Dr. Duncan's people
I found this on Dr. Duncan's page. DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO DO ALL THIS STUFF 
and If so, who with? As in do you do it with your PCP or Duncan's office. I asked this because I'm sitting here thinking I almost done. If I have this much to do, I will never be at work...like I care 
But I was just wondering. I have the Nurt. Eval. tomorrow and I think my thyroid is more than 6 months old so I will have to do that again but I've been going by the page they gave me at Duncan's office. Am I confussed
which is easy for me sometimes.
Certain basic tests are done prior to surgery: a complete blood count (CBC). Urinalysis and chemistry panel, which gives readout of about 20-blood chemistry values. Often a glucose tolerance test is done to evaluate for diabetes, which is very common in overweigh persons. All patients but the very young get a chest X-ray and an electrocardiogram. Women may have a vaginal ultrasound to look for abnormalities of the ovaries or uterus. Many surgeons ask for a gallbladder ultrasound to look for gallstones. Other tests, such a s pulmonary function testing, echocardiogram, sleep studies, GI evaluation, cardiology evaluation, or psychiatric evaluation, may be requested when indicated.
and If so, who with? As in do you do it with your PCP or Duncan's office. I asked this because I'm sitting here thinking I almost done. If I have this much to do, I will never be at work...like I care
But I was just wondering. I have the Nurt. Eval. tomorrow and I think my thyroid is more than 6 months old so I will have to do that again but I've been going by the page they gave me at Duncan's office. Am I confussed
which is easy for me sometimes.
Certain basic tests are done prior to surgery: a complete blood count (CBC). Urinalysis and chemistry panel, which gives readout of about 20-blood chemistry values. Often a glucose tolerance test is done to evaluate for diabetes, which is very common in overweigh persons. All patients but the very young get a chest X-ray and an electrocardiogram. Women may have a vaginal ultrasound to look for abnormalities of the ovaries or uterus. Many surgeons ask for a gallbladder ultrasound to look for gallstones. Other tests, such a s pulmonary function testing, echocardiogram, sleep studies, GI evaluation, cardiology evaluation, or psychiatric evaluation, may be requested when indicated. Yes. you really have to had all this stuff done befor they will send your packet to be approved by the insurance company. If you look at my profile, I started my journal LAST march! 
and I am STILL waiting for approval.
One reason it takes so long is because when you call, specially since I have an HMO, I have to use certain in-network doctors. Often, the first appt. is almost a month away. I know my sleep study too 6 weeks to get scheduled. Then of course you have to follow up with the pulmanary doctor (another month). Then there is the psychological consult(300$!!!) (another 6 weeks) then diet and nutrition consult at the wellness center, a 100$ you have to pay out of pocket and is NOT insurance billable, another 3 weeks. Oh, and dont forget the 6 months of a doctor supervised diet.
This is NOT a fast process at all.
So, get a notebook, get organized, get in the game. It is a long process, but you can do it if you have tenacity, courage, and the will to not give up.
and I am STILL waiting for approval.
One reason it takes so long is because when you call, specially since I have an HMO, I have to use certain in-network doctors. Often, the first appt. is almost a month away. I know my sleep study too 6 weeks to get scheduled. Then of course you have to follow up with the pulmanary doctor (another month). Then there is the psychological consult(300$!!!) (another 6 weeks) then diet and nutrition consult at the wellness center, a 100$ you have to pay out of pocket and is NOT insurance billable, another 3 weeks. Oh, and dont forget the 6 months of a doctor supervised diet.
This is NOT a fast process at all.
So, get a notebook, get organized, get in the game. It is a long process, but you can do it if you have tenacity, courage, and the will to not give up. 
I am not using Dr. Duncan, but it is the same for all of us. I have a calendar that I use only for appointments for this journey. I take my calendar everywhere with me so when I schedule follow-up visits I can see if I have a conflict or if I am going to be in the area for another appointment so I can schedule it at the same time. Guess it is my big "palm pilot"! I searched high and low for a calendar. I knew we were bombarded with them at the end of last year but couldn't find one! One day in my hubby's truck I found a brand new calendar (unusual for March) that he got from Sonic! I get a lot of chuckles keeping my WLS journey appointments in a Sonic calendar, but it will be a great keepsake!
Because I have an HMO insurance, every test required by the surgeon was requested by my PCP, including referrals to specialists. This is also good because it gives my PCP more current info on my health. She also needed it to do her Letter of Medical Clearance.
There are a lot of tests and some are less than pleasant, but I think that the more the surgeon knows about you medically, the better they can determine the right surgery for you and a safe recovery.
Patti
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