So dang SLOW

[TSB 1]

So, I know from reading about others experiences that this can be a long process. I also know that the clinic coordinator told me it could end up being late summer/early fall before I could expect to have surgery. So this is probably just a whine.

I went for my sleep study consult, pulmonary function test and an Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) test yesterday. My next required test is the psych eval. So, maybe I was starting to feel a little too optimistic in thinking MAYBE I could end up having surgery sometime in June or July. BUT after the sleep study consultation I went out to schedule the actual sleep study. At first I told the scheduler I would prefer to do it on a Friday night. The next Friday night available was in late July! So I changed my tune to accept any night of the week and now I have it scheduled for Tuesday June 9. So that didn't sound so bad until she said, "now lets schedule your follow up visit." GRRR, after the actual study I have to come back to see the doc who did the consult yesterday and that appointment is not until July 14! Then the staff at the bariatric center will decide whether I meet their criteria and THEN they submit me for insurance approval. I am starting to feel like it may be Christmas before I get the actual band!

It shouldn't bother me, because I was well-informed going into this. But I found myself feeling a little frustrated and down about it. I said something to the person doing the scheduling about the process being so long. She said that yes, it is and that she finds a lot of people get frustrated with the process and just quit pursuing it. So, I guess I just need to suck it up and carry on ::::thumbup:::: Thanks for letting me vent

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Do tell them that if someone cancels you'd take an earlier spot!

I'm glad mine didn't take so long. Thank goodness from my (required) seminar to my first banding was just 1 month but I didn't have to do a sleep study.

Hang in there!

[TSB 1]

Do tell them that if someone cancels you'd take an earlier spot!

Hang in there!

Thanks. And, yes, I did have her put me on a cancellation list. Fortunately my office is around the corner from the hospital and I live only 15/20 min away. So, I am able to do last minute scheduling changes with fairly little inconvenience.

[ParrotheadCathy 0]

My Father used to tell me "Katie, patience is a virtue". I got so sick of hearing that. Then, one day, I saw a tshirt on somebody that said "Patience, hell! I wanna kill something!" I'm sorry this is taking so long. I know that my doctor gave me a tenantive surgery date on my first visit with him .... and that date was 25 days later. He said "we probably won't have everything completed by then, but you're on the book." Ultimately, we moved it to 2/10, still not too far out. Of course, I was self-pay so things moved faster. I put the push on my sleep study (translate, I fibbed a little). I told them I had a surgery date and they were the only thing holding me up and I needed to finish the evaluation process with them ASAP. And I called them EVERY DAY, LOL. i could tell that woman was sick of hearing my voice. But it got it handled faster. GOOD LUCK:thumbup:

[FailureIsntAnOption 0]

Once I made up my mind to have the surgery I was ready. This is why I decided to go to Mexicali to have the surgery. The hospital was clean and state of the art. I saw my surgeon, asst. surgeon and internist at least 4 times/day in the hospital. I arrived on Thursday, did my pre-op tests had surgery the next morning. Went home on Sunday. Of coarse I had to pay for the surgery but if I waited for my HMO it would have taken at least a year and a half. I wanted to do it before I had health issues such as bad knees or hips. I had a complete physical from my primary care doctor and he gave me the green flag. The cost was $7,000 which I charged on my credit card. The surgeon's name Alberto Aceves.

I understand most people don't have the money to do this but I was ready and wanted to begin my new life immediately.

Good luck to you, hope the time goes by quickly.

[LisaD1111 0]

I waited until work got a little slower and just tried to cram as many appointments into a day as possible. The place where I'm getting the surgery does everything but blood work, xray/barium swallow, and cardiac stress test. I never went there for just one appointment. Sometimes it was worth putting off one thing if I could schedule at a later time and do 2-3 appointments (say sleep doc, nutritionist and psych test) on the same day. Bascially, the time from my very first consulation to surgery date (May 22) has only been 2 months. My insurance company is covering most of this. I imagine that it probably can be quicker if one was paying cash.

[TSB 1]

:laugh: WOOHOO! Just got a call from the sleep study center, someone cancelled for tonight, so I get to have my sleep study done tonight. This means my follow up appointment, originally scheduled for mid-july, will also be moved up I am one happy camper right now!

[talkalot1981 5]

Congrats. I have been waiting almost 3 months just to have a consult with the surgeon. So I know how you feel. In the mean time I did get all my testing done. So hopefully we can schedule my surgery for next month. Again Congrats, Jennifer

[mb20mom 9]

Once I made up my mind to have the surgery I was ready. This is why I decided to go to Mexicali to have the surgery. The hospital was clean and state of the art. I saw my surgeon, asst. surgeon and internist at least 4 times/day in the hospital. I arrived on Thursday, did my pre-op tests had surgery the next morning. Went home on Sunday. Of coarse I had to pay for the surgery but if I waited for my HMO it would have taken at least a year and a half. I wanted to do it before I had health issues such as bad knees or hips. I had a complete physical from my primary care doctor and he gave me the green flag. The cost was $7,000 which I charged on my credit card. The surgeon's name Alberto Aceves.

I understand most people don't have the money to do this but I was ready and wanted to begin my new life immediately.

Good luck to you, hope the time goes by quickly.

That was a smart way to go. I'm stuck in this 6-8 month Kaiser program in Riverside before I can get the surgery and it is painfully slow, very discouraging since I want the surgery NOW.

Anyway I just wanted to say hi since I saw that you are in Riverside. Good luck to you. You'll probably have lost all your weight by the time I get my band! :smile:

[FailureIsntAnOption 0]

That was a smart way to go. I'm stuck in this 6-8 month Kaiser program in Riverside before I can get the surgery and it is painfully slow, very discouraging since I want the surgery NOW.

Anyway I just wanted to say hi since I saw that you are in Riverside. Good luck to you. You'll probably have lost all your weight by the time I get my band! :smile:

I too have Kaiser and attended orientation late March for Bariatric Surgery and was soooo discouraged by the RN that said they weren't doing lap bands at this time and are not keeping a waiting list. They seemed to be pushing gastric bypass which I am totally against doing myself. Do you remember Dr. Ismail that spoke at the orientation? I had a follow-up appt. with him last week and was very impressed with how he handled my situation since I have already been banded. They scanned all my Mexico records into my Kaiser record even my barium swallow films from Mexico are now in my hard file on computer. I'm not sure yet if Kaiser will cover my fills but I don't really care either way since Mexicali isn't much further away then Harbor City and my fills are free in Mexicali, I may as well just go there.

Wow! since your so close in proximity we should keep in contact. I wish you luck!

Banded in Mexicali 4/17/09

Edited May 21, 2009 by FailureIsntAnOption

[TSB 1]

Sorry for those of you having to wait a long time w/ Kaiser. I have to say, though, I grew up in Contra Costa County in CA (age 4 to age 24) and I kind of miss Kaiser. It seems as if it was so much more user friendly and cost effective than the insurance I have here in Maine (Anthem BC/BS.) But I suppose there is no perfect insurance. I just found out this week that my insurance has made some changes to its policy on bariatric surgery. If you have it done at a center of excellence, everything is covered. If you don't have surgery at a center of excellence, then there are deductibles and co-pays you have to pay out of pocket. There are only two hospitals in Maine that qualify as such, and neither of them are the one I am going through:sad: But, I spoke w/ my clinic coordinator and she tells me they are waiting on their provisional certification as a center of excellence. So, keeping my fingers crossed on that one. I will not go to the two places in Maine that count as centers of excellence. One of them is 2 hours from where I live and the other an hour. As opposed to CMMC, which is 15 min from where I live.

[mb20mom 9]

Donna2153, I think I was in that same orientation class with you. And yes I agree that they push the bypass surgery over the lapband, and they still say they aren't scheduling any new lapband surgeries. They are going to start classes in Corona though, which is where I usually go for appts. I just hope one of these days they say they're going to start doing the lapband at the Riverside hospital or the Ontario surgery center! But at least I'm losing a little weight and if I keep losing maybe I'll just continue on my own...we'll see.

Yes, keep in touch!

[TSB 1]

Met with my nutritionist yesterday, something I have to do every 4 to 6 weeks up to the date of surgery. She said she would clear me as "nutritionally readyy" for surgery :bored: I was down another 3 pounds on my pre-op "diet" for a total loss of 17 -- one more pound and I am out of the 200's:biggrin:

So, Thursday I go to get the results of my sleep study. Hopefully my surgeon's office already got the results, because I intend to start calling and nagging the clinical coordinator today to get me submitted to the insurance company!