Just want to kow if I'm on the right track

Hi! I'm Brenda and I saw my doctor on today for the first time to talk about the option of surgery. It was good, he said yes and that it would be a good idea. He gave me a referral to the nutritionist that I will see next week. On my referral is states that I am a barriatric surgery candiate. My question is: 1. After seeing the nutritionist, then what? 2. I will need a psycho evail and do I need a referral for that? 3. When do I look for a surgeon, I've found one that I like. He is out of the network, so do I need a referral for that and when should I ask. 4. I'm having a physical with my PCP on the 10/2/06 and the nutritionist on the 10/10/06. Am I in right direction or am I missing something here? HELP!!

Hi Brenda and welcome I started out by having a physical with my PCP and went from there. After calling my surgeon's office and scheduling a consult, they gave me a verbal run-down of what I would need to do and sent me an information packet that I had to fill out for my consultation. I simply went down the list and checked off each item as I completed it. As for needing referrals, you'd have to check with your insurance carrier to see whether one is required for the psych evaluation/surgeon. I would think if you're going out of network, you would not need a referral, again, that question can be answered by your insurance carrier. Once you have the physical it seems as though the focus shifts to the surgeon's office and what he requires to submit for approval/schedule the surgery. Okay, now take a deep breath and get your ducks in a row Good luck to you on your WLS journey, it truly is amazing! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to post here. Take Care, Terry

Brenda- I checked your profile and saw that you have Kaiser for your insurance company! I just finished the approval process with Kaiser and can give you some advice. I'm having surgery on October 12. I would suggest you ask a lot of questions when you meet with your Nutrionist. Do you know her name?? You are doing the right thing by starting with the nutrionist. You will need to see her for 5 months before she can submit your paperwork to the approval board. At that time you will be given your surgeon name, that will also determine your hospital. I live in the greater Baltimore area and was referred to Dr. Lin in Washington, DC. People I know who live in Montgomery county are being referred to Dr. Harrington in Silver Spring at Holy Cross Hospital. Just so you know who the potential surgeons are. You will need to have a mental health evaluation, which is only asking questions over the phone unless you have been previously seen for any reason (depression, etc.). When you do your mental health evaluation, make sure you ask them to send it to your nutrionist (she needs it to prepare the referral paperwork), your PCP and yourself! You will have to provide it to your surgeon and if you already have it on hand, it will go much quicker. Also, if you have had any gastric, heart or pulmonary problems in the past, it would benefit you to have your PCP refer you to have an exam that will clear you for surgery. If you want to ask me more questions, you can email me at [email protected]. Yvette

Congradulations on the start of your journey! It is truely an amazing one...I started out with Kaiser and than had to switch insurances due to my company being bought out. It sounds like you are on the right track so far...I suggest you get your referral for your surgeon from your PCP as soon as you can. Once you get that you can meet with the surgeon and they can generally keep you in the right direction with what you will need for pre-op testing. Some surgeons, like mine, have a weight management program where you can work with them prior to your surgery. I think this works out well...they have a nutritionist in their office too...so you get to know everyone prior to surgery and then they follow up with you post-op. They do except Kaiser too...not trying to sway you or anything... Good luck with everything...you can email me too if you have any questions (pre-op or post-op) at [email protected]. Leslie