When I started thinking about having gastric bypass, I was curious about what tests I would need to get approval from the doctor, and from my insurance company. Here I wanted to briefly share what I was required to do for my clearance, so others will know what COULD be on their list as well.
After my initial meeting with the doctor I was told my insurance request would be submitted right away, and would likely be back in less than a week. But insurance approval is only one step – my doctor required the following medical clearances in order to schedule a surgery date:
- Physical with lots of bloodwork from my primary care physician
- EGD – required hospital visit and being put to sleep for a short time – they put a scope down your throat
- Chest x-ray
- Upper GI – had to swallow barium….most of it came back up….ick
- EKG – heart clearance
- Echocardiogram – further heart clearance because I have high blood pressure
- Pulminary/Sleep Clearance – this is a lung and breathing doctor who has to make sure you don’t have breathing issues or sleep apnea.
- Mental assessment – they let me skip this, but most people do have to get an evaluation.
- Mandatory meeting with office nutritionist
- Mandatory meeting with office trainer
- Mandatory meeting at the hospital where I am having the surgery to learn what to expect
- Mandatory attendance at a support group at the office to speak with other patients so you can truly understand what is involved.
Whew. I am not writing this to deter you – rather I just want you to understand that you could have many tests to schedule. That said, I got all of these done in under 2 weeks. My turnaround time from the day I walked into the office, to my scheduled surgery, was about a month. So, it can be done quickly – but you have to be diligent about getting everything scheduled and completed as quickly as possible!
