After the information session at Southern Surgical, they will inform you of the required tests and evaluations needed in order to obtain insurance authorization and meet their standards. With my BCBS policy, I had to have the following done:
Abdominal ultrasound at Carolina Internal Medicine
Nutrition consult with Nutrition at Best (4-5 hour class)
Psychiatric tests and evaluation at The Carolina Centre
Endoscopy performed by my designated surgeon at Atlantic Gastroenterology
The good thing is that most of the appointments are located on the same street so you don't have to go around the world. The ultrasound was done right across the street from Southern Surgical. The Nutrition class (very informative but LONG) was held in the same location as the information session (behind their office). The Carolina Centre is the only "offsite" location but it is on Johns Hopkins Dr. so it's not far. The endoscopy was done next door to Southern Surgical. So all were in convenient locations.
The ultrasound was easy. The only problem is that during my appointment the machine crashed and I had to be rescheduled. They called me the following week. Not painful at all.
Next, I attended the Nutrition session with Jennifer Elias of Nutrition at Best. The session was great but long. I skipped breakfast (I know that's my fault) and it lasted close to 5 hrs. A room full of heavyweights and hungry bellies...not cool. And someone's husband had the nerve to bring in some McDonalds food to her in the middle of our class. Sweet but DEADLY! He was a brave soul. LOL During the class she teaches you the diets and vitamin requirements for each procedure. We mainly went over the Gastric Bypass diet stages and LapBand. No one was interested in the Gastric Sleeve. This session is packed with information so take it seriously because you will learn about the protein requirements and even taste test some samples. Think about what you can tolerate without getting bored because they are not cheap. Something else to note, Nutrition at Best is affiliated with Southern Surgical but your documentation showing that you attended the class is not submitted to SS until they have been PAID. So if your insurance company accidentally denies your claim (like mine), it may hold up the process. Luckily, insurance and reimbursement is what I've been doing for the past 16 years so I followed up on my claim until they reprocessed and paid it. Stay on top of things!
The visit I dreaded the most was my Psych visit. I think we're all a little "crazy" (some more than others) but I got a little intimidated having to do this. I have never seen a licensed professional that analyzes your thoughts and actions. So anyway, the first visit was just to complete the standardized tests. Please bring your patience and your sane brain. THESE TESTS ARE LONG AND ANNOYING. You are asked the same stuff multiple times but in different ways. You have a seperate appointment for your face to face interview. The visit with Dr. May at The Carolina Centre was painless. He is a very pleasant man and I felt comfortable answering his questions. Basically, he wanted to know my reasoning for seeking the surgery and determine if I was mentally stable enough to maintain through the process. It does chip away at your mental health. Just keep your eyes on the prize!
The last procedure was the endoscopy. Piece of cake! Didn't feel a thing other than a little drunk afterwards. Had a nice nap for the rest of the afternoon and I was good to go.
And after all of this I was ready for insurance approval and my appointment with my surgeon. Insurance approval was sent in the mail so that was a relief and I didn't have to do anything.