying that u get a positive response.

Wow...some people just don't know what to say! Heffa is right and very ignorant! Glad you told her!

My twin @@bams1220 is having her WLS in Mexico today. I was suppose to be there with her, but something came up and I couldn't go so she went alone yesterday. I'm the brave, stronger one and will try anything once. I've even gone on vacation alone before. This is her first time going on a trip alone and all the way to Mexico at that and to have this surgery. I had to encourage her, but it didn't take much because she really wanted to have this surgery. Her insurance doesn't cover the surgery. My date will be in January or February which will be covered by insurance. We're very close and I've been communicating with her since I dropped her off at the airport. She was suppose to be first but her surgery was delayed this morning. I haven't heard from her since they picked her up from the hotel. Can't wait to hear how she's doing. Please pray and wish her luck. Love you @@bams1220!!!

Just heard from my sister..whewwww! They were suppose to call me right after surgery, but dropped the ball. I had called the hospital and they don't speak english. I can finally rest and get a nap in today. Everything went well. She's not in any pain at all. Thanks for all your concerns. She'll post her experience later.