You should probably look into what your insurance plan requires. I had my first meeting with my doc end of Dec. Used the month of January to get in all my nutrition and psych visits. Then when they submitted everything it too insurance about 1.5 weeks to approve. My date was originally February 27 but all the surgeons decided to go on vacation instead so it was moved a week later. So all in all about 1.5 months. There was no required 6 month waiting period