Gastric ByPass/VSG/LapBand

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Cant Believe how long this is taking

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beckybernardo
beckybernardo Posts: 93 Member
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Well I finally got a call from the doctors office. Seems I have to go to one more weight loss visit to my doctor. Which is next week, so that I'm living with. THen got another call and they said that I have to have another upper GI before surgery. Which I am like ok, lets get that in and get on with it. However, the soonest they can do that now is Oct. 29th. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!!!!!
So now I have to start back to college on Tuesday and I leave for vacation on NOvember 19 and have to drive across country. SO My surgery will probably be the week before i leave for vacation. If not it will have to wait until December. i'm so upset with this. Now i'm almost ready to try out another hospital. I took the whole summer off so that I could get this done and have plenty of time to recover now its going to be hectic to fit in.

Replies

  • minkakross
    minkakross Posts: 687 Member
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    Sorry to hear it and with a vacation on the horizon that really is THE SUCK! I think I got lucky with insurance, they only wanted a 3 month supervised diet/exercise program, history, and blood work. The only "procedure" they required and really it was more my surgeon, was a sleep apnea test because they want that under control when you are on the table, thankfully I didn't have it.
  • beckybernardo
    beckybernardo Posts: 93 Member
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    Thanks, Im glad that you only had to do a three month weight loss program. What i am realizing is that when I contacted them in Aug. she was suppose to submitted the information to the insurance then. So everytime I called and they said that they had not heard anything and it could take up to six weeks, they must have been lying because she just said that she wanted all this before she submitted it. It just dawned on me what she said.
  • ErinShannon
    ErinShannon Posts: 158 Member
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    That is crazy - they don't sound like they have their acts together! Sorry that things are all screwed up!
  • JfMarrs
    JfMarrs Posts: 110 Member
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    The upper GI or Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy is pretty much standard before Gastric Bypass surgery. When I had mine done they found a pretty bad ulcer so I was very glad that they found it before it caused me severe problems. That however set me back another o months waiting for the ulcer to heal. It does sound like your doctor needs to make more information available to his patients to let them know what is required prior to surgery however since you should have been informed about all the steps in advance.
  • miss_erynn
    miss_erynn Posts: 140 Member
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    wow - the process here in Hamilton, Ontario can take up to ONE FULL YEAR before even getting a SURGERY date.
    this is because you have to go through the hoopla of all the pre-surgery tests, appointments, seminars, etc.,
    luckily for me, mamabear works at a different hospital and pulled strings... however, I began the process in July 2011, completed all my tests by December 2011 and received my surgery date at the end of February for March 23, 2012. I know some girls who have waited YEARS to even get a surgery date. I was told this is because patients who smoke or are heavier usually have a lot more medical problems and need to be monitored AND if they need to lose a lot of weight, they have to prove they can do it in either 6 months to one year (one girl I know had to loe 100lbs on her own in one year before they'd even schedule a surgery for her).
  • pljohnson001
    pljohnson001 Posts: 50 Member
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    I was 3.5 months from the idea of it to the actual surgery. Guess I should be thanking my lucky stars for my insurance and my overall health going in!
  • healthybabs
    healthybabs Posts: 600 Member
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    It is so different for everyone, depending on your current medical situations. My doc said he won't even submit to insurance if you are not free of smoking and alcohol use for 6 months, regardless of what the insurance will approve. Those are his rules. I do agree with a previous poster, maybe your docs office should have been more clear on what is necessary and what kind of timeframes to expect. Certainly there is no excuse for them lying and saying they submitted when they didn't if that is really what happened. Sorry you are going thru this, nobody needs that extra stress at a time like this!
  • TriciaAllen7251
    TriciaAllen7251 Posts: 283 Member
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    Just be glad you have insurance to cover it. I would have happily jumped thru the hoops backwards if I could have gotten my insurance to cover it. I paid out of pocket for it and then it didn't even count toward my deductible. Thank goodness I have a great family who supported me. I call it my "new car body".
  • beckybernardo
    beckybernardo Posts: 93 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies. I know that every insurance is different. I think that maybe I am just really nervous because even though they had told me that I would need abother gi before surgery, it is the fact that they lied to me. She had told me that she had submitted it to the insurance in aug. then she said I needed another month of doctor supervised weight loss program, then she would submit it then. I had called her on a couple of occasions and asked if she had heard from the insurance company and he she said she was still waiting and it could be up to six weeks. Here she had never even submitted it. I think that is what really is bothering me. Also, I could have had the upper gi done by now while I was waiting this last month. But thank you all

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