KarenInOhio

hi everyone. i'm getting banded 3/23 (35 days !!!). i'm in ohio and i'm pretty tired of the snow too. march melters sounds like a good one. i could use some online band friends, so i'm looking forward to this group a lot !!! karen :rose:

after 10 months of jumping through hoops, i finally got approved today. and i got my date --- it's 3/23. i have to do an upper gi on 2/20 pre admission testing on 3/4 and surgery on 3/23 i am SO happy !!!

thanks blaze. i see you had yours done 7 months ago. how is it going for you? was there anything that happened that you were surprised by, or hadn't planned for?

i didn't get all the details (that is coming in a letter) but i found out by calling my insurance that i was denied, and counseling is needed. the reason this bugs me is, i went thru 6 months of nutritional counseling. then i saw a psychiatrist and took the 2 psych tests (all out of pocket). i remember he left me a phone msg saying he was writing his evaluation, saying counseling is recommended, but not mandatory. i'll bet i have to book a few sessions with the psychiatrist again. which sucks - because my health insurance doesn't cover it. and i am totally broke and getting behind on bills. has anyone else had this happen? :smile2:

good point ! i mean, martha stewart has her own magazine, but she's rarely on the cover.

Hey, I see you're from Mentor. I'm from Willoughby ! :ohmy:

just thought i'd drop in and say HI and give you an update. i called my insurance co yesterday and they said i was denied. they said i need more counseling. i don't think they mean nutritional counseling, because i had worked with a dietician this year for 6 months. and now that i think of it, i remember the psychiatrist said my psych tests were fine and he was recommending more sessions but they weren't mandatory for surgery. i guess the insurance company thinks they are (mandatory). kinda bums me out since my insurance doesn't pay for psych visits. have you guys been denied. how many hoops did you have to jump through? :ohmy:

i was thinking the exact same thing !

i've chosen dr ben-meir at st v's, as did a few of my friends. he's been at st v's since 2001 or 2002. he has a *flawless* record and from what others have told me, a nice bedside manner. he is very highly regarded in the cleveland area. good luck with your choice !!!

my 'patient advocate' seems to think i'll get approved & if so, it may be december. i hope so !!!! :thumbup:

hello clevelanders !!! i just found out about this site today (i've been on thinnertimes.com for about 6 months). i've had the psych eval, done the 6 mo. diet, seen the surgeon etc. i am waiting for my psych eval results & then it's off to insurance-company-approval-land. my surgeon of choice is dr ben-meir :tongue: ps - i live in lake co.