Hello

My name is Kelley. I have not yet had surgery but hope to soon. Right now I am spending my time jumping through the hoops. Have been to one suppport group meeting at EMMC with Rose Marie Danelle, and my pre-op education class with Lynn Bolduc (June 21st and 23rd.. maybe some of you attended?)On July 30th( My Birthday!!) I go to a nutrition class and see the Physical Therapist. On August 18th I see the dietitian, and I am waiting on a phone call for my appt for the psych eval. From experience, if all goes well with my insurance, should I be hopeful on having my surgery by the end of falltime? I still have to see Dr. Clough and I am very excited to meet him. I am not crazy about traveling to Bangor from Presque Isle in the middle of winter but if I have to, SO BE IT!! Just thought I would say hello. I thought I posted once before but I didn't come back for a long while, so not sure if I got any answers!! Take Care.. Kelley

Hi Kelley, Congratulations on starting your journey! The time it takes depends on how fast all the results come in from the different doctors you need to see. Then your surgeon has to submit to your insurance company. Then the "fun" really begins. Some people have been approved in 3 months. It took me 5 months for approval. Don't give up, fight for what you need. Call your insurance company, once you find out everything has been sent. Some insurance companys are fantastic, and some are not. Let me know when you go to another support group meeting in Bangor, I'll gladly meet you there. - Cindy

Hi Kelley...I am waiting for insurance approval...I know the feeling of having to get this from this dr and that from that person...It will all work out and you sound like you have alot of it under control...You will be fine this winter...I will say a prayer for you and keep you in my thoughts...Helen Koehling

Hi Kelley, I am 4 days post op. Not sure how I feel (except tired) so I wont post much about the surgery yet. It takes 5 to 10 months from beginning to end with the process. I could have had my wls in 6 months but had to delay it because of family things. I have BC/BS PPO Fed, there isn't an approval. They require certain thinga of you and if you pass that then you can have surgery. As long as everything remains the same as it did on the day the surgeons office called them with the "requirements" all will be paid. The only wait time is for the person from the office to call the insurance company, took 2 weeks with me, then about a month to book the OR. There really is not any shortcuts in getting in sooner. The program they have set works wonderful and is much better then what some others have in the state. Lynn is a peach to deal with as well as Dayna(dietician). If asked Lynn MIGHT give you a rough estimate on what month to expect to have surgery in. Good Luck!

Hi Kelley It was good to meet you today. Sorry I didn't get a chance to talk longer. I expect my operation to be in the same time frame as yours but who knows with the insurance companies these days. Keep us posted. God Bless Ron