How long does the process take

hi jen everyone is different -- here is how it worked for me and ross we had our appt on 11/17/05 *i had to do a 6 month dr supervised diet *ross had a 3 month dr supervised diet (dr supervised diet means you HAVE to go to your PCP once a month for however long and they have to have a paper trail stating that you are there for morbid obesity and you are following the diet plan that they have laid out for you ) we had to go to support meetings for the surgeon -- those were held once  a month -- no biggie since we were doing the diets anyways  psych appts in february ross was approved in april i was approved in june THEN we had our cardio and pulmonary clearances and the meeting with the Nut ross then had PATS on 4/26 ross had surgery on 5/22/06 i had another medical treatment going on at this time so i had to wait til after september 1 i had PATS at the end of september was then scheduled for 10/6 but i was anemic and finally was rescheduled for 11/22/06 so everyone is different :) take this time to learn everything there is to know about what surgery  you are having -- learn how to read labels -- learn what protein is good for you -- there is soooo much to learn good  luck :)  roberta

Jen, My process was pretty long - but I had a lot of issues.  First, I had trouble getting an appointment for a sleep study....I did get approved fairly quickly after submitting to my insurance (NJ BC BS PPO, and at that time they did NOT require a 6 mos supervised diet, that was January of 07) but then I had a lot of family problems and I stopped everything - I did not return calls to my surgeon etc etc.  Most of the summer I ignored the whole thing.  I went to my first consult on january 31, 2007.  I submitted everything to insurance in late march.  I got approved in late april.  I still had tests to be done required by my surgeon.  I dropped the ball over the summer due to family issues.  I got back in touch with everything in August.  Got a surgery date of October 2, only to have it cancelled two weeks before due to an undiagnosed thyroid problem they found at PATs.  Rescheduled after rounds of more testing and medications for October 30, 2007.  So almost 10 mos to the day!  But it was worth every step! Pam

     Hi,

      My first appt. was 4/28/07.  I have BCBS of NJ POS.  My original surgery date was in July, but it got moved up to 6/21/07  due to my schedule and the surgeons.  Normally, he won't do it that quickly, but he evaluates each individual case. So- under 2 months. I had a letter of support from my PCP listing my comorbidities and my numerous  documented failed diet efforts that was sent in with all lab work, etc.  I really think that is a key reason I was approved so quickly. A friend who just had GBP told me his BCBS insisted on the 6 month diet-  but he did not have a PCP- nor did he seem to be able to delineate any kind of time frames of failed diets. He was able to tell me what he had tried, but not when- etc. Me- I always use a datebook- to log stuff into and I was able to find dates- etc. aided by that. Also I had logged food intake on fitday.com and was able to pull up some old dates that way. I will always be greatful to BCBS for covering this surgery. My BP rarely rises above 120/80- usually 1110/70. I am having surgery 3/10/08 and am thrilled I have over 100 pounds off my body- that alone and my normal BP makes me a better surgical risk. :) Bernadette

I have BCBS POS, everything was fully covered and no pre-op diet was required. I had my first consult in August and had all the preliminary stuff done by the middle of October, I could have gone in October but chose to wait till I was off for teacher's convention weekend since I work in a school and planned to go back right after T'giving...it worked out perfectly for me. I used Dr. Jean-Baptiste at the Bariatric Center of Muhlenberg, he was great and runs a comprehensive program. If you live in Union County he's easy to get to. Dr. Bertha's support groups are in Basking Ridge, I found it a little far, Muhleberg is close to me which is what I was looking for, also, Dr. JB's group gives great personalized service. Good luck!

Wonderful - I am going for my appointment on March 19 - have the psych taken care of and I am scouting out nutritionists - my insurance will cover 3 visits, and I wanted to see if any in my network (or if someone can recommend) are any good.  I made an appointment with the ones reccommended by Dr. Bertha's office (just in case), but I would like to go through my insurance if at all possible (rather pay $30 than $375, but will anyway).

So what I am reading is that I can possibly get this done before the summer?!  That would be great!

Thanks again, and any nutritionist info would be greatly appreciated!

You guys are really great!

Jen