My doctor's office would not schedule surgery until I was approved. To make things worse, they are scheduling three to four months out! I had my orientation seminar in August of 2009, did my six months diet under my PCP, had a psych eval, met with the nutritionist, did the EKG and labwork, and was finally approved in June. I was very excited thinking it would just be a matter of weeks before my surgery, and found out that it won't happen until the end of October.
I was upset for a few days, but decided I would use the next few months to educate myself as much as possible about the band, and be thankful that I have insurance that will cover my surgery.
By the time my surgery date rolls around, you may already be banded.