Waiting, waiting, WAITING!!

[Jonnycat1 0]

Hello all. I'm a 34 yo male in the Portland, OR area. Found out recently that my insurance will cover the lap band procedure if I meet the criteria. I clearly meet the criteria, have had the initial seminar required, filled out all of the necessary paperwork, met with my doctors and had them send over all the information. My file is currently under review by the Bariatric Surgical group at OHSU so I'm in the waiting game. I have scheduled my psych eval. for tomorrow to get that out of the way to expedite this process. Can anyone give me any advice on how long this may take? I have been told that my case will pretty much be a slam dunk through the insurance, as the surgical group has a premiere relationship with my insurance company, once the file has been approved and they start scheduling me, what's after the nutritionist and psych. eval? A meeting with the surgeon? Then scheduling the surgery?

I don't know anything about how this works, so I'd like to find out from someone who has done this and roughly what kind of time I'm looking at here. I just get up every day wishing this was all over and I was on the way to getting back in shape and dropping weight. It's so hard to keep trudging on at a snail's pace. I know it fill finally come, but seriously. How much longer??!!

Thanks.

[Melody2006 1]

I felt the same way as you and knew with my insurance it was a green light automatically. (The bariactric center is inside the hospital I work at and get my insurance). What you need to do is ask your surgeons office what your particular insurance requires and how you can speed a long the process while you wait. Thats what I did. In 2 months I had all my stuff done and I was banded. It's all what your insurance requires.

Also ask what your pre-opt diet is going to be before surgery. I didn't expect that part. 2 weeks of liquids only before surgery, and 2 weeks of liquids only after surgery. No food for a month! I didn't expect that part. That was hard

Now I'm to mushy foods (banded 7/15/08) and I'm waiting for a fill. Feels like I'm dieting on will power alone. I'm just following the lap band rules. This isn't the easy way I expected. I'm working for every pound lost. I now keep a pedometer on at all times and go for 12,000 steps a day no matter what. I'm working for this and have been working for every pound lost since I decided on the surgery. Your journey starts today. You start following the band rules today. (No straws, No caffeine, No non-natural sugars, No smoking, No alcohol, Cut back on bread & Pasta, Protein first, Vegetables 2nd, carbs if you have room left. Smaller portions, eat only until satisfied. no drinking liquids with meals, and 60 grams of Protein a day, 64 oz of Water a day.) You don't need to wait to be banded. Banding just forces you to stick to the rules and takes stomach hunger (not head hunger!) out of the equation. Wish someone would have told me that upfront. Your journey starts today if you choose so. Best of luck.

[lafrogura 0]

I think everyone's experience is different. Some take a while due to the insurance pre-requisites and some fly through the process. I know from the time i went to the WLS seminar until the time i was approved by my insurance was only 1 month. Just stay on top of things and know exactly what your insurance requires and make sure you are calling the insurance and physician's, etc to make sure that what ins. needs is what is being sent and in a timely fashion and constantly ask everyone "what is the next step?" .. it's easy with so many people in and out of these doctor's offices, it's easy to get overlooked.. I know i was on the phone every day making sure things were flowing as fast as possible. But then again, i'm not a very patient person.

[Jonnycat1 0]

I'm not a very patient person either. I'm definitely keeping on top of things, but again, I'm at the mercy of other people to do their job. I'll be calling next week to find out the status on my file, as it will have been three weeks since my file went in for review at that point.

I will have to investigate what the diet entails and start working on that. I'm mentally ready for 1 month of no solid foods. I can do it. I know I can. Great information about being prepared and understanding the food changes. I know everything about everything else, but the eating regiment.

Thanks for the feedback!

[krtork 0]

Lucky you - insurance coverage! I am self-pay, so I know I was moved right along in the process, it seems like endless doctors appts! But well worth it - I get my band on Aug 5!

The nutritionist should give you info on the diet they expect before and after surgery. For my doc I also had to have a sleep study done, blood work and a scope of the stomach. I know some people have to have a heart work up with stress test.

Good luck, I hope you hear something from the insurance company soon! It is an exciting journey to a whole new life style.

[KarenK 0]

I'm self-paying too, and am impatient to get everything underway before I lose momentum.

I had actually been approved 2 years ago, until a week before my surgery date they discovered my Iron was extremely low (normal is 50 - I was at 10). No lapband for me. Instead, I got a hysterectomy and Iron therapy for two years.

Now that I'm back at normal, I'm in a hurry. My psych eval and band class are Aug 13, and my meeting with the surgeon is Aug. 22. I'm hoping by early September it'll be time.

Good luck with the waiting game, Jonnycat1. We'll all make it.

[Jonnycat1 0]

Update for everyone. I finally have a date! January 2nd, 2009! It's nearly here! YAY!

Edited December 3, 2008 by Jonnycat1