Preliminaries finished at OHSU

I had my Nurse Practitioner and Dietician appointments yesterday. Everything appears to be good to go! I need to have my psych eval -- apparently, that will be a while yet -- need to lose 13 pounds, and need to get a few more medical records in (GI reports and one more cholesterol screen), and then they can get my final approval and schedule my surgery. It appears I'm looking at early May!! Linda

I was thinking about you today and wondering how it went. I talked with Terra today about the Psych eval, and she said they are backed up. I am still waiting to even get an appointment. I'll probably have to push my date to mid-June. Spring term is usually busy, and I help a lot with graduation. Bil

Bil - I no longer do graduation. I did it for years by myself, so everyone cuts me slack on it now. I have a conference on the east coast April 9-15 and will visit my sister the following week, so I can't do it till I get back. I want to do it as soon as I can. Yes, I talked to Susan about the lack of psych appointment yesterday and she told me that their psychologists are not dedicated to the bariatric program -- they are psychologists in regular practice who take on the bariatric patients in addition to all their work. They spend time with us, giving us the test, and then talking, and then sometimes spend up to six hours writing up our reports!! No wonder things are bottle-necked. I hope it all starts moving soon. I guess they do such a thorough job because it's a research hospital. Linda

That's great! One more step on your journey... Congrats!

Great Linda, I go in the morning for a 1/2 day session,I'll let you know how it went. Jo Ann

Good luck Jo Ann! It's pretty easy to find, and the people are really nice. I hope the weather is a little better for your drive than it was for me yesterday! Linda

Grats Linda Just a heads up, you don't have to use OHSU's psychologist ... if time is an issue (lol, as if it ever isn't :P) you can see anyone your insurance will pay for, that is recommended by other WLS patients. I ended up using one on the coast, since I did not want to make another trip into Portland and take a day off work if I could help it (had to save up the PTO hehe). That is so awesome that you are on the path Michele

Michelle, There is something with our (I have the same insurance as Linda) insurance that says we have to use OHSU's Psychologist. If the insurance is willing to pay, I'm willing to wait a little bit. They did say in the orientation that most people can use any Psychologist, just not PEBB patients. Bil

Hi Bill, You might want to call BCBS to make sure. I have PEBB like you and was able to see a non-OHSU psych. BCBS covered the visit, and I was approved for surgery. It might be worth finding out.

Yes, Bil is right. I called Susan today and was told that we must use a psychologist at a Center of Excellence, so OHSU is where it will happen. It's hard to wait, but it will be okay. Linda