Why so long why, why ,why

Called on Monday to get all my pre-op testings all booked.  My Psych is not scheduled till 9/26 my sleep study consult is Sept.5 then I have to wait for the study itself BOO sleep study BOO.  I think I can get in to see the George Bush sooner. I have my appointment  is with Dr.Zimmerman. Dr. Friedman does not participate with B/C Coast to Coast.   I would have to pay out of pocket $300.  His secretary was so nice she gave me advise and I'm not even a patient.  I wish I was going there.  His office does evening evals and .he goes over your results.  Dr. Zimmerman there is a 2 part session.  She says they are booking within I think 2 weeks.  I have to wait almost 8.

Hi, I went to Dr Friedman. Even thou he did not take my insurance I chose to pay for it myself. As with him I was able to go at night so I didn't have to miss work and I only was with him for 2 hours I think and I was done. the others you go there for hours then have to go back again the same day. I didn't want to have to go thru that. To me it was worth the money. Claudia But i do wish you the best of luck

I had Dr. Zimmerman.  He's a nice guy.  Very soft spoken.  The first part is about 2 1/2 hours, in the morning, with an assistant of Dr. Zimmerman's.  It is a question and answer session.  lots and lots of questions, written in all different ways.  Many of which you answer in the questionaire you fill out before going in.  Then you go back later that afternoon and meet with Dr. Zimmerman.  He goes over the report of the morning session, discusses the pychological side effects of the surgery and then tells you whether you passed or not. It lasts probably about 30 mins. Piece of cake, you can do it.

I also have to get an appointment for the psych. eval..  I was very pleased w/ Dr. Friedman's secretary also.  She explained everything and I really likes the evening part.  I dont have the time to sit for 2-3 hours at a time during the day.  My husband leaves for Iraq in 12 days, so i am on my own pretty soon.  I have to go with who seems more flexable, and that would be Friedman.  Neither Dr. takes Tricare, so i would be paying out of pocket anyway, although they told me I could submit it on my own and get some $$$ back.  The way I figure, if I only have to pay like 300.00 out of 30,000, I can live with that. Jen

Sorry you are having so much trouble....the decision to have this surgery takes a lot of research and understanding...once you  have made that decision you just want it done.  Unfortunately all of the measures are to ensure your safety and success.  Good luck...

Those sleep tests take forever & there are a lot of them.  It certainly could be handled in a more expeditious manner, to say the least.  Mine was slowed down even more by the only 2 beds in Newport Hospital (and small ones at that). The ironic part is that losing weight is almost always a cure for sleep apnea.     Everything else was relatively easy & quick.  I've been booking/going to sleep appointments since the second week of March! When my husband was hospitalized for a heart attack 2 yrs. ago & needed surgery, they could have cared less about his undiagnosed apnea. While I realize that all this is to protect and insure my health, what would really do the trick is this surgery! Islander

Hi, My whole journey to my surgery took almost a year and a half. Getting  the preop appointments was very hard between insurance and just getting an appointment with the doctors. Everything they are doing is to make sure you are healthy enough to get the surgery done and as safetly as possable. The appointment that took the longest to get was the sleep apenia testing.   Good luck and keep the faith, all will be over and done with before you know it.  Marc

I went through Dr. Friedman  and let me say, They Are AWESOME!!!  Dr. Friendman's Receptionist is SOOOOOOOOOO GREAT!!  She told me how to go about filing the claim with BCBS to get them to pay for it.  It's a NEEDED thing, and if they are going to pay for the surgery, they should be paying for all of the pre-op stuff that IS REQUIRED.  The ONLY down side was that they didn't take Credit Card, and I have a flex-spending account, so that was a pretty big and unexpected hit.