Early in Pre-Op Phase: When to Have Tests Done

[HiHoSleever 20]

So glad to have this forum! I am making appointments for my pre-op clearance and insurance auth. My insurance requires 3 months of medically supervised weight loss prior to submitting the pre-auth, so my surgery will likely not be until August. I am going ahead with getting all my pre-op stuff out of the way. (psych eval, NUT consult, EGD, echocardiogram, labs).

My question is should I wait on doing the labs (or any of these) until closer to August?

Mucho thanks!

[taweedeegirl 68]

have. you met with your doctor your doctor needs to put in a request for you

your doctor will order all the things that are needed and then submit them to your insurance company for approval

[HiHoSleever 20]

Yes, I have all of the orders already from him. I was just wondering if I was doing them too soon, and when others had theirs done if they had to complete a 3 month diet.

[heidikat72 935]

with the exception of the bloodwork - start scheduling everything NOW! There can be a long lead time for some of the appointments. I'm struggling to get a sleep study scheduled in time - have had to call around to at least a half dozen clinics. The blood work doesn't take long to receive the report and most blood labs, you can walk in without an appointment - just know that you'll need to fast for a certain number of hours before hand, so best to get it done first thing in the morning after fasting all night. Plus, they typically want the numbers for your blood work to be readings as close to surgery as possible.

[Rainy Days 73]

I had my labwork done within days of seeing my surgeon the first time. I came back as Vitamin D deficient. The office had me start D3 right away. I'd think getting the labs done early would help if it indicated something that needed to be addressed prior to surgery.

[Harsha 168]

I did all my tests right away also, just to get them out of the way. I actually did all of them in two consecutive days... spent most of the day at the hospital lol.. but was worth it. Also I'm glad I saw the NUT early on because she gave a lot of good suggestions and a packet of what you'll need etc. I've referenced that more than once!

[HiHoSleever 20]

I did all my tests right away also, just to get them out of the way. I actually did all of them in two consecutive days... spent most of the day at the hospital lol.. but was worth it. Also I'm glad I saw the NUT early on because she gave a lot of good suggestions and a packet of what you'll need etc. I've referenced that more than once!

Thanks, everyone! I have everything scheduled and started ticking them off. Good advice on getting labs done now to pick up on anything as well as the NUT. I am sure they will have me do a repeat set right before surgery. Did the psych eval today and she actually thought I was sane.

Edited April 22, 2016 by BackOnTheHorse

[pewpewpewpew 83]

i am 2 months away from surgery and this week i completed a majority of my labs. may 17th i have my swallow test and from then on i have appts june 2, 10, 14 leading to surgery on the 22nd.

i would think doing labs on the early side helps weed out any potential issues

[SusanB55 89]

Unfortunately, my surgeon's office is ass backwards on this. They say they don't want the patients to spend money they don't have to so they don't refer to cardiologist OR GI doc until after approval. It is ridiculous. I say let the patient decide if they want to take the chance of spending the extra money or not. Each procedure is preceded by an initial consultation so at least that part of it could be done. These visits and procedures take time and are usually spaced out weeks apart. Ugh.

I'm pretty pissed right now actually. My surgeon didn't tick the boxes for cardiac clearance or EGD for me, but now they are saying the opposite. Not an oversight on his part, mind you. He just changed his mind. I could have done this crap already! So frustrating.