Question...

Quite a few people have posted that they went in and spent like 6 hours doing tests etc.... When my husband went in, none of the sort... he was just given a list of things he has to do himself (PHysc test, cardiac, pulonory, get medical records etc). He was told once he has done all that stuff then to come back. The only thing they did at the appointment was weigh him... Is this normal?

They did everything in one day with the exception of meeting with the psychologist at SBC. You meet with the psychologist after the personality profiles have been completed. As far as medical records they had me sign releases for what was needed and they are going to obtain. They did order a sleep study and a blood test that I need to get completed. Other than that after the meeting with psychologist they will submit paperwork to insurance for approval within 2 days.....so maybe I will know by this time next month??? One can only hope.

Hmmmmm ok so does anyone know for The Bridges center then? Hubby has to get his own records, a letter of reccomendation from his doctor... He has to set an appy for the Psych, he called and has 2 appointments. not sure why there are 2??? One next week and the second July 7th. he has to wait till July 20th for a Pulmonologists (Sp?) appt, we called about 10-15 diff doctors and that was the soonest anyone had. Its seems to me everyone else just goes in and has everything done there.... so why all the run around for hubby?

There are two appts because the first one you fill out/take a number of psychological tests/questionaires...think fill in the bubble with a number 2 pencil and true/false! Then the followup appt you discuss the results of the findings of the psych test. Doesn't sound like a run around for your hubby but appts do take time and with the summer you have to keep in mind that many doctors/staff take time off etc. Even though I have a surgery date and initial testing...I still have a number of tests to do before my actual surgery. Each doctor/facility handles things a little bit differently. You can also search the previous replies on the message boards and read member profiles to get an idea of what to expect. They also want to make sure that your hubby meets the criteria and can physically and mentally handle the surgery. Good Luck!

"there are many bridges to cross in the bridges wls surgery program" sorry... remembering my first packet from bridges. anyways, these are the steps as i know them (my surgeon will be juarez...in two weeks from today at st. lukes through the bridges center) 1. call insurance see what/if they cover 2. go to seminar by your surgeon 3. go to consultation 4. do psych tests 5. follow up with psychologist with the results of your tests 6. do any behavior mod classes that are required *this is the point that they actually send off your info to the insurance company...then you begin the waiting. 7. start ABC classes at st. lukes 8. once you get approval from the inurance co. you will be sent a good sized packet in the mail with your surgery date... and a list of tests you have to do. and some before and after surgery requirements that you must start doing. hope that helps! and i hope that i didn't leave anything out. feel free to read my profile... i have a different surgeon but we are using the same program/hospital so it should be rather close if not the same. brandy