did anyone get their surgery done through OWLS?

Hi There,

Did anyone get their surgery done through OWLS (Oregon Weight Loss Surgery)?  I got my acceptance letter form insurance, but am still waiting to hear back from OWLS.  Apparently I will need to meet with a psychologist, nutritionist, physical therapist, nurse, and surgeon before they approve me, too.  I am just wondering what to expect and how long the process took?

Thank you!

I had mine done at OSHU  they have been great and they can schedule 3 appts in one day the process was fast

My process with OWLS too less than two months. Remember YOU are in charge. I called once a week to check my status.
Best wishes to you

That is really encouraging.  I am having a hard time making progress.  I got my approval letter a WEEK ago.  I contacted the patient coordinator, and she still hasn't gotten back to me.  Who did you call/contact to check on the status with?  How did you ensure things moved along promptly? I REALLY appreciate your help and advice!

How were the meetings with the psychologist / nutritionist / physical therapist / nurse / surgeon?  I am already approved through insurance, but I still need to meet with all of those people and I'm terrified that I'll be un-approved for some reason!

Thank you!

The staff has changed over the last two years, just ask for someone in scheduling.
The appointments are interesting. Just be real with the Psychologist, they can read you like a book, so don't try to pull one over on them!
I did the psyc test on a Thursday & met with the person on the following Tuesday. My appointment with the surgeon was 1 month later surgery 4 weeks after that.
Blessings!

I certainly wouldn't try to pull one over on the psychologist... but I'm nervous there are certain things to say / not to say!! Any tips?

I had Dr. Patterson through OWLS. The psychologist app't was the only one they didn't do on the same day as the rest because the one I went to scheduled his own appointments. All the rest of the required app'ts were done in one afternoon. They could have done my surgery about 3 weeks later, but my work schedule wasn't that flexible. For me, it was 6 months from first attending the orientation meeting to actually having surgery, but some of that was slowed down by my own scheduling problems and the girl who gets the insurance approvals not following through promptly. Since you're already approved, you won't have that problem. I probably could have been done in 3-4 months total.
I have no tips on what to say/not to say because really, you want to be sure that you're really ready for this and the changes you'll face. The psych will help you determine that and think about things you may not have considered yet. My meeting with the psych was relaxed and we just talked about all kinds of things and how I got to be morbidly obese and how I thought things would change with weight loss and what kind of challenges I expected to face. They really just want to be sure you're not expecting surgery to be like a magic pill that does all the work for you and that you're being realistic with your expectations of the process after surgery.

Thank you!

Well turns out there was a problem--- insurance did approve me, but then they determined that they approved me too quick without me going to the appointments.  In otherwords, insurance said to go ahead, but then the lady at OWLS said I shouldn't be approved without going through my appts.  So anyway... now I'm waiting to hear back to see if I can start scheduling my appts!!