Question:
What should I expect...

I have United Health care and upon calling them in early May, I found out that they do not require alot of testing just previous diets, doc recommendation, letters of understanding the risks, etc. I recently found out after submitting all the paperwork to them they are requireing a H pylori test, endocrine workup, alcohol and drug screen, Psych eval, dietary consult, and cardio puliminary eval. 1) Why wasn't I told this when I called the first time?..I'm only 25 and even the surgeons office said it was weird for them to ask for all this. 2) I've tried to look up all these test and can't find a whole lot of info on what they are, what they are for, and how they test for it. Does anyone have any info on what all this stuff is? Thanks for your help    — Jaime Moore (posted on June 16, 2006)

June 15, 2006
ALL those test are there FOR YOUR SAFETY, I might add sleep apnea is another you should be checked for. My surgeon Dr Philip Schauer does FULL workups, and is rewarded with a very low death rate. He says its not the known troubles, but the unknown troubles that cause bad things to happen..... Your surgeon should be doing these tests anyway. many on our memorial page are there because they werent tested for stuff like this. I have a friend who at 20 found she had a bad heart during routine pre op testing:( WLS probably saved her life but without pre op heart workup its very likely she would of had a heart attack during surgery. These tests are there to prevent stuff like this..
   — bob-haller

June 15, 2006
They look for active drug users and alcoholics, they are excluded for their own safety. After surgery you will be a chaeap drunk, from the intestinal bypass. Driinking will hammer you liver and if you already have a drinking trouble it will just get worse. The psych evaul checks. are you aware of what your doing to yourself? together enough to understand it? use specialists for tests recommended by your surgeon they will only send you to supportive doctors. dietary talks of post op eating so you KNOW early on a few teaspoons will be a full meal! Understand vitamins and protein. Heart and lung evaluation, are you a smoker? If so you MUST QUIT. Being MO sometimes makes it hard to breathe, the fat prevents the lungs from expanding. Hows your heart? Oxygen level and BP OK? Need drugs to get BP under control? The better shape you in at the time of surgery the easier it will be afterward! All these tests take time and my opinion thats good as it weeds out those who arent dedicated to having WLS. Saves I am 2 weeks out and want ny surgery reversed pleas.... I will be 5 years out in july. Time sure flies!
   — bob-haller

June 16, 2006
Some of the tests are required by the insurance company. Some by the surgeon and some by the hospital. I understand the urgency in getting the surgery. I felt the same way, but there was no way I could rush in and do it. I had six months of nutritian counseling, monitored diet, gastric bypass classes. I learned the good, the bad and the ugly about wls. The endorcrine tesing is to make sure you don't have diabetes, or thyroid issues and if so, for them to be aware of them and monitor you afterwards. The cardio is simply to make sure your heart and lungs can handle being out for several hours. Bad time to find out you have a heart issue or lung issue AFTER they've put you under and cut you open. i will tell you the same thing I told MYSELF- You didn't get obese overnight, so why would you expect this MAJOR SURGERY to be rushed? My advice to you-take a deep breath and relax.........follow the protocal they want you to follow and if this wls is meant to be .......it will be. Good luck!
   — LauraA

June 16, 2006
All of the test except the alcohol & drug screen is a part of normal testing process before having WLS. I have Aetna and I took all those test and more. So, they are trying to extra careful to prevent in problems in near future, but the two test that I mention above I never heard of anyone having to take those. Good Luck.
   — domino1123

June 16, 2006
Two things: First)If your insurance company requires these tests, they will pay for them. (For example, my surgeon requires a psych eval, the insurance plan does not. Therefore, one has to have a psych eval, but the insurance does not pay for it.) Count yourself as very lucky! Second) Surgeons and insurance compnaies have you "jump through hoops" to have surgery to see how determined you are to follow the rules and do what you have to do to have surgery. It is a way to eliminate people who want surgery but probably aren't going to put the effort into being healthy after surgery, since they aren't sincere in participating in the pre-surgery aspects. H. pylori (blood test) is the bacteria that causes ulcers, so if you have it, that needs to be treated and eliminated before surgery. Endocrine work up (blood test, maybe urine test)to test whether you are diabetic, maybe insulin resistant, depending on what they test, or see if you thyroid is working normally, etc. Drug and alcohol screen (urine test, usually) - obvious reasons. Psych eval to determine if you are ready to take on a lifealtering. irrevesible surgery and make the lifestyle changes necessary after surgery. Dietary consult - pretty obvious, and cardiopulmonary(could be blood tests, EKG or other non-invasive tests) - make sure your heart and lungs can tolerate the stress of surgery and there are no surprises.
   — koogy

June 16, 2006
Thank all of you for giving me some feed back. I hope that everything goes smoothly from here on. I'm still a little confused on why they want me to go through all these test when other friends of mine who have the same insurance (through the same job) didn't have to do all this. I am so willing to go through whatever it takes to get this surgery. I AM VERY READY!!! Thanks again.
   — Jaime Moore

June 17, 2006
Maybe your insurance company has changed its requirements for surgery since your friends had surgery. These test are in your best interest to have. The goal of a good surgeon is to make sure he performs a sucessful surgery on you and that you live through the surgery. Obviously you understand why those with alcohol & drug issues would be excluded. Also the insurance co. is paying for very expensive surgery and they want to make sure you are aware of the long and short term risks and complications associated with it. Obviously if you aren't willing to modify your eating habits pre-op you wouldn't be willing to do it post-op. EVen though alot of MO people want the surgery not all of them are found to be good canidates for the surgery, either through health or psychological screenings. I know of someone who wanted the surgery and refused to stop eating chocolate every day, she felt life wasn't worth living without chocolate, and she was denied surgery. I guess for alot of people realizing their eating & exercise patterns must change to be sucessful is hard on them. You have to jump through all the hoops of the insurance company if you want them to pay for your surgery. Switching surgeons wont matter, the insurance wont change its rules. I learned that since the popularity of the surgery has grown the insurance co's have increased the number of regulations and restrictions for covering WLS> Good Luck
   — goldroses

June 18, 2006
RElax. I do not know why they did not tell you this when you called, but many insurances require it. The tests are for your safety, for the ost part. they want to make sure your heart is strong enough, and that you understand what you are getting into (psych eval). I had to take a nuclear stress test prior to the operation, as well as cardio, sleep apnea, and other tests. I also had to go to a fitness expert. You probably need the endocrine tests to make sure that your wweight problems are not caused by hormonal imbalances, which could then be treated without urgery.
   — Novashannon

Click Here to Return