Question:
Has anyone had to dietician and phych appt before they saw surgeon.

It's driving me crazy i still have not seen a surgeon yet my insurance wants me to phych evaluation and dieticain before I can even see a surgeon. Am worryed that I will never see one.    — sheri B. (posted on June 1, 2002)


June 1, 2002
I had to see a lot of other specialists before I saw my surgeon. I believe it's because your ins company wants to make sure that you are of sound mind for surgery. They want to know that you are not having this surgery because you want to be a rock star, but rather to be healthy. I know the wait is long, but your right on track. Good Luck to you.
   — Sarah K.

June 1, 2002
My surgeon's appontment is two days away. I first started this in February with my PCP. Because the waiting was so long I went ahead and made my psyc. and nutr. appointments so they would be out of the way. That way when I do see my surgeon we will be ready to petition the insurance co.. I have read that they want you to see the psych. to see that you have realistic expectations of the surgery. The reason for the nutritionist is to make sure that you know what kind of diet you will be on after surgery. Good Luck.
   — angela D.

June 1, 2002
I thought the psych and the nutritional evals were fun. The nutritionist will assess your current eating habits and explain what changes you will need to make after surgery both in terms of what you will tolerate and what you need to aim for to meet your nutritional needs. The psych eval is from someone who knows where a fat person is coming from. She just wants to know you aren't doing 'magical thinking' such as imagining that if you are thin you will be happy all the time and never have any more problems. She wants to see if you are realistic in your expectations. These evals are helpful even if you don't do surgery.
   — Bobbi G.

June 1, 2002
I had my psych evaluation and nutrientist meeting a few months before my actual consultation. When I had those appointment I didn't even have a specific consultation date. I have since had consultation and am currentyl waiting for insurance approval. Because I went ahead and got those appointments out of the way I had more info to submitt for approval and it will take less time to get a date after approval. Have faith, you will get a consult, and doing your oppointments helps to kill time during the wait. God Bless.
   — Kicker

June 1, 2002
Yes i did the diet. and phsy evaulation first, was required by my surgeon before I even got to see him, no big deal because after I saw him my insurance was submit and approved in 48 hr.
   — paulsgirl

June 1, 2002
My journey starded in December. Had to see Psychiatrist, Dietitian, had colonoscopy, endoscopy, sleep study, abdominal ultrasound, cardiac ultrasound to name a few, just saw the Surgeon on 23rd and waiting to hear from my insurance to tell me they have approved. It's been a long road but worth it. Bev in Florida
   — Beverly M.

June 1, 2002
I did the same thing. When the surgeon gave me the list of pre-op requirements, it was nice to have done almost half of them already.
   — Marti R.

June 1, 2002
I had to see a dietician as well as a psych to be given the go ahead for the surgery. I had already seen the surgeon who gave me those two names to see before he'd say yes to the surgery. The dietician was awesome, the psych was a waste of time. I think I saw him for all of 15 mins, and he told me he didn't have anything else to say to me except good luck on the surgery. I guess he was impressed at how much I knew about the surgery and post surgery recovery as well as the fact I had already stocked up my cupboards with the things I could have after the surgery. I am sure they run into people who are not motivated or maybe who have no idea what this really entails.
   — Louise M.

February 22, 2003
At Northwester Memorial Hospital in Chicago you must be "cleared" medically for surgery before you can be seen by a surgeon. This is done by the Wellness Center Team. You see an initial physician, dietition have a psych eval and depending on your physical/medical comorbidities other testing. My husband and I both had pulmonary function tests, sleep studies and my husband had a venous Doppler due to a blood clot a year early. They wanted to check the status of the clot. After all the preliminary work is done and the team determines you are a candidate for surgery the refer you to the gastroenterology surgery department. There are specific surgeons who only do the open/lap RNY. They also determine which one you can have. A BMI higher than 55 and you must have the open. From research I've done and what I've read from others, this seems to be the most efficient and best way to be approved for GBS. We are now waiting insurance approval.
   — Tanya W.




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