Time Frame .

Hey there ! Can you give me an idea of the time it took from the initial seminar until the day of your surgeries ?

I went to Dr. Spaw's seminar (which was my 3rd) mid-October 2005 and had surgery January 31, 2006. My paperwork was sent to my insurance company on December 19, 2005 and I was approved for surgery January 3, 2006. I already had everything that I could provide ready when I went to the initial consult in October just 3 days after the seminar. All I had to do before they sent my packet off to insurance was get the letter from PCP and have my psych eval. The thing that took the longest was getting the appointment for the psych eval. Good luck! Susan

Hi Beth, a lot depends your surgeon, your co-morbilities, or your insurance qualifications. I had my surgery in Jan. 06. I didn't have to meet any insurance qualifications at that time because I had a BMI of 53, Medicare/Medicade. Finding a surgeon willing to do my surgery was my hardest problem. I have leukemia, and I have lost 100% of my weight and at goal right now. What you need to do is find out first what your insurance requires. Some want 3-6 months of a Dr. supervised diet to qualify. If you have sleep apnea, you may want to have a sleep level test done and get a copy of those results. If you have a hiatal Hernia, get that checked and a copy of your records plus a letter from that Dr. Basically, whatever co-morbilities you have, you will need copies of all those records, plus letters of "Medically Necessary" from each of your Dr.'s. Have all this done before you see your surgeon for the first time. That will help speed things up. No matter how short the time frame, or how long it takes, never give up. Stay positive, set your short term goals, and long range goals, and work towards those goals. May God travel with you on this new and exciting Journey, Kathy

I went to Centennial's seminar in April just to find out if I wanted to invest 3 months of my life to a weight loss program which was mandated by my insurance. I got through the program in August, had surgery in October. But the actual process of getting insurance to pay started in August.