What exactly is a PHYSICAL EVALUATION ?

[Denise*661]

I was just approved by my insurance to see a Bariatric surgeon and would like to know what's the physical evaluation consist on.?
What else or what steps did your surgeon have you take before getting approved?
TIA

[Gemini1372]

Mine was a joke, I have heard many people saying it was so simple..Then you have a couple people saying it was a little more interesting. They basically just want to see your state of mind..if after a year or two that you would likely gain the weight back..stuff like that..good luck

[Aquajog]

My insurance required :
A letter from my primary care doctor clearing me for surgery.

A letter from primary care saying I have been over weight and any Attempts to
Loss weight

3 months supper used diet with a doctor or dietitian ....since my insurance paid for this
I went with a Bariatric dietitian ... Some insurances do not cover that but will pay if you are seeing you doctor.

A Physcological ...I went to a Bariatric Phycologist who had WLS..she knew what was going on
Basically talked about emotional things involved in the surgery and if you were emotional strong enough to handle it .
The one thing I did like was she told me...you are ready for this but REMEMBER
When you wake up from surgery your first thoughts are going to be "what in the heck did I do!"..
She says to remember this is normal!

[Gordita]

i had aetna. needed 6months monthly evaluation and had to meet the bmi requirements etc.

the surgical requirements from the surgical team were in addition to and in conjunction with what was required by aetna. they required that i attend an orientation meeting; a support group meeting (1 time) for preop patients; and a support group (1 time) For post op patients where prior patients basically stood up and talked about their success. i also had to meet with nutritionist, nurse practitioner, exercise physiologist --all designed to meet any insurance requirements. in fact the surgical physical was done by the nurse practitoner not the surgeon. the physical was essentially a noninvasive exam since i was in otherwise good health. i had an ekg and complete labs previously done by dr's office so they had results for that on file. i also didnt need cpap or other pulmonary or cardiac evaluations.
assuming all other things normal, they're going to listen to your heart/lungs etc. poke at you (palpate your abdomen etc) and ask about any previous surgeries etc. i didnt need to change into hospital gown. was VERY basic.

once i jumped through those hoops, and was determined to be otherwise eligible for surgery, i was allowed to meet the wonderful wizard of oz (the surg). i met with him and had a paper with preplanned question (or you'll forget). went through the qs, he answered them all; and then he told me what to expect re weight loss averages etc.

good luck -gordita


it's a non issue. don't sweat it.

[magtart]

My insurance (BCBSTX) required 5 year weight history from my PCP. An endoscopy (which I had already had earlier in the year), an EKG (had one earlier), a psychological evaluation, and one visit with a nutritionist.

[princessdi]

A letter from my primary (which is like pulling out teeth to get anything from them)
3 support group meetings
3 visits with the nutritionist (two preop, one postop)
Consult with gastro, endoscopy with gastro, follow up with gastro
Physchiatrist clearance (this took one visit)
Pulmonary clearance (took one visit also but many people have to go through the sleep apnea tests)
Cardiologist visit (one visit unless you need tests)

[kenson]

My insurance required: psych eval, gastro, endo, cardio, pulmonologist evaluations. In addition I had to attend two nutrition group sessions through my surgeon's office.

[miss_t]

When I read posts like this about all the hoops you all had to jump through to get this surgery, I feel spoiled and lucky! I was supposed to do a 6 month diet but with a letter from my doctor recommending that be waived, my insurance waived it and approved me no problems. Good luck to you all!

[Gordita]

i also needed five years' records which luckily i had. ive been going to same dr for more than 8yrs and since she also handles my well-woman exam -which i need to get my birth control pills and therefore never skip--i had the five years' needed. thank goodness. i cannot imagine how discouraging it would be to have done everything else and not be able to produce those records. that's basically b eing told to try again in five years. oy vey.

anyway -if you're desperate enough you will jump through the hoops . if you're not , it's probably a good indicator that you're not ready for this surg. so either you get hte surg or you get some clarity ; ) -gordita

[Denise*661]

Thanks y'all!
Thank you I think I know what I want just wanted to know what everyone did to get the approval for the surgery.
Some where really lucky to don't have to do much but some of us who aren't that lucky just want to know what to expect and not get hopes up to get approved in a month.